Minnesota Timberwolves: How Skeptics Will Rationalize "Miraculous" Turnaround

It never ceases to amaze me when more and more articles are released bashing the Minnesota Timberwolves’ new roster and questioning whether David Kahn "even knows what he’s doing." The latest shot was taken by Yahoo Sports, who predicted the Wolves would somehow get worse this year and win only 13 games.

Because many of the Timberwolves BR writers have already effectively outlined how Kahn has been able to assemble a deep, well-balanced roster of high potential young players, WHILE clearing out space under the salary cap AND stockpiling draft picks, I won’t beat a dead horse.

To anyone with half a brain, this roster is much improved from last year’s abysmal squad.  And yes, we lost Al Jefferson…But his minutes will be taken by a better, more efficient player in Kevin Love.  Also, backup power forward minutes will be played by Beasley and Tolliver, though Beasley will play most of his minutes at small forward. Overall, there will be no drop-off at the PF position, possibly even an improvement.

To my main point: when the Wolves shock everyone outside of Minnesota this year, how will David Kahn’s "unexplainable and illogical moves" be rationalized by the media? 

Here’s a look into the future at the Wolves midseason assessment:

January, 2011

What’s Going on With the Minnesota Timberwolves?

Every season has its surprises. Last year we saw the emergence of the Oklahoma City Thunder. But nobody, and I mean nobody, could have foreseen the turnaround made by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The question is whether David Kahn has been under-rated all along or has he just gotten lucky with young talent?

Who could have known they would get better after losing their best player, Al Jefferson? 

How could a team’s defense improve so much in just one year? 

Could anyone have known Jonny Flynn would have a break out year? 

Did anyone know Corey Brewer and Martell Webster could play like this? 

Where did this Pekovic guy come from?

Even more so, could anyone have predicted that Michael Beasley and Kevin Love would be playing at All-Star levels?

Even Darko is looking like a decent starting center; I know nobody saw that coming!

The answer is simply that you couldn’t have seen all this coming unless you were Nostradamus himself. Now, the Timberwolves don’t look like a threat to make the playoffs, but this vast improvement should at least double-up last year’s win total and would indicate that a playoff push is very likely next season.

Look out for the Timberwolves for years to come. They have Ricky Rubio committed to joining the team this upcoming summer, a stockpile of draft picks, and all kinds of room under the cap to make moves.

David Kahn, we owe you a slight apology. We’re sorry.

Sincerely,

Bill Simmons

Back to the present.

My two cents is that, for whatever reason, the media has taken a snapshot look at the Wolves team from last year and deduced their opinions based on that.

The truth of the matter is that the Wolves are young. As David Kahn so candidly admitted, they won’t be competing for a championship this year. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the NBA, (and this could just be me) it’s that YOUNG PLAYERS GET BETTER!

This roster has not only added several pieces to the puzzle, but everyone on this team is young and improving. We’ve upgraded with the new additions and the young guys we kept will be much improved with another year of experience.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the season and to reading the major sports media outlets struggle to explain the Wolves success.

Thanks for reading.