Another season of setback and tumult has mercifully ended for the Minnesota Timberwolves, this time in the strangest of ways after the NBA’s decision to resume play with 22 teams.
The revelation of the makeshift plan immediately put the Timberwolves, who finished 19-45 for the third-worst record in the league, in off-season mode after nearly three months in limbo amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
There was no arguing from Minnesota, where the 18 games remaining on the original schedule before the shutdown would have had little benefit as long as star center Karl-Anthony Towns was sidelined with a wrist injury.
Photo: AP
“While we are disappointed for our team and our fans that our season is coming to an end, we understand and accept the league’s plan to move forward with 22 teams,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said on Thursday after the league’s announcement. “It is important that we be a good teammate not only to the NBA, but to the other 29 teams to support the efforts to complete this season and prepare for next season in a healthy and safe manner.”
Whether due to injuries or trades, the repeated disruptions during the season made the assessment of 34-year-old head coach Ryan Saunders difficult. First-timers are not typically hired without at least some commitment from the franchise to patience, but the Wolves are 36-70 under Saunders since he replaced the fired Tom Thibodeau halfway through the 2018-2019 season.
Rosas, in his season-ending statement distributed by the team, appeared to apply some pressure on what will be for the Timberwolves a critical summer — and fall, as the draft has been pushed back to Oct. 15.
Rosas promised an “intensive and thorough” program to help make up for the time lost to the shutdown.
He also said that Saunders and the rest of the staff would be “creative, aggressive and proactive” in approaching team building and player development.
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