The playoff chase in the Western Conference is as exciting as it has been in a long time. Regardless of whether or not you think the play-in tournament is a good and fair idea, the close standings between seeds 4 to 12 have made each and every game watchable. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ recent 4-game win streak had catapulted them as high as the 6th spot in the West. But since then, the team has lost two and sits in 9th. The roller coaster season continues for the Wolves, who have to be ecstatic to even be in this chase after missing Karl-Anthony Towns for much of the season.
Minnesota has also spent the entire season watching the Utah Jazz, a team whose fate has been inextricably tied to the Timberwolves since the offseason blockbuster for Rudy Gobert. The series of trades that brought a slew of former Wolves to the Los Angeles Lakers has not garnered as much attention, though. D’Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley have all moved to California after being integral pieces of Minnesota’s success story last season.
The Jazz trade was highly criticized for a number of reasons, but the early season conversations pondered why the Timberwolves would blow up a team of young and hungry players. After all, they made the playoffs and restored faith in a beleaguered fanbase. Coupling this dialogue with Utah’s early-season success, and Minnesota’s subsequent failures early on, the Wolves had once again become a punching bag. How could they give up all of these “winning” players for an old sack of bones in Gobert?
Fortunately, things have turned around in Minnesota.
That was the argument that hummed around the onset struggles for the Wolves. The rebuttal from those in the front office was always the same: Minnesota maximized every possible ounce of talent on that 2021-22 roster. Running it back with the same personnel would have yielded unfavorable results. The Timberwolves have to be focused on the future, and that requires consistent playoff participation while Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels are still young. It sounded like reason enough to make the trade, and that still may come true.
Any proof to this rationale would be showcased by a Minnesota playoff appearance. It could also be proven if the Lakers fail to make the postseason. However, their recent surge is complicating that narrative.
At the heart of that argument is the notion that Los Angeles currently employs three of the core pieces from last year’s team. These players were sent out of town with gusto, with the likely thought process being that they were expendable despite their contributions. If they found success outside of Minnesota, it would mean that Tim Connelly undervalued their talent and ability to create winning basketball. If they stumbled, it could have meant he was on to something.
Early returns on this theory are not good. The Jazz were the early-season darlings of the NBA, using Vanderbilt and Beasley’s energy and tenacity to propel them to the top of the standings in the West. Their success lasted longer than anyone would have thought, and it continued right up until the three-team trade on February 9th, when Utah was 27-29 and decided to embrace the tank.
At this same point, Los Angeles sat at 25-30 and were on the outside of the playoffs looking in. They have since won 14 of 23 games and now are the 7th seed in the West. Their revitalization has come with the youthful injection of Vanderbilt and Beasley, plus Russell has been more effective as the third option behind Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Players are always going to look better playing next to two Top-75 guys as opposed to Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. Still, the turning of the tables has to be a head-scratcher for Connelly.
Success in the standings aside, it is even more apparent that this trade failed to take into account any potential development of these young guys. We haven’t even talked about Walker Kessler yet, which warrants its own article. Vanderbilt hit two corner threes against the Timberwolves on Friday night, pouring more salt in the wound with each one. Beasley hit 3 threes in the first quarter alone. Did Connelly think there was no potential for these players to continue to grow and mature? Considering the moves that have been made, which has been a mass exodus of young players for dudes in their 30s, it is clear that Connelly doesn’t possess a growth mindset.
Perhaps what is more unsustainable than Connelly’s fears is his actual approach. Liquidating any and all future assets out of fear of the unknown is not setting a good precedent for the Wolves to be a haven of winning basketball and development. The wins may yet come, but the eradication of youth on this team is setting up for a massive failure a few years down the road. As the Lakers surge with Minnesota’s castaways, it is impossible to not think about the what ifs. These will surely haunt the Timberwolves for years to come. That’s the price you pay for deviating from the process.
