Season Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves

The post- Kevin Love era has surely been good to the Wolves as they now have a bunch of young players with star potential led by last year's Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins and this year's 1st overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns

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The 2015-2016 Projected Roster (*Roster prior to the start of preseason)

Point Guards: Ricky Rubio, Andre Miller, Tyus Jones 

Shooting Guards: Zach Lavine, Kevin Martin, Lorenzo Brown

Small Forwards: Andrew Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad, Tayshaun Prince, Damjan Rudez

Power Forwards: Adreian Payne, Nemanja Bjelica,  Kevin Garnett, Anthony Bennett

Centers: Karl-Anthony Towns, Nikola Pekovic, Gorgui Dieng

The Optimistic View

The team, just by looking at its projected roster, has definitely a bright future to look forward to. It will not even be a surprise if the T-Wolves will eventually end up being a Western Conference Powerhouse two to three years from now. They landed 2014 1st overall pick Andrew Wiggins and 2013 1st overall pick Anthony Bennett via the Kevin Love trade; they drafted slam dunk champion Zach Lavine in that same draft; they acquired Adreian Payne (a guy they targeted as well) and the Big Ticket Kevin Garnett via mid-season trades; they won the lottery and got Karl-Anthony Towns plus added Duke point guard and Minnesota's own Tyus Jones; they were able to sign European star Nemenja Bjelica due to the fact that they owned his rights; 2013 lottery picks Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng both had solid sophomore seasons; they added vets like Andre Miller and Tayshaun Prince; and of course, Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin will all be back. The foundation has been set for the T-Wolves. The future truly looks bright for Minnesota.

The Realistic Expectations

Tough pill to swallow: Growing pains, growing pains, growing pains. The main reason for adding vets like KG, Dre Miller and Tayshaun Prince is for the young guys to be guided accordingly not just on the basketball court but more importantly, on how to carry themselves accordingly and like true professionals off the court. Still, it is inevitable, especially for the young Wolves to struggle because of their youth. Experience is the best teacher. And as these young guys like Wiggins, Lavine and Towns get to experience what the NBA is all about, expect them to learn and eventually show signs of the superb potential that this team has. Something to look forward to: Higlights, higlights and more higlights. The team will surely be fun to watch.

Bottomline

The Wolves won't win a lot of games yet this year. And yes, I sincerely emphasized yet.  Why? Just put it this way, if the development of these young guys go according to plan or even surpassing the plan, eventually those wins will pile up in the years to come and stay that way for a long period of time. 

Bold Predictions

If the team plays in the Eastern Conference, they have a legit shot of making it to the playoffs. Unfortunately, they play in the Western Conference. Will they finish last once again? I don't think so. If guys stay healthy, they will be flirting around the 10th spot to the 12th spot. Now, if guys stay healthy plus Wiggins, LaVine, Towns and company will develop faster than expected, then they might surprise people and make it to the 8th spot the way OKC did some years back.