Minnesota Timberwolves: Updated Northwest Division power rankings
By Ben Beecken
Minnesota Timberwolves: Northwest Division power rankings, No. 3
No. 3: Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves have had the quietest offseason of any team in the division; there is only one player on the NBA roster who was not on the team last year.
Without a draft pick at their disposal, the Wolves weren’t likely to be adding a rookie to their roster, not counting two-way signees.
On draft day, the Timberwolves did trade Ricky Rubio for Taurean Prince, a 2022 second-round pick and cash. That remains the only move of significance he Wolves have made his offseason, outside of two-way players McKinley Wright and Nathan Knight and some Exhibit 10/Summer League additions.
Sill, the Wolves have had a better offseason to date than Portland — more on the Trail Blazers later.
Minnesota will be bringing back the bulk of the roster that finished last season in encouraging fashion. Most importantly, that includes healthy versions of Towns, Russell, and Beasley, who all missed significant time due to injury.
The Wolves will add 2021 Rookie of the Year runner-up Anthony Edwards and encouraging second-year forward Jaden McDaniels to the lineup.
There’s plenty of reason to believe that the Wolves will move from one of the league’s worst records in 2020-21 to a play-in team in the No. 7-10 range in the West — even without an eventful offseason.
Remember, Oklahoma City is in the middle stages of a rebuild, and Portland is still in a weird spot.
Speaking of, let’s talk about the Blazers…