Minnesota Timberwolves Mid-Season Awards

Jan 1, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Shabazz Muhammad (15) looks to pass in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings forward Derrick Williams (13) at Target Center. Sacramento Kings win 110-107. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Most Improved Player: Shabazz Muhammad

This is almost too obvious. The Wolves’ second-year forward has been more than anyone could have hoped for after being a dubious draft selection and an extremely inconsistent rookie.

And I hated the pick. I still don’t think he is what Saunders thinks he is, or many Wolves fans, for that matter. But I will gladly eat crow for not thinking he’d be a rotation player in the NBA. He is, indeed, and I admitted/explored as much here.

For everything that Muhammad is not, he’s very good at a handful of relevant things. He rebounds well for his position, he rarely turns the ball over, and he’s apparently a solid spot-up shooter. He also hustles and plays with the highest intensity on the team, which really isn’t something that can be quantified, other than it no doubt contributes to his offensive rebounding numbers and field goal percentage.

Of course if it wasn’t for put-backs, Muhammad’s two-point percentage wouldn’t be much to write home about, as his left-box post-up, baseline-turn one-hander has been thoroughly scouted.

All that said, he’s been the best and most consistent player on a largely Ricky Rubio/Nikola Pekovic/Kevin Martin-less squad thus far, and his current absence due to an oblique strain has critically weakened the already-thin wing rotation. It will be fun to see an improved Muhammad alongside Rubio in the latter part of the season, to be sure.

As far as Muhammad’s performance moving forward, I made my thoughts well known in the above-linked piece. He’s a rotation player in this league, no doubt. But his ceiling seems to be as a sixth-man whose game is predicated on energy and rebounding from the wing with some spot-up three-point ability than anything else.

He’ll likely never be the true “scorer” that some expected him to be in the NBA, and that’s okay. Muhammad is a good player, and while those are at a premium for the Wolves, they need him to return as soon as possible.

Next: Timberwolves Rookie of the Year