Minnesota Timberwolves Newcomer of the Year prediction: Jimmy Butler
In our continuing series on preseason award predictions, Jimmy Butler comes out on top, again, as the Minnesota Timberwolves Newcomer of the Year.
The Dunking With Wolves writers and fans have spoken on who they think the most valuable newcomer for the Minnesota Timberwolves will be and it’s none other than Jimmy Butler himself.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise because of the excitement surrounding his arrival to the Twin Cities. However, Timberwolves fans already know how big this move is for our young team.
I mean, it’s not every day your favorite team adds a top 15 NBA talent to their roster after all.
There is a strong possibility that when we look at these awards towards the end of the season that this one holds up. We have seen some impressive play from Butler in his limited minutes this preseason which should add even more excitement for his regular season debut.
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Not to put too much weight on preseason performance but Butler averaged 11.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3 assists per game over the course of the Wolves three games. Those are pretty solid numbers when you take into consideration that he played a third of the minutes per game that he will in the regular season.
Butler may be the most valuable newcomer to the Timberwolves this year, but there are a few other new faces looking to earn this award as well this season.
The most likely source of competition for this award by the end of the year will be new point guard Jeff Teague. He has also looked solid over the course of the preseason, leading the team with 4.7 assists and shooting better than expected from deep.
His contribution will be an important one in terms of possibly being the glue that makes this team work.
Rounding out the field are the crafty veterans, Taj Gibson and Jamal Crawford. These two guys will both be very valuable as well. Gibson has already shown his value when it comes to hustling, post play and a surprising 3-point touch.
Crawford, on the other hand, looks to be the floor general for the second unit. His presence on the court instantly makes our bench much better than it was last season.
Next: Wolves Defensive player of the year prediction
Although the Timberwolves may have many new faces, there is no denying that Butler is the clear favorite in this category which is why he won this award prediction.
Get excited for Timberwolves basketball boys and girls, it’s less than a week away.