Come back to 2010 with me. Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" is the year's hottest song, "Lost" is finishing it's final season, and "Toy Story 3" is the highest-grossing movie (God, that was a long time ago). Also, a potential dynasty is blossoming in Oklahoma City, as the young tandem of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook lead the team to the playoffs and a surprisingly competitive six game series with the defending (and eventual) champion Los Angeles Lakers. And that series could have gone seven, as evidenced by the one-point margin in the deciding Game 6.
The optimism around the early Thunder was incredible. They were young, they were talented, they were athletic, and they were relentless, as shown in the below video.
I mean, just remember watching that version of the Thunder. Weren't they so exciting? Didn't you want them to succeed? Even if you were a fan of another team, weren't you drawn to what was going on in Oklahoma? After hitting on Durant, Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and James Harden in three consecutive drafts, OKC was seen as the next great team and the model for how to build a potential dynasty through the draft.
The subsequent failures and ultimate demise of OKC is a different topic for another day. Think about that team before three of their four core pieces took off one-by-one. They were set for the future because they had a once-in-a-generation combination of young talent on one roster.They were ready to be in the Finals for the next seven years.
I miss that team. I miss how fun they were to watch. I miss seeing them grow and mature as players from year to year. I miss the growing pains in the playoffs against the Lakers and the Mavericks. Now that the team has really imploded, I look back at the 2010 Thunder like the opening act of a Greek tragedy. They missed so many opportunities to become the defining team of the era, whether it be through fault of their own (the Harden trade) or things they couldn't control (injuries to Westbrook/Durant). It bums me out that they didn't realize their full potential.
But you know what softens the blow just a little bit? The Thunder have a bit of a clone building here up north. That's right: For the first time in a while, people have reason to fear the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Let's break this down, building block by building block. The Thunder had Durant, completely unique offensive force, 7-footer who can shoot and handle the rock, long-limbed athlete. The Wolves have Karl-Anthony Towns, most versatile center ever to come out of the draft, able to do anything on the floor, moves like a guard, defends and finishes at the rim like the behemoth he is. He averaged 18 PPG, 10 RPG, 2 APG and almost 2 BPG as a rookie.Towns has a chance to be a top-five player ever, and I don not say that lightly. He will win multiple MVP's in his career barring injury or historic fall from grace.
Next up, the Thunder had Russell Westbrook, a beast of an athlete with unbridled intensity. Andrew Wiggins doesn't have the same ferocity that Westbrook does, but you can bet he's right there athletically. And while some have questioned his motivation at times, all you need to do is look at how well he always plays against the Cavaliers, the team that traded him for Kevin Love. He has that fire inside, he just needs to figure out how to turn it on when he needs it.
The optimism around the early Thunder was incredible. They were young, they were talented, they were athletic, and they were relentless, as shown in the below video.
I mean, just remember watching that version of the Thunder. Weren't they so exciting? Didn't you want them to succeed? Even if you were a fan of another team, weren't you drawn to what was going on in Oklahoma? After hitting on Durant, Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, and James Harden in three consecutive drafts, OKC was seen as the next great team and the model for how to build a potential dynasty through the draft.
The subsequent failures and ultimate demise of OKC is a different topic for another day. Think about that team before three of their four core pieces took off one-by-one. They were set for the future because they had a once-in-a-generation combination of young talent on one roster.They were ready to be in the Finals for the next seven years.
I miss that team. I miss how fun they were to watch. I miss seeing them grow and mature as players from year to year. I miss the growing pains in the playoffs against the Lakers and the Mavericks. Now that the team has really imploded, I look back at the 2010 Thunder like the opening act of a Greek tragedy. They missed so many opportunities to become the defining team of the era, whether it be through fault of their own (the Harden trade) or things they couldn't control (injuries to Westbrook/Durant). It bums me out that they didn't realize their full potential.
But you know what softens the blow just a little bit? The Thunder have a bit of a clone building here up north. That's right: For the first time in a while, people have reason to fear the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Let's break this down, building block by building block. The Thunder had Durant, completely unique offensive force, 7-footer who can shoot and handle the rock, long-limbed athlete. The Wolves have Karl-Anthony Towns, most versatile center ever to come out of the draft, able to do anything on the floor, moves like a guard, defends and finishes at the rim like the behemoth he is. He averaged 18 PPG, 10 RPG, 2 APG and almost 2 BPG as a rookie.Towns has a chance to be a top-five player ever, and I don not say that lightly. He will win multiple MVP's in his career barring injury or historic fall from grace.
Next up, the Thunder had Russell Westbrook, a beast of an athlete with unbridled intensity. Andrew Wiggins doesn't have the same ferocity that Westbrook does, but you can bet he's right there athletically. And while some have questioned his motivation at times, all you need to do is look at how well he always plays against the Cavaliers, the team that traded him for Kevin Love. He has that fire inside, he just needs to figure out how to turn it on when he needs it.
Next, both teams had young, dynamic ball handlers who spent a significant amount of time coming off the bench: Harden for OKC, Zach LaVine for MN. This isn't a great comparison because I don't think LaVine could become an MVP candidate anytime soon. But he's an incredible athlete who can carry the offense if Towns and Wiggins are off that night.
And then, of course, there's this.
Other young talent on the Wolves include big man Gorgui Dieng and wing Shabazz Muhammad, both of whom have the ability to be good role players on this upcoming team. But there are two players on the roster who could help enable these young studs to become the next Thunder.
Ricky Rubio is the perfect point guard to help guys build confidence at the NBA level. He gets his guys so many easy looks and lives to make others better. I think he'll be especially helpful in helping Wiggins find his scoring niche in the NBA. Rubio will be able to hit Wiggins in the spots he likes most and direct him away from areas he's less successful in. Maybe Rubio can even teach LaVine a little about being a pure point guard so LaVine can add that to his skills.
But most importantly, if you could pick someone to mentor Towns, it would be Kevin Garnett. Towns is like KG if KG could shoot threes, although minus the intensity. Towns is already a great team player, and the lessons Garnett gives about teamwork and unselfishness should carry over to the rest of the team.
Which brings me to the final, and possibly most encouraging connection between the 2010 Thunder and the current day T-Wolves. The young Thunder loved playing with each other, fed of each other's talent and athleticism, and enjoyed every minute of their time on the court together. That's something I get from these Wolves. Sure, they have a lot of talent, but if they don't enjoy each other as teammates, they're never going to be championship contenders. But that's not the case.
I got the chance to interview Tyus Jones in March. We went to the Wolves practice facility towards the end of their practice. When it ended, everyone split off to do individual work. Except Towns and LaVine. They went to one of the baskets and started playing one-on-one, but the only shots they would take were contested 30-footers off the dribble. They were having so much fun with each other, and whenever something noteworthy happened, the entire gym would be engaged. One time when LaVine hit a particularly tough shot, Towns ran off in disbelief (nearly killing me and my friend in the process) while Wiggins chimed in from across the gym sporting his signature wide grin. It was awesome to see the camaraderie the team had developed in such a short amount of time, and it let me know that the team was definitely going places sooner rather than later.
The talent Minnesota has assembled is a great foundation, but the players have followed up by making it a real team atmosphere. If the Wolves can keep up what they have right now, the entire league better be on notice about the kids from up north.
No comments:
Post a Comment