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 | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Fox Sports North |
| Radio | WCCO |
The 2016–17 Minnesota Timberwolves season marked the franchise's 28th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). On April 20, 2016, the Timberwolves appointed Tom Thibodeau as their new head coach.[1] On September 23, 2016, veteran forward Kevin Garnett announced his retirement from the NBA, ending his 21-year career. Ahead of the following season, the team revealed updated logos and uniforms on April 11, 2017.
Minnesota improved upon its 29–53 record from the prior season but finished with a 31–51 record, failing to secure a playoff berth. This extended the franchise's postseason drought to 13 consecutive seasons, tying the NBA record for the longest playoff absence in league history.[2]
Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Kris Dunn | PG | Providence |
The Timberwolves entered the draft with one first-round pick. Their second-round pick was conveyed to Boston Celtics as a replacement for Minnesota's unconveyed first-round pick after the team missed the playoffs from 2014 to 2016, causing the first-rounder to fall within the protected top-12 and top-13 ranges.[3]
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
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 |
| e – Denver Nuggets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 11.0 | 22–19 | 18–23 | 6–10 | 82 |
| e – 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 | e – Denver Nuggets | 40 | 42 | .488 | 27.0 | 82 |
| 10 | e – New Orleans Pelicans | 34 | 48 | .415 | 33.0 | 82 |
| 11 | e – Dallas Mavericks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 34.0 | 82 |
| 12 | e – Sacramento Kings | 32 | 50 | .390 | 35.0 | 82 |
| 13 | e – Minnesota Timberwolves | 31 | 51 | .378 | 36.0 | 82 |
| 14 | e – Los Angeles Lakers | 26 | 56 | .317 | 41.0 | 82 |
| 15 | e – Phoenix Suns | 24 | 58 | .293 | 43.0 | 82 |
Game log
Pre-season
Regular season
| 2016–17 game log Total: 31–51 (Home: 20–21; Road: 11–30) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 0–2 (home: 0–0; road: 0–2)
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November
: 5–11 (home: 3–6; road: 2–5)
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December
: 6–9 (home: 3–5; road: 3–4)
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January
: 8–7 (home: 6–3; road: 2–4)
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February
: 5–7 (home: 3–4; road: 2–3)
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March
: 6–8 (home: 4–1; road: 2–7)
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April
: 1–7 (home: 1–2; road: 0–5)
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| 2016–17 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
Regular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Wiggins | SF | 82 | 82 | 3,048 | 328 | 189 | 82 | 30 | 1,933 | 37.2 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | .4 | 23.6 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | C | 82 | 82 | 3,030 | 1,007 | 220 | 56 | 103 | 2,061 | 37.0 | 12.3 | 2.7 | .7 | 1.3 | 25.1 |
| Gorgui Dieng | PF | 82 | 82 | 2,653 | 647 | 158 | 88 | 95 | 816 | 32.4 | 7.9 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 10.0 |
| Kris Dunn | PG | 78 | 7 | 1,333 | 166 | 188 | 78 | 36 | 293 | 17.1 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .5 | 3.8 |
| Shabazz Muhammad | SF | 78 | 1 | 1,516 | 220 | 35 | 22 | 6 | 772 | 19.4 | 2.8 | .4 | .3 | .1 | 9.9 |
| Ricky Rubio | PG | 75 | 75 | 2,469 | 305 | 682 | 128 | 10 | 836 | 32.9 | 4.1 | 9.1 | 1.7 | .1 | 11.1 |
| Nemanja Bjelica | PF | 65 | 1 | 1,190 | 244 | 79 | 40 | 20 | 403 | 18.3 | 3.8 | 1.2 | .6 | .3 | 6.2 |
| Cole Aldrich | C | 62 | 0 | 531 | 158 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 105 | 8.6 | 2.5 | .4 | .4 | .4 | 1.7 |
| Tyus Jones | PG | 60 | 0 | 774 | 67 | 156 | 48 | 5 | 209 | 12.9 | 1.1 | 2.6 | .8 | .1 | 3.5 |
| Zach LaVine | SG | 47 | 47 | 1,749 | 160 | 139 | 41 | 10 | 889 | 37.2 | 3.4 | 3.0 | .9 | .2 | 18.9 |
| Brandon Rush | SG | 47 | 33 | 1,030 | 99 | 45 | 22 | 23 | 197 | 21.9 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .5 | .5 | 4.2 |
| Adreian Payne | PF | 18 | 0 | 135 | 33 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 63 | 7.5 | 1.8 | .4 | .4 | .4 | 3.5 |
| Omri Casspi† | PF | 13 | 0 | 222 | 20 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 45 | 17.1 | 1.5 | .8 | 1.0 | .2 | 3.5 |
| Jordan Hill | C | 7 | 0 | 47 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6.7 | 2.0 | .0 | .1 | .0 | 1.7 |
| Lance Stephenson† | SG | 6 | 0 | 67 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 11.2 | 1.7 | .8 | .0 | .0 | 3.5 |
| John Lucas III | PG | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.2 | .0 | .2 | .4 | .0 | .4 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Timberwolves only.
Transactions
Free agents
Re-signed
| Player | Signed |
|---|---|
| Gorgui Dieng[4] | 4-year contract extension worth $64 million |
Additions
| Player | Signed | Former Team |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Rush[5] | 1-year contract worth $3.5 million | Golden State Warriors |
| Cole Aldrich[6] | 3-year contract worth $22 million | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Jordan Hill[7] | 2-year contract worth $8 million | Indiana Pacers |
| John Lucas III[8] | 1-year contract worth $635,753 | Piratas de Quebradillas |
| Lance Stephenson[9][10] | 10-day contract worth $72,193 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| Omri Casspi[11] | 1-year contract worth $185,710 | New Orleans Pelicans |
Subtractions
| Player | Reason left | New team |
|---|---|---|
| John Lucas III[12] | Waived | |
| Lance Stephenson[13] | 3-year contract worth $12 million | Indiana Pacers |
References
- ↑ Krawczynski, Jon. "Timberwolves hire Thibodeau as coach, president". NBA.com. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
- ↑ Schuhmann, John. "With addition of Jimmy Butler, young Wolves get needed leader to help franchise end playoff drought". NBA.com. National Basketball Association.
- ↑ "2016 NBA Draft Pick Transactions". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved June 7, 2026.
- ↑ "Timberwolves sign Gorgui Dieng to contract extension". nba.com/timberwolves. October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ↑ "Timberwolves sign guard/forward Brandon Rush". nba.com/timberwolves. July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ↑ "Timberwolves sign center Cole Aldrich". nba.com/timberwolves. July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Timberwolves sign forward/center Jordan Hill". nba.com/timberwolves. July 20, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- ↑ "Timberwolves announce 2016-17 training camp roster". nba.com/timberwolves. September 26, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
- ↑ "Timberwolves sign guard Lance Stephenson to 10-day contract". nba.com/timberwolves. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ↑ "Timberwolves sign guard Lance Stephenson to second 10-day contract". nba.com/timberwolves. March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
- ↑ "Timberwolves sign Omri Casspi". nba.com/timberwolves. March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ↑ "Timberwolves waive John Lucas III". nba.com/timberwolves. February 3, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2017.
- ↑ "Pacers sign Lance Stephenson". nba.com/pacers. March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.