It’s been 13 years since the Timberwolves have made the playoffs, so there’s no shame is taking this quote from Karl-Anthony Towns with a grain of salt.
“Yeah, we’re coming soon,” Towns told USA Today’s For The Win. “The Timberwolves are not a team to just forget about. We’re gonna jump in that hunt sooner than later. I don’t wanna hear people say they never knew we were an NBA team. They knew us from the get.”
NBA evaluators thought Tom Thibodeau would bring a boost in the win column in his first year with the Wolves like he did with the Bulls, taking Chicago from 41 wins to 62 in 2010-11. That wasn’t the case in Minnesota, which went from 29 wins under Sam Mitchell in 2015-16 to 31 wins under Thibodeau.
SB Nation, back in March, likened the 2017-18 Timberwolves to the Utah Jazz of the last couple years.
“Their path looks like it may follow that of the Utah Jazz: from the playoff fringe to a solid mid-pack team in a year or two. It’ll be interesting to see how Thibodeau attacks the offseason as a personnel guy.”
Thibodeau will be judged considerably over the next 45 days. He’s in charge of the No. 7 pick in next week’s NBA Draft and of the approach the Wolves take in free agency in July.
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