A few weeks before the start of the regular season, DNA of Sports continues its traditional presentation, franchise by franchise, of the upcoming NBA season. Like every year, this takes the form of a countdown, from the teams expected in the depths of the ranking to our favorite for the title. Today, place for Wolves.
“ It’s the title or nothing. » In July 2022, Karl-Anthony Towns summarized in the briefest way the Wolves’ objective with the acquisition of Rudy Gobert, recovered against a package of exchange currencies (Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt and multiple rounds of Draft…). Based on this statement alone, the Minnesota players finished very far behind.
Like the previous season, the Wolves were ousted in the first round of the playoffs, against the future champions, the Nuggets. Getting to this stage was already a challenge because the team had to go through the “play-in” box, at the end of a generally mediocre season where they have never been able to sustainably turn their balance sheet into a positive one.
Ahead of the season, there had been a lot of talk about the technical association between Karl-Anthony Towns and the Frenchman. A very mixed preview but short-lived because “KAT”, injured for a long time, only played around thirty games. The leaders, without doing anything crazy in “free agency” (Troy Brown, Shake Milton), are therefore renewing the experiment with two major changes compared to the start of last season.
The first was to give up on D’Angelo Russell to recover Mike Conley, aging (35 years old) but whose leader-passenger profile undoubtedly fits more with the offensive configuration of the Wolves. The other, more recent change was to verbalize a change in leadership: the team boss is now called Anthony Edwardsand no longer Karl-Anthony Towns.
Will this be enough to allow the Wolves to pass a milestone, and therefore a first round of playoffs?
SUMMER MOVEMENTS
Arrivals: Troy Brown Jr (Lakers), Shake Milton (Sixers)
Departures: Taurean Prince (Lakers), Jaylen Nowell…
PLAYER TO FOLLOW: KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS
With his big contract extension and his new status as “official” leader of the team, Anthony Edwards will obviously be in the spotlight in Minnesota. This will undoubtedly also be the case for Rudy Gobert, who everyone expects to make his defensive impact felt at a higher level than last year.
But the player to follow, or the one who in any case has the keys to success from the Wolves, it’s Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Dominican, who found pleasure in the World Cup, has certainly fallen back in the collective hierarchy but his offensive talent, well exploited, can allow Chris Finch’s squad to aim very high, if he therefore manages to combine better with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. His ability to clear the game, for someone who considers himself the best “big man” shooter in history, is therefore essential for Minnesota.
His defensive will and his complementarity with Rudy Gobertboth in attack and defense, will be two major factors for Wolves, if they want to live up to their ambitions.
Average age: 25.7 years
Payroll: $213.7 million (2nd)
THE IDEAL SCENARIO
Like their tormentors in the playoffs, the Nuggets, the Wolves relied on stability and they did well. Because hierarchical evolution proves them right: Anthony Edwards is indeed the expected boss. The question of the good relationship between Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert becomes secondary as the back, night after night, confirms his All-Star status and establishes himself as one of the best attackers in the league.
Alongside this flagship trio, Mike Conley takes care of the food brilliantly. The leader no longer has his legs from his Grizzlies period but his playing intelligence and his altruism fit perfectly with the team’s needs. On the wing, another player is seriously starting to make a name for himself: Jaden McDaniels. Forgotten its stupidity at the end of the season, the other big potential of the club confirms better offensive dispositions, in terms of shooting in particular.
In terms of shooting, the Wolves are also better served this season and the good contributions of Troy Brown Jr and Shake Milton, who contribute to the spacing of a well-stocked attack in the interior game.
Thanks to a more structured offensive system, which has erased a lot of faults, Chris Finch manages to keep the machine running, which also sharply raises the tone in defense, and his team even climbs into the Top 4 in the West. This time, the first round will only be a formality for this powerful and vengeful team.
THE WORST SCENARIO
The “KAT” had promised to put away his ego and let Anthony Edwards take power, but in reality, it is more complicated than that. The interior is having great difficulty accepting a further reduction in its “ticket shoots”. His association with Rudy Gobert clearly does not work, the two players allowing opposing defenses to regroup near the circle and prevent Anthony Edwards from attacking him.
In this general fumbling, no one hides their frustration, which does not help the good atmosphere within the locker room, already disrupted at the end of last season by Rudy Gobert’s bloodshed against Kyle Anderson.
To make matters worse, the weight of the years is seriously starting to be felt for Mike Conley, who is having difficulty keeping up with the pace and is making multiple trips to the infirmary, Jordan McLaughlin being too light, and too alone, to ensure so often the relay. Like a year earlier, the Wolves’ record did not take off and the team was stuck in a soft spot. As the trade deadline approaches, managers are wondering: should we make a new major transfer (Karl-Anthony Towns? Rudy Gobert?) during the season?
| WESTERN CONFERENCE | ||||
| 15 – Blazers | 14 – Spurs | 13 – Rockets | 12 – Jazz | 11 – Pelicans |
| 10 – Thunder | 9 – Wolves | 8 – … | 7 – … | 6 – … |
| 5 – … | 4 – … | 3 – … | 2 – … | 1 – … |
