2014–15 Minnesota Timberwolves season

The 2014–15 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the 26th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] The Timberwolves finished with the worst record in the league at 16–66 and missed the NBA Playoffs for the 11th straight year. For the first time since 2007–08 season, Kevin Love was not on the roster as he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and their future first round picks. Despite not making the playoffs, Andrew Wiggins won the NBA Rookie of the Year. Flip Saunders returned to the Timberwolves' head coach on his second stint. Saunders was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in August 2015 and he died two months later on October 25, 2015, at the age of 60. He was replaced by former Timberwolves player and former NBA Coach of the Year, Sam Mitchell for the following season. Kevin Garnett returned to the team for the first time since he left Minnesota in the offseason trade to the Boston Celtics.

2014–15 Minnesota Timberwolves season
Head coach	Flip Saunders (Pre Season) Sam Mitchell (interim)
Owners	Glen Taylor
Arena	Target Center
Results
Record	16–66 (.195)
Place	Division: 5th (Northwest) Conference: 15th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	Fox Sports North
Radio	WCCO
< 2013–14 2015–16 >

Preseason

Draft picks

Main article: 2014 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	13	Zach LaVine	SG	United States	UCLA
2	40	Glenn Robinson III	SF	United States	Michigan
2	44	Markel Brown	SG	United States	Oklahoma State
2	53	Alessandro Gentile	SF	Italy	Olimpia Milano (Italy)

Regular season

Standings

Northwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y-Portland Trail Blazers	51	31	.622	–	32‍–‍9	19‍–‍22	11–5	82
Oklahoma City Thunder	45	37	.549	6.0	29‍–‍12	16‍–‍25	10–6	82
Utah Jazz	38	44	.463	13.0	21‍–‍20	17‍–‍24	9–7	82
Denver Nuggets	30	52	.366	21.0	19‍–‍22	11‍–‍30	6–10	82
Minnesota Timberwolves	16	66	.195	35.0	9‍–‍32	7‍–‍34	4–12	82

Western Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	z-Golden State Warriors *	67	15	.817	–	82
2	y-Houston Rockets *	56	26	.683	11.0	82
3	x-Los Angeles Clippers	56	26	.683	11.0	82
4	y-Portland Trail Blazers *	51	31	.622	16.0	82
5	x-Memphis Grizzlies	55	27	.671	12.0	82
6	x-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	12.0	82
7	x-Dallas Mavericks	50	32	.610	17.0	82
8	x-New Orleans Pelicans	45	37	.549	22.0	82
9	Oklahoma City Thunder	45	37	.549	22.0	82
10	Phoenix Suns	39	43	.476	28.0	82
11	Utah Jazz	38	44	.463	29.0	82
12	Denver Nuggets	30	52	.366	37.0	82
13	Sacramento Kings	29	53	.354	38.0	82
14	Los Angeles Lakers	21	61	.256	46.0	82
15	Minnesota Timberwolves	16	66	.195	51.0	82

