The Minnesota Timberwolves are entering the 2013 offseason with a ton of questions before the NBA draft and after dealing with a number of injuries last season, the team has been the subject of numerous trade rumors, including with Kevin Love and Derrick Williams, but it appears as if those two players are going to remain on the roster.
Love is considered the franchise player and despite rumblings about him being traded and his unhappiness with the front office, those rumors have been quashed by Love himself. Earlier in the offseason Love said in an interview that he has moved past any animosity for the franchise and he is happy with the direction Flip Saunders is taking it in. Saunders was brought in as president of basketball operations and he is running the show for the Timberwolves and he has already said that there are no plans to trade Love. The team is also working on the interesting trade of acquiring MarShon Brooks from the Nets for possibly a draft pick.
Former first round draft pick Derrick Williams has been mentioned in trade rumors with multiple teams, including the New York Knicks, but the team owner has said that any deal is unlikely this offseason. Saunders comes to the front office after coaching the franchise for 10 seasons and he previously took the team to the Western conference finals when they still has Kevin Garnett. The Timberwolves feel they underachieved last season due to injuries and with Love and Ricky Rubio coming back, there is some optimism for the franchise.
Love dealt with a hand injury and also had knee surgery in April, but he said that he should be 100 percent for the start of the season. The Timberwolves dealt with other injuries as well and ended up with a losing record at 31-51. Love mentioned in his interview with ESPN last month that he feels the team can be successful if they can avoid having as many injuries and that the roster is very talented. The Timberwolves have the number nine pick in the draft and could use that as trade bait, but it is more likely that they will stay put.
Some mock drafts have Shabazz Muhammad as the pick for the Timberwolves and he could join a young core that already includes Love and Rubio. The UCLA star averaged nearly 20 points for the Bruins last season and he could be a good for Minnesota, as they are lacking at his position. Love was limited to 18 games last season and if he can stay healthy the whole year, the Wolves are expecting to be much better.