Over the next month, we will be previewing every team in the NBA. Here is the next installment of our series on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

2014-15 Record: 16-66

Notable Acquisitions: Tayshaun Prince (FA), Damjan Rudez, Karl Anthony-Towns (Draft), Tyus Jones (Draft), Andre Miller (FA), Nemanja Bjelica (Trade)

Notable Departures: Anthony Bennett, Chase Budinger

Temperature Check:

After bottoming out post-Kevin Love, the Timberwolves are now stocked with a deep and talented roster. The first pick in this summer’s draft, Karl Anthony-Towns, will be joined by last year’s Rookie of the Year, Andrew Wiggins, and an interesting mix of talented youngsters and established vets. The pieces are certainly in place for Minnesota to skyrocket upwards in the standings.

Inside the Playbook:

There is always a case to be made to zig when everyone else is zagging. That’s what the Wolves are doing when it comes to the post up. In an era where one of the NBA’s oldest and most revered art forms seems on its way out, Minnesota is embracing it. In fact, the only team in the league that posted up more often was a Memphis Grizzlies outfit that employs the twin towers of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, per Synergy data.

While a team like Memphis has two literally very large reasons to throw the ball to the block on their offensive possessions, Minnesota didn’t appear to have the same incentive. As I wrote about last season, Wiggins started to become the Wolves' bellcow on the block, utilizing more of his possessions (28 percent) than even the bruising Pekovic (21 percent), per Synergy data. But though Wiggins dominated in terms of sheer number of opportunities, he certainly wasn’t Minnesota’s best option. That honor belonged to another young wing: Shabazz Muhammad.

Before a finger injury cut short the rest of an injury-marred campaign in February, Muhammad was in the midst of a very promising sophomore campaign. The second-year player produce noticeable leaps in his PER (13.1 to 19.9), True Shooting percentage (50.5 to 55.5) and Free Throw Rate (.32 to .37) thanks mainly to his newfound post game -- something a little unexpected from a small forward that checks in a shade under 6-foot-6.

Saunders would get Muhammad into good positions on the block by having him either come off a screen…

...or have Muhammad set one himself in an attempt to bait the defense into a switch, like this:

When Muhammad caught in the post the end result was pretty much the same; a turn over his right shoulder to get to a soft lofty touch/jump hook type shot. And the results weren’t half bad, as the young small forward averaged .966 points per possession, good for 8th among all players with at least 100 such play types as tracked by Synergy. And that includes more than a handful of possessions where Saunders called Muhammad’s number in the post despite the fact he had no real size or strength advantage, like this woeful attempt to score over the 6-foot-9, 240-pound Rudy Gay:

In other unsurprising news, Muhammed struggled during the rare instances teams brought a double team. And those double teams will come as the Wolves will likely deploy lineups around him that don’t truly allow the team to “invert” (post a backcourt player while a big man takes his place on the perimeter) their office and appropriately punish double teams when the ball moves out.

But for a young Minnesota team seeking to find options outside of Wiggins, Mohammad’s ability to command that sort of attention, whether he learns to deal with it better or not, is a welcome sign. And by pairing with a fellow post up threat on the wing in Wiggins, the Wolves and Mohammad are certainly piecing together an offense very different from the current trend sweeping the NBA.

Lineup to Watch:

All of them!

Look up and down the Minnesota roster and it’s hard to see a singular five-man pairing so inherently interesting it noticeably stands out above the rest. Literally every lineup that gets trotted out on the floor will be intriguing because of the eclectic mix of talent on the Wolves roster. That’s why the general process of seeing who is played where will make the selection process itself so interesting. Just look at all the options.

Minnesota could go with power in their frontcourt by playing Nikola Pekovic and Anthony-Towns together. Or maybe rely more on youth, athleticism and defensive potential by sticking with Anthony-Towns and Gorgui Dieng. Or maybe embrace the modern NBA by pairing stretch 4 type (Adreian Payne,  Damjan Rudez or Euro import Nemanja Bjelica). And all those potential combo’s don’t even factor in what position Wiggins and Zach LaVine play spend their time at and if/when/how much Saunders plays his vets like Tayshaun Prince, Andre Miller and Kevin Garnett.

