Timberwolves

Taking Stock Of Minnesota's Long-Term Roster

Photo Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Timberwolves are barreling toward Chris Finch’s 20-game checkpoint to find a team’s identity, and the early 2024-25 season results are grim. After trading their longest-tenured player, Karl-Anthony Towns, to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo days before training camp, the Wolves are off to a lackluster 8-9 start and find themselves out of the play-in altogether in the stacked Western Conference.

Last year’s top defense is in shambles, the new guys haven’t gelled, KAT’s playing his career-best basketball in NYC, and the Wolves are 0-4 without 37-year-old Mike Conley. Minnesota’s mired in a 2-6 stretch in which gritty wins against the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns were flanked by two debilitating three-game losing streaks.

The first included a classic Wolves meltdown against the Miami Heat, followed by two bad losses to the Portland Trail Blazers. The current losing streak is a little more forgivable, with tough losses to the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets. Still, the lifeless loss to the 4-12 Toronto Raptors is a microcosm of everything that’s gone awry this season.

The optimistic Wolves observer would note that despite all the struggles early in the season, Minnesota is only 2.5 games out of fourth place in the West, and their net rating is seventh-best in the deeper conference. But the Timberwolves have a brutal schedule in December and could find themselves in deep trouble by Christmas.

The sun may be setting on this iteration of Tim Connelly’s roster faster than anyone would have expected after a 56-win season last year that led to a conference finals appearance for the first time since 2004. The clock is ticking for Connelly and Chris Finch to pull the right levers and figure this team out, whether that’s a shakeup on the court or another trade to jumpstart things.

If things keep going the way they are, the decision-makers will need to figure out which players to retool the franchise around and which players to sacrifice to the trade machine. Below, I offer a little gentle guidance on the future of the franchise, and if Tim Connelly wants to pay a little consultation fee, he knows where to find me.

Wolves for Life

Anthony Edwards

This one’s a no-brainer. Anthony Edwards is one of the brightest young stars in the game and, at 23, has more than a decade of great basketball ahead of him. The Wolves have him signed through the 2028-29 season, and the only way he leaves Minnesota is by signing somewhere else in free agency.

Naz Reid

Naz Reid leaving the Timberwolves would be like Paul Bunyan taking Babe the Blue Ox to South Beach. It just doesn’t make any sense. He’s beloved and has turned himself into one of the most valuable role players in the NBA.

Reid has a player option for next season for $15 million but would likely command far more money on the open market if he opts out. It would be tough to see Naz leave after the KAT trade, which was engineered to keep him in Minnesota for the long haul. However, Naz doesn’t owe anyone a hometown discount, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he signs a huge contract elsewhere.

Rob Dillingham

I’ve seen enough to call Dillingham Minnesota’s point guard of the future. He’s only played 87 minutes so far, but when he steps on the court, the Wolves play with pace and tenacity that has been missing this year. He’s only 19 years old and roughly the same size as me, but Dillingham is the shot in the arm Ant, Naz, and the rest of the Timberwolves need. If the Wolves decide to embrace their youth fully, Dillingham should be a pillar of this team for years to come.

In Limbo

Jaden McDaniels

Until the last few weeks, McDaniels probably would have been in the Wolves for Life tier. However, McDaniels has been mostly terrible to begin his fifth season. His shot and overall confidence in his game seem to be at an all-time low.

McDaniels is in the first year of his five-year $133 million extension that looks to be more of an overpay after every game. If he gets back to his all-defense ability, he could still be salvageable as the defensive anchor of the next era of the Timberwolves. However, 10.8 points per game on 29.6 percent from three isn’t good enough for a player who will make $30 million in the last year of his contract.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

NAW will be an unrestricted free agent next summer but has proven invaluable as the perfect 3-and-D seventh man. He won’t exactly be an integral part of a big three that takes the Wolves to the promised land, but he’s a valuable asset that Connelly should plan to keep around as long as possible.

Rudy Gobert

Gobert won his record-tying fourth Defensive Player of the Year award last season, won a Silver medal in his home Olympics, and signed a three-year $109 million extension at the start of the season.

He hasn’t looked like himself this year. Whether that’s acclimating to playing with Julius Randle, a long Olympic summer, or his general decline as a 32-year-old seven-footer, Gobert no longer looks like the anchor of a top-tier defense. Whatever the issue, Gobert has become expendable, and Connelly could recoup some assets if he decides to part ways with the future Hall of Famer.

Fire up the Trade Machine

Julius Randle

Randle was the centerpiece of the KAT trade and is averaging 21.8 points per game early in his Wolves tenure. But the 11-year vet looks anything but interested in playing a meaningful role in leading the Timberwolves to another deep playoff run. Randle has a player option for the 2025-26 season. However, if things continue as they have, consider him gone via trade or free agency.

Mike Conley

Conley has rightfully earned his place as a Timberwolves fan favorite for life. However, the 37-year-old looks like he’s at the end of his storied career. He’s shooting 31.9 percent from the field and has been hampered by injuries to begin his 18th NBA campaign. Conley won’t fetch much value, but it could be interesting to dangle for a contender who needs a steady backup point guard.

Donte DiVincenzo

Hailed as an in-house challenger to Naz Reid’s Sixth Man of the Year crown, DiVincenzo has been Minnesota’s biggest disaster 17 games in. Brought in as a flamethrowing backup point guard, DDV is shooting 32.2 percent from three and 35.1 percent from the field while turning the ball over at an alarming rate. He has two more years on a team-friendly contract, but there is nothing team-friendly about DiVincenzo’s first month in Minnesota.

With Finch’s tight rotation, it’s impossible to tell if Josh Minott, Joe Ingles (who should have retired three years ago), Terrence Shannon Jr., Luka Garza, or Leonard Miller are worth keeping around to mix into the rotation in the future, so the benchwarmers all get an incomplete for this assignment.

It’s not time for Finch and Connelly to turn their keys and blow it all up, but the pressure is building to salvage one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history. The coach and GM are not without blame themselves. Finch signed a four-year extension in the offseason and has the highest winning percentage for a coach in Timberwolves history.

However, the stagnant offense, turnovers, and sloppy play have persisted throughout his tenure and need to be cleaned up if he is to remain the long-term answer. In his short but effective tenure, Connelly has made big swing after big swing. The Gobert trade took a year but worked out, but the Towns trade looks like a misfire to save some money down the road. He can opt out of his contract after this season and would be a hot commodity on the open market.

The Wolves are struggling. While there’s still time to right the ship, the decision-makers must begin taking stock of the roster and deciding who is untouchable and who could be moved to preserve the franchise’s long-term health.

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Photo Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

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