No one could stop talking about the Minnesota Timberwolves this season for all the wrong reasons. Despite the fact that the Wolves had a winning record, the conversation centered around Kevin Love's future all year. That will be no different this offseason.
Timberwolves on the clock to deal Kevin Love
The Timberwolves face one of the toughest decisions of the summer with Kevin Love. How will impact their decisions in this month’s draft?
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Love reportedly wants away from Timberwolves, putting Flip Saunders on the hot seat as he decides whether to trade his star player to rebuild or snag a few select pieces and make one last run at the playoffs in an effort to appease him.
As the Wolves gear up to choose No. 13 overall, Thursday just might be a deciding factor in their franchise’s direction over the next five years.
The assets
Draft Picks: Nos. 13, 44 and 53.
Free agents: Dante Cunningham (UFA), A.J. Price (UFA)
Cap space: -$2.8 million
Depth chart
PG: Ricky Rubio, J.J. Barea, A.J. Price (UFA)
SG: Kevin Martin, Chase Budinger, Alexey Shved,
SF: Corey Brewer, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Shabazz Muhammad, Robbie Hummel
PF: Kevin Love, Dante Cunningham (UFA)
C: Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng, Ronny Turiaf
Team needs
Minnesota was a perplexing team to watch all season long. By point differential, the Timberwolves were the best non-playoff team ever, and yet finished well south of playoff contention in the deep West. They were fairly efficient on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, yet went only 40-42 due to struggles in close games.
Minnesota’s middling record and waning playoff hopes became more clear when we start to examine the on/off numbers for Love. Put simply, the Timberwolves are really good with their three-time All-Star on the floor and horrendous with him on the bench.
Saving the five-year max extension for Ricky Rubio several summers ago is not working out, as the star point guard has struggled shooting the ball, including going just 39.3 percent from the field in 2013-14.
The Timberwolves need another shooter at the wing and a healthy Nikola Pekovic, with or without Love. Injuries to both Chase Budinger and Pekovic severely hurt Rubio’s ability to drive and Love’s in-and-out game, as he shot from the three-point line a career-high 505 times this season, so replacing or supplementing those players is likely to be first preference.
Targets
Assuming the Wolves keep Love for now, they’ll likely target a player that has a discernible, if solitary, talent. Players like Dario Saric, Nik Stauskas or Doug McDermott would be excellent fits. They have NBA-ready skills (passing, shooting and shooting) that the boys up north could use immediately. Outside of that, Flip Saunders should be cautious to reach on yet another athletic big man that has no set position.
Minnesota could also prepare for the post-Love era by taking a defensive-minded forward to pair with Pekovic, which could hide some of his inequities on that side of the ball. Or, they could find an offensive-minded player to work with promising rookie Gorgui Dieng, who finished last season strong.
And then there’s the Love situation, which bears watching. Golden State, Chicago and Boston appear to be the favorites to land Love in a trade, but it’s unclear what the Wolves prefer back. Draft picks and cap space would seem to be ideal, but Saunders may also prefer players that can help the Wolves remain competitive right away. This may explain the team’s interest in Klay Thompson as part of a Warriors trade package.
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