2016–17 Minnesota Timberwolves season

2016–17 Minnesota Timberwolves season
2016–17 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Head coach	Tom Thibodeau
General manager	Scott Layden
Owners	Glen Taylor
Arena	Target Center
Results
Record	31–51 (.378)
Place	Division: 5th (Northwest); Conference: 13th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports North
Radio	WCCO
< 2015–16	2017–18 >

The 2016–17 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the 28th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On April 20, 2016, the Timberwolves hired Tom Thibodeau as their new head coach.^[1] On September 23, 2016, Kevin Garnett would officially retire from the NBA, thus ending his 21-year career in the process. On April 11, 2017, the Timberwolves would unveil a new logo and new uniforms to enter the next season. They improved their 29–53 output from the previous season, but missed the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season, tying the record for the longest playoff drought in NBA history.^[2]

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	5	Kris Dunn	PG	United States	Providence

Roster

2016-17 Minnesota Timberwolves roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
C	45	Aldrich, Cole	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	1988-10-31	Kansas
SF	88	Bjelica, Nemanja	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1988-05-09	Serbia
SF	18	Casspi, Omri	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1988-06-22	Israel
PF	5	Dieng, Gorgui	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1990-01-18	Louisville
PG	3	Dunn, Kris	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1994-03-18	Providence
C	27	Hill, Jordan	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	1987-07-27	Arizona
PG	1	Jones, Tyus	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1996-05-10	Duke
SG	8	LaVine, Zach	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1995-03-10	UCLA
SF	15	Muhammad, Shabazz	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	223 lb (101 kg)	1992-11-13	UCLA
PF	33	Payne, Adreian	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	237 lb (108 kg)	1991-02-19	Michigan State
C	14	Peković, Nikola	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	307 lb (139 kg)	1986-01-03	Montenegro
PG	9	Rubio, Ricky	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1990-10-21	Spain
SG	4	Rush, Brandon	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1985-07-07	Kansas
C	32	Towns, Karl-Anthony	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	244 lb (111 kg)	1995-11-15	Kentucky
SG	22	Wiggins, Andrew	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1995-02-23	Kansas

Head coach

Tom Thibodeau

Assistant coach(es)

Rick Brunson
Andy Greer
Ed Pinckney
Ryan Saunders
Vince Legarza (player development)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
(DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2017-04-03

Standings

Division

Northwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y – Utah Jazz	51	31	.622	–	29‍–‍12	22‍–‍19	8–8	82
x – Oklahoma City Thunder	47	35	.573	4.0	28‍–‍13	19‍–‍22	10–6	82
x – Portland Trail Blazers	41	41	.500	10.0	25‍–‍16	16‍–‍25	11–5	82
Denver Nuggets	40	42	.488	11.0	22‍–‍19	18‍–‍23	6–10	82
Minnesota Timberwolves	31	51	.378	20.0	20‍–‍21	11‍–‍30	5–11	82

Conference

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z – Golden State Warriors *	67	15	.817	–	82
2	y – San Antonio Spurs *	61	21	.744	6.0	82
3	x – Houston Rockets	55	27	.671	12.0	82
4	x – Los Angeles Clippers	51	31	.622	16.0	82
5	y – Utah Jazz *	51	31	.622	16.0	82
6	x – Oklahoma City Thunder	47	35	.573	20.0	82
7	x – Memphis Grizzlies	43	39	.524	24.0	82
8	x – Portland Trail Blazers	41	41	.500	26.0	82

9	Denver Nuggets	40	42	.488	27.0	82
10	New Orleans Pelicans	34	48	.415	33.0	82
11	Dallas Mavericks	33	49	.402	34.0	82
12	Sacramento Kings	32	50	.390	35.0	82
13	Minnesota Timberwolves	31	51	.378	36.0	82
14	Los Angeles Lakers	26	56	.317	41.0	82
15	Phoenix Suns	24	58	.293	43.0	82

Game log

Pre-season

2016 pre-season game log
Total: 5–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–2)

