First Things First on Fox Sports 1 is hosted by Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Jenna Wolfe. We haven’t mentioned them before (I think) because, frankly, they haven’t mentioned the Minnesota Timberwolves before. Oh, but that was then and this is now. The Minnesota Timberwolves are now front and center as one of the crown jewels of the NBA, if only temporarily. That means that the team will be mentioned quite a bit more.
And now it begins.
"I think Anthony Edwards can be a bigger version of Donovan Mitchell. I got KAT and Rudy Gobert. The Timberwolves can win more than 50 games next year. They gave up a lot but they got better." — @Chris_Broussard pic.twitter.com/E66Ixy7nuu
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 4, 2022
Chris Broussard points out that if the Utah Jazz had successfully traded for Karl-Anthony Towns, the Utah Jazz would be viewed as a contender. He’s probably not far from the mark on that point. He then elaborates that the addition of Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves means that the Timberwolves are likely a 50+ win team this year.
Safe projection with plenty of meaning
Before anyone gets all up in arms, the Timberwolves were a 46-win team in the 2021-22 season, so he is projecting the team to win just four more games.
Of course, in the NBA, 50+ wins in a season is an entirely new plateau. Only eight of 30 teams achieved that mark in the 2021-22 season, and the eventual NBA Championship team almost always emerges from that select group each year (in a normal season).
A 50+ win season for the Timberwolves this past season would have translated into no worse than a fifth-seeded team. That would have pitted the team against the Dallas Mavericks. But the beauty of it all is that thanks to the longer contracts, the Timberwolves are not in an NBA Championship or bust type of season. Instead, the team has a solid four or so years to achieve that goal.
The Timberwolves need to prove that the team can win. After that, the team will have a better chance to land key NBA Free Agents. They will win this season. After that, it will be up to Minnesota Timberwolves President Tim Connelly to restock this roster one more time.