Aside from Sam Cassell, Stephon Marbury, and Terrell Brandon, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ All-Time point guards list isn’t particularly notable. Sure, Ricky Rubio was a fan favorite, and he made an impact with the Wolves. However, the team needed a guard who could find his own offense for almost an entire decade.
When the Wolves acquired D’Angelo Russell in 2020, it finally gave the fanbase an offensive-oriented floor general who brought some big-time buzz to the team. It was love at first sight. They brought in Russell to play alongside his best friend, Karl-Anthony Towns, and fans and the front office were giddy for the future. At the time, current head coach Ryan Saunders desperately needed a guy who could have the ball in his hands and do something with it in clutch moments. DLo checked all the boxes. However, as the team continued to evolve over the years, Russell’s skill set became non-essential.
With rising superstar Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves no longer needed a floor general who had a score-first mindset and could fill up the box score. Instead, they needed someone who brought consistent winning numbers every night – something DLo could not satisfy.
Enter Mike Conley. The 36-year-old veteran guard already had ties to former teammates on Minnesota’s roster. He also had the potential to do great things for the team’s offense as a whole. It’s evident that Conley’s role is essential to accentuate Minnesota’s star-studded offensive roster as the years go on. However, Conley is reaching the age where most NBA players retire. With one year left on his contract, Minnesota’s front office will need to find a younger replacement to pair next to Edwards and co-rising star Jaden McDaniels.
Trying to replace Conley is not an easy task. After only one season in the Twin Cities, Conley proved just how crucial he is to the success of everyone on Minnesota’s roster.
A Real Connection With Rudy Gobert
Conley’s prior experience playing with Rudy Gobert was a big reason why the Timberwolves traded for him. Before the Utah Jazz dealt Conley to Minnesota, the Wolves had season-long issues trying to generate offensive consistency with Gobert. After spending nine seasons playing under Quin Snyder in Utah, it was a struggle for the French Rejection to adapt to Minnesota’s playstyle. Aside from Kyle Anderson, it seemed none of the Wolves’ guards or wings could bring out the side of Gobert that allowed him to lead the NBA in field goal percentage for three seasons.
It doesn’t take a long look into the advanced stats to see how much Conley help Gobert and vice versa. Above, you see a graph of on/off stats between Gobert and Conley last season, provided by pbpstats.com. When Gobert and Conley shared the floor, the Timberwolves had a +3.38 net rating in 611 minutes. When both of them were off the floor, Minnesota had a -2.96 net rating in 292 minutes. While that may be a stark contrast, all that really proves is just how lackluster the Wolves’ bench was. What’s even more telling is the team’s -11.72 rating with Gobert on the floor and Conley on the bench.
For comparison, when DLo shared the floor with Rudy last season, Minnesota had a -0.54 net rating in the 1103 minutes they played together. What’s even more surprising? The Timberwolves had a +5.09 rating when both Gobert and Russell were off the floor, further proving just how vital Minnesota Mike has been in the re-finding of the Stifle Tower’s offensive tools.
Letting Ant Eat By Making Winning Plays
The Wolves have needed timely scoring for a while. If you take a look at the Denver Nuggets, they have been the NBA’s most dominant team this season because their two best players, Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray, can score when their team most needs it. Now, that doesn’t mean just having ice in your veins with the game on the line. Rather, being a timely scorer can mean hitting a couple of back-to-back shots to prevent the opponent from running away with the game or gaining too much momentum.
Some people believed that DLo was crowding out Ant offensively. During his time with the Wolves, Russell needed to be one of the focal points of the offense. So, when Edwards passed him on the scoring totem pole, the Timberwolves no longer needed Russell’s 20 points per game. Rather, they needed someone who could let the offense flow naturally while making winning plays on both ends.
DLo’s ultimate replacement fits that description perfectly. In his first year with the team, Conley proved his ability to fit next to Edwards while searching for his offense when the team needs him to. A prime example of Mike’s timely scoring and winning plays comes from Minnesota’s first play-in game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
That infamous final possession from Crypto.com Arena embodied Minnesota’s season as a whole. MC attempted a corner triple to tie the game at the final buzzer. He missed the shot. However, he drew a foul on Anthony Davis and went to the line for three big ones with the fate of the game, and playoff seeding, on the line.
Cool, calm, and collected, Conley hit all three, sending the game to overtime. After the eventual loss, Chris Hine of Star Tribune asked Mike about those foul shots in the postgame media scrum.
Honestly, before I took my first shot, I’m like I’m glad it was me and nobody else. Because if I make or miss them, I’d rather be the guy in control. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if I was watching somebody else shoot those three as a bystander.
After the first one went in, it calmed me down a little bit, took a couple of deep breaths, and locked down on the next two.
On that first attempt, the ball took three bounces on the rim before rolling in. I have no idea how that calmed him down. Regardless, that’s just a will and testament to his mental makeup.
With Edwards only shooting 3-of-17 from the floor that game after injuring his left shoulder, Conley’s offensive presence was needed more than ever before. How did he respond? Well, the 6”1” guard went 6 for 8 from downtown, finishing with 24 points. Conley was one of the main reasons a depleted Timberwolves squad could gut the game out to OT.
Conley is on the payroll with the Wolves for one more season before he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. Although he hasn’t put a timetable on when he will decide to hang up his shoes for good, it doesn’t seem likely that the Timberwolves will be able to count on him for all that much longer – at least not at as high of a level. It will be a crucial yet daunting task for Minnesota’s front office to be able to find someone with a similar skillset as Conley to be able to pair next to the team’s rising superstars for the next decade-plus.
