NBA Minnesota Timberwolves

The Future Looks Very Bright For The Minnesota Timberwolves

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By @Bigwoolf5

Minnesota Timberwolves, Andrew Wiggins

Adam Hunger-USA Today Sports

The big story coming into the NBA season for the Minnesota Timberwolves was the fact they traded their best player to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kevin Love was their best player for the past five years and many fans were not happy he was traded away, but in the long run it was definitely the right decision.

With Love as their best player, the Timberwolves never made the playoffs and things didn’t seem like they were going to get much better. In the trade for Love, the Timberwolves received two first overall picks in Anthony Bennett and the ultra talented Andrew Wiggins. Bennett had a very bad rookie year, but with a change of scenery, he could certainly live up to his huge potential in Minnesota. Let’s not forget he is only 21 years old to go along with the 19-year-old Wiggins.

Wiggins had an early career-high 17 points on 7-12 shooting from the field on Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets, and his shooting stroke already looks much-improved from his time at Kansas. He is a solid defender due to his elite athleticism, and it seems like only a matter of time before his offensive game catches up. Wiggins truly has the potential to be a huge star in this league and that may happen sooner rather than later.

Add Wiggins and Bennett to Ricky Rubio, who is already an extraordinary passer, and Nikola Pekovic, who is a beast on the inside, and the foundation is set for a really good basketball team. Rubio has been working on his shooting, which has already massively improved from when he first came to the NBA. Pekovic is one of the most underrated players in the league. At 6-foot-11, 295 pounds, there is nobody in the league stronger than him — he rebounds well, and can match up with any center in the league.

Other key pieces to the team as currently constructed are Kevin Martin, who shoots a high percentage from three, and Thaddeus Young, whom they acquired from the Philadelphia 76ers. It is impossible to know whether these two will be a big part of the future in Minnesota, but Young is only 26 years old and the Wolves coveted him in a trade.

The Western Conference is stacked and will be for the foreseeable future. The Timberwolves’ organization knew that, and they also knew they were stuck in neutral with Love as their best player. The trade they made to acquire Bennett and Wiggins has put them in a better position to be a perennial playoff contender down the road. Wednesday night’s win against the Nets gave T’Wolves fans a little glimpse into the very bright future they have ahead of them.

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