Minnesota Timberwolves: There are still silver linings for the future…

Despite what has been an all-around disappointing season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, there are absolutely some silver linings and hope for the future based on the talent currently on the roster.

There’s no way to spin this: a 30-35 record with 17 games to play in the 2018-19 season is a disappointment for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Wolves won 47 games and made the playoffs, even winning a single game against the top-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round.

But Jimmy Butler torpedoed the season before it could even set sail this fall, and extensive damage was done quickly.

Tom Thibodeau was fired in January with the team holding a 19-21 record, and nagging injuries throughout the campaign have kept the Wolves from climbing above the .500 mark since interim head coach Ryan Saunders took over, although they did get to 24-24 before things fell apart again.

Derrick Rose has missed 16 games due to nagging ankle and knee injuries. Tyus Jones missed 15 games with a sprained ankle. Jeff Teague has been in and out of the lineup, missing 25 games so far due to a lingering issue.

Even Andrew Wiggins (six games), who had missed one game in four years, and Karl-Anthony Towns (two games), who had never missed a game in three previous seasons, have each missed time.

Sure, every team has had injuries, but after a relatively healthy 2017-18 this side of Butler’s knee injury, all hell has seemingly broke loose during the current Wolves campaign.

There is plenty of noise surrounding Towns’ capability to lead a team to the playoffs, there are question marks surrounding the pending free agency of potentially the entire point guard position, and nobody knows who the head coach will be in the fall. Wiggins has regressed beyond where he had been pre-Butler, and glue-guy Taj Gibson will likely walk in the summer as well.

So, why be optimistic? Several reasons, really. And one doesn’t have to stretch uncomfortably to see why the 2019-20 season should be a much, much better experience for the Timberwolves organization and fans alike.

Let’s take a walk down optimism lane and look at the three biggest reasons why you should look past the inability to make the playoffs in 2019 and focus on the excitement that this coming fall will bring.