What if…the Minnesota Timberwolves kept Lauri Markkanen?
By Ethan Becker
What would have happened to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2018-2019 season?
The next season for Minnesota likely would’ve been just as dysfunctional. Head coach Tom Thibodeau, despite all the success he’s experienced both before and after his Minnesota run, has had two real pitfalls: he doesn’t really know how to help develop young talent and he can’t help but try to relive the glory days by rebuilding the Chicago Bulls wherever he is. Both of these come to a head, and Minnesota struggles just as they did.
And, just like they did in real life, Minnesota cuts ties with him halfway through the season and hands the reins to Ryan Saunders. Saunders, basically playing with house money and top talent in Markkanen, Knox, Towns, and Wiggins, rockets the Wolves forward. With Saunders, the Wolves take the leap forward they were looking for.
In reality, the Saunders era wasn’t much better than the Thibodeau one, but that was largely due to a really poor bench, and a strict routine of minutes. Here, Saunders has a decent bench to work with. Markkanen is backing up Towns while having a career year, and LaVine, who will be moved into the starting lineup at the end of the season, is having a career year as well. The Timberwolves end the season 39-43.
In the offseason, Minnesota retains their draft position and drafts Cameron Johnson, but instead of letting him go to the Phoenix Suns, they keep him to shore up any holes down low.
Going into next season, the starting five is Jeff Teague, Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins, Lauri Markkanen, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Their backups are Jordan McLaughlin, Jarrett Culver, Kevin Knox, Cameron Johnson, and Gorgui Dieng.