When a franchise has issued more logos than it has claimed playoff series victories, the fan base certainly has compelling reasons to ponder if management cares more about being artistic than assembling a competitive club. With only seven winning campaigns since their 1989 inception, the Minnesota Timberwolves have mostly proven a doormat for their NBA foes, but their overseers, in an ongoing rebuilding phase that finds them fielding the last two Rookie of the Year victors, believe respectability is not far away. While the roster members’ potential is undeniably exciting, the club’s new logo, released Tuesday, is downright dull, with the North Star State’s residents and even the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes having fun at its expense.
The fourth logo in team history met onlookers’ eyes during halftime of their hoops’ heroes home finale. The subsequent loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and the next night’s season-ending setback to the Houston Rockets added two more defeats to what became a 31-51 slate. That ledger left the carnivores out of the postseason picture for the 12th-straight time, and while that deserves pity, nothing trumps the true tragedy, namely, the knockoff logo.
The new choice, set to debut next season, does not seem as intimidating as its predecessor, which is a big factor considering that Americans tend to associate a fierce artistic representation with their squads’ bravado. Billing the predator’s depiction as indicative of a “new era” and a “new look,” ownership must deal with the results of a Star Tribune poll that left 49 percent of responders dubbing the design “mediocre” or “awful.” No strangers to missing postseason action themselves, with their ice melting prematurely each year since 2012, the Coyotes had some fun on Twitter when spotting the similarities between the symbol that they have used since 2003 and the Timberwolves’ brainchild.
.@Timberwolves we like your style. pic.twitter.com/Of0FqXP3yT
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) April 12, 2017
The NBA , whose playoff jaunt commences tomorrow, has not released next year’s schedule, but the Timberwolves, whose last sniff at a solid season came three years ago when they finished 40-42, will eagerly inspect it to look for statement games, with forward Andrew Wiggins and center Karl-Anthony Towns, the aforementioned award winners, as the faces of the franchise who will court net gains. Will their uniforms have their foes howling for mercy and set them apart from the Western Conference pack? That’s an inquiry fans will certainly sink their teeth into come training camp.
