The Minnesota Timberwolves are just a pair of preseason games away from kicking off their 2024-25 NBA regular season. Chris Finch is looking to get his team into the NBA Finals this year , and he’ll do it with some new faces. A blockbuster trade of Karl-Anthony Towns went down just weeks ago, and it has changed the odds for both clubs.
Minnesota Timberwolves better off without KAT says ESPN BPI
Karl-Anthony Towns was the Minnesota Timberwolves first overall pick during the 2015 NBA draft . He has spent his entire career with the franchise to this point. The decision to move him came as a surprise , but ESPN’s Basketball Power Index thinks it provides a boost to Chris Finch’s roster.
“Then the BPI saw the trade. And liked it … for Minnesota, at least. Both teams saw their playoff chances increase, but the Wolves’ playoff chances went up from approximately 65% to 80% in the West, while the Knicks edged up a hair to 65% in the East. The Wolves’ title odds went from 4% to 5%, whereas the Knicks went down from 3% to 1%. The Knicks’ high-end future actually doesn’t seem so high to the BPI. The reason for that is that the BPI doesn’t see Towns as dramatically better than Randle or DiVincenzo. The Wolves got two good players who provide a good 4,000 minutes per season, whereas the Knicks got one good player who has averaged about 1,700 minutes over the past five seasons.”
Dean Oliver on ESPN’s BPI reaction to the KAT trade (ESPN)
The game isn’t played on paper, so it may take some time for the Timberwolves to iron out just how the new rotation looks. As Dean Oliver points out though, Minnesota added a pair of strong rotation contributors in place of Towns. Julius Randle is a three-time All-Star and has been named All-NBA twice. Donte DiVincenzo brings a much-needed shooting ability, and he clearly has some fire in his belly .
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A slow burn may play out through the first few weeks of the season, but by body count alone, it’s impossible to argue that the Timberwolves aren’t a deeper team than they were with just towns.
BPI says Timberwolves are defensive gold standard
Not only did BPI react positively to the Timberwolves trading Karl-Anthony Towns but the metric sees them as a lockdown defense as well. With a 2.3 BPI defensively, the Timberwolves take the top spot (tying with the Memphis Grizzlies). Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and Philadelphia round out the top five.
Towns was never regarded as a great defender, and that is an area where Randle could provide a slightly better impact. His 114.2 defensive rating last season was the best mark of his career. For comparison, Towns has never posted better than a 113.2 defensive rating (2020-21) and was at just 108.7 last season. Finch had the Timberwolves playing defense at a high level last year. Rudy Gobert being given more room to operate could land him a record fifth Defensive Player of the Year award.
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BPI sets the Timberwolves in sixth when it comes to odds of both winning a title and making the finals. The Boston Celtics are heavy favorites to repeat as champions.
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