Wolves 2015-16: Out of the Ashes

The current Minnesota Timberwolves logo (2008-present) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Minnesota Timberwolves began their season mourning the death of coach and director of basketball operations Flip Saunders.  Interim coach Sam Mitchell was tasked with the job of shepherding a team filled with talent, including Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Zach LaVine, that long-suffering fans hoped would take them to where the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors are now.

Now it's the end of the season, and the Wolves with a 29-53 record did not make the playoffs once again.  They made news in the past few weeks with signature wins over the Warriors (at Oakland), Oklahoma City, Portland and Memphis.  In the final game of the season at Target Center, the Wolves put up 144 points--the most in team history--on the New Orleans Pelicans.  Towns (a possible NBA Rookie of the Year) scored 28 points, 14 rebounds and two three-pointers, marking the 51st time this season that he has triple-doubled in a game.

Despite players and some media members requesting the Wolves to keep Mitchell as coach, his status went from 'interim' to 'former'.  The same fate awaits General Manager Milt Newton, once the NBA Draft is over and the team determines who takes over Saunders' old jobs.  There will be plenty of candidates this time around, unlike what happened before disgruntled Kevin Love was traded to the Cavs.

Yes, the Timberwolves have a bright future.  But that's the same thing we were told about the Minnesota Twins before this season, and look where they are now.  Winless to start the 2016 baseball season, as of April 14.  The Wolves have been down this road many times, and they are perfectly capable of screwing up the future again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant said goodbye to his playing career by dropping 60 points in a rare Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Utah Jazz at Staples Center.  He has had a great career, but the Lakers and their fans couldn't wait to see him leave so they could start winning without him.

The Warriors did indeed win its 73rd game of the season against the Memphis Grizzlies, a new NBA record.  Unless they win another championship, how much will it actually mean?

Our NBA Finals pick:  Toronto Raptors vs. Golden State Warriors.

UPDATE (4/20/16):  The new coach and Chief Basketball Operator is Tom Thibodeau, who used to run the Chicago Bulls and get them into the playoffs.  Time will tell whether Tommy T. will do the same thing with the Wolves before inevitably running them into the ground.