After a terrible seven-game losing streak had Minnesota Timberwolves fans giving up on another lost season, the tides may be changing at Mayo Clinic Square. While things have been bad for a couple of weeks (more like decades), there was a time not that long ago, when this same team was 2-0 and getting people excited.

So, that’s where the winds of change need to begin.

KAT and Okogie Return

Karl-Anthony Towns returned from his 6-8 week injury in only two weeks. And while he didn’t deliver a win in his return, the Wolves did win the next night without him, as he rested for cautionary purposes.

There are a lot of unknowns that surround the Minnesota Timberwolves but we know one thing for sure. They’re much better when KAT is available. Minnesota is 2-1 with him in the lineup AND 3-1 when he’s been deemed healthy enough to play.

Let’s not let Karl’s return overshadow that of one Josh Okogie, who’s become the anchor of this team’s defense. Okogie sat out the night Towns returned and the Wolves lost in overtime to the Spurs, 125-122. KAT sat the next night and Okogie made his return. The Wolves won 96-88 against that same Spurs team (without DeRozan).

Okogie and Towns returning should and provide much needed sparks on both offense and defensive effort. That’s before we get into the upcoming schedule.

Josh Okogie’s team defense stood out to me vs. the Spurs last night.

First, JO seamlessly switches with Ricky Rubio onto Patty Mills. Then, he makes a calculated risk to help out of the corner, leading to the highlight block.

I missed watching Josh play, and I’m glad he’s back. pic.twitter.com/yaT37jTBBC

— Timberwolves Talk (@threesley) January 12, 2021

The biggest difference in Karl-Anthony Towns’ defense this season is that he has slow down enough to see things happen before they happen.

Proactive vs reactive pic.twitter.com/aaaBkT4GYi

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) January 10, 2021

Timberwolves next five opponents:

• 1/13: Memphis Grizzlies (4-6)
• 1/15: Memphis Grizzlies (4-6)
• 1/18: @ Atlanta Hawks (5-5)
• 1/20: Orlando Magic (6-5)
• 1/22: Atlanta Hawks (5-5)

The Minnesota Timberwolves are 3-7 so a slate of games vs .500 opponents far from guarantees anything. Still, with Towns and Okogie returning to the lineup and ZERO back-to-back games during the 5-game window, the Wolves might be catching a scheduling break at the perfect time.

The Grizzlies, on the other hand, are without star point guard Ja Morant and Orlando doesn’t have Markelle Fultz. Atlanta has shown promise but the Wolves need to win one of those two games, if anyone is going to start seeing them as a possible expanded playoff team.

Win at least 3 of 5

If the Wolves don’t win at least three of these next five games then they’d might as well wave the white flag on the season. They aren’t playing the Lakers, Clippers or a variety of upper class teams in the East.

It’s time for D’Angelo Russell, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Ryan Saunders to show this won’t be a wasted season. Prove to the fans that the process in Minnesota is working and we don’t have to cheer for another top three pick when lottery time rolls around.

If the season does start to turn around during this five game stretch, the Wolves could make some hay afterward. January ends with double-headers vs Golden State and Cleveland. February starts with a double-header vs OKC. Pinched in-between you have teams like New Orleans, Philly and Dallas.

But if these next five games don’t display a better Wolves team, then it might be time to surgically repair Towns’ wrist and enter tank mode. Rosas and Co. cannot afford to finish between 4-10 in the draft lottery or their pick goes to Golden State (from Andrew Wiggins trade).

So it’s time to start winning right now… or it’s time to pivot toward keeping our top-3 pick in what looks like a ridiculously-good draft class.

As would many Wolves fans and some league folks. But some league folks would rather, and I know in a couple cases, much rather have Wiggins + a very high draft pick. 2021 Draft is solid. If Wolves give up a pick in the 4-10 range, it's going to hurt.

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) January 12, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Timberwolves play their first regular season game on December 23rd and there are still a bunch of unanswered questions. This season, the questions aren’t sad and destitute like they have been in years past, but they need to be answered nonetheless. The first, and main question, is a simple one: who is going to start?

We know for sure that Towns and Russell will be there, but who will fill the other three spots? Here are all the players who could potentially start for the Wolves. Sorry Jarrett Culver, but you’re just not very good.

• Malik Beasley
• Ricky Rubio
• Juancho Hernangomez
• Josh Okogie
• Jake Layman
• Anthony Edwards

Embarrassment of riches?

From those six spots, Rosas and Saunders need to find 3 starters. Beasley was just given $15 million/year, but faces a potential suspension. Rubio is a top-4 player on this roster but could be very useful leading a young bench too. Hernangomez is one of only two capable power forwards, but he can’t defend (do we care?).

Okogie plays solid defense, with great energy, but would also make for a good spark plug off the bench. Layman is valuable but doesn’t have the same breakout potential. Edwards is only 19 and loaded with talent but he hasn’t had an offseason and won’t have much of a preseason.

