After a Western Conference Finals run, the NBA Draft, and the flurry that is NBA free agency, stagnancy has set in for the Minnesota Timberwolves. If not for the Olympics, the NBA world would be as quiet as a mouse. However, both Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert are suiting up for their respective home countries, the United States and France.
Edwards and Gobert are one game away from theoretically competing against one another in the gold medal match, though Rudy may be forced to sit out. The French national team will tip off against Germany, while Edwards and the Americans battle Serbia later on Thursday.
Nevertheless, with the Olympics coming to a close, it's that time in the offseason when rankings, surveys, and hypotheticals tend to dominate the media. In a recent write-up of offseason power rankings via NBA.com, the Wolves were left out of the top three squads in the Western Conference.
NBA.com ranks the Timberwolves 4th in the West
The rankings go as follows: the Oklahoma City Thunder in first place, the Denver Nuggets second, the Dallas Mavericks third, and the Timberwolves fourth. While being ranked number four isn't a true gut punch, it's interesting to see the Nuggets ranked above Minnesota following last season's Western Conference Semifinals and an offseason where Denver lost a key contributor.
Denver saw starting shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope take his talents to Orlando. Replacing the 3-and-D ace will likely be Christian Braun, Julian Strawther, or even Peyton Watson. Of the three previously mentioned options—they combine for 16 NBA starts.
Besides losing Caldwell-Pope, the Nuggets' first-round draft pick, DaRon Holmes II, suffered a season-ending injury in the NBA Summer League. Although the Nuggets are returning four of their five starters and have added Russell Westbrook, coming in ahead of Minnesota is a bit of a head-scratcher.
The Wolves will return their top seven scorers from a season ago. In addition to retaining key talent, Minnesota drafted two instant-impact rookies—Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. The former still has some developing to do, but he should get buckets right away. As for Shannon Jr., he's a win-now player at 24 years old who possesses excellent athleticism and a knack for putting the ball in the hoop.
Other West teams have more question marks than Minnesota
There's certainly an argument for the Mavericks and the Thunder being ahead of the Wolves. Dallas made one of the biggest splash moves during the opening days of free agency. The Mavs added veteran sharpshooter Klay Thompson to pair with All-Star guard duo Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
While Thompson is a fantastic addition, there's reason to worry about the Mavericks' defense. Thompson is replacing Derrick Jones Jr. at the starting small forward spot. Although Jones has never averaged double-digit scoring, his defense was quintessential to Dallas. The Mavs will surely endure some growing pains with their new-look defense.
Aside from Dallas, the Thunder are the Timberwolves' biggest adversary. Sure, they're young, but they just won 57 games after a brief rebuilding period. Rather than standing pat, the Thunder made two savvy additions in the offseason. Oklahoma City signed Isaiah Hartenstein to shore up the middle and Alex Caruso to further stymie opposing guards.
The NBA.com article didn't give much reasoning for the Wolves' drop in the rankings. The only real question was Mike Conley's eventual decline. While there's no stopping father time, Minnesota made a bold move in trading up for Dillingham—Conley's eventual successor. Perhaps the Wolves are still flying under the radar following years of misfortune. If anything, it's apparent Minnesota's title window is open and there's no reason the Wolves shouldn't be vying for the top seed in a loaded Western Conference.