Minnesota Timberwolves Fantasy Basketball Season Preview
Minnesota Timberwolves Fantasy Basketball Season Preview
Written by Joshua Morris on 22 September 2016
Written by Joshua Morris
on 22 September 2016
We preview the Minnesota Timberwolves and the impact their players will have on the 2016-2017 fantasy basketball season.
We preview the Minnesota Timberwolves and the impact their players will have on the 2016-2017 fantasy basketball season.
Bringing in Thibodeau should improve the Wolves’ poor defense, but there’s also the chance that he negatively impacts the lively and bouncy young teams’ offense.
There’s little reason to doubt that Towns will make the jump to superstar this year, but there could be some dissension in the ranks as former “it” players see their star passed onto the big man. The team added some role-players in the offseason and drafted Kris Dunn who looked NBA ready in last year’s NCAA tournament. The hype train is getting revved up for this team and a few key wins early in the year could put added pressure on a young team.
How they respond will certainly have fantasy implications.
Player Movement
Notable Ins |
Notable Outs |
Brandon Rush Golden State Warriors
Cole Aldrich Los Angeles Clippers
Jordan Hill Indiana Pacers
Kris Dunn NBA Draft
|
None |
Minnesota Timberwolves Depth Chart
Point Guard |
Shooting Guard |
Small Forward |
Power Forward |
Center |
Ricky Rubio
Kris Dunn
Tyus Jones
|
Zach LaVine
Shabazz Muhammad
|
Andrew Wiggins
Brandon Rush
|
Gorgui Dieng
Kevin Garnett
Adreian Payne
Nemanja Bjelica
|
Karl-Anthony Towns
Jordan Hill
Cole Aldrich
Nikola Pekovic
|
Rotation Player Projections
POS |
PLAYER |
USG |
MPG |
PTS |
REB |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
3PM |
FG% |
FT% |
TO |
SG |
Andrew Wiggins |
27.1 |
34 |
20.1 |
3.5 |
1.9 |
1 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
45.9 |
76.1 |
2.1 |
C |
Karl-Anthony Towns |
26 |
34 |
20.3 |
11.2 |
2.2 |
0.7 |
1.8 |
0.4 |
54.2 |
81.1 |
2.4 |
SG |
Zach LaVine |
23.6 |
30 |
15 |
3 |
3.3 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
1.6 |
45.2 |
79.3 |
2 |
PF |
Gorgui Dieng |
16.7 |
30 |
11.2 |
7.9 |
1.9 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
0.1 |
53.2 |
82.7 |
1.9 |
PG |
Ricky Rubio |
17.6 |
30 |
10.5 |
4.2 |
9.0 |
2.1 |
0.1 |
0.8 |
37.4 |
84.7 |
2.5 |
PG |
Kris Dunn |
20 |
24 |
10.8 |
3.1 |
5.1 |
1.3 |
0.3 |
0.9 |
43 |
69 |
1.5 |
SG |
Shabazz Muhammad |
22.8 |
22 |
11.3 |
3.5 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.1 |
0.5 |
46.5 |
76.4 |
1 |
PF |
Kevin Garnett |
11.3 |
12 |
2.6 |
3.2 |
1.3 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
0 |
47 |
66.7 |
0.3 |
SF |
Brandon Rush |
12.6 |
12 |
3.4 |
2 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.7 |
42.7 |
64.3 |
0.4 |
C |
Jordan Hill |
18 |
12 |
4.5 |
3.6 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0 |
50.6 |
71.2 |
0.7 |
Position Battles
First guard off the bench
Dunn had an impressive stint in summer league and while that doesn’t necessarily translate to performance in the NBA, it does make one wonder who will be the go-to scorer in the second unit. Neither Muhammed nor Dunn have much of a three-point shot, but they are both gifted scorers. If either of them sees more minutes it’ll likely be only a deep-league concern anyway.
Rise in Value
Karl-Anthony Towns
A mobile big man with soft hands and quick feet, Towns should continue his rise to fantasy elite. You can bank on the minimum 20/10 with the added 2-3 assists. His blocks should stay up around 1.5 and depending on what Thibs has him doing, it could go higher. Hopefully, the Wolves will get to run on offense because Towns in transition or Towns getting position and catching it deep in the block is unstoppable.