Pre-season: 5–2 (home: 3–0; road: 2–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 8	@ Miami	109–100	Karl-Anthony Towns (20)	Karl-Anthony Towns (10)	Kris Dunn (7)	American Airlines Arena 13,042	1–0
2	October 10	@ Charlotte	86–98	Zach LaVine (30)	Cole Aldrich (9)	Kris Dunn (3)	Spectrum Center 8,424	1–1
3	October 12	Denver	105–88	Muhammad, Towns, Wiggins (18)	Karl-Anthony Towns (8)	Ricky Rubio (8)	Pinnacle Bank Arena 7,153	2–1
4	October 15	@ Miami	101–96	Andrew Wiggins (23)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (6)	KFC Yum! Center 9,672	3–1
5	October 16	@ Oklahoma City	94–112	John Lucas III (18)	Aldrich, Bjelica, Hill (6)	Kris Dunn (6)	Chesapeake Energy Arena 10,489	3–2
6	October 19	Memphis	101–94	Karl-Anthony Towns (31)	Gorgui Dieng (11)	Ricky Rubio (7)	Target Center 9,594	4–2
7	October 21	Charlotte	109–74	Shabazz Muhammad (17)	Karl-Anthony Towns (9)	Ricky Rubio (6)	Target Center 9,708	5–2

2016–17 season schedule

Regular season

2016–17 game log
Total: 31–51 (Home: 20–21; Road: 11–30)

October: 0–2 (home: 0–0; road: 0–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	October 26	@ Memphis	L 98–102	Andrew Wiggins (25)	Gorgui Dieng (14)	Ricky Rubio (8)	FedExForum 18,119	0–1
2	October 29	@ Sacramento	L 103–106	Andrew Wiggins (29)	Gorgui Dieng (13)	Ricky Rubio (5)	Golden 1 Center 17,608	0–2

November: 5–11 (home: 3–6; road: 2–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
3	November 1	Memphis	W 116–80	Zach LaVine (31)	Karl-Anthony Towns (10)	Kris Dunn (6)	Target Center 14,774	1–2
4	November 3	Denver	L 99–102	Karl-Anthony Towns (32)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Kris Dunn (9)	Target Center 11,219	1–3
5	November 5	@ Oklahoma City	L 92–112	Karl-Anthony Towns (33)	Gorgui Dieng (8)	Tyus Jones (4)	Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203	1–4
6	November 8	@ Brooklyn	L 110–119	Andrew Wiggins (36)	Andrew Wiggins (8)	Tyus Jones (7)	Barclays Center 13,610	1–5
7	November 9	@ Orlando	W 123–107	Zach LaVine (37)	Towns, Dieng (11)	Gorgui Dieng (7)	Amway Center 17,102	2–5
8	November 12	L.A. Clippers	L 105–119	Karl-Anthony Towns (24)	Karl-Anthony Towns (10)	Ricky Rubio (6)	Target Center 14,494	2–6
9	November 13	L.A. Lakers	W 125–99	Andrew Wiggins (47)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (10)	Target Center 14,432	3–6
10	November 15	Charlotte	L 108–115	Andrew Wiggins (29)	Gorgui Dieng (11)	Ricky Rubio (8)	Target Center 10,349	3–7
11	November 17	Philadelphia	W 110–86	Andrew Wiggins (35)	Dieng, Towns, Wiggins (10)	Ricky Rubio (5)	Target Center 16,866	4–7
12	November 19	@ Memphis	L 71–93	Zach LaVine (22)	Gorgui Dieng (11)	Ricky Rubio (7)	FedExForum 17,112	4–8
13	November 21	Boston	L 93–99	Karl-Anthony Towns (27)	Karl-Anthony Towns (18)	Ricky Rubio (9)	Target Center 13,167	4–9
14	November 23	@ New Orleans	L 96–117	Zach LaVine (26)	Karl-Anthony Towns (11)	Rubio, Dieng (5)	Smoothie King Center 15,555	4–10
15	November 25	@ Phoenix	W 98–85	Andrew Wiggins (25)	Karl-Anthony Towns (10)	Rubio, Towns (4)	Talking Stick Resort Arena 16,728	5–10
16	November 26	@ Golden State	L 102–115	Zach LaVine (31)	Karl-Anthony Towns (9)	Ricky Rubio (7)	Oracle Arena 19,596	5–11
17	November 28	Utah	L 103–112	Zach LaVine (28)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Zach LaVine (8)	Target Center 9,384	5–12
18	November 30	New York	L 104–106	Karl-Anthony Towns (47)	Karl-Anthony Towns (18)	Ricky Rubio (6)	Target Center 13,987	5–13

