Timberwolves Tim Connelly knows his stuff and it shows

Timberwolves NBA Trade Deadline pieces comparison

One of the challenges of any ‘who won that trade,’ discussion so far is the belief that what may happen outweighs what is happening. On paper, the Utah Jazz appear to have an easy path to winning their blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves, simply because five players and four first-round draft picks simply ‘feel’ like more.

So let’s fast forward to the other significant trade that the Minnesota Timberwolves engaged in, and see how that has turned out for the team so far in terms of the NBA Play-In Tournament production so far.

3-team trade Outbound:

PG D’Angelo Russell (1 game) – 24 mins | 2 points | 3 rebounds | 8 assists |1 steal | 1 block | (+/-) -2

3-team trade Inbound:
PG Mike Conley Jr (2 games) – 74 mins | 37 points | 7 rebounds | 7 assists | 6 steals | 2 blocks  | (+/-) -1, + 24
SG Nickeil Alexander-Walker – 60 mins | 23 points | 8 rebounds | 8 assists | 4 steals | 2 blocks | (+/-) -1. +18

There are far too many NBA pundits who have already started the narrative that the Minnesota Timberwolves have been taken to the cleaners once more. How can that even begin to be the case when most of those articles and opinions were formed before the TImberwolves ever competed in the 2023 NBA Play-In Tournament?

And of course, there is that Timberwolves free agency signing of Kyle Anderson that has been huge for the team all season:

Let’s take an objective look at the Minnesota Timberwolves roster so far. It’s clear that Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly knows his stuff so far, and it shows. While this comparison is still premature, I hope it arms you with enough information to reject the calls that the Timberwolves ship is sinking. Actually, the Timberwolves are in the NBA Playoffs for the second consecutive season and this time the Timberwolves roster appears to be battle tested.

I was a huge believer in the Minnesota Timberwolves when the consensus was that the team was spiraling downward. I think that the Timberwolves can make some noise in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.