NBA Rumors: Timberwolves trade scenarios kick in after fisticuffs finale

Adversity, injuries, and confrontation plagued Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves played 82 games over the course of the 2022-23 NBA season. Of those games, the Timberwolves anticipated 82 games out of C Rudy Gobert, PF Karl-Anthony Towns, SF Jaden McDaniels, and SG Anthony Edwards.

But when it came to the point guard position, the team toggled from D’Angelo Russell to veteran Mike Conley Jr.  So for that position, the team looked for 58 games out of D’Angelo Russell, and 24 games out of Mike Conley Jr.  So what did the Timberwolves end up getting out of their starting five?

• Player        Posn        # Games   # Played    % Played
• Gobert           C                  82              70              85%
• Towns           PF                82              29              35%
• McDaniels   SF                 82              79              96%
• Edwards      SG                 82              79              96%
• Russell         PG                58               54              93%
• Conley          PG                24               24             100%
• Total                                  410            335              81.7%

While nearly 82 percent of the games played do not seem like a huge obstacle, keep in mind that this was more of an inconvenience for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The entire season hinged upon the fact that this team needed to get Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns compatible, cooperative, communicating, collaborating, and competitive on the basketball court simultaneously.

DLoading unloaded

Even if the injuries to the Minnesota Timberwolves bigs were the only category of challenges acting like a headwind to the Timberwolves’ season, things may have remained on course, or at least more manageable, if the team had a roster comprised of those players who were a fit for their roles on the team.

That did not happen, thanks to point guard D’Angelo Russell, a player who sat on the bench in the previous season’s postseason due to his lack of production, and who was unhappy with his role.  He wanted to be a scorer first, a player who contributed just enough to be interviewed after victories, but a player who was too impatient to get teammates involved, to defend effectively.

The Timberwolves certainly found that in new point guard Mike Conley Jr. From the moment he arrived, the Timberwolves felt ‘fiercer,’ and more determined. The team seemed to be more adept at defense, and scrappier on offense.