Since there are only so minutes to pass around, who does play together may often take a back seat compared to who doesn’t. Something like rookie Ty Jones staying strapped to the bench while LaVine struggles playing the point or Miller shows his age on a nightly basis will leave whoever is manning the helm open to criticism.

So like I said, finding a lone Wolves lineup that will stand out may be an impossible task. That’s because regardless of success or failure, all of them will.

The Wildcard:

Whoever takes the reigns as head coach.

With so much depth and talent, it’s hard to single out just a single player as the key to success in Minnesota. Instead it will be on either Flip Saunders or interim coach Sam Mitchell to mold that depth and talent into success.

But it’s hard to tell what either of these two coaches actually bring to the table. Saunders has had some good teams -- the late era KG Wolves and the post-2004 title Pistons -- but also some truly pathetic ones (see: Wizards, Washington). Throw in last year’s return to the bench only to have his roster riddled by injury and it’s hard to really evaluate if Saunders actually makes the teams he coaches better than the sum of their parts.

Mitchell is in the same vain. He experienced some success during his lone endeavor with Toronto from 2005-2008(ish), taking the franchise to back-to-back playoff experiences before being fired early into the 08-09 season. Yet nothing about those Mitchell-led Raptors team pointed to a Pop-in-the-making as they were good offensively but never failed to post a defensive rating higher than 12th -- which doesn’t inspire too much hope in Mitchell to fix the Wolves disaster defense.

But whoever winds up in charge certainly will have an interesting and versatile roster at their disposal. Some combination of rotation management, playing style and general organization probably makes them a playoff team with the right breaks. Yet if Mitchell or Saunders push the wrong buttons, it’ll be another long winter in Minnesota.

Coach’s Question:

Does Ricky Rubio mesh well with the Wolves current approach?

Amid the injuries and shooting woes, Rubio’s status as an impactful player has been repeatedly questioned. Like most players in the NBA, the Wolves point guard will look worse if the system he plays in and the players that surround him either don’t augment his strengths or subsidize his weakness. In Minnesota, it’s hard to see either of those things being the case.

Imagine for a second, Rubio’s sublime playmaking being unleashed in an up-tempo offense helmed by Mike D’Antoni, Alvin Gentry or any other coach with a track record of offensive success using that style. With pick-and-rolls galore and an emphasis on spreading the floor with shooters around him, Rubio’s scoring limitations would be drowned out by his magical ability to create shots for those around him. It’d be a perfect marriage of system and skills.

But as mentioned above, Saunders, assuming he returns to health, has showcased his preferred a post-up centric style of play, very reminiscent of the 90’s era of basketball where he made his name. Mitchell’s playing career came during that same iso/post up heavy era and his lone head coaching stint came in the mid 00s, the league was only being introduced to the spread pick-and-roll style that now heavily influences the game. Because of the contrast in their backgrounds compared to the ideal style of play for their talented point guard, it will be interesting to see how Rubio gets handled this season.

Will Mitchell or Saunders try to jam him into a secondary role where Rubio will spend his time throwing entry passes into the post and spotting up? Or will whoever ends up coaching the team build a system and utilize personnel that give Rubio a real chance to showcase his talents?

Best Case Scenario:

41-41 If…

The coaching instability caused by Saunders’ health issues doesn’t negatively affect the team’s performance. The veteran influences brought in to mentor the young players aren’t handed consistent minutes amid rapidly deteriorating production. The team’s offense manages to sidestep the lack of floor spacers on the roster just enough to be respectable.

Worst Case Scenario:

25-57 If...

The defense continues to be an incoherent mess. Veterans like Prince, Miller and Garnett are handed extended minutes to the detriment of the team on the court. Rubio flounders in a post-centric approach and the team’s reliance on post up play without adequate floor spacing dooms the offense to futility.

Click here for a full list of NBA Season Previews from Brett Koremenos.