It’s time for the Minnesota Timberwolves to grow up, and here’s why

The Minnesota Timberwolves entered the 2022 offseason as a very young team. Not just young in terms of the NBA. Rather, this is a team that is comparatively young when lined up against all other professional sports teams as well. Or, at least that was the case just three short months ago.

Since then, the Minnesota Timberwolves have been growing up and doing so quite rapidly. In May 2022, the Minnesota Timberwolves clocked in as the second youngest team in the NBA, and for that matter, in all of the professional sports.

But since that time, the team has made some significant roster transactions. The average age of the Minnesota Timberwolves has risen accordingly, from an average age of 23.9 years of age in May 2022, through 24.7 years of age to an average age of the team’s current roster of 25.11 years of age.

Now the only question is, is that a good thing?

Does the Timberwolves roster need to grow up?

Well, on paper, age itself is neither good nor bad for an NBA team. Younger players are more durable, more energetic, and more physical, but they are less experienced, more inconsistent, and far more challenging in terms of mental mistakes.

In terms of the most recent NBA Championship series, the Golden State Warriors (25.2 years of age – 13th youngest NBA team) faced off against the Boston Celtics (27.0 years of age – 24th youngest NBA team).  In fact, of the youngest teams in the NBA, only the Memphis Grizzlies (56-26), the Minnesota Timberwolves (46-36), the Golden State Warriors (53-29), and the Toronto Raptors (48-34) made the NBA Playoffs last year.

So there seems to be some evidence that experienced NBA teams enjoy more success.

But is it just a matter of growing up?  Not exactly. But that is not how the Timberwolves reconstructed their roster, either. By focusing on veteran additions, the team has a greater certainty over what their additions will contribute to the overall team performance. So while growing up is not a goal, getting better will also mean that the Timberwolves will need to get older.

The team has done exactly that. In fact, the team has tacked on 1.21 years onto the average roster, a migration that aligns them very close to the 25.2 average age of the Golden State Warriors. The only remaining question is whether it will make a significant difference for the Timberwolves this year.

While I don’t know the answer, I’m eager to find out.