After a frustrating 2022–23 campaign—which began with All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns sustaining a calf injury early on that kept him out for 51 games and largely ended with a Naz Reid wrist fracture, a self-inflicted hand injury to Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert punching teammate Kyle Anderson in a team huddle—the Timberwolves should get a more unfiltered look at what they have this season.
As you might’ve picked up from the opening paragraph, very little was routine for Minnesota last season; even as star wing Anthony Edwards took another step in his development in his third year as a pro. Things never seemed to get off on the right foot. Following the organization’s enormous trade for the defensive-minded Gobert—the club gave up four first-round picks, a pick swap, the rights to rookie standout Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley, among others—there was the hope that the T-Wolves would contend. But things never quite panned out that way. Minnesota was 13–13 in the 26 games Towns and Gobert shared the floor before Towns’s calf injury, and, for the season, the Wolves were essentially neutral, outscoring opponents by just 0.43 points per 100 possessions, when the duo played together.
And all this took place as coach Chris Finch was leading the team in his first full season as coach. Meaning just about everyone will be putting more stock into how this campaign goes, assuming things run more smoothly, with the stability necessary to try to make a run.
