Media day was fairly uneventful for the Minnesota Timberwolves this year, but in a good way. There was no new star player shaking up the lineup after a controversial trade. There was no dramatic coaching or front-office change to talk about, and there was no off-season drama to explain or reckon with.
So while 2023 media day may not have netted as many eye-grabbing headlines as it has in years past, there were plenty of subtle storylines and news set out by the team that fans can get excited about. Perhaps the biggest piece of news from the press conference was a sign of stability in itself. During Tim Connelly’s interview Britt Robson asked him if the Wolves had any plans to re-sign Mike Conley after this season.
Connelly responded with a thorough and open explanation saying:
When we got Mike, our goal was for this to be the last spot. You never know how things are going to develop, but certainly we didn’t get Mike just to be a short-term thing. When you get a person as special as Mike is, you wanna ensure that, you know, he doesn’t leave here. And it’s been really neat watching Mike and Mary, not just adjust to the team but adjust to the city. They love living in Minnesota, they bought a house. Mike’s never been in a city with other professional sports franchises so, you know, Twins games, Viking games, Loons games — it’s really cool to watch him and his family really buy in to complete this community.
That’s an exciting answer on many levels. First and foremost, it’s good to hear that Conley has a house here and is getting comfortable living in Minnesota. Last year was a whirlwind for Mike. He had to learn a new playbook while simultaneously having to relocate with his wife and kids across the country at a moment’s notice. However, it’s even better to hear that he and his family like Minnesota.
Most people who live here like it, of course. But many NBA players who aren’t from the Midwest only come here during the NBA season in the peak of winter when they have to play a road game in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit, or Chicago. Thus many of them, especially those from warmer climates, tend to have an understandably strong disinterest in living in Minnesota. Frankly, it’s really cold in the Midwest during the NBA season.
However, as many of us who live here know, it’s not so bad once you experience all four seasons. Just ask Damian Lillard, who grew up in Oakland, played his professional career outside of college in Portland, and recently touched down in Milwaukee.
Conley said that he believes that his No. 1 priority at this point of his career is winning a championship. He believes the Timberwolves could not only compete for a championship this year, but may be way closer to making an impact than people on the outside of the team think. Conley’s vote of confidence is encouraging to hear. He’s been on a ton of great teams and still views this iteration of the Timberwolves as a team that has the potential to win a title. It was even more encouraging to hear Conley confirm that he’s open to spending the rest of his career in Minnesota during the press conference by saying “I am where I’m supposed to be.”
In the immediate term, that’s exciting because Conley is an awesome player, and was great at keeping the Wolves offense moving when it was often prone to getting stagnant before his arrival. Mike was also able to score in various ways. He made clutch buckets, including what may have been the most high-pressure free throws I’ve ever witnessed, when he hit three in a row to send the play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers into overtime.
Conley averaged 14 points, 5 assists, and 1.2 steals a game while shooting a highly-efficient 42% from 3-point range on almost 6 attempts per game. As Connelly said, when you get a player as great as Mike, you have to do your best to keep him. Still, given that front offices often hold their cards close to their chest, it was nice to hear Connelly open up and say that the Wolves traded for Mike hoping he would retire in Minnesota.
Connelly’s statement also clears up what the front office’s plan for point guard is for the next handful of years. There were a lot of questions this offseason about Minnesota’s point guard depth. Jordan McLaughlin struggled after returning from a pretty serious calf injury last season, and although the team has confidence he can come back strong this year, calf injuries can sometimes have lingering effects.
Given that McLaughlin is the only other true point guard on the roster besides Conley, there was reason to be concerned that the Timberwolves left a massive hole at the point after this season. Mike’s contract will expire after this year, and the Wolves have no clear succession plan for Mike at the moment. Tim Connelly expressed his desire for Mike Conley to play out the end of his career in Minnesota, suggesting he’s prepared to offer Mike a competitive contract, and that Connelly has confidence that Conley can continue to be the team’s starting point guard.
While the front office isn’t always right, league insiders have respected Connelly’s scouting prowess, ability to develop relationships with players, has been respected throughout his NBA career for his scouting prowess, and his ability to develop relationships with players. I trust his ability to assess how the team and Mike’s desires align and also to assess Mike’s ability to continue to play great into his late 30s.
I previously wrote about how Conley’s game should continue to age well, going into detail about the intricacies of his game. Mike may not have the peak athleticism he had in his 20s. However, his game does not rely on athleticism to be effective, like some of the players we see have a sharp decline in their early 30s. Particularly, Conley has always been a good shooter. He has shot 38.2% from three on good volume throughout his career.
He’s only had two years shooting below 36% from three in 16 seasons, one of which was his rookie year. Historically, good shooters have aged well in the NBA, especially when they also bring playmaking and defense to the table. Additionally, part of what makes Conley so special as a player is his intelligence, his ability to process the game at high speeds and be an extension of the coach on the court. These are valuable skills that won’t go away with age.
As a reference point, Conley’s birthday is next week (!!), so he will be 36 going into next season, making him only about half a year older than Steph Curry, and about two and a half years younger than Chris Paul. Both players have similar skills to Mike, and like him, have proven that players can continue to be elite at your position into your mid and late 30s with those abilities.
Even if the Wolves end up having to load-manage Mike over the next few seasons as he ages, they have plenty of versatile players who can play the point in a pinch like McLaughlin, Kyle Anderson, Shake Milton, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Thus, the team’s desire to commit to Conley after this season, and the bevy of secondary ball-handlers behind him on the roster, makes having a succession plan for Conley in place much less of a concern in the short term.
Beyond the court, there are a ton of exciting things about having Conley potentially retire in Minnesota. As Tim Connelly said, it’s not every day that you can trade for a player who’s as talented and high-character as Mike. Several players on the Wolves spoke throughout media day about how great it’s been having Conley on the team as a leader and a stabilizing force in the locker room. He’s a sage veteran who can provide wisdom to his teammates.
Conley would be a great person to keep in the organization even after he retires. If he chooses to become a coach, I have no doubt he’d be well-equipped for it and would be an awesome person to have working with the Wolves. If not, he’d just be a great figure to have coming to games and being a part of the Minnesota community.
Mike is a legendary basketball figure in at least four states, including Ohio, Tennessee, Utah, and now Minnesota. The Timberwolves haven’t had the luxury of having a veteran of Conley’s status want to retire with them. And the one true franchise legend who wanted to retire here, Kevin Garnett, became estranged from the team ostensibly because Wolves ownership at the time didn’t put enough effort into making sure he stayed a part of the franchise’s future.
Garnett’s outspoken anger about this almost certainly hurt the team’s reputation around the league, and it hurt the ownership’s reputation amongst Wolves fans. While I understand Mike doesn’t hold the same status as Garnett, I believe that committing to keeping Conley on the team through the end of his career is a step toward building a reputation around the league that will help Minnesota be seen as a desirable place for veterans to live and find success. One player isn’t going to change how free agents view negative temperatures in the winter or snow storms. However, committing to a veteran like Mike is a strong step towards building a lasting team culture.
