5 things that went wrong for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2020-21 NBA season

#3 Malik Beasley suspended 12 games by NBA and missed rest of season

Malik Beasley #5 drives against the Denver Nuggets.

The NBA suspended Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley for 12 games without pay after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of threats of violence. He was sentenced to 120 days of jail time for the incident on Sept. 26, which he is currently serving with an Aug. 17 release. In addition, he had to complete anger management, pay a $3,000 fine and go on a three-year probation period.

The NBA announces a 12-game suspension without pay for Minnesota’s Malik Beasley: pic.twitter.com/sy273ueJ6P

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 25, 2021

The Minnesota Timberwolves guard returned on Mar. 27 but played just four games before he was out with a sore left hamstring and missed the rest of the season.

#2 Injuries to several Minnesota Timberwolves players

D'Angelo Russell #0 reacts toward the referee.

During a year when just about every major NBA superstar spent time on the injured list, the Minnesota Timberwolves had to endure injuries to their star players, D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns.

With the Minnesota Timberwolves down in the dumps with a 7-20 record, Russell injured his left knee in February and missed almost two months of basketball. By the time he returned, the Minnesota Timberwolves had only won five times and owned a 12-38 record.

Aside from the two stars, they also endured injuries to Beasley, Josh Okogie, Jarrett Culver and others, not to mention players who went into the league’s health and safety protocols during the season.

#1 Karl-Anthony Towns tested positive for COVID-19

Karl-Anthony Towns #32 warms before a game.

The worst thing that happened to the Minnesota Timberwolves was Karl-Anthony Towns getting COVID-19. The team’s franchise center had already lost several members of his family, including his mom last year, to the dreaded disease.

Karl-Anthony Towns shared an emotional moment on Mother's Day with his dad, Karl Sr. 🙏KAT’s mother, Jacqueline, died due to complications from COVID-19 in 2020. pic.twitter.com/yyK5jq33J6

— ESPN (@espn) May 9, 2021

But for Towns to be the latest in his family to acquire COVID and for the Minnesota Timberwolves to lose him early in the season, it was a double-whammy for the 6-foot-11 center.

He said he felt bad because he had the resources to beat the virus while others didn’t.

"I felt very guilty about the treatment I got," Towns said via ESPN. "And I feel that should be more widely available to Americans, to anyone in the world. I felt very guilty even getting something that could help me more just recover, stay healthy, stay alive. There is such mental strain through all this time, a feeling of guilt because of the resources I have, and I wish I could spread these resources with as many people as possible. The guilt, just a lot of demons I haven't dealt with that I put to the back burner for basketball."

In the 13 games that he missed, the Minnesota Timberwolves lost 10 of them. They were 6-18 by the time he returned and it took a long while before Towns was able to help them get back to winning basketball.

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