If the Minnesota Timberwolves were smart enough to hire me as the guy who makes these major roster decisions, here would be my starting-five.

• PG: D’Angelo Russel
• SG: Malik Beasley
• SF: Jake Layman
• PF: Juan Hernangomez
• C: Karl-Anthony Towns

Why Beasley?

Malik Beasley, while his off-the-court antics are highly questionable (and allegedly criminal), did more than enough in 14 games on-the-court last season, to prove he belongs in the starting lineup. He’s also a 3rd shooting threat next to Towns and Russell, which should help all three of them get decent looks at the basket. He isn’t good at defense, but who needs defense, right?

Why Juan Hernangomez?

I believe Juancho Hernangomez is as much a lock as anyone to be in this starting lineup, mostly because there’s nobody else. JH is talented enough to do it on offense and, I’m feeling like a bit of a broken record at this point, but we don’t care about defense in this blog. Lastly, Juancho Hernangomez is really annoying to spell. Can we get this dude a nickname?

Why Jake Layman?

I love me some Jake Layman and I believe he is best suited for this spot. Is he the most talented out of him, Rubio, Edwards, and Okogie? No, he may even be fourth on that list… but I think he fits in best with the other four starters.

Although it comes in very small sample sizes, he was one of the only players to have a positive +/- two-man rotation with both DLo and Towns (according to basketball-reference.com). When playing with Russell, the Wolves were +10.8 in +/- last season. With Towns, it was a +7.2. Layman provides stability both offensively (and defensively for those who care). He’s another outside shooter, too.

Bench of Stars

There are pieces of the second unit that have me more excited than the first. A bench of Rubio, Edwards, and Okogie sounds pretty damn good. They’d certainly be a lot of fun to watch. Nobody knows how to run an offense better than Rubio and he’s the perfect side-piece to a young and blossoming Anthony Edwards, Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver.

It’s not always about who starts the game, though. Who is playing in crunch time? It will obviously depend partly on game flow and who is playing well, but you’d have to think we’ll see both Russell and Rubio on the floor in key late-game situations.

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

Almost all talk surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves, since their season ended on March 12, has been about how they can improve externally. “They should trade for Devin Booker…” or “they should draft LaMelo Ball…”

The Wolves should search high and wide for ways any and all ways to get better but their biggest improvements will have to come from within. Here are three questions that need to be answered, early next season.

1.) Can Towns and DLO improve defensively?

This is the question we’ve been asking ourselves since D’Angelo Russell was acquired by the Wolves back in February. We know that Towns and Russell will provide some excellent offense, but you need to play on both sides of the ball to win in the NBA.

"Minnesota Timberwolves: Player Evaluation Metrics"
A series of barplots showing ORtg, DRtg, Usg% & eFG% of active Wolves players.
What emerges?
– Below average offense & defense (22nd & 20th)
– Two way ball dominance (KAT & DLo)#rstats #DataScience #datavisualization #NBA pic.twitter.com/0El0srNp6H

— Filippos Polyzos (@filippos_pol) March 5, 2020

Last season, Karl-Anthony Towns had a defensive rating of 110 and Russell was even worse at 113 (according to Basketball Reference). If this is a new statistic for you, think of it this way. If you played a full NBA game with 5 Karl-Anthony Towns’ dropping back for all of your defensive possessions, his “defensive rating” is the amount of points the 5 KATs would give up.

It’s an offensive league. Both Towns and Russell provide so much fun on that side of the floor, but can we at least ask them to try on defense? If they were to provide any effort at all (especially Towns, who can’t defend in the paint and is often the last player across the court), the defense should (at the least) slightly improve… in theory… right?

2.) Will the real Malik Beasley please stand up?

This question has two parts. First, will Beasley continue to produce like he did last season after being traded to the Wolves? When the Wolves acquired Malik Beasley, they gave him an opportunity he hadn’t had before. In those 14 games, his shooting percentages skyrocketed and so did his production.

The jumps he made in field goal percentage are extremely impressive. Are they sustainable? Probably not, but with him finally getting the opportunity to prove himself I would expect him to meet those stats somewhere in the middle. He will continue to be a very productive player.

Second, will he be in a Wolves uniform if/when he does? All we know, is that the Wolves want him back. Even without a guaranteed contract, Beasley showed faith in the Rosas & Co. and arrived at Wolves camp with his teammates this week.

Here is what Jon Krawczynski wrote about Beasley’s contract situation, in the Athletic.

“The Timberwolves say they are respectful of Beasley’s position as an impending free agent. They have indicated that they want him to return after making a trade to acquire him from Denver before the deadline, and Beasley’s decision to attend the voluntary camp implies some level of trust with the organization. It doesn’t guarantee that everything will work out perfectly, but it is a good sign.”

