The Minnesota Timberwolves finished the 2014-15 season with the worst record in the NBA despite having a lot of talent on their roster. This year the Wolves are hopeful they will be better but in order for that to happen they will need to stay healthy. Injuries were a huge reason for their poor season a year ago and things aren't starting off great on the injury front this season either as Nikola Pekovic will reportedly not be 100 percent for training camp, according to Alan Horton of WCCO Radio.
Pekovic is currently dealing with an ankle injury that cost him a lot of time last season as he only played in 31 games a year ago. Minnesota general manager Milt Newton said that he doesn't expect Pekovic to be full go when training camp starts and that it is hard to say when he will be back to full strength. It is very possible that Pekovic might not be available for the Timberwolves when the regular season starts.
This injury a year ago would have likely been insurmountable for the Timberwolves but they should be able to withstand it this season. It is very likely that Pekovic wasn't even going to start if he was healthy when the season starts as head coach Flip Saunders has already made it clear that Kevin Garnett will start at power forward and it seems likely that the Wolves will give first overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns the opportunity to start at center.
Pekovic is still an important player for the Timberwolves as he has a good mix of size and strength down low but they are very deep in the front court. Behind Garnett and Towns they have Gorgui Dieng who is coming off an impressive season and Anthony Bennett who has impressed in international competition this summer among others. There will likely be playing time for Pekovic when and if he gets healthy but it's hard for the T'Wolves to rely on him as he has never played more than 65 games in an NBA season.
Even when the 6 foot-11 center was on the court last season he was having a disappointing season as he averaged 12.5 points (lowest since his rookie season) and 7.5 rebounds per game while making just 42 percent of his field goals which was a career low by far. The Timberwolves would love to have a healthy Pekovic next season in his 2013 form but that is just something that can't be expected right now.
