Anthony Edwards Wasting $50,000 All So He Could Tell A Ref To Go Fuck Themselves Does Not Seem Like A Wise Investment

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It's been a bit of a weird first half for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Coming off their WCF run last year, I think most people expected the Wolves to assert themselves as one of the best teams in the West this season. Ant was blossoming into a superstar, their defense is insane, they showed progress in terms of playoff success etc. All those things usually lead to a breakout year.

Then the KAT/Randle trade came out of nowhere, and ever since the Wolves just haven't been the same. Their spacing is jacked up, their offense is literally putting up the 4th fewest points per game in the West, as a team they sit at 20-18 and in 8th, going just 13-14 against teams over .500. Last year, they were 32-20 against that same caliber of teams.

As is the case with pretty much every team in NBA history that has this type of underachievement, what you tend to see in a year like that is a series of crash outs from players on the roster, sort of like what we're seeing with Anthony Edwards. Things were sweet when the Wolves were winning and everyone was sucking Ant's dick non-stop calling him Michael Jordan every two seconds. But when the opposite happens and things don't go your way anymore, what do you do? Do you take the responsibility and turn things around as the franchise player, or do you continue to add to the chaos and drama?

Take for example what took place at the end of the MIN/MEM game this weekend, another tough Wolves loss at home to a competitive team.

Now, what I'll never do is make any excuses for the legit braindead officiating that the NBA puts on the floor every night. The officiating problem in the NBA is BY FAR their biggest issue in terms of what's fucking up the product on the floor, and I'm not even sure that's debatable. It's bad every year, and somehow it feels like it's getting worse. Does Adam Silver care? Of course not.

At the same time, let's relive the reality of this situation in MIN and you tell me if this is how you want your franchise player behaving. Remember, Ant went 4-13 (0-5) in this game with 6 TOs in this 2 point loss. Not only that, he also had this push off with a chance to win the game that the NBA later acknowledged should have been an offensive foul, so in a way the refs did him a favor

Sorry, but putting up that type of performance, blowing a game winner, and then flipping off the refs is pretty embarrassing. Even if I agree with his overall premise of NBA refs being trash, where's the accountability? Where's the leadership? People were so quick to label Ant the next Face Of The NBA and putting him in conversations he's not quite ready for when in reality it's pretty clear this season he still has a long way to go.

It's a good thing Ant has that massive extension because the man cannot stop doing things that end up getting him fined by the league

Ant is certainly not the first NBA player who has had issues with the officials, and many are correct in their complaints. My question is, why is it OK for the NBA to fine players for stuff like this, but zero officials are held accountable for their actions? We see the league rescind awful techs all the time, but nothing happens to the one who called it. 

We see the L2M report correct obvious wrong calls that impact the results of the game, but it's not like the refs are punished for their actions. People say "well they won't get assigned playoff games" or whatever, but some of the worst refs in the league continue to get the nod! Guys like Tony Brothers get to do whatever they want with zero repercussions. It's insane.

It all just seems a little contradictory to me. Yes, Ant should be fined for flipping off a ref like that. But where are the fines/suspensions/punishments when things happen the other way? As long as NBA refs can operate without a care in the world of there being consequences for their actions, why on earth would they change anything? They get to act like God with no fear of anything coming down from the league. That, is the real problem here.