Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the Starting Five

Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves both made SI's recent top 100 list. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Malik Beasley and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves both made SI's recent top 100 list. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
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The Minnesota Timberwolves’ offseason is all but over, with pretty much nothing happening over the course of the past month. There is still an outside chance the team could land a player such as Lauri Markkanen or Paul Millsap, but the most likely outcome is they go into the season with their current roster – possibly with either/both of Jordan McLaughlin and Jarred Vanderbilt.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of a few teams that should get better (despite not adding much) due to several factors – one of which was their injury misfortune last year – another being player development from Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, among others.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Predicting the starting five

The Timberwolves are one of the youngest teams in the NBA still, and have a chance to push for at least the play-in bracket – if not more – should everything go right for them this season. That said, if Minnesota continues to be one of the worse Western Conference teams with full, healthy seasons from each of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Anthony Edwards – there will have to be a discussion about the future of the team and its general manager, Gersson Rosas.

Presumably, though, the Timberwolves are going to be a solid, competitive NBA team in 2021-22. They have talent across their team (especially the starting lineup). Should things go well for them, the Timberwolves could be a league-wide surprise. In Bleacher Report’s latest NBA power rankings, the Timberwolves were ranked 20th – just behind the Memphis Grizzlies (19th), Los Angeles Clippers (18th), and Indiana Pacers (17th) – and that seems about right with the promise that Minnesota has combined with the lack of proven success behind the current core of players.

Now, let’s project the starting five.