The Minnesota Timberwolves’ system is broken, and here’s how to fix it

After a few impressive games, the Minnesota Timberwolves are beginning to slide, and it’s time to consider a system change.

The life cycle of the Minnesota Timberwolves fan is a very predictable one. They begin in the preseason with hope. They think that this time the draft has gone differently and that the team has gotten the secret, under-the-radar top pick. Then the season begins, and the team jumps out to a fast start. A thousand think pieces are crafted about how the team actually has a chance, and then comes the slide.

Well, this season, the team seemingly did well in the draft, everyone was raving about the Ed Davis trade, and Minnesota started 2-0, and now they’ve begun a downward spiral, losing their last three games.

This season, the most head-scratching part of all of this is how it all happened. Sure, Davis wasn’t the most attractive piece the team had brought in, but he’d seen a lot of success. Edwards looked like a top draft pick, and the team looked unstoppable in their second game against the Utah Jazz. Not only that, but Minnesota saw a lot of success before the 2020 hiatus after their moves at the trade deadline. With nearly the same squad, what changed?

Well, the issue is that nothing changed. For the last two years, Minnesota has kept the same system in place, and it hasn’t resulted in anything except a number one overall pick and a handful of 20+ point losses. And while that may sound good, the general vibe around this team is that they’re sick of rebuilding and want to make a run for the playoffs now. Unfortunately, that can’t happen under the current system they have.