C: Nikola Pekovic, Greg Stiemsma
PF: Kevin Love, Derrick Williams
SF: Andrei Kirilenko, Chase Budinger
SG: Brandon Roy, Alexey Shved
PG: Ricky Rubio, Luke Ridnour, JJ Barea
That is a pretty solid team.
I am thinking 45-50 wins. Maybe more if those shooting guards pan out.
That's a very very positive view, IMHO.
Williams still has a ton to prove.
Last I checked AK47 was waltzing his way through the NBA doing very little.
Rubio still has to heel up and learn to shoot.
Roy retired due to no cartilage in his knees.
I'm thinking 30-35 wins. Maybe 38. Maybe.
The Wolves were playing at around .500 last year before getting hit by injuries. They looked good doing it and I thought the Wolves were capable of sustaining that W-L record over a full season (if not for the injuries).
A year later, several young players on the roster who should show some improvement improve heading into the next year. Ricky Rubio Derrick Williams especially but also Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic. Pekovic is older and has experience in Europe but he still fairly new to the NBA (110 games, 2000 mins) and can show improvement as he continues to get used to the NBA game.
They also solidified their SF position with Kirilenko (a below average but solid starter at SF) and Budinger (above average backup SF) who are both upgrades over the guys they had last year (Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster).
I think that youth maturing and the upgrades at SF should firmly push them into that 45 win category.
The SG position is a great unknown with Brandon Roy and Alexey Shved. If they can get anything useful out of them, I think Minny could push on to the high 40s to 50 win team (47-50 wins).