Game log

2014–15 game log Total: 16–66 (Home: 9–32; Road: 7–34)
October: 1–1 (home: 1–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 29 @ Memphis L 101–105 Thaddeus Young (26) Nikola Peković (8) Ricky Rubio (7) FedExForum 17,731 0–1 2 October 30 Detroit W 97–91 Thaddeus Young (19) Nikola Peković (10) Ricky Rubio (8) Target Center 18,296 1–1
November : 3–10 (home: 1–5; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 3 November 1 Chicago L 105–106 Kevin Martin (33) Gorgui Dieng (8) Ricky Rubio (17) Target Center 19,356 1–2 4 November 5 @ Brooklyn W 98–91 Kevin Martin (24) Thaddeus Young (12) Ricky Rubio (12) Barclays Center 16,302 2–2 5 November 7 @ Orlando L 103–112 Kevin Martin (21) Gorgui Dieng (10) Mo Williams (7) Amway Center 16,379 2–3 6 November 8 @ Miami L 92–102 Nikola Peković (19) Nikola Peković (11) Mo Williams (5) American Airlines Arena 19,735 2–4 7 November 12 Houston L 101–113 Corey Brewer (18) Nikola Peković (13) Zach LaVine (9) Mexico City Arena 18,996 2–5 8 November 14 @ New Orleans L 91–139 Andrew Wiggins (20) Gorgui Dieng (9) Mo Williams (4) Smoothie King Center 14,775 2–6 9 November 15 @ Dallas L 117–131 Kevin Martin (34) Gorgui Dieng (8) Mo Williams (8) American Airlines Center 19,730 2–7 10 November 19 New York W 115–99 Kevin Martin (37) Shabazz Muhammad (8) Mo Williams (13) Target Center 15,304 3–7 11 November 21 San Antonio L 92–121 Anthony Bennett (20) Gorgui Dieng (10) Williams & Brewer (4) Target Center 12,414 3–8 12 November 22 Sacramento L 101–113 Andrew Wiggins (29) Gorgui Dieng (10) Mo Williams (12) Target Center 13,191 3–9 13 November 26 Milwaukee L 86–103 Corey Brewer (19) Wiggins & Dieng (8) Wiggins, Young & LaVine (4) Target Center 14,710 3–10 14 November 28 @ L.A. Lakers W 120–119 Zach LaVine (28) Dieng & Brewer (7) Mo Williams (11) Staples Center 18,997 4–10 15 November 30 @ Portland L 93–107 Shabazz Muhammad (28) Gorgui Dieng (8) Mo Williams (11) Moda Center 18,843 4–11
December : 1–14 (home: 1–6; road: 0–8) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 16 December 1 @ L.A. Clippers L 101–127 Shabazz Muhammad (18) Shabazz Muhammad (10) Mo Williams (7) Staples Center 19,060 4–12 17 December 3 Philadelphia L 77–85 Thaddeus Young (16) Gorgui Dieng (16) Mo Williams (7) Target Center 10,463 4–13 18 December 5 Houston L 112–114 (OT) Shabazz Muhammad (20) Corey Brewer (7) Corey Brewer (6) Target Center 12,101 4–14 19 December 6 @ San Antonio L 101–123 Zach LaVine (22) Anthony Bennett (10) Zach LaVine (10) AT&T Center 18,581 4–15 20 December 8 Golden State L 86–102 Andrew Wiggins (21) Gorgui Dieng (11) Zach LaVine (8) Target Center 10,296 4–16 21 December 10 Portland W 90–82 Andrew Wiggins (23) Jeff Adrien (11) Brewer & LaVine (5) Target Center 10,337 5–16 22 December 12 Oklahoma City L 92–111 Wiggins & Muhammad (18) Gorgui Dieng (9) Corey Brewer (8) Target Center 13,557 5–17 23 December 14 L.A. Lakers L 94–100 Shabazz Muhammad (28) Dieng & Muhammad (9) Corey Brewer (9) Target Center 15,008 5–18 24 December 16 @ Washington L 95–109 Thaddeus Young (29) Gorgui Dieng (12) Zach LaVine (8) Verizon Center 15,823 5–19 25 December 19 @ Boston L 98–114 Shabazz Muhammad (26) Bennett & Adrien (7) Thaddeus Young (6) TD Garden 17,042 5–20 26 December 21 Indiana L 96–100 Mo Williams (24) Andrew Wiggins (9) Mo Williams (10) Target Center 12,687 5–21 27 December 23 @ Cleveland L 104–125 Andrew Wiggins (27) Gorgui Dieng (11) Mo Williams (7) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 5–22 28 December 26 @ Denver L 102–106 Thaddeus Young (23) Gorgui Dieng (13) Mo Williams (13) Pepsi Center 14,516 5–23 29 December 27 @ Golden State L 97–110 Thaddeus Young (17) Shabazz Muhammad (9) Zach LaVine (14) Oracle Arena 19,596 5–24 30 December 30 @ Utah L 94–100 Shabazz Muhammad (30) Shabazz Muhammad (7) Young & Dieng (6) EnergySolutions Arena 18,947 5–25
