The EuroBasket chapter now closed, USA Basketball continues its traditional presentation, team by team, of the upcoming NBA season. This takes, as every year, the form of a countdown, from the worst record in the league to our favorite for the title of champion.
Today, it is the Wolves who are on the program. A copious program therefore because the Minnesota franchise struck a blow during the summer by bringing Rudy Gobert in a massive exchange from Utah. And this, to strengthen a promising group that returned to the playoffs last season.
With the confirmed emergence ofAnthony EdwardsWolves now have one hell of a racket, with the versatility and attacking talent of Karl Anthony Townsnow associated with the three-time best defender in the League, Rudy Gobert. In attack, the French pivot will have to bring his screens and his verticality above the circle, while KAT can assert his outside game including his formidable address behind the arc.
The bill is high with the 7th biggest payroll in the NBA, but the new owners behind Alex Rodriguez seem ready to put in the means, knowing that there is a good window of opportunity with Gobert and Towns at the top of their game, and the big room for improvement of Edwards and McDaniels, two young pillars of the franchise. D’Angelo Russell completes the major five with his ability to catch fire offensively, hoping precisely that the arrival of Rudy Gobert gives him space in attack to once again become a feared and effective threat.
In any case, Minnesota clearly has the build to find the playoffs and even to tickle the favorites. We can’t wait to see how Rudy Gobert will integrate into the collective game, and how Chris Finch will be able to optimize these individuals, with three potential All-Stars if all goes well.
SUMMER MOVEMENTS
— Arrivals : Rudy Gobert (Utah), Kyle Anderson (Memphis), Bryn Forbes (Denver), Austin Rivers (Denver), Wendell Moore Jr (Draft)
— Departures : Patrick Beverley (LA Lakers), Malik Beasley (Utah), Walker Kessler (Utah), Leandro Bolmaro (Utah), Jarred Vanderbilt (Utah), Josh Okogie (Phoenix)
PLAYER TO WATCH: Anthony Edwards
After a nice Euro despite its cruel end, and a big transfer, the first of his career, we would have been tempted to mention Rudy Gobert. Even KAT, the always productive local All-Star… But the truth is that the man who can guide Minnesota to the top is Anthony Edwards.
Arrived very early in the NBA, at 19, he took control of the team with offensive performances worthy of the greatest last season, including a career-high 49 points and another exit at 48 points! With one of the most spectacular games in the League, as aggressive as it is aerial.
Still immature, on and off the pitch, “Ant” clearly has ants in his legs. Hyper impulsive and instinctive, he is however a born scorer. He can make a difference at all levels and impose his power, both in attack and in defence. If he becomes a real “two-way player”, the Wolves have something to aim for very, very high…
Average age: 24.8 years old
Payroll: $178.7 million (7th)
THE IDEAL SCENARIO
Freshly landed, Rudy Gobert feels like a fish in water in the state of ten thousand lakes. The collective game of Wolves is more fluid than ever and even gains in diversity with the anchor offered by the “Stifle Tower”. D’Angelo Russell finds his best level thanks to the screens of Rudy Gobert, the “pick-and-roll” between the two players offering many more options to the game of the team, less dependent on the 3-pointer.
Towns and Edwards feast on space, as does McDaniels who thrives on having stabilized his outside shot. The five major Minny imposes and allows his franchise to sail serenely towards the playoffs.
Chris Finch finds the right attack-defense balance with Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell who are more willing to get their hands dirty, and the Towns-Gobert duo who offer us a new version of the twin towers! The bench also contributes with the “role players” already in place like Jordan McLaughlin, Jaylen Nowell or Taurean Prince and the newcomers, Austin Rivers, Bryn Forbes and Kyle Anderson.
With a rotation finally provided enough, and the creative coaching of Chris Finch, Wolves manage to maintain a good pace throughout the season and even settle in the Top 4. An important step for Wolves who have struggled to reach these heights since the departure of the last local hero, Kevin Garnett.
WORST SCENARIO
The option of two giants, against the current of the current NBA, is difficult to put in place for Chris Finch. Offensively, there are clearly multiple groups, with D’Angelo Russell and Rudy Gobert on one side, and Anthony Edwards with Karl-Anthony Towns on the other. It’s not easy for the coach to make everyone co-exist…
Under these conditions, the team gropes throughout the beginning of the campaign, and remains in the soft underbelly of the Western Conference, victories and defeats are linked for a fair balance sheet.
After the nice rebound of last year, and the ambitions linked to the arrival of Rudy Gobert, this first part of the half-fig half-grape season weighs on the group, with Anthony Edwards particularly on the nerves. Chris Finch struggles to please everyone and the team struggles to finish the campaign with a positive balance sheet. It’s too little to hope to go to the playoffs without going through the “play-in” and it especially forces the Wolves to play a very big fish in the first round, without the advantage of the field.
