The Minnesota Timberwolves’ initial core didn’t mesh as well as many people projected them to. D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Rudy Gobert only played 17 games together before Towns went down with injury. That starting lineup finished 9-8 in the 17 games it played together. It wasn’t until the trade deadline that fans realized the 142-127 loss to the Washington Wizards on November 28 was the final time they ever saw that starting lineup.
Those 17 games were clearly a large enough sample size for Tim Connelly and the front office decided that DLo’s strengths didn’t outweigh his drawbacks as a player. It’s unclear how much of the DLo trade was due to his on-court fit, and how much was due to his contract situation. Regardless, he traded Mike Conley to Utah for Russell, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and two second-rounders.
Fast forward to March 27th, one day after the new-look Timberwolves made their debut. The Wolves were riding high. They had won their last four in a row, including games where Towns and Edwards both made their return to the team. It was easily the best stretch the team had all season. But, naturally, the Wolves were about to experience some misfortune. Naz Reid experienced a left scaphoid fracture on a dunk attempt. Misfortune would strike again two weeks later when McDaniels fractured his right hand when he punched a wall due to a frustrating start to the game.
Reid’s injury meant the post-deadline Wolves only managed to make it two games before losing a key member to injury. McDaniels’ injury limited Minnesota’s new starting lineup to a seven-game stretch before it ultimately collapsed. Reid and McDaniels injuries left Connelly with a limited opportunity to evaluate his team, which in turn makes his decisions this summer even harder. Connelly and his front office will have to fight between what they’ve seen on the court, and what they think could have been.
9-8 was a disappointing start for the original starting five, but the team was a lot different at the beginning of the season. They had no chemistry, McDaniels had yet to take that jump we saw from him later on in the season, Edwards was just setting sail on his maiden all-star season, and Reid had yet to carve out a role in the rotation. The play from the original five was lackluster; frequent losses to lesser opponents paired with Towns’ injury made the decision to trade Russell easier.
When it comes to Connelly’s offseason decisions, they won’t be so easy.
Reid will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and he’s earned a hefty contract with his play this season. The Wolves have already invested $77 million into their starting frontcourt next season, so it’ll be interesting to see how much they’re willing to invest into the backup center spot. Still, in his exit interview, Connelly preached that he wanted Reid to be around for “a long, long time.”
Naz played poorly at the start of the season. But after Towns returned, Reid was an intrical part of what the Wolves were doing. In the four games he played after Towns returned, Reid averaged 20 points, 6 rebounds, and one assist per game. With such impactful stats, it’d be hard to find a reason to let Reid walk for nothing. But it may not end up being Minnesota’s choice to make.
Their $77 million frontcourt was supposed to elevate Minnesota’s playoff performance. But the duo’s performance in the playoffs was nothing short of disappointing.
After the lackluster playoff performance, many fans were ready to move on from the double-big lineup. Talks of trading Towns grew after every game. However, Connelly did not join the chorus. Instead, he stated his support for the starting lineup, describing them as “exciting” and “fun to build around.”
The Wolves looked lackluster in their first three playoff games, but they showed some life in the final two. That life was brought about by Anthony Edwards, not Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. Ultimately, losing in five was a bad result for Minnesota’s new experiment, no matter how many silver linings you find in it. And it brings about a lot of questions for the offseason.
If Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels had played in them, those answers would have been much clearer. McDaniels defense on Jamal Murray could have dampened his production. And Reid could have helped insure the Wolves won the non-Nikola Jokic minutes throughout the season.
But of course we’ll never know either of these things, and you can’t bank an entire franchise’s future on what-ifs.
It was never going to be an easy offseason for Tim Connelly. Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are entering free agency, and Edwards and McDaniels need extensions. Connelly had his work set out for him. Not having a sustained stretch of health at any point throughout the season certainly hasn’t made his decision-making any easier. Tim Connelly’s repeated support of the team’s roster construction may help him weave his way through what could be his most important off-season.
