Frederick: Timberwolves’ success shows youth can be an asset in today’s NBA

Tim Connelly made a major splash on July when he traded a number of draft assets along with a rolodex of role players to acquire Rudy Gobert in a arrangement with Utah It was an all-in type of move which was a curious decision given that the Timberwolves didn t appear to be in an all-in position Not back then anyway Anthony Edwards was years old at the time Jaden McDaniels was They d just experienced their first playoff series when Connelly walked in the door and straightaway pulled such a large trigger The stated logic at the time was that Gobert would help raise Minnesota s floor to the point where the likes of Edwards and McDaniels would make playoff runs every single year Experience is the the greater part valuable facilitator And that has largely come to fruition But there was another benefit for Minnesota in stacking its roster at the time it did It s better to surround your star participant s with an elite supporting cast too early rather than too late Because time does come for all as Minnesota has witnessed firsthand over the past two postseasons Kevin Durant clearly didn t have the same athletic pop and was a bit of a glorified jumps-hooter in last year s first-round series The same was true to a degree with LeBron James in Minnesota s first-round series last month against the Lakers The decline is understandable for both James is years old Durant Steph Curry was still playing at a superstar level for Golden State at age but he may miss the remainder of these Western Conference semifinals with a hamstring injury Curry commented it s the first hamstring injury of his career He s perhaps the best-conditioned athlete in basketball but he was also taxed to the max down the stretch run of the season during which the Warriors attempted to win every battle to dodge the play-in tournament ended up in it anyway then advanced to a grueling first-round matchup with Houston that went seven games It hardly feels like a coincidence that two days after playing minutes in a Meeting Curry suffered a soft-tissue injury at Target Center The body can only endure so much as it ages even as athletes attempt to push the bounds of logic Jimmy Butler built up a reputation of Playoff Jimmy for his spectacular postseason performances carrying the Heat deep into the playoffs on multiple occasions He tried to put on the cape again for Golden State in Event on Saturday delivering a dominant first three quarters to put the Warriors in a position to win even without Curry but it was quite apparent the -year-old wing wore down by competition s end He went just for in the final frame Draymond Green is as well Meanwhile Anthony Edwards played all minutes in the second half on Saturday and appeared to only get stronger as the championship wore on The same was true in Competition against the Lakers Edwards is young and spry as are the majority of his teammates Outside of -year-old guard Mike Conley who likely not-so-coincidentally got hurt in last year s playoffs Rudy Gobert is the oldest member of Minnesota s rotation at just The Wolves are built to endure the duration of the marathon that is the NBA Playoffs They aren t affected by the every-other-day nature of these series While youth may work against Minnesota in selected of these matchups so various other key factors are in its favor The Timberwolves and Oklahoma City are the two clear favorites to advance to this year s West Finals and they re both flush with young talent And by opening Edwards championship window so early in the guard s career the Timberwolves are giving their best athlete as a large number of bites at the apple as physically achievable That matters because as the last two playoffs have shown windows of championship contention end for teams and stars alike You can t kick seasons away while planning for the future because you never know when injury or age will derail your best-laid plans Better to try to win now versus assuming you ll do so later Related Articles The Timberwolves have determined their playoff point guard Julius Randle Timberwolves go into the mud rally past Warriors to take - series lead Mizutani It s obvious the Timberwolves won t need their best to win this series Timberwolves blast Warriors bench for Contest domination Golden State has an elite defense The Timberwolves must be willing to work to sum