Monday Musings: Timberwolves Struggle to Maintain Relevancy

As was covered in Key Dae's recap last night, the Wolves struggled against superior competition through most the game against the Dallas Mavericks until the fourth quarter when the line-up of Ricky Rubio, Andrew Wiggins, Shabazz Muhammad, Nemanja Bjelica, and Karl-Anthony Towns helped pull the Wolves back in the game. This has been one of the first times all year this group was used together and it is likely the best unit as far as spacing goes for the team. Whether or not they will continue to get any time together in the near future is a mystery, as Sam Mitchell's rotations have been changing constantly throughout the year.

However, hopefully the group gets to spend some more time on the court together as Shabazz and Bjelica really benefit from having Ricky on the court with them. They also provide a more offense oriented skill-set that directly contrasts to the defense-first starter rotation with KG and Tayshaun Prince.

There wasn't too much other news on the Timberwolves front. The team and everyone covering it are all getting a bit weary of the losses and poor play and with the tough upcoming schedule this is unlikely to change soon.

Tomorrow will bring another elite team to Minnesota as the Wolves face the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's unlikely that the Wolves will win this game, but in the past they have always played the Thunder tough so hopefully the Wolves will rise to the challenge.

We are a little over a month away from the trade deadline (February 18th). Last year the deadline was met with a flurry of trades that sent a significant amount of players around the league to new destinations. It's unlikely that the Wolves will be that involved, other than trading Kevin Martin for a second round pick, as the mantra for the season has really been a holding pattern until the front office is solidified during the off-season after the unexpected turmoil caused by Flip's passing.

As far as trades go for the rest of the league, the rumor mill has been quiet so far. This is due to there being a lot more "buyers" than "sellers" this year as many teams still find themselves in playoff contention or without the assets to make a trade that moves the needle in any direction. However, there wasn't any real trade action last year till the deadline so we still may see a lot more movement once we get closer.

EDIT: Interview came out from Britt Robson with Sam Mitchell. I haven't had chance to read it yet, but sure people would be interested.

Interview Here

Thanks Poop Hat for posting it in comments

Notes from Around the League

The Brooklyn Nets have made a drastic change to their organization, letting go GM Billy King and coach Lionel Collins. The Nets have the least promising future in the NBA due to their lack of draft picks and other assets. It will be tough for the next GM to really turn the team around within the next 3-5 years but the owner Mikhael Prokhorov is still wildly optimistic about making the playoffs next year.

Kristaps/Porzingod/Three Six Latvia is fun

This Week in...Things That are Great!

This morning marked the sad passing of David Bowie. I cannot adequately give any tribute to the artist as I am a bit too young to really appreciate what he gave to the world via his music. However the outpouring of love and support for the man as well as for the impact that he has made is easily recognizable through the pieces being written today across the Internet on his legacy. So I will just leave it here with this.

Happy Monday