2012-2013 Finish: 26-56

Season Highlight

Apart from week 7 where the Timberwolves had a 4-0 week, beating Atlanta, San Antonio and Charlotte twice, there weren’t many highlights for Minnesota, falling to 12^th in the West after finishing 7^th the season prior. The main highlight for Minny actually came after the post-season, through trading and the draft, the likes of which will be discussed in a moment.

Season Lowlight

As mentioned above, going backwards 5 places in the mediocre Western Conference was a definite lowlight. The Wolves struggled through injuries and sub-par play all season, and with many players coming and going throughout the year, the roster was in a constant state of flux and never able to get some stability. In fact only 9 players remain on the roster that suited up for Minnesota during the forgettable 2012-13 campaign.

Best Trade

The Detroit Pistons send George Hill, Jonas Jerebko and Jordan Hamilton to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Minnesota Timberwolves send Emeka Okafor and Jimmer Fredette to the Detroit Pistons. 


The Detroit Pistons trade -3 GM points.The Minnesota Timberwolves receive 3 GM points.

I really like the moves that Minnesota has been able to make since the season ended, and this was probably the best of the bunch. While none of the trades stand out as being clear wins, Javijoe has been able to turn a mess of a roster, with too many similar guys at similar positions, which had other GM’s seriously questioning what Javi was trying to do, into a nice balanced roster, with an influx of youth via the draft, surrounded by very solid NLL pros.

In this particular trade, Javi was able to take the very disappointing nba player Jimmer Fredette and salary anchor Emeka Okafor and turn them into a very good nll point guard in George Hill, young wing shooter Jordan Hamilton and Jonas Jerebko, who could become relevant again in the nba with a new coach. A nice deal indeed for Minnesota.

Worst Trade

The Minnesota Timberwolves send David West to the Toronto Raptors. The Toronto Raptors send Kendrick Perkins to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 
The Toronto Raptors send a 1st-Rounder (LAL) to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

This trade was made during the season, before Javi found his post-season trading groove. This deal summarised perfectly the perplexing direction Minnesota were heading in at the time, trading away a great NLL power forward for an aging, declining center, a position which Minnesota were already well stocked. The first round pick doesn’t even make up for such a downgrade in talent. Javi’s thinking was obviously that David West would walk at season’s end, however all indications are now that he will re-sign with Toronto.

 

Other Notable Trades

The Minnesota Timberwolves send Larry Sanders to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Ed Davis to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 
The Minnesota Timberwolves send a 1st-Rounder (Por) to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send a 1st-Rounder (GS) to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

 

In this deal, the Wolves trade away the player who appeared to be the face of their franchise in Larry Sanders for a downgrade in Ed Davis and to move up 12 places in the lottery to pick 4. While a downgrade, Ed Davis is still a very good nll player, and Javijoe swiftly replaced Larry Sanders in the draft with a very similar, but younger and athletic Nerlens Noel. A nice deal for Javi.

 

The Atlanta Hawks send Danny Granger to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Minnesota Timberwolves send Jeff Green and Draymond Green to the Atlanta Hawks. 
The Atlanta Hawks send a 1st-Rounder (NY) to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

The Atlanta Hawks trade -5 GM points.The Minnesota Timberwolves receive 5 GM points.

The ultimate example of a high risk/high reward trade. Minnesota sends away two very solid nll wings for a big name wing, who only managed 4 games last season. Granger’s health and ability to still play at a high level after practically missing an entire season will be the deciding factor on who won this deal.

Best FA Signing

Kevin Jones signs with the Minnesota Timberwolves for 1 year and the minimum salary of $ 473,604

Obviously the Timberwolves didn’t have any free agent signing of note, in fact im still not entirely sure who Kevin Jones is.

Worst FA Signing

Eddy Curry signs with the Minnesota Timberwolves for 1 year and the minimum salary of $ 1,352,181.

Again highlighting the fact that the Timberwolves didn’t have any free agent signing of note, Eddy Curry gets the nod here as he didn’t suit up for a game and probably cost the team double his salary during team meals.

Star

Brook Lopez- 21 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block per game.

Before being traded to the playoff bound Miami Heat, Brook Lopez was a mega star for the T-Wolves, with his offensive prowess and much improved effort on the defensive end, Lopez was rewarded with a spot on the Western Conference all-star team.

Surprise

Shannon Brown- 15 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

Brought in towards the tail end of the season, Shannon Brown was thrust into a starting role and performed really well. More than doubling his output from the past 61 games in Phoenix.

Goat

Kendrick Perkins- 1 point and 2 rebounds per game.

Remembering that David West was traded away for this guy, through 48 games K-Perk averaged 19 less points and 6 less rebounds per game than his predecessor. All the while making over 8 million dollars for his troubles.

Draft Report Card

After much wheeling and dealing the T-Wolves ended up with picks 4, 7 and 28 in the draft.

At pick 4 they drafted the highly athletic and highly skilled defender, 18 year old Nerlens Noel. Noel probably slipped a little on draft day due to a current knee injury which will see him miss the start of the season, but there’s no doubting his ability on the defensive end, and if the rehab goes well and his offensive game can catch up, the decision to trade away Larry Sanders may suddenly make perfect sense.

At pick 7 the Wolves appeared to again get lucky, with another highly touted rookie, Otto Porter falling to them. Porter is a good sized wing, who can do most things well on a basketball court. He also appears ready to step in straight away and contribute, and may be paired with Danny Granger on the wings to form a great 1-2 punch.

At pick 28, the Wolves grabbed Allen Crabbe, a shooting guard with terrific range and text book shooting form. The Wolves will be hoping he can provide a nice shooting touch off the bench for years to come.

Looking to the Future

The Timberwolves have emerged from the post-season with a nice looking roster. Mixed with a combination of youth and veteran leadership, this roster should see the Wolves climbing back up the Western Conference standings for years to come. They have a great combination of long, defensive minded bigs (Ed Davis, Bismack Biyombo and Nerlens Noel), scoring wings (Danny Granger, Shannon Brown, John Jenkins) and a floor general in George Hill. The salary situation also appears a good one, with only one large contract (Granger) currently on the books. And even that is an expiring. They also already have 11 players locked up for next season, and 5 million left under the salary cap in which to play with.

Upcoming Free Agents

D.J. Augustin – After a really poor individual season, it looks like Augustin will be looking for a fresh start, and Minnesota fans will probably be happy to see him go.

Daequan Cook – With Minnesota bolstering their shooting at the wing position through the draft and trades, there probably won’t be a place for Cook on this roster.

Shaun Livingston- Attempting to resurrect his once promising career after a terrible knee injury, Shaun Livingston will probably look elsewhere come free agency.