What if…the Minnesota Timberwolves kept Lauri Markkanen?
By Ethan Becker
What would have happened to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2017-2018 season?
In reality, the Minnesota Timberwolves 2017-18 season really couldn’t have gone better. The team went 47-35 and broke their record 13-year playoff drought by securing the eighth seed in the West and facing, and losing in five games to, the Houston Rockets in the first round.
If they hadn’t have traded for Butler, it’s safe to say this season wouldn’t have gone nearly as well. LaVine was coming off of a bad ACL injury, and would only end up playing 24 games, and while Markkanen showed good potential, there were still some questions, mainly defensively.
Minnesota still wasn’t leaning towards the 3-point heavy style of the rest of the league at this point, so Markkanen’s 43.4 percent from that range wouldn’t have helped too much, and a starting lineup consisting of Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford, Andrew Wiggins, Taj Gibson, and Karl-Anthony Towns for most of the year just wouldn’t have worked out. In fact, it’s likely the team takes a step back and goes 28-54.
Still, there’s hope. Zach LaVine has come back from injury and looks good, Markkanen is showing signs of being the offensive player Minnesota needs him to be, Tyus Jones just had a career-best year and looks to be trending upwards, and they were able to bring Derrick Rose in towards the end of the season for a veteran presence.
In the offseason, Minnesota lands eighth in the lottery (the Cleveland Cavaliers had the exact same record and landed there) and Chicago, coming off an even more tumultuous season with Butler, lands fifth. With the 8th pick, instead of Collin Sexton, Minnesota attempts to fill a vacancy in the middle of their lineup with Kevin Knox. Minnesota goes into next season with high hopes.