The Timberwolves have been mentioned in a number of trade rumors heading into the NBA draft, but the owner of the team says that despite reports, they will not be trading Derrick Williams to the Knicks and will try to build around him. The Minnesota Timberwolves had a rough season while missing the playoffs in 2012-13 after dealing with injuries to a number of important players like Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio the team finished with a 31-51 record and snagged the number nine pick in the NBA draft lottery.
Heading into next season the team has a number of questions to figure out, including whether rumors of teams inquiring about Kevin Love trades will go anywhere while they also need help at various positions, including shooting guard and on the wings. The team has been mentioned in a couple of trades not pertaining Kevin Love entering the draft, including with some of the teams at the top of the draft in order to move up to get Victor Oladipo, a player the franchise coverts very much, but he likely won't be available at number nine.
Love has been mentioned in trade rumors since the season ended, but after appearing on SportsCenter recently the star said that he is confident in the future of the franchise under new president of basketball operations Flip Saunders and said that he will be remaining with the team for the immediate future. Saunders said as much in his first press conference, adding the quote to Love of "you are not being traded." The team has talent with Love and Rubio and depending on what they decide to do with the number nine pick could dictate how next season turns out.
The Timberwolves started out fairly well last season before sliding when their stars got injured and if Love and Rubio can remain healthy all year, Minnesota should at least be able to contend for one of the last couple playoff spots in the Western conference. Love praised the experience of both Saunders and coach Rick Adelman in the interview and he also added that any issues between him and the franchise are in the past and that he is happy with the direction the team is going in. Love needed surgery on his left knee in April and he said he should be fully healthy for the start of the season and after making a prediction that the team will make the playoffs last year, he is hoping he can bring that one back for this season.
The next big contract marker for Love is in 2015 when he can opt out of his contract, but if the Timberwolves are progressing the way Saunders expects, there is a good chance he could remain with the franchise. For a period of time with Kevin Garnett the Timberwolves were a consistent playoff team and Sunders is hoping to build around Love to get the team back to that success. The team has to decide about re-signing both Nikola Pekovic and Andrei Kirilenko and what to do with the number nine pick. Some options in the offseason include trading Derrick Williams and the number nine pick to try and get Oladipo, as well as trying to sign free agents OJ Mayo or JJ Redick, who will both be available on July 1.
