Dunking With Wolves
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Timberwolves Roundup: On lineups, owner Taylor to keep team

By Ben Beecken

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL26: Tom Thibodeau, President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach and Scott Layden, General Manager, of the Minnesota Timberwolves are introduced to the media by Owner Glen Taylor on April 26, 2016 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL26: Tom Thibodeau, President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach and Scott Layden, General Manager, of the Minnesota Timberwolves are introduced to the media by Owner Glen Taylor on April 26, 2016 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has been in the news a lot lately, discussing both Andrew Wiggins‘ contract situation and his ownership stake in the team. Also, let’s talk about lineups.

As we wrap up the first week of August and look ahead to another six or seven weeks of basketball wilderness, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has managed to stay in the news cycle by granting a number of interviews with the local media.

Taylor made the rounds late last week and suggested that Andrew Wiggins will indeed receive a max contract and that the organization is already deep into contract talks with the young wing player. Now, he’s discussed his ownership stake in the team with Sid Hartman.

"Taylor, who also owns the Star Tribune, said he now owns about 70 percent of the team. Two minority owners are selling their stock, but Taylor’s stock is not available for the foreseeable future.“We have a couple of my limited [owners] that have indicated that they’re going to sell, and we have another limited [owner] that is going to buy them,” Taylor said. “I won’t be selling any of my stock. Whatever I have, I’m keeping.”"

Taylor went on to discuss the Houston Rockets being up for sale in the current climate and that they are sure to go for “a lot of money”, but he would not speculate on reports that the Wolves are now worth nearly one billion dollars.

It’s interesting that Taylor’s minority owners are selling their stock, and it would certainly be interesting to know which owners those are, exactly. It was just last summer that much was made of the sale of five percent of the Wolves to the first Chinese minority owner in the NBA, Lizhang Jiang, as well as another chunk to New York-based real estate magnate Meyer Orbach. If one or both of those businessmen is already out of the game, that would be an interesting twist.

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The fact that Taylor has decided to hang onto the team for the Tom Thibodeau-led ride makes plenty of sense, of course, as Taylor was the driving force behind hiring Thibs and looking to turn the franchise around as soon as possible. The shift in philosophy was also no doubt altered by the tragic and unexpected passing of Flip Saunders, who had owned part of the team and had designs on adding Kevin Garnett to the group down the road.

Taylor also talked about the Wolves upcoming trek to China with the Golden State Warriors, and how great the exposure in Asia has been for his club.

Shifting gears, we’d be remiss to not mention a great piece by Kevin O’Connor at The Ringer earlier this week. O’Connor delved into three lineups across the NBA that have him “fantasizing the most”. And yes, one of the three was the Timberwolves.

The article lists a Jeff Teague, Jamal Crawford, Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, and Karl-Anthony Towns lineup as the most intriguing. Yes, that’s the same lineup to which Thibs remarked “I don’t know how you would defend that group” back at the Crawford introductory presser.

Indeed, it’s a lineup in which everyone can handle the ball, and everyone can shoot three-pointers at league average or slightly above. Here, in part, is what O’Connor says:

"Imagine situations where Teague runs a pick-and-roll with Towns at the top of the key and the defense switches, putting a smaller player on Towns. This would force a trap. Against a scrambling defense, KAT has the vision to spot open shooters like he does in the video above. Instead of finding Shabazz Muhammad and Ricky Rubio on the perimeter, however, he’ll have superior options. Over the past two seasons, Teague, Crawford, Butler, Wiggins, and Towns shot a combined 38.2 percent on more than 1,400 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, a stat that would’ve ranked 12th of all teams last season, per SportVU. It’s not great, but it would be a step up from last season’s 36.9 percent clip as a team. More spacing will also create more opportunities for Butler to isolate defenders in an open half court, which we’ve seen James Harden benefit from…"

Great points, all of them. This lineup should be lethal on offense, although they will be, at absolute best, average on defense. But that’s not what this article is about now, is it?

The main issue to look out for here is that everyone except for Towns in the aforementioned lineup is apt to shoot far too many mid-range jumpers. They all can shoot from beyond the arc, and short of the 37-year-old Crawford, they’re all good finishers at the rim and can get to the free throw line with ease. Now, it’s up to Thibodeau and Co. to ensure that they play efficiently.

Next: Wolves Film Festival: Butler-Towns Pick-and-Roll

We’ll be spending plenty of time breaking down the offense and all of the potential lineups over the next few weeks. Keep it tuned to DWW.