How Minnesota Timberwolves D’Angelo Russell got his groove back

You can tell quite a bit about the future of an NBA team by the way the starting point guard carries himself. That is particularly true about the Minnesota Timberwolves, who found cause to bench PG D’Angelo Russell in Game 6 of their NBA Playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies. That may have incentivized Russell for this season, or backfired and caused Russell to shut down.

If you have all of the answers for the 2022-23 NBA season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, then you are a bit more clairvoyant than I am. After all of the team’s offseason moves, and the new Minnesota Timberwolves roster, I’m at a loss at how to approach a forecast for the upcoming schedule.

So we have to rely upon a more indirect method. The Timberwolves hired a number of savvy NBA executives, who all signed up with the task of putting the Minnesota Timberwolves NBA franchise on the map, and converting the Timberwolves culture into that of a winner, and one that attracts the best NBA Free Agents.

Tactics, trades, and turnstiles

But through it all, they didn’t trade away everyone. The powers that be opted to retain young forward Jaden McDaniels. And the Timberwolves had every opportunity to part ways with PG D’Angelo Russell. But a funny thing happened between the Minnesota Timberwolves and D’Angelo Russell. They not only reconciled, but they also seem to have improved their relationship to a point where the Timberwolves are actually thrilled to have him on the roster.

What do I mean? Well, D’Angelo Russell had just ended his sixth NBA season. Unfortunately, he had not played for any team for longer than two years at a time. That’s a difficult path to travel if the goal is to develop repoire and achieve the best of your abilities. Point guards need continuity to know who is who and where players will be.  But business would soon pick up for the Timberwolves guard.

In just one week of arriving at the Minnesota Timberwolves, President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly endorsed D’Angelo Russell unequivocally. At the time, I almost thought that Connelly was simply trying to sweet-talk DLo in an effort to drive up the price for prospective trade partners. But that notion quickly faded into a new realization. These Minnesota Timberwolves had big plans, and D’Angelo Russell fit the new design for the team.