December: 6–9 (home: 3–5; road: 3–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
19	December 2	@ New York	L 114–118	Zach LaVine (23)	Cole Aldrich (12)	Ricky Rubio (6)	Madison Square Garden 19,812	5–14
20	December 3	@ Charlotte	W 125–120 (OT)	Andrew Wiggins (29)	Karl-Anthony Towns (15)	Ricky Rubio (12)	Spectrum Center 16,982	6–14
21	December 6	San Antonio	L 91–105	Zach LaVine (25)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (6)	Target Center 12,585	6–15
22	December 8	@ Toronto	L 110–124	Zach LaVine (29)	Karl-Anthony Towns (11)	Zach LaVine (6)	Air Canada Centre 19,800	6–16
23	December 9	Detroit	L 90–117	Andrew Wiggins (16)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (6)	Target Center 14,109	6–17
24	December 11	Golden State	L 108–116	Wiggins, Towns, LaVine (25)	Karl-Anthony Towns (18)	Ricky Rubio (6)	Target Center 18,452	6−18
25	December 13	@ Chicago	W 99–94	Zach LaVine (24)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (10)	United Center 21,146	7–18
26	December 17	Houston	L 109–111 (OT)	Karl-Anthony Towns (41)	Karl-Anthony Towns (15)	Ricky Rubio (7)	Target Center 14,689	7–19
27	December 19	Phoenix	W 115–108	Karl-Anthony Towns (28)	Karl-Anthony Towns (15)	Ricky Rubio (12)	Target Center 12,008	8–19
28	December 21	@ Atlanta	W 92–84	Andrew Wiggins (19)	Karl-Anthony Towns (18)	Ricky Rubio (8)	Philips Arena 17,578	9–19
29	December 23	Sacramento	L 105–109	Zach LaVine (40)	Karl-Anthony Towns (13)	Ricky Rubio (8)	Target Center 13,288	9–20
30	December 25	@ Oklahoma City	L 100–112	Karl-Anthony Towns (26)	Karl-Anthony Towns (8)	Ricky Rubio (10)	Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203	9–21
31	December 26	Atlanta	W 104–90	Karl-Anthony Towns (22)	Karl-Anthony Towns (11)	Ricky Rubio (10)	Target Center 15,617	10–21
32	December 28	@ Denver	L 103–105	Andrew Wiggins (25)	Karl-Anthony Towns (11)	Karl-Anthony Towns (10)	Pepsi Center 15,093	10–22
33	December 30	Milwaukee	W 116–99	Andrew Wiggins (31)	Karl-Anthony Towns (16)	Ricky Rubio (9)	Target Center 17,779	11–22

