The reaction has become so predictable you can set your watch to it.



Minutes after the Timberwolves announced that Karl-Anthony Towns had a fractured left wrist and would miss at least the next two weeks of games, the calls came from Wolves Twitter to just shut him down for the season. Might as well just tank the final 29, play for the draft pick and punt on the season.



It’s become the fashionable play, the visionary strategy. Always play for next season. Hoard your lottery balls. Dump your big contracts for the next free agent. The Warriors have heard it this season as well. Keep Steph Curry on the shelf. Lose, lose and lose some more, nevermind the effect it has on the current players or the season-ticket holders who are stuck coming to every game.



It is so easy to say from afar. A draft pick that is not attached to a name, some cap space that hasn’t been spent, they can be shiny objects that in principle have a much higher success rate than in...