January : 3–14 (home: 1–8; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 1 Sacramento L 107–110 Andrew Wiggins (27) Gorgui Dieng (10) Mo Williams (8) Target Center 13,337 5–26 32 January 3 Utah L 89–101 Wiggins & Williams (20) Jeff Adrien (8) Mo Williams (3) Target Center 13,702 5–27 33 January 5 Denver L 101–110 Gorgui Dieng (22) Gorgui Dieng (12) Mo Williams (7) Target Center 10,386 5–28 34 January 7 Phoenix L 111–113 Andrew Wiggins (25) Anthony Bennett (10) Mo Williams (11) Target Center 10,547 5–29 35 January 9 @ Milwaukee L 84–98 Andrew Wiggins (20) Anthony Bennett (8) Andrew Wiggins (5) BMO Harris Bradley Center 15,480 5–30 36 January 10 San Antonio L 93–108 Zach LaVine (19) Gorgui Dieng (12) Mo Williams (6) Target Center 17,871 5–31 37 January 13 @ Indiana W 110–101 Mo Williams (52) Gorgui Dieng (10) Mo Williams (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 16,781 6–31 38 January 16 @ Phoenix L 99–110 Mo Williams (26) Thaddeus Young (8) Thaddeus Young (6) US Airways Center 17,441 6–32 39 January 17 @ Denver W 113–105 Andrew Wiggins (31) Robbie Hummel (13) Mo Williams (7) Target Center 14,821 7–32 40 January 19 @ Charlotte L 80–105 Thaddeus Young (18) Gorgui Dieng (10) Mo Williams (4) Time Warner Cable Arena 17,989 7–33 41 January 21 Dallas L 75–98 Andrew Wiggins (18) Thaddeus Young (11) Thaddeus Young (6) Target Center 13,737 7–34 42 January 23 New Orleans L 84–92 Williams & Dieng (7) (15) Gorgui Dieng (15) Mo Williams (10) Target Center 14,978 7–35 43 January 25 @ Atlanta L 100–112 Thaddeus Young (26) Wiggins, Williams & Dieng (7) Thaddeus Young (7) Philips Arena 18,049 7–36 44 January 26 @ Oklahoma City L 84–92 Andrew Wiggins (23) Gorgui Dieng (18) Williams & Young (3) Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203 7–37 45 January 28 Boston W 110–98 Kevin Martin (21) Gorgui Dieng (14) Zach LaVine (6) Target Center 11,434 8–37 46 January 30 @ Philadelphia L 94–103 Kevin Martin (19) Gorgui Dieng (10) Kevin Martin (5) Wells Fargo Center 14,333 8–38 47 January 31 Cleveland L 90–106 Andrew Wiggins (33) Nikola Peković (12) Lorenzo Brown (9) Target Center 19,562 8–39
February : 5–6 (home: 4–3; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 48 February 2 @ Dallas L 94–100 Kevin Martin (19) Nikola Peković (10) Mo Williams (5) American Airlines Center 19,989 8–40 49 February 4 Miami W 102–101 Kevin Martin (30) Gorgui Dieng (9) Mo Williams (10) Target Center 11,517 9–40 50 February 6 Memphis W 90–89 Andrew Wiggins (18) Thaddeus Young (8) Ricky Rubio (5) Target Center 14,388 10–40 51 February 8 @ Detroit W 112–101 Nikola Peković (29) Kevin Martin (9) Mo Williams (9) Palace of Auburn Hills 16,075 11–40 52 February 9 Atlanta L 105–117 Kevin Martin (21) Gorgui Dieng (12) Rubio & Young (5) Target Center 10,987 11–41 53 February 11 Golden State L 91–94 Kevin Martin (21) Nikola Peković (13) Ricky Rubio (5) Target Center 14,303 11–42 All-Star Break 54 February 20 Phoenix W 111–109 Kevin Martin (21) Gorgui Dieng (12) Ricky Rubio (14) Target Center 14,077 12–42 55 February 23 @ Houston L 102–113 Andrew Wiggins (30) Gorgui Dieng (14) Ricky Rubio (7) Toyota Center 18,240 12–43 56 February 25 Washington W 97–77 Kevin Martin (28) Nikola Peković (13) Ricky Rubio (8) Target Center 19,856 13–43 57 February 27 @ Chicago L 89–96 Kevin Martin (18) Nikola Peković (11) Ricky Rubio (10) United Center 21,635 13–44 58 February 28 Memphis L 97–101 Andrew Wiggins (25) Gorgui Dieng (9) Ricky Rubio (10) Target Center 19,356 13–45
March : 3–12 (home: 1–6; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 59 March 2 L.A. Clippers L 105–110 Gary Neal (19) Ricky Rubio (12) Ricky Rubio (11) Target Center 18,239 13–46 60 March 4 Denver L 85–100 Andrew Wiggins (20) Gorgui Dieng (10) Ricky Rubio (10) Target Center 13,848 13–47 61 March 7 Portland W 121–113 Kevin Martin (29) Peković & Rubio (8) Ricky Rubio (15) Target Center 19,356 14–47 62 March 9 @ L.A. Clippers L 76–89 Adreian Payne (16) Adreian Payne (15) Ricky Rubio (12) Staples Center 19,060 14–48 63 March 11 @ Phoenix L 97–106 Kevin Martin (16) Gorgui Dieng (7) Ricky Rubio (6) US Airways Center 17,367 14–49 64 March 13 @ Oklahoma City L 99–113 Gorgui Dieng (21) Gorgui