After nine games, there is a growing realization that this Wolves outfit, perhaps more than any other, is corrosively affected by the franchise’s unparalleled legacy of losing.

Watching this team scrap and dig in to get stops during the first two weeks of the season has been a rare and rewarding experience, one that pleases the eye and warms the soul.

The box score proclaims that Karl-Anthony Towns had a fabulous game Monday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. But this is Karl-Anthony Towns, so it was not that simple.

After years of disappointments, the Wolves are suddenly expected to make the playoffs this season. Should we believe the hype?

After a series of moves — including trading Ricky Rubio to Utah — the 2017-18 Timberwolves will be older, blunter, bruising, expensive and better.

Butler is the best player the Timberwolves have ever acquired via a trade in the 28-year history of the franchise — and an absolutely perfect fit given the team’s current circumstances. 

Thibs, Wiggins and Towns are inextricably tied to each other. Can they synergize their extraordinary skills in a manner that elevates the Timberwolves?

A coach of Thibs’ pedigree deserves a season-long mulligan if it is prelude to the great leap forward. But that mulligan has eight games left. Then that vaunted reputation is on the clock.

The second half of a 78-minute interview with Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and President of Basketball Operations Tom Thibodeau.

Put bluntly, the great danger here is that the heralded coach and the star trio are a bad match.