The Minnesota Timberwolves won just 16 games last year, good for the NBA‘s worst record. They didn’t do much in free agency, and young teams often struggle to get wins. So if you say the Wolves will make the playoffs next year, most people are going to roll their eyes and trot out a series of chalk arguments.

How do you expect the Wolves to get ~25 games better? Karl-Anthony Towns doesn’t add 25 wins to the team.

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That’s not how basketball works. Players, especially sophomores like Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, can improve drastically from season to season. Sometimes a piece here or there has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the roster. Look at the 2013/14 Milwaukee Bucks, who won a league-worst 15 games. They trotted out a very similar team last season (in fact, six of their top seven minutes leaders remained constant), but with some internal growth and a new coaching scheme got the No. 6 seed. The Phoenix Suns did something similar the year before.

Young guys can’t play winning NBA basketball.

This statement might be true, but the Timberwolves are not merely a collection of young talent. Kevin Garnett will be on the team for the next two years, and his presence at Summer League suggests he’s invested in the team and ready to be a fantastic mentor. Also, the Timberwolves have plenty of veteran talent! Ricky Rubio, injury prone though he is, is one of the league’s best passers. Kevin Martin is a proven offensive force, and Nikola Pekovic had a worryingly poor 2014/15 but at least has a history of competence. Finally, the Wolves brought over Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica. The Euroleague MVP! People are sleeping heavily on that move.

They have no chance; the West is too tough.

This might not be true. The Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers, two perennial contenders, will likely slip out of the playoff picture. Other teams look ready to improve but it’s the offseason; everyone seems better than they are. Playoff “locks” fall apart, and players get injured. Look at last year’s Oklahoma City Thunder.

At the end of the day, it’s simply about whether the Wolves are good or not, and I think the talent is there. Wiggins is primed for a monster sophomore season; I think he flirts with 20 PPG, complemented by great defense. LaVine really came into his own towards the end of 2015, and should be a menace catching lobs and spotting up for threes. Gorgui Dieng and Shabazz Muhammad also had promising seasons, and should continue to improve given their age. All these players will benefit greatly from playing with Rubio.

Finally, there’s Towns, a true generational talent. He shot somewhat poorly in Summer League, but that was mainly due to posting up every possession as the team’s main guy. In the regular season, he’ll be able to let Rubio, Wiggins, Martin and others get all the attention. We’ll see more of Towns’ ability to spot up for jumpers, and the results should be tremendous. His off-court attitude has already drawn praise.

Of course, the Wolves are very injury-prone; they could well have another floundering season. But if their veterans are reasonably healthy, I think they win over 40 games. They’ll shatter their over/under projection (which will likely be in the 20s) and be this year’s Bucks; this year’s Suns; this year’s feel-good story.

Casey Sherman is the Toronto Raptors Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shermham