NBA Lockout: Minnesota Timberwolves Could Benefit from No NBA Season

The Minnesota Timberwolves are undoubtedly in a slump right now. They need a lot of things to start going well for them in order to start having a factor in the league. Not having the 2011-2012 season could actually help that.

Their unrestricted free agents in the next few years include: Sebastian Telfair (2011) and Anthony Tolliver (2012). Their restricted free agents next summer are probably three of their most important players: Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and Anthony Randolph. If Beasley continues to prove that he doesn't belong on this team, they can let him walk in 2012. That's the first priority with this free agency.

Now, Kevin Love and Anthony Randolph currently have it pretty well in Minnesota. Kevin Love just came off a career year where he was an All-Star, and the Most Improved Player of the Year. Randolph finally started playing some minutes with his new squad and really became part of the team. Now, if those are the last things that happened to them in the NBA season, what would motivate them to walk a year later?

Granted, there are many things that would make them want to walk in 2012, the most important one being that the Wolves currently suck. Currently.

Well, if the 2011-12 season doesn't happen, that doesn't mean that the 2012 draft will not. In fact, it will probably end up working out in the Timberwolves favor.

The lottery is rumored to be based on team's performance the past several years, and the Wolves are currently the lowest in that topic. So, if the 2012 draft happens, the Wolves could land such players as Harrison Barnes, Anthony Davis, Andre Drummond, Bradley Beal, Jared Sullinger or Perry Jones. So even though the last thing the Wolves experienced was a team consisting of Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson, Darko Milicic and Jonny Flynn, they could have a new lineup in store.

They could have a lineup consisting of Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, Wesley Johnson, Andre Drummond and Ricky Rubio.

That last one sounds a lot more appealing.

Not to mention the fact that the Timberwolves have a ton of salary to spend on the players who are all deciding to leave in 2012. Under the latest lockout proposal, the Timberwolves would actually have to spend $8,000,000 just to go into the salary cap minimum. Granted, star players would not be convinced to come join Kevin Love in Minnesota, but veteran role players who know that they couldn't be afforded by other teams may see this as an opportunity to shine in Minnesota.

And currently, the Wolves have a bit of a logjam at the SF/PF position anyway. The players that the Wolves currently have around that position include: Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Derrick Williams, Anthony Randolph, Wesley Johnson, Lazar Hayward and Anthony Tolliver. Now if you add a first high first-round draft pick and a free agent to that list, it's pretty extensive.

I think that even the Wolves are smart enough to realize that that kind of list of players could be packaged together and traded for a superstar. Not all of them, but most of them. Just the second pick alone this year was almost sent to Indiana for Danny Granger.

So if there's not really a season, the Wolves shouldn't be worried. Their roster is covered in young players who won't age for just one year off. Plus, they've got the 2012 draft and free-agency periods that would end up working in their favor. They've even got some motivation to keep their roster full of the young players that the team is hoping will thrive in the coming years.