Little Wolves

Its no secret that the Minnesota Timberwolves have been a below average team in the NBA over the past half decade. Ever since the departure of Kevin Garnett in a trade which featured Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes, Al Jefferson and Gerald Green, who each had tremendous upside, and two first round draft picks they were supposed to be looking towards a more positive light for their team. However this investment would ultimately fail; as Telfair bounced from team to team eventually finding his way back to Minnesota, Ratliff was used as a pawn in order to match salaries, Green was a let down as he failed to develop into an All-Star, Jefferson filled the role of the team's franchise player for a few seasons but he didn't suit the team's plans and disrupted their offense, and Gomes was used as trait bait this past summer to take Michael Beasley off of the Miami Heat's hands. The most significant peices of the trade were the two draft picks, as they were used to select Johnny Flynn and Wayne Ellington.
Over the first 15 games of the 2010-11 campaign they have started a disappointing but not shocking 4-11. Yet they have received good publicity and have been on the national spotlight. Kevin Love posted the first 30/30 game in a win over the New York Knicks that the NBA has seen since Moses Malone accomplished the feat in 1982. Michael Beasley is finally coming into his own after spending his rookie and sophomore seasons playing Robin to Dwyane Wade's Batman. He is proving he can carry the scoring load for his young team while battling down the stretch of the game. He should receive serious consideration for the Most Improved Player Award. Johnny Flynn is looking to improve from an exceptional rookie year by running Coach Kurt Rambis' triple post offense more effectively while finding the comfort to play his game. Corey Brewer continues to improve as an athletic wing defender and reliable glue guy for his teammates. And last but not certainly not least, Ricky Rubio, who has yet to play a game in the National Basketball Association is expected to change the culture of the Timberwolves franchise when he finally arrives in Minneapolis from Spain to sport a T'Wolves' jersey.
Over the past few seasons in the NBA we have seen young squads such as the Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trailblazers shock the rest of the league by drastically improving. Don't be surprised if the Timberwolves became 2011-12's darkhorse. Another season of getting bullied by elite teams in the Western Conference may be enough for this young Minnesota team when next season tips off. A long stretch of wins this season may be all it takes to boost their confidence and development as a team. Do not sleep on these Little Wolves.