Zach LaVine
Zach finished last year much better than he started. He improved his shot from three and he was taking more and better shots everywhere else. The emergence of Wiggins and Towns as the primary scorers has taken the pressure off of Lavine, and his game has improved because of it.
Andrew Wiggins
This will be an interesting year for Wiggins. With Towns’ likely emergence as the team's go to scorer and face of the franchise, Wiggins will need to find his place in the mix. He’s freakishly athletic, but that hasn’t translated to his defense yet. His scoring has increased along with his percentages, but he still lacks a consistent three-ball that will space the floor. Overall, I don’t think Wiggins will make a big jump this year unless his defense improves or he finds a three-point shot. The former being more likely given the coach.
Injury Risks
Ricky Rubio
He’s an injury risk but he’s such a great defender and I think he’s going to thrive with Thibodeau. There’s enough offensive power around him now that his FGA will be low enough that his FG% won’t totally wreck your team. His lack of outside shooting could prove to be a problem if defenses start packing the paint, but his quickness in transition and ability to keep his dribble usually prevent that from happening. When you have a passer this good and a great big with soft hands magical things happen. On the off-chance he improves his outside shot he could be fourth-round value.
Other Player Summaries
Gorgui Dieng Glue Guy
Only recently have we had a good look at Dieng. Before Lavine started moving with the first unit, he helmed the second unit and led that group in poor shot selection and decision making. Watching the games, one could see he was a solid talent with a good head and work ethic, but that wasn’t always apparent in what was essentially a d-league side of young selfish players. At the end of last year, it was obvious how successful Dieng could be in a functioning side with good ball movement and people playing position defense. Dieng is a workhorse that should have a great year with the new coach. He’s the kind of player that unites a team with his play and effort. I don’t think his value increases too much more than what we saw at the end of last year, but that production still had top-50 value. Beyond the blocks and boards, his ability to pass (2 assists per game) and quick hands (1 steal) are what increases his value.
Cole Aldrich Deep League
A newcomer to the Wolves, it’s likely that Aldrich gets enough minutes for fantasy relevance. Pekovic shouldn’t be any competition and Jordan Hill is less of a defensive presence than Aldrich. Aldrich can do a lot with nothing more than 15-20 minutes, so keep an eye out to see which big is first off the bench. It could be based on matchups and in that case Aldrich might be more of a streaming option.
Bringing in Thibodeau should improve the Wolves’ poor defense, but there’s also the chance that he negatively impacts the lively and bouncy young teams’ offense.
There’s little reason to doubt that Towns will make the jump to superstar this year, but there could be some dissension in the ranks as former “it” players see their star passed onto the big man. The team added some role-players in the offseason and drafted Kris Dunn who looked NBA ready in last year’s NCAA tournament. The hype train is getting revved up for this team and a few key wins early in the year could put added pressure on a young team.
How they respond will certainly have fantasy implications.
Player Movement
Notable Ins |
Notable Outs |
Brandon Rush Golden State Warriors
Cole Aldrich Los Angeles Clippers
Jordan Hill Indiana Pacers
Kris Dunn NBA Draft
|
None |
Minnesota Timberwolves Depth Chart
Point Guard |
Shooting Guard |
Small Forward |
Power Forward |
Center |
Ricky Rubio
Kris Dunn
Tyus Jones
|
Zach LaVine
Shabazz Muhammad
|
Andrew Wiggins
Brandon Rush
|
Gorgui Dieng
Kevin Garnett
Adreian Payne
Nemanja Bjelica
|
Karl-Anthony Towns
Jordan Hill
Cole Aldrich
Nikola Pekovic
|
Rotation Player Projections
POS |
PLAYER |
USG |
MPG |
PTS |
REB |
AST |
STL |
BLK |
3PM |
FG% |
FT% |
TO |
SG |
Andrew Wiggins |
27.1 |
34 |
20.1 |
3.5 |
1.9 |
1 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
45.9 |
76.1 |
2.1 |
C |
Karl-Anthony Towns |
26 |
34 |
20.3 |
11.2 |
2.2 |
0.7 |
1.8 |
0.4 |
54.2 |
81.1 |
2.4 |
SG |
Zach LaVine |
23.6 |
30 |
15 |
3 |
3.3 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
1.6 |
45.2 |
79.3 |
