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The Minnesota Timberwolves missed the playoffs their first seven years and then followed that with seven straight first round exits in the playoffs before advancing all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season. They had a team record 58 wins and won their first division title. The team is coached by Flip Saunders and led by power forward Kevin Garnett who won the MVP award last season after leading the league in points and rebounds.
Before last year, the team brought in point guard Sam Cassell and swingman Latrell Sprewell. Garnett averaged 24-14-5 a night to win the MVP but finall had help around him. Cassell averaged almost 20 points and more than 7 assists and 3 rebounds a night while Sprewell pitched in with averages of 17-4-4 per game. The team didn’t sign anyone through free agency this off-season because they felt the team of last year was good enough to win. They resigned Troy Hudson, Fred Hoiberg, and Trenton Hassell, and also drafted Blake Stepp from Gonzaga with their only draft pick in the second round.
The Timberwolves will move into the new Northwest division along with the Seattle SuperSonics, the Portland Trail Blazers, the Denver Nuggets, and the Utah Jazz. The Jazz arguably had the best off-season of any team through free agency and the draft but the Nuggets likely had the second best. The Trail Blazers traded for Nick Van Exel and also drafted highly touted point guard Sebastian Telfair while the SuperSonics still have star shooter Ray Allen. The Timberwolves will likely have a starting lineup of Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell in the backcourt with Trenton Hassell at the small forward spot and Kevin Garnett at the power forward position. Michael Olowokandi, Mark Madsen, and Ervin Johnson all shared time last year at the center position and will play there again.
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