NBA Season Preview 2018-19: What to make of the Timberwolves?

HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 25: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves walks to the court before Game Five of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on April 25, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

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DENVER, CO – APRIL 5: Tom Thibodeau and Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the Minnesota Timberwolves look on during the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 5, 2018 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Center

Starter: Karl-Anthony Towns

Depth: Gorgul Dieng

The sham of this entire roster breakdown is how long it took for the name Karl-Anthony Towns to appear. Then again, lost in all the discussions about Butler and Wiggins is Karl-Anthony Towns. Like with Wiggins, his scoring average dipped last season due to the presence of Butler, but he was every bit the player he was in his first two years. And yet the attention paid him was less than in his first two years. Part of that is how viewers of the game now treat big men — they are largely invisible to us until they step beyond the arc. Part of that is also due to Minnesota’s standing in the Western Conference. Having made the playoffs, they leave less to the imagination than they once did. The distance between them and the Conference’s upper echelon is also abundantly clear.

Next. Meet the 2018 NBA 25-under-25. dark

The only way Towns can reclaim the spotlight of general managers, sportswriters, and fans is to demand it through his play. Minnesota should be a better defensive team. They should have better leadership and not so many fourth quarter lapses. Maybe such characteristics and results are a lot to demand from such young talents as Towns and Wiggins, but young pairings who could not figure it out are the key ingredients to the league’s most haunting what could have beens, which is also another reason why the sight of Thibodeau and so many relocated Bulls is such a terrible sight indeed.