Jace Frederick: It’s now or never for these Timberwolves

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Ricky Rubio is no longer with the Timberwolves after going to Cleveland this summer in a trade that brought Taurean Prince to Minnesota.

But a certain quote from the truth teller’s exit interview at the conclusion of last season still rings true and resonates loudly ahead of the Timberwolves’ regular-season opener Wednesday against Houston.

“I think we’re going into a really important season for this franchise, where it can go,” Rubio said back in May. “It can go really well. But if not, it’s gonna start the rebuilding process again, because if these pieces don’t fit together, it’s been enough time to really grow.”

In short: This should be it for the Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell version of the Timberwolves. Both are max players turning 26 this season and heading into their seventh NBA campaigns. If they can’t even contend together now, then they never will win together at a high level.

Granted, the Wolves aren’t perfect. The team lacks size, including a starting-caliber power forward.

But the Wolves are armed with a rising star in Anthony Edwards, a veteran leader and viable backup point guard in Patrick Beverley, defensive stoppers in Jaden McDaniels and Josh Okogie, and shooters in Prince and Malik Beasley.

As former Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau used to say, Minnesota has “more than enough to win.”

Win enough, anyway. No one is expecting these Wolves to contend for a championship this season. But there have to be tangible signs of progress and a suggestion that those heights could be reachable in the future.

That would include being a .500 team this season that gets to the Western Conference play-in games, where the No. 7 through 10 seeds battle it out to extend their seasons.

If you want to aim higher and demand Minnesota actually makes the playoffs, no one should fault you. Setting the bar at being among the Western Conference’s top 53 percent isn’t unreasonable, even if such an achievement has seemed so far out of reach for the past 15-plus years.

The battle to be competitive in the West isn’t nearly as daunting as it used to be. On paper, these Wolves have more talent than San Antonio, Sacramento, Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Houston — putting them at 10th and in a play-in spot, at worst. The latter two teams make up Minnesota’s opponents in its first three games, which are all at home. The road is paved for a strong start that can set the tone for a successful season.

The vibes are good among those in the Timberwolves’ facility. Players believe in coach Chris Finch, they believe in the enhanced effort and intensity they brought to the exhibition season, and they seem to think better things are to come.

Prince reaffirmed the team’s playoff beliefs after its final preseason game in Brooklyn.

“I just think we gotta keep the right mindset going into every single game and stay locked in and do the things we know we’re supposed to do,” he said. “Beat the teams we know we’re supposed to beat, and then catch some on the road and get the ones that we’re supposed to at home. And I think if we do that, that will give us a great chance to be in the playoffs.”

Before training camp, Finch set the bar himself.

“If there’s noticeable growth on the things we’ve been talking about … Are we consistent? Are we competitive every night? Are we winning enough games alongside of that? … Then OK, the offseason, our preseason, everything led to the fact that we’re a highly-competitive team that’s tough to beat every night with an identity, I think if we do that, and we can get our defense up to an average level, we can certainly be relevant in that play-in tournament,” Finch told the Pioneer Press. “If not, then I don’t think we can gauge it as a successful season.”

Asked about the team’s mindset heading into the season, Russell said “Kill anybody in front of us.”

“I don’t care who it is. I don’t care what team it is,” he said. “Just try to win the matchup. Win the night. Win the quarter. Win everything.”

If the Wolves take that approach, they should achieve any standards anyone sets forth for them this season.

Is there any reason to think Minnesota shouldn’t be on a similar playing level as the likes of Memphis, Portland, Dallas and the Kawhi Leonard-less Clippers? If the Wolves aren’t in that echelon this season, or at least close to it, then something is missing.

And if something is missing, that should be the warning flare to basketball boss Sachin Gupta that something — maybe something big — will need to change.

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