The Minnesota Timberwolves were reeling at the end of February.
They'd just lost to the league's worst team, the Utah Jazz, in a game in which Anthony Edwards was suspended for exceeding the NBA's technical foul limit. They were stuck with a 32-29 record, ninth in the West, and their big offseason trade of Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo looked like a bust.
In sum, Minnesota had seemingly regressed from upstart conference finalist to also-ran, and the franchise was dealing with an ongoing ownership dispute for good measure.