The Wolves will certainly give their young players bigger roles, but that doesn't mean they can't contend.
On a recent episode of The Mismatch podcast, Chris Vernon mentioned the Minnesota Timberwolves as a contender that may possibly disappoint. Vernon said this could be a "transition year," citing the age of Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert, paired with the loss of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and some of the younger guys taking on bigger roles. Undoubtedly, Vernon is far from the only person to subscribe to the idea that Minnesota could have somewhat of a down year, and it's a reasonable take.