Minnesota Timberwolves: It’s time for the Wolves to pick a path
The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to have things both ways, and it’s high time that they consider picking a path.
The youngest team to ever win an NBA championship was the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers, with an average age of 24.199 years old.
The next youngest team to win had an average age of 25.587 years old, with the top 10 youngest teams rounding out at 26.556 years old. Five of these teams are from the 1950s and four of them are from the 1970s with the lone outlier being the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors.
Minnesota Timberwolves: It’s time for the Wolves to pick a path
The Timberwolves’ average age last season was exactly 24, just a shade younger than the 1976-77 Trail Blazers. After the trade for Taurean Prince, the expected addition of Leandro Bolmaro, and the Patrick Beverley trade, the Timberwolves roster would be even younger next season with an average age of 23.8 years.
Eleven of the 14 players on the current roster are 25 or younger, including restricted free agents Jordan McLaughlin and Jarred Vanderbilt. Unless the Wolves plan on being the youngest team to ever win a championship, it’s safe to say that they have to continue to make moves. And that means that they need to pick a path.
The roster can be broken up into two categories: the rookie contract players and the second (or more) contract players.
Minnesota Timberwolves Rookie Contract Players
- 20 years old: Anthony Edwards
- Turning 21 years old in September: Leandro Bolmaro, Jaden McDaniels
- 22 years old: Naz Reid, Jaylen Nowell, Vanderbilt
- Turning 23 in September: Josh Okogie
Minnesota Timberwolves Second Contract Players
- Malik Beasley: Turns 25 on Nov. 26
- Karl-Anthony Towns – Turns 26 on Nov. 15
- Jordan McLaughlin – 25 years old
- D’Angelo Russell – 25 years old
- Jake Layman – 27 years old
- Tauren Prince – 27 years old
- Patrick Beverley – 33 years old
Let’s look at the first of the two paths that Gersson Rosas and the Wolves front office need to choose from.