Karl-Anthony Towns isn't top choice for Rookie of the Year, and that's good
Two great things about this post before I get started:
1) I get to bust out the old Ricky Rubio “check your batteries” image, which is one of my best and laziest Paint offerings in history. The quick back story: Clarence Swamptown says that my annual posts expressing optimism about the Timberwolves are a good reminder to check your smoke alarm batteries.
2) This post is going to also infuriate commenter/contributor/friend Rocket, who will invariably send me a text message at some point in the near future that reads like a short novel. Am I writing this post ONLY for those reasons? No, but it certainly helps.
So: Here is where I twist something seemingly sort of negative into something strangely positive: Everywhere I look, No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns is a contender but nowhere near the favorite to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award. It’s not like I’ve been scouring gambling sites for this information, but the consensus is he’s tied for third or fourth in line when it comes to favorites, behind Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay and D’Angelo Russell.
Here’s why I think that’s not necessarily an indictment of Towns’ potential to be an impact rookie and, in fact, could be a good sign for the Wolves: top rookies in a lot of seasons pile up huge stats because they are playing for terrible teams with no depth. A prime example came last season when Andrew Wiggins logged huge minutes playing for a terrible and injury-ravaged Wolves squad. Towns, however, shouldn’t have to do that. The Wolves this season will not be good, but they should be better than they were a year ago.
On the other hand, Okafor (76ers), Mudiay (Nuggets) and Russell (Lakers) will likely play larger roles on their teams out of necessity. Mudiay and Russell in particular will have the ball in their hands a ton as point guards for bad teams. Okafor is on the perpetually rebuilding 76ers, whose over-under number is pegged at 21.5 wins (six fewer than the Wolves, who are at 27.5).
Did I just decide that the Wolves are going to be a stronger, deeper team because of gambling odds on the Rookie of the Year? Yes, yes I did. Check your smoke alarm, and I will check my phone for texts.