The Timberwolves are two moves away from being NBA title contenders

The Minnesota Timberwolves can build on this.

For now, it's enough to bask in the glory of knocking off Stephen Curry's Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. Karl-Anthony Towns' crew threw a serious wrench into the Warriors' plans to win 73 games, which is an incredible feat.

Last night's win was about more than just slowing the pursuit of history, however. The Wolves are an incredibly talented group of young players -- and the rest of the NBA should be terrified about what might lie ahead.

Karl-Anthony Towns is already one of the NBA's top 15 to 20 players. Andrew Wiggins is starting to put it all together, showing off his defensive versatility and ability to outrebound much larger players while working on his improved jumper. Zach LaVine's decision-making gets stronger every day, which in turn allows him to leverage his incredible athleticism on both ends of the floor. And Ricky Rubio, while not the world's greatest finisher at the rim, provides some of the best point guard defense in the NBA and gets his teammates the ball where they want it, when they need it.

Three of those four players were born in 1995. Rubio, the oldest, is 26. They're only going to get better -- which would be scary enough on its own. But on May 17, the Wolves could take the next step in achieving their final form as a championship contender.

"Too soon!" you might say. And we hear you. Our response, though, is simple:

He's not the next Kevin Durant, as some say. Instead, he's the next Brandon Ingram -- and that's more than good enough.

You know that young man. If for whatever reason you don't, his name is Brandon Ingram. He played basketball this past year for Duke University. And he's going to be an excellent NBA player.

So excellent, in fact, that he very well could be the No. 1 overall pick in June's draft. On that front, the Wolves will need a little bit of luck. They're all but locked in to the league's fifth-worst record, giving them an 8.8 percent chance at the first pick. They might not need to leap all the way to one; LSU's Ben Simmons could very well still be the first pick, and foreign prospect Dragan Bender could still charge up teams' draft boards. In that case, the Wolves have an additional 9.7 percent chance of landing the second pick, and a 10.7 percent chance of picking third.

Conditionally, then, we're willing to give Minnesota about a 20 percent chance of ending up with Ingram in the 2016 draft. Cross your fingers, Wolves fans, because there isn't a better outcome.

In a different era, Ingram might have slipped through the cracks as a "tweener" without a true position. In today's game, he's a versatile whirlwind of offensive range, limbs that reach forever, and positional flexibility. He'd be a perfect fit as the Wolves nominal power forward, stretching the floor with his already solid 3-point shooting and plugging into a defensive system centered on Towns patrolling the paint (and all adjacent territory) while his teammates snuff out everything on the perimeter.

Oh, about that defense -- there's a certain free agent coach we foresee the Wolves hiring in this scenario, too. And he probably laughed all the way to the bank as he watched Towns & Co. show their potential on Tuesday:

Former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is another perfect fit for Minnesota, and he's smart enough to know it. At this point, Thibs shouldn't be seriously listening to a coaching offer from anyone but the Wolves -- unless, for some reason, the Pelicans decide to part ways with Alvin Gentry. Thibodeau is a master of NBA defense. True, the league has adapted somewhat to his strongside-pressure system; the Warriors in particular have demonstrated how the 3-pointer and a playmaking forward can stretch Thibodeau-style defenses to their limit.

But Thibodeau isn't one to rest on his laurels. This is a man who lives, breathes, eats, sleeps and dreams about the NBA. He's perfectly aware of the current limitations of his system, and the guess here is that he spends his days in an underground laboratory drawing up the perfect schemes to stop the likes of LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Implementing an entirely new defensive scheme isn't easy, of course. Fortunately for Thibs, he has a relationship with current Wolves big man Kevin Garnett going back to their time in Boston together, where Thibodeau was an assistant under Doc Rivers. If KG's willing to come back for one more year under a coach he greatly respects, the talkative veteran could serve as a pseudo-assistant coach in practice and on the court.

Furthermore, Thibs has never had a player like Towns, who's on the same level as a rookie as Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan. The Wolves rookie has the IQ and ability to be the best defender in the league within the next two years; meanwhile, he's also one of the best offensive big men we've seen in years. Forget O'Neal or Duncan -- Towns' skill with the ball in his hands is Hakeem Olajuwon-esque.

You know, if "The Dream" had been able to shoot 3s.

Worried about Thibs running the young Wolves into the ground, as many believe he did to the young Bulls during his previous time? We're not. Minnesota has partnered with the Mayo Clinic to revolutionize the team's approach to player health and fatigue. Put a strong training staff in place to balance Thibodeau's less player-friendly instincts, and you have another perfect marriage.

The Wolves might not have the opportunity to add Thibodeau this offseason, of course, depending on whether they decide to bring back interim coach Sam Mitchell for another season. That would be an unfortunate decision, but as long as it's just one more year, it doesn't derail the dream scenario laid out here.

After all, it starts with being able to snag Ingram. It's not likely, and Minnesota will need to plan for contingencies with less upside. Thirty-six percent of the time, they'll end up drafting sixth in June. That's kind of a cursed spot for the Wolves, who famously selected Jonny Flynn one spot ahead of Stephen Curry with the sixth pick in the 2009 draft.

That's the past, though. We're here for the future, and we're here to be optimistic. Hope is a good thing, and worth rooting for. So let us dream of Ingram in a frontcourt with Wiggins and Towns. Let us dream of Rubio finding Ingram on the wing for an open 3 or a drive to the rim. Let us dream of LaVine and Ingram running pick-and-rolls that leave defenses clutching at straws.

Adding the Blue Devils forward gives the Wolves an entire starting lineup of young players for whom the sky is the absolute limit. Let them grow together, toss in one of the best modern NBA coaches, and watch what happens.

The Warriors already know how scary this team can be -- and the Wolves are just getting started.