January: 8–7 (home: 6–3; road: 2–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
34	January 1	Portland	L 89–95	Andrew Wiggins (24)	Karl-Anthony Towns (13)	Towns, Rubio (6)	Target Center 15,804	11–23
35	January 3	@ Philadelphia	L 91–93	Zach LaVine (28)	Karl-Anthony Towns (13)	Towns, Rubio (5)	Wells Fargo Center 17,124	11–24
36	January 6	@ Washington	L 105–112	Andrew Wiggins (41)	Gorgui Dieng (11)	Ricky Rubio (7)	Verizon Center 18,686	11–25
37	January 7	Utah	L 92–94	Zach LaVine (24)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (7)	Target Center 13,945	11–26
38	January 9	Dallas	W 101–92	Karl-Anthony Towns (34)	Karl-Anthony Towns (11)	Ricky Rubio (15)	Target Center 9,625	12–26
39	January 11	Houston	W 119–105	Andrew Wiggins (28)	Karl-Anthony Towns (18)	Ricky Rubio (17)	Target Center 9,625	13–26
40	January 13	Oklahoma City	W 96–86	Karl-Anthony Towns (29)	Karl-Anthony Towns (17)	Ricky Rubio (14)	Target Center 16,644	14–26
41	January 15	@ Dallas	L 87–98	Gorgui Dieng (21)	Karl-Anthony Towns (9)	Ricky Rubio (10)	American Airlines Center 19,655	14–27
42	January 17	@ San Antonio	L 114–122	Karl-Anthony Towns (27)	Karl-Anthony Towns (16)	Ricky Rubio (14)	AT&T Center 18,418	14–28
43	January 19	@ LA Clippers	W 104–101	Karl-Anthony Towns (37)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Karl-Anthony Towns (5)	Staples Center 19,060	15–28
44	January 22	Denver	W 111–108	Karl-Anthony Towns (32)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Kris Dunn (9)	Target Center 12,788	16–28
45	January 24	@ Phoenix	W 112–111	Andrew Wiggins (31)	Karl-Anthony Towns (10)	Ricky Rubio (10)	Talking Stick Resort Arena 17,241	17–28
46	January 26	Indiana	L 103–109	Karl-Anthony Towns (23)	Karl-Anthony Towns (10)	Ricky Rubio (12)	Target Center 14,862	17–29
47	January 28	Brooklyn	W 129–109	Karl-Anthony Towns (37)	Karl-Anthony Towns (13)	Kris Dunn (7)	Target Center 14,798	18–29
48	January 30	Orlando	W 111–105 (OT)	Andrew Wiggins (27)	Gorgui Dieng (14)	Ricky Rubio (12)	Target Center 11,124	19–29

February: 5–7 (home: 3–4; road: 2–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
49	February 1	@ Cleveland	L 97–125	Karl-Anthony Towns (26)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (14)	Quicken Loans Arena 20,562	19–30
50	February 3	@ Detroit	L 108–116	Karl-Anthony Towns (24)	Gorgui Dieng (12)	Ricky Rubio (7)	The Palace of Auburn Hills 16,934	19–31
51	February 4	Memphis	L 99–107	Karl-Anthony Towns (27)	Karl-Anthony Towns (16)	Rubio, Jones (6)	Target Center 15,081	19–32
52	February 6	Miami	L 111–113	Karl-Anthony Towns (35)	Karl-Anthony Towns (8)	Ricky Rubio (13)	Target Center 12,502	19–33
53	February 8	Toronto	W 112–109	Andrew Wiggins (31)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (7)	Target Center 13,832	20–33
54	February 10	New Orleans	L 106–122	Karl-Anthony Towns (36)	Dieng, Towns (8)	Ricky Rubio (12)	Target Center 16,093	20–34
55	February 12	Chicago	W 117–89	Andrew Wiggins (27)	Gorgui Dieng (13)	Ricky Rubio (11)	Target Center 19,356	21–34
56	February 14	Cleveland	L 108–116	Andrew Wiggins (41)	Gorgui Dieng (10)	Ricky Rubio (16)	Target Center 17,738	21–35
57	February 15	@ Denver	W 112–99	Andrew Wiggins (40)	Karl-Anthony Towns (19)	Rubio, Dunn (5)	Pepsi Center 13,924	22–35
58	February 24	Dallas	W 97–84	Andrew Wiggins (27)	Karl-Anthony Towns (18)	Ricky Rubio (14)	Target Center 15,948	23–35
59	February 25	@ Houston	L 130–142	Karl-Anthony Towns (37)	Karl-Anthony Towns (22)	Ricky Rubio (11)	Toyota Center 18,055	23–36
60	February 27	@ Sacramento	W 102–88	Karl-Anthony Towns (29)	Karl-Anthony Towns (17)	Ricky Rubio (11)	Golden 1 Center 17,608	24–36