Jon Krawczynski

3. Can Josh Okogie and/or Jarrett Culver develop a three point shot?

Among all qualifying players, Josh Okogie (26.6%) and Jarrett Culver (29.9%) had the first and third worst 2020 season 3P% in the NBA. That’s not what you want from your last two first round draft picks, while you’re trying to run with the high-powered, analytics-driven offenses around the league.

Both Okogie and Culver are known more for their defense and motor, which we have seen flashes of… but they will need to produce on offense to be effective at this level. Okogie is already a solid bench guy, which the Wolves are hoping Culver can become, after a very disappointing rookie season.

Basically, Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell need to be much better on defense while Okogie and Culver need a bunch of improvement on offense. It’s weird how that works. All four players will have to improve in their own ways, if the Minnesota Timberwolves are to make any significant steps forward as a team.

I can’t tell the future, but if I could, I’d say Malik Beasley is still in Minnesota when the dust settles. We’ll see what happens with his contract until then.

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

The NBA offseason, free agency in particular, is sending monsoon style waves throughout the sports world.

DeMarcus Cousins’ new Warriors contract: 1-year, $5.3M (per @wojespn) pic.twitter.com/nfO2tqBBGO

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 3, 2018

However, one summer after making a significant splash of their own, the proverbial waters in the land known for it’s 10,000 (plus) lakes, have remained relatively calm.

After closing up the month of June by waiving Minnesota native Cole Aldrich, the Timberwolves swan dove into the start of free agency by re-signing the 29 year-old, Derrick Rose.

Before moving onto Monday’s roster moves, I’d like to let the (current) record show that I was way off on this whole D-Rose experiment. That’s my bad. I f*cked up, okay. Sue me. Mistakes happen.

When the burger comes out well done after you ordered it medium rare pic.twitter.com/sSm356827j

— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) June 1, 2018

Despite frustration surrounding the late season acquisition of the former MVP, thus far, this whole Derrick Rose experiment has played out well-beyond any of my expectations.

With Jamal Crawford basically out the door, bringing back the Tom Thibodeau favorite for just over $2 million is a no-brainer. In the absurdly wealthy world that is the NBA, that amount of money is pocket change. Case and point:

Derrick Rose’s 1-year/ $2.1M deal with the Wolves will allow him to make $14.5M from Adidas next season!

Rose’s 2012 Adidas contract was reportedly 14-years/ around $185M.
He tore his ACL 64 days after signing the deal.

(via @NickDePaula) pic.twitter.com/bINI1IzouD

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 1, 2018

Anywho, now that I have a clear(er) conscience, here’s how your Minnesota Timberwolves started out their work week:

#Twolves to sign Anthony Tolliver, part ways with Nemanja Bjelica https://t.co/6Y2QV98qs0 pic.twitter.com/k20WLZ7Jjc

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) July 2, 2018

With Minnesota withdrawing a nearly $5 million qualifying offer, it’s evident that the organization is willing to part ways with the Serbian-born, Nemanja Bjelicia. By reasonable accounts, the artist known as Bjelly will be onto his next one.

Bjelicia’s Wolves career:

As for Tom Thibodeau’s team’s newest addition, Anthony Tolliver, first and foremost, it’s evident that he fancies himself a sniper:

Leading 2017-18 3 pt. shooters who are 6-8+ (min 3.5 atts per gm)

1. Otto Porter (44.1%)
2. Joe Ingles (44%)
3. ANTHONY TOLLIVER (43.6%)
4. KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS (42.1%)
5. Kevin Durant (41.9%)

Welcome to the new age

— jace frederick (@JaceFrederick) July 2, 2018

Tolliver, who spent the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with the Wolves, is fresh off a career-best shooting year. As a member of the lowly Detroit Pistons, Tolliver’s most recent campaign saw him average 2.0 made three pointers (4.6 attempts) per game.

Anthony Tolliver is the best pic.twitter.com/yQwUA9IgDm

— Aaron Johnson (@AJohnsonNBA) December 3, 2017

Second of all, the 6’8″ 240 pound veteran can defend. Early indications are that Tolliver will basically slide right into, what was formerly, Bjelicia’s bench role. With all due respect to Nemanja, Tolliver’s ability to effectively guard multiple positions is far superior.

Hey, speaking of being able to guard multiple positions:

In the biggest and best NBA news of the day…

We’ve signed draft pick Josh Okogie » https://t.co/mfpBwSTRit

Congrats, Josh!!! pic.twitter.com/seFwB9oUr4

— Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 3, 2018

While Minnesota’s handful of moves seem logical, in the grand scheme of NBA things, their current list of completed transactions is child’s play.

Nothing is more important this summer for the Timberwolves than creating a path for Jimmy Butler to sign a contract extension and structuring a maximum-contract extension for young star Karl-Anthony Towns, writes @JerryZgoda. https://t.co/spyHuFlAAj pic.twitter.com/toGBDsGTKn

— Star Tribune Sports (@StribSports) June 29, 2018

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com