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With Another Postseason Out Of Reach, Timberwolves Ponder The Future

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- While the Wild are concerned about playoff positioning, the Timberwolves would be happy just to make the playoffs.

The Timberwolves will almost certainly miss the postseason for the 13th straight year -- the longest drought in the NBA. They play the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night, but many are wondering if they're heading in the right direction

The team has been teasing fans from time to time, like a comeback win against Indiana Tuesday.

"There's a small difference when you look at the difference between winning and losing," head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "It's a couple plays here or there.

Like the Target Center they call home, the team is being rebuilt as well -- and like the building, fans are growing impatient with the process.

As the season winds down, fans are again pondering: Is Kris Dunn a key to the team's future?

"The best thing to do as a rookie, you know, just learn as much as you can," Dunn said. "Try to take in what the vets tell you, and when you're out there, just learn what other people do, and some things you need to improve on."

Young Minnesota native Tyus Jones could also be a key part of the Timberwolves in coming seasons. But has this season moved him in a direction he feels good about, and has he learned a lot?

"I have for sure," he said. "Obviously with a new coach, new system, new schemes, different things to learn, but I've definitely learned a lot, and feel like I've improved a lot."

Like the team, no one seems to know the future -- and the one thing they can't do is play the youth card.

"We've got to stop using that excuse," Karl-Anthony Towns said. "Sometimes we just mess up. We've got to be a better team."

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