March: 6–8 (home: 4–1; road: 2–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
61	March 1	@ Utah	W 107–80	Karl-Anthony Towns (21)	Karl-Anthony Towns (15)	Ricky Rubio (9)	Vivint Smart Home Arena 19,590	25–36
62	March 4	@ San Antonio	L 90–97 (OT)	Karl-Anthony Towns (24)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (10)	AT&T Center 18,418	25–37
63	March 8	L. A. Clippers	W 107–91	Karl-Anthony Towns (29)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (12)	Target Center 14,933	26–37
64	March 10	Golden State	W 103–102	Andrew Wiggins (24)	Nemanja Bjelica (12)	Ricky Rubio (13)	Target Center 20,412	27−37
65	March 11	@ Milwaukee	L 95–102	Karl-Anthony Towns (35)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (8)	Bradley Center 18,717	27–38
66	March 13	Washington	W 119–104	Karl-Anthony Towns (39)	Karl-Anthony Towns (13)	Ricky Rubio (19)	Target Center 15,747	28–38
67	March 15	@ Boston	L 104–117	Ricky Rubio (23)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (7)	TD Garden 18,624	28–39
68	March 17	@ Miami	L 105–123	Karl-Anthony Towns (31)	Karl-Anthony Towns (11)	Ricky Rubio (6)	American Airlines Arena 19,600	28–40
69	March 19	@ New Orleans	L 109–123	Karl-Anthony Towns (33)	Gorgui Dieng (10)	Ricky Rubio (14)	Smoothie King Center 16,111	28–41
70	March 21	San Antonio	L 93–100	Karl-Anthony Towns (25)	Karl-Anthony Towns (14)	Ricky Rubio (7)	Target Center 13,742	28–42
71	March 24	@ L.A. Lakers	L 119–130 (OT)	Andrew Wiggins (36)	Karl-Anthony Towns (13)	Ricky Rubio (15)	Staples Center 18,997	28–43
72	March 25	@ Portland	L 100–112	Andrew Wiggins (20)	Gorgui Dieng (7)	Rubio, Jones (4)	Moda Center 19,580	28–44
73	March 28	@ Indiana	W 115–114	Karl-Anthony Towns (37)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (10)	Bankers Life Fieldhouse 17,534	29–44
74	March 30	L.A. Lakers	W 119–104	Ricky Rubio (33)	Gorgui Dieng (15)	Ricky Rubio (10)	Target Center 18,179	30–44

April: 1–7 (home: 1–2; road: 0–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
75	April 1	Sacramento	L 117–123	Andrew Wiggins (32)	Karl-Anthony Towns (11)	Ricky Rubio (13)	Target Center 18,960	30–45
76	April 3	Portland	W 110–109	Karl-Anthony Towns (34)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (16)	Target Center 14,677	31–45
77	April 4	@ Golden State	L 107–121	Muhammad, Wiggins (24)	Shabazz Muhammad (11)	Ricky Rubio (5)	Oracle Arena 19,596	31−46
78	April 6	@ Portland	L 98–105	Andrew Wiggins (36)	Karl-Anthony Towns (16)	Ricky Rubio (5)	Moda Center 19,393	31–47
79	April 7	@ Utah	L 113–120	Karl-Anthony Towns (32)	Karl-Anthony Towns (13)	Ricky Rubio (12)	Vivint Smart Home Arena 19,911	31–48
80	April 9	@ L.A. Lakers	L 109–110	Andrew Wiggins (41)	Karl-Anthony Towns (21)	Ricky Rubio (11)	Staples Center 18,997	31–49
81	April 11	Oklahoma City	L 98–100	Karl-Anthony Towns (26)	Karl-Anthony Towns (12)	Ricky Rubio (10)	Target Center 19,356	31–50
82	April 12	@ Houston	L 118–123	Karl-Anthony Towns (28)	Karl-Anthony Towns (21)	Kris Dunn (16)	Toyota Center 18,055	31–51

2016–17 season schedule

Transactions

Free agents

Re-signed

Player	Signed
Gorgui Dieng^[3]	4-year contract extension worth $64 million

Additions

Player	Signed	Former Team
Brandon Rush^[4]	1-year contract worth $3.5 million	Golden State Warriors
Cole Aldrich^[5]	3-year contract worth $22 million	Los Angeles Clippers
Jordan Hill^[6]	2-year contract worth $8 million	Indiana Pacers
John Lucas III^[7]	1-year contract worth $635,753	Piratas de Quebradillas
Lance Stephenson^[8]^[9]	10-day contract worth $72,193	New Orleans Pelicans
Omri Casspi^[10]	1-year contract worth $185,710	New Orleans Pelicans

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	New team
John Lucas III^[11]	Waived
Lance Stephenson^[12]	3-year contract worth $12 million	Indiana Pacers

References

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

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