Dieng (14) Zach LaVine (7) Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203 14–50 65 March 15 @ San Antonio L 97–123 Kevin Martin (19) Justin Hamilton (10) Lorenzo Brown (7) AT&T Center 18,581 14–51 66 March 16 Brooklyn L 106–122 Kevin Martin (23) Justin Hamilton & Wiggins (10) Kevin Martin (6) Target Center 14,234 14–52 67 March 18 @ Toronto L 100–105 Kevin Martin (37) Budinger & Rubio (8) Ricky Rubio (8) Air Canada Centre 19,800 14–53 68 March 19 @ New York W 95–92 (OT) Kevin Martin (22) Gorgui Dieng (11) Zach LaVine (4) Madison Square Garden 19,812 15–53 69 March 22 Charlotte L 98–109 Gorgui Dieng (16) Adreian Payne (9) Kevin Martin (9) Target Center 15,262 15–54 70 March 23 @ Utah W 106–104 (OT) Zach LaVine (27) Adreian Payne (9) Lorenzo Brown (6) EnergySolutions Arena 19,911 16–54 71 March 25 L.A. Lakers L 99–101 (OT) Andrew Wiggins (20) Lorenzo Brown (9) Zach LaVine (5) Target Center 13,438 16–55 72 March 27 @ Houston L 110–120 Andrew Wiggins (31) Gorgui Dieng (12) Zach LaVine (8) Toyota Center 18,322 16–56 73 March 29 @ New Orleans L 88–110 Andrew Wiggins (20) Adreian Payne (11) Lorenzo Brown (9) Smoothie King Center 17,576 16–57 74 March 30 Utah L 84–104 Zach LaVine (21) Budinger & Hummel (7) Brown & LaVine (6) Target Center 12,229 16–58
April : 0–8 (home: 0–4; road: 0–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 75 April 1 Toronto L 99–113 Andrew Wiggins (25) Zach LaVine (7) Brown & Wiggins (5) Target Center 12,699 16–59 76 April 3 Orlando L 84–97 Andrew Wiggins (22) Justin Hamilton (9) Zach LaVine (5) Target Center 18,334 16–60 77 April 7 @ Sacramento L 111–116 Kevin Martin (37) Andrew Wiggins (8) Zach LaVine (11) Sleep Train Arena 16,770 16–61 78 April 8 @ Portland L 91–116 Andrew Wiggins (29) Justin Hamilton (9) Zach LaVine (6) Moda Center 19,499 16–62 79 April 10 @ L.A. Lakers L 98–106 Andrew Wiggins (29) Andrew Wiggins (10) Andrew Wiggins (6) Staples Center 17,880 16–63 80 April 11 @ Golden State L 101–110 Zach LaVine (37) Justin Hamilton (10) Andrew Wiggins (9) Oracle Arena 19,596 16–64 81 April 13 New Orleans L 88–100 Zach LaVine (24) Robbie Hummel (10) Zach LaVine (7) Target Center 13,009 16–65 82 April 15 Oklahoma City L 113–138 Kevin Martin (29) Anthony Bennett (9) Zach LaVine (13) Target Center 18,250 16–66
2014–15 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	2,969	374	170	86	50	1,387	36.2	4.6	2.1	1.0	.6	16.9
Zach LaVine	PG	77	40	1,902	214	276	54	10	778	24.7	2.8	3.6	.7	.1	10.1
Gorgui Dieng	C	73	49	2,193	609	146	71	126	710	30.0	8.3	2.0	1.0	1.7	9.7
Chase Budinger	SF	67	4	1,286	198	64	44	10	457	19.2	3.0	1.0	.7	.1	6.8
Anthony Bennett	PF	57	3	894	216	48	27	16	298	15.7	3.8	.8	.5	.3	5.2
Thaddeus Young†	PF	48	48	1,605	245	135	86	17	685	33.4	5.1	2.8	1.8	.4	14.3
Robbie Hummel	SF	45	4	742	134	27	16	9	198	16.5	3.0	.6	.4	.2	4.4
Mo Williams†	PG	41	19	1,149	98	261	30	8	499	28.0	2.4	6.4	.7	.2	12.2
Kevin Martin	SG	39	36	1,302	142	89	33	1	779	33.4	3.6	2.3	.8	.0	20.0
Shabazz Muhammad	SG	38	13	866	154	44	18	7	512	22.8	4.1	1.2	.5	.2	13.5
Nikola Peković	C	31	29	815	234	27	19	12	386	26.3	7.5	.9	.6	.4	12.5
Adreian Payne†	PF	29	22	720	158	30	18	9	208	24.8	5.4	1.0	.6	.3	7.2
Lorenzo Brown	PG	29	7	549	70	90	28	6	122	18.9	2.4	3.1	1.0	.2	4.2
Glenn Robinson III†	SG	25	0	108	14	3	3	0	29	4.3	.6	.1	.1	.0	1.2
Corey Brewer†	SF	24	16	680	94	78	54	4	251	28.3	3.9	3.3	2.3	.2	10.5
Ricky Rubio	PG	22	22	692	125	193	38	1	226	31.5	5.7	8.8	1.7	.0	10.3
Troy Daniels†	SG	19	0	154	19	13	3	0	53	8.1	1.0	.7	.2	.0	2.8
Justin Hamilton†	C	17	9	423	86	24	19	25	153	24.9	5.1	1.4	1.1	1.5	9.0
Jeff Adrien	PF	17	0	215	77	15	4	9	60	12.6	4.5	.9	.2	.5	3.5
Gary Neal†	SG	11	1	262	35	20	7	0	130	23.8	3.2	1.8	.6	.0	11.8
Arinze Onuaku	C	6	1	68	21	4	1	3	27	11.3	3.5	.7	.2	.5	4.5
Kevin Garnett†	PF	5	5	98	26	8	5	4	38	19.6	5.2	1.6	1.0	.8	7.6
Miroslav Raduljica	C	5	0	23	5	0	1	0	8	4.6	1.0	.0	.2	.0	1.6
Sean Kilpatrick	SG	4	0	72	6	4	3	0	22	18.0	1.5	1.0	.8	.0	5.5
Ronny Turiaf	C	2	0	19	1	2	0	0	0	9.5	.5	1.0	.0	.0	.0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Timberwolves only.

