A 12-game losing streak is never cause for celebration. Neither is a 10-year losing streak, even less so when those skids are simultaneous, as in the current case of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
These are dark days, indeed, for basketball in the Twin Cities. Kevin Love, the team's post-Kevin Garnett superstar, practically forced his way to the Cleveland Cavaliers this past summer. Ricky Rubio, Love's most promising running mate, succumbed to a severe ankle injury in just his fifth game of the 2014-15 campaign.
Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin, the T-Wolves' only reliable scoring threats, joined Rubio on the shelf shortly thereafter. Minnesota all but waved the white flag when it sent Corey Brewer to the Houston Rockets in December.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the Wolves, at 5-28, are all alone at the bottom of the Western Conference and could challenge the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks for absolute futility in the NBA. These and the league's other dregs can all hope for a brighter future, with draft-day dreams and free-agent coups coloring their respective blueprints.
But only the Wolves can point to tangible proof that better days lie ahead, however far off those days may be. There are no quality veterans to hold the fort in the meantime, unless Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Jason Richardson somehow qualify. The Sixers will have to hope that they can dig up a blue-chipper in the draft over the next few years, with their high lottery picks and flurry of second-rounders snagged from across the Association.
As for the Knicks, the NBA's other five-win bottom-feeder, they already have an established superstar—Carmelo Anthony—but only the barest of cupboards around him.
Team president Phil Jackson emptied the cache even further on Monday, when he offloaded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert in a three-way trade for little more than a second-round pick and cap relief. Now, New York will focus its efforts on finding a young talent in this June's draft and luring some more experienced pieces to the Big Apple in July.
The Lakers are stuck in a similar predicament, with their collection of castoffs tepidly supporting the ever-aging Kobe Bryant. The Utah Jazz have put together a nice nucleus, albeit one bereft of a true star to this point. The Orlando Magic are still sorting through the parts they've gathered since bidding adieu to Dwight Howard. The Boston Celtics are just beginning their latest teardown in earnest now that Rajon Rondo's gone.
There's no guarantee that the Wolves will bounce back sooner or stronger than the rest of their rebuilding brethren. Injuries and underwhelming results could submarine this project, just as they did the one that once had Love at its epicenter.
But, as far as the ingredients on hand and the plan to use them going forward are concerned, Minnesota can take heart in the recipe for success that Saunders has put together. Whether that yields a tasty product or another bitter flop, only time will tell.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2317714-despite-rough-present-timberwolves-are-nbas-most-promising-future-powerhouse
No comments:
Post a Comment