Utah Jazz: Who will take the loaded Northwest Division?

Minnesota Timberwolves

Some may find this surprising, but I’m actually buying into the notion that the Minnesota Timberwolves will find themselves surpassed by the Denver Nuggets, and as a result, the rest of the Northwest Division this season. I know that the Wolves were right there for the third seed before Jimmy Butler went down to injury, but they also had an extremely easy schedule to start the year compared to how they finished.

But my doubts in the Timberwolves go well beyond scheduling and injury. It starts with the coaching and ends with the chemistry. As much as head coach Tom Thibodeau wants to relive his ‘glory days’ as coach of the Chicago Bulls, I just don’t see a world where his ‘Timberbulls’ scheme pans out. Minnesota already had Derrick Rose, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler, and now they’ve added Luol Deng to the mix, who couldn’t find his way off the Los Angeles Lakers bench.

There’s speculation that when and if Joakim Noah and the New York Knicks part ways, Thibodeau could aim to complete the reunion. I’d say that would be about as foolish an idea as they come, but I wouldn’t put it past him.

But it’s not so much the players that have been brought in that worry me about the Wolves, it’s more the fact at how they’re managed. Thibodeau was infamous for overplaying his starters to the point that they were run ragged and at times rendered ineffective. His hesitancy to put some trust in the bench has cost his team development and trust in one another.

Not only that, but they lost Jamal Crawford who, although he certainly is aging, was a nice veteran piece for their second unit. They’ve added some potential pieces to help the bench, but it remains to be seen whether or not they’ll actually be used effectively.

Beyond that, it’s been no secret that there’s quite a lot of head-butting in the Minnesota locker room, particularly between the younger players and more grizzled vets. Karl-Anthony Towns is an incredible young talent, but until he learns to play with discipline and actually have an impact on the defensive end, neither his career nor his team are going to go very far.

Then there’s Andrew Wiggins who has become one of the most unattractive contracts in all of basketball due to his lackluster play. Throw in a presumably disgruntled Jimmy Butler, and there’s no telling what kind of pandemonium will erupt.

The Wolves have no shortage of talent, that much is clear. But I feel like they’re on the verge of imploding with a lot of personalities and styles that just don’t seem to match. If they put it all together, they’re going to make me look foolish next year. But if they don’t, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them drop to the bottom of the division, just as they came close to doing last year.