Minnesota Sports Forum

I just went through the Wolves schedule. Assuming KAT, Covington and Teague remain with the team and exhibit their typical level of physical health we've seen from each over their careers, I see the Wolves realistically winning between 27-32 games.

So we should be prepared for a tough year. And it could be worse if, as I suspect, Covington's knee continues to cause him problems and Teague's physical durability continues to decline as we've seen the past couple seasons. But my prediction assumes that both are relatively healthy on par with their career averages.

Otherwise, I'm assuming Wiggins performs on par with what we've seen from him the past two seasons. I'm also assuming Culver struggles as a rookie and isn't in the rookie-of-the-year conversation. I'm also assuming, based on what I saw in Summer League, that Okogie and KBD don't improve much over last season. I'm assuming that Nowell, Reid and Martin don't contribute much and spend most of their time in the G-League. Finally, I'm assuming that Vonleh, Layman and Bell don't improve much from last season.

All I want out of this roster is for the minutes to open up and let these young guys play at least in the 2nd half of the year. If that means Nowell starts at PG after Teague is dealt, so be it. If that means Culver unseats Wiggins as a starter, so be it. I want these guys to earn their time, but if they have a good night, ride the hot hand and don't let contracts and feelings get in the way of player development.

WildWolf2813 wrote:All I want out of this roster is for the minutes to open up and let these young guys play at least in the 2nd half of the year. If that means Nowell starts at PG after Teague is dealt, so be it. If that means Culver unseats Wiggins as a starter, so be it. I want these guys to earn their time, but if they have a good night, ride the hot hand and don't let contracts and feelings get in the way of player development.

I feel the same way, Wild. The decision has been made to adopt a longer-term rebuild strategy around KAT, taking a step or two back with young guys this season. Having made that decision it is not incumbent upon the organization to play and develop those players. That will require patience and resilience from our coaches and front as the losses mount and criticism builds. The plan has been put in place and the first stage implemented through the organization's off-season moves. The organization needs to continue faithfully implementing that plan. If they do it well, it will lead to team success. If they don't, then they'll eventually have to trade KAT and start again with a complete rebuild like New Orleans in a few years. The worst thing this organization can do would be to panic and prematurely jettison the current plan in favor of something else.