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Timberwolves Roundup: Standings forecast, Brandon Rush

By Ben Beecken

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 13: Brandon Rush #4 of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots the ball during a game against the Washington Wizards on March 13, 2017 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 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 13: Brandon Rush #4 of the Minnesota Timberwolves shoots the ball during a game against the Washington Wizards on March 13, 2017 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 2017 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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ESPN continues to roll-out their summer forecast series, and the optimism surrounding the Timberwolves has only waned slightly. Also, notes on Brandon Rush.

We’ve previously covered some of the early ESPN Summer Forecast articles that were largely complementary of the Timberwolves and their off-season.

The series continues on, and the most recent editions include a roundtable with a couple of Wolves mentions and the Western Conference standings forecast which prompted said roundtable.

First, the standings forecast. The Timberwolves were predictably slotted in after, in order: Golden State, Houston, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. That puts them in the fifth seed, with a record of 48-34. They’re followed by Denver (46 wins), the Clippers (45 wins), and Utah (44 wins). Portland and New Orleans were the only other teams within a couple of games of the playoffs in this prediction.

The comments on this standing prediction foreshadow the thoughts of the above-mentioned roundtable.

"Minnesota was one of last year’s projection darlings. Our panel predicted a 10-win jump for the Wolves, but they won only two additional games in Tom Thibodeau’s first season at the helm. Now the panel is calling for a 17-win jump from 2016-17 to 2017-18, one that would end Minnesota’s 13-season playoff drought. A lot of that would be due to the addition of Jimmy Butler, but could our panel be factoring in a potential addition of Kyrie Irving too?"

Yep, 17 wins is a huge jump for any team, regardless of the fact that they’ve added a pair of All-Star players to a pair of rising young stars. Also, I’d have to believe that the addition of Irving would bump that win total higher than 48, so that can’t be reflected in this forecast.

This article prompted an ESPN 5-on-5 roundtable debate, which posed questions regarding which teams are over or underrated based on the forecast. The Wolves appeared as the most likely team to under-perform their forecast by two of the five panelists, with no other team appearing more than once.

The main issues raised by ESPN’s experts are that a) a 17-win improvement is a huge jump — especially in the loaded West, and b) the team may have too many scorers and not enough distributors or wing defenders. Both fair criticisms, to be sure.

Elsewhere, Darren Wolfson mentions the current market for old friend Brandon Rush.

Wolfson had previously noted that the Wolves have not shown interest in Rush returning to the team, but he’d be far from the worst option if it came down to adding a player to a veteran minimum contract. Outside of Anthony Morrow and possibly Luke Babbitt, there aren’t a ton of pure shooters remaining, and Rush certainly has familiarity going for him.

Next: Jeff Teague: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

At any rate, it’d be good to see Rush land another NBA contract. Just don’t count on it being in Minnesota.