Injuries

Player	Duration		Injury type	Games missed
	Start	End

Roster

2014–15 Minnesota Timberwolves roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SG 7 Lorenzo Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) 1990–08–26 NC State SF 10 Chase Budinger 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 1988–05–22 Arizona C 5 Gorgui Dieng 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1990–01–18 Louisville PF 21 Kevin Garnett 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 253 lb (115 kg) 1976–05–19 Farragut Academy (IL) C 41 Justin Hamilton 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1990–04–01 LSU SF 4 Robbie Hummel 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1989–03–08 Purdue SG 23 Kevin Martin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 1983–02–01 Western Carolina SF 15 Shabazz Muhammad 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 227 lb (103 kg) 1992–11–13 UCLA SG 12 Gary Neal 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1984–10–03 Towson PF 50 Arinze Onuaku 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1987–07–13 Syracuse PF 3 Adreian Payne 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1991–02–19 Michigan State C 14 Nikola Peković 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 307 lb (139 kg) 1986–01–03 Montenegro PG 9 Ricky Rubio 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1990–10–21 Spain

Head coach Flip Saunders Assistant(s) David Adelman Sidney Lowe Sam Mitchell Ryan Saunders Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate Injured Roster Updated: 2015–04–07

Transactions

Main article: List of 2014–15 NBA season transactions

Trades

Free agents

Re-signed

Player	Signed	Contract	Ref.

Additions

Player	Signed	Former team	Ref.

Subtractions

Player	Reason left	Date	New team	Ref.

Awards

Player	Award	Date awarded	Ref.

Andrew Wiggins won the 2015 NBA Rookie of the Year Award.