2 |
PF |
Gorgui Dieng |
16.7 |
30 |
11.2 |
7.9 |
1.9 |
1.2 |
1.3 |
0.1 |
53.2 |
82.7 |
1.9 |
PG |
Ricky Rubio |
17.6 |
30 |
10.5 |
4.2 |
9.0 |
2.1 |
0.1 |
0.8 |
37.4 |
84.7 |
2.5 |
PG |
Kris Dunn |
20 |
24 |
10.8 |
3.1 |
5.1 |
1.3 |
0.3 |
0.9 |
43 |
69 |
1.5 |
SG |
Shabazz Muhammad |
22.8 |
22 |
11.3 |
3.5 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.1 |
0.5 |
46.5 |
76.4 |
1 |
PF |
Kevin Garnett |
11.3 |
12 |
2.6 |
3.2 |
1.3 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
0 |
47 |
66.7 |
0.3 |
SF |
Brandon Rush |
12.6 |
12 |
3.4 |
2 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.7 |
42.7 |
64.3 |
0.4 |
C |
Jordan Hill |
18 |
12 |
4.5 |
3.6 |
0.6 |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0 |
50.6 |
71.2 |
0.7 |
Position Battles
First guard off the bench
Dunn had an impressive stint in summer league and while that doesn’t necessarily translate to performance in the NBA, it does make one wonder who will be the go-to scorer in the second unit. Neither Muhammed nor Dunn have much of a three-point shot, but they are both gifted scorers. If either of them sees more minutes it’ll likely be only a deep-league concern anyway.
Rise in Value
Karl-Anthony Towns
A mobile big man with soft hands and quick feet, Towns should continue his rise to fantasy elite. You can bank on the minimum 20/10 with the added 2-3 assists. His blocks should stay up around 1.5 and depending on what Thibs has him doing, it could go higher. Hopefully, the Wolves will get to run on offense because Towns in transition or Towns getting position and catching it deep in the block is unstoppable.
Zach LaVine
Zach finished last year much better than he started. He improved his shot from three and he was taking more and better shots everywhere else. The emergence of Wiggins and Towns as the primary scorers has taken the pressure off of Lavine, and his game has improved because of it.
Andrew Wiggins
This will be an interesting year for Wiggins. With Towns’ likely emergence as the team's go to scorer and face of the franchise, Wiggins will need to find his place in the mix. He’s freakishly athletic, but that hasn’t translated to his defense yet. His scoring has increased along with his percentages, but he still lacks a consistent three-ball that will space the floor. Overall, I don’t think Wiggins will make a big jump this year unless his defense improves or he finds a three-point shot. The former being more likely given the coach.
Injury Risks
Ricky Rubio
He’s an injury risk but he’s such a great defender and I think he’s going to thrive with Thibodeau. There’s enough offensive power around him now that his FGA will be low enough that his FG% won’t totally wreck your team. His lack of outside shooting could prove to be a problem if defenses start packing the paint, but his quickness in transition and ability to keep his dribble usually prevent that from happening. When you have a passer this good and a great big with soft hands magical things happen. On the off-chance he improves his outside shot he could be fourth-round value.
Other Player Summaries
Gorgui Dieng Glue Guy
Only recently have we had a good look at Dieng. Before Lavine started moving with the first unit, he helmed the second unit and led that group in poor shot selection and decision making. Watching the games, one could see he was a solid talent with a good head and work ethic, but that wasn’t always apparent in what was essentially a d-league side of young selfish players. At the end of last year, it was obvious how successful Dieng could be in a functioning side with good ball movement and people playing position defense. Dieng is a workhorse that should have a great year with the new coach. He’s the kind of player that unites a team with his play and effort. I don’t think his value increases too much more than what we saw at the end of last year, but that production still had top-50 value. Beyond the blocks and boards, his ability to pass (2 assists per game) and quick hands (1 steal) are what increases his value.
Cole Aldrich Deep League
A newcomer to the Wolves, it’s likely that Aldrich gets enough minutes for fantasy relevance. Pekovic shouldn’t be any competition and Jordan Hill is less of a defensive presence than Aldrich. Aldrich can do a lot with nothing more than 15-20 minutes, so keep an eye out to see which big is first off the bench. It could be based on matchups and in that case Aldrich might be more of a streaming option.