Can the Minnesota Timberwolves Win 25 Games in 2009-2010?

“I wouldn’t put a number on it.  But if we stay healthy, I would say, in all likelihood, yes.” – Minnesota Timberwolves President David Kahn when asked if the Wolves would improve upon their 24-58 record of last year.

Unfortunately for Timberwolves fans, rising star Kevin Love will start the season nursing a broken hand for the next 6-to-8 weeks. Adding insult to injury, the foundation of the franchise, Al Jefferson, has not shown that he has completely recovered from his knee injury from last year and now may have a new injury.

Timberwolves fans are in for a long, dark and cold winter as the team begins to rebuild into becoming a team worthy of playoff consideration.

Love broke a bone in his right hand when he collided with teammate Oleksiy Pecherov fighting for a rebound during a preseason game. Love led all rookies and was ninth overall in the league with 734 boards.  Love also led all rookies with 29 double-doubles. Love’s production will be sorely missed.

The injury to Love is part of a disturbing trend for the Wolves, going back to 2005.   Love joins Rashard McCants, Randy Foye and Corey Brewer as Timberwolves first round draft picks to miss a significant portion of their second year with an injury.

Jefferson saw limited playing time in Saturday’s tilt against the Milwaukee Bucks due to a sore Achilles’ tendon. On Monday, Jefferson was held out of practice because of the injury. Adding fuel to the speculation that Jefferson’s injury could be serious, Jefferson took no questions from the media at practice.

Jefferson averages 23.1 points per game and is the only Wolves player on the roster that has a career average over 15 points. 

A hobbled Jefferson without Love to begin the season will make it nearly impossible for the Wolves to compete. If Jefferson’s injury requires him to miss a significant number of games, the prospect is ... well, let’s just say not pleasant.

A more pleasant story line for Wolves fans will be the development of Jonny Flynn at point guard. The interesting sub-plot to the story will be how coach Kurt Rambis finds enough minutes for Ramon Sessions. 

As the sixth pick of the draft, the Wolves have handed Flynn the starting point guard job. Flynn’s baptism of fire likely will pay dividends in the long run as he gains valuable on the job experience. 

Sessions came to the Wolves after signing a four-year $16 million dollar contract in the off-season. Sessions chose the Wolves because he believed he would get a significant amount of playing time.

In order for Flynn to properly develop, he will need to have some minutes on the floor to work through mistakes. Those minutes in which Flynn is learning on the job will undoubtedly impact Sessions' playing time.

Kahn suggested initially playing Flynn and Sessions together. Head coach Kurt Rambis has publicly stated that while he hasn’t completly ruled out the idea, he is more inclined to have the players split time at the point guard position.

Flynn and Sessions both appear to be far more comfortable running the point as opposed to playing the shooting guard position. The drama could become even more intriguing if and when Ricky Rubio comes to town.   

If Flynn establishes himself as a dependable point guard, the Wolves could have an interesting dilemma at the position, as they will have three point guards under 25 on their roster. 

Another player for Wolves fans to watch is the return of defensive stopper Corey Brewer from last year’s knee injury.

Brewer is widely regarded one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.  Unfortunately, his defensive prowess is offset by his inability to score.  In his first two seasons he hasn’t been able to score more than 6.2 points per game despite, averaging more than 20 minutes of playing time.

Brewer's limited offensive game may get a shot in the arm from Rambis’ decision to implement an up tempo style of play.  Brewer likely will benefit with more transition baskets with the fast paced style of play. 

Although he is still not a polished shooter, Brewer has greatly improved since coming into the league.  As a rookie, he shot an anemic 19.4 percent from three-point land; last year before his injury he was shooting 41.7 percent from beyond the arc. 

Hopefully, he can pick up from where he left off last year, especially given the injury to Love.  

If there is a silver lining to Love’s injury it is that the Wolves will be able to give more playing time to the three young players who they are auditioning for the center position.

All of the players competing for the job have very little NBA experience; Pecherov and Ryan Hollins are both 7’0" whereas Jared Reiner is 6’11".

Pecherov has played in 67 games in his career averaging 8.9 minutes, 3.6 pts, 2.1 rebounds and .1 assists a game. Hollins has played in 132 games averaging 8.8 minutes, 2.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and .2 assists.  Reiner has played in 46 games averaging 8.2 minutes, 1.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and .3 assists. 

The front runner appears to be Hollins because of his athleticism and ability to block shots. All three players however need to develop a consistent offensive game to stay in the starting lineup long term. 

These players appear to be a stop gap measure for the Wolves until Kahn has identified the player he wants to pursue.  Fans shouldn’t be surprised if the goal this year is really to develop one of these three players into a dependable back-up center capable of playing 15-20 quality minutes a night for next year.

Captain Ryan Gomes will again be Mr. Dependable for the Wolves. Gomes' game is steady at 13 points, five rebounds and lots of hustle on defense. He has shown in the past that he can over limited periods of time carry the Wolves. Fans should expect that Gomes will try to step up his scoring during the first couple of weeks in the season.

Rookie Wayne Ellington has been nursing a bad ankle and missed most of the preseason.  Rambis will likely ease Ellington into the rotation limiting his playing time. Ellington is widely regarded as the team’s best long range threat and he may partner with Sessions to give the reserves scoring options.

Free agent acquisition Sasha Pavlovic who signed a $1.5 million one-year deal is likely Rambis’ choice to stretch the defense until Ellington gets into the rotation.  Pavlovic may turn into a solid reserve for the Wolves with his long range shooting ability. 

The Wolves have also done a nice job identifying two good veteran players in Brian Cardinal and Damien Wilkins. Both players are consummate professionals on the court and will provide consistent examples of how to play the game the right way. 

Cardinal will not likely be on the team at the end of the season.  Because Cardinal has an expiring contract of $6.75 million for next year, the Wolves will likely shop him to a playoff contender to free up more salary cap room for next year.

Kahn has positioned the Wolves well for 2010-2011 season.  The Wolves have 4 first round picks for the 2010 draft. The Wolves will also have somewhere between $25-30 million in cap room space.

Unfortunately, Kahn may lose Wolves fans waiting for 2010.  He doesn’t appear to be concerned because he believes the Wolves will be fun to watch.

 “I mean this sincerely, this team will be fun to watch. ... I recognize we almost certainly are not a playoff team and almost certainly won’t be even knocking on the door.  We have too much to learn and grow and develop.  But this will not be painful. I think this will be a fun, exciting, intriguing year.” – David Kahn

Timberwolves fans are crossing their fingers and toes hoping that while they wait for the 2010 season that the current season is indeed “fun”.