As the Minnesota Timberwolves walked off the court for the final time in the 2024-25 season, “Let’s go Wolves, let’s go Wolves” chants filled the Target Center.
Minnesota’s season ended in a 124-103 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. Las Vegas favored the Wolves to beat Dallas before the series started. It was an underwhelming way for the season to end. Still, fans knew how historic a season they witnessed. Not only that, but the Wolves laid the framework to be contenders for a long time.
Those chants on May 30 symbolized fans’ appreciation of the hard work they had watched from training camp through Minnesota’s unexpectedly deep playoff run. They also showed how excited the fanbase was for the future. For the first time in 20 years, Wolves fans have a team they can be proud of.
After such a successful season, fans are hungry for more. They want to see their team have the right to compete for another championship and bring a banner to the Wolves’ side of the Target Center rafters. However, as a wise man once said, “To lose patience is to lose the battle.”
We could see a regression from last season, but that isn’t a reason to panic.
Fans didn’t expect the Timberwolves to have a loud summer this year. After their most successful season in franchise history, they had to be financially savvy to navigate the cap. Fans heard that and possibly drew parallels to what the Minnesota Twins did last winter.
The Poland family, owners of the Twins, slashed the team’s payroll by $35 million after they won their first postseason game since 2004. Fans were dismayed as they watched Kenta Maeda and AL Cy Young finalist Sonny Gray walk in free agency. To make matters worse, the Twins made no meaningful trades at the 2024 deadline. Now, they have an injury-riddled team that lacks depth and will likely be bounced in the Wild Card round again – assuming they make the playoffs.
Twins fans have every right to be upset with ownership, but Wolves fans do not.
It didn’t take long for Alex Rodriguez and Mark Lore to make their first stamp on the Timberwolves after they made the initial payments to purchase the Wolves and Lynx in 2022.
They signed Denver Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly to a five-year, $40 million contract to become Minnesota’s President of Basketball Operations. Connelly is well-respected among his peers and viewed as one of the best front-office basketball minds in the world. He patiently built Denver into a contender but took a different approach in Minnesota – trading five players and five picks for Rudy Gobert a few months after landing in the Twin Cities.
Since that turning point, the Wolves have extended Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Naz Reid. Wolves ownership has given Connelly the capital to build a winning team. The Timberwolves have spent as much as needed for the team to contend.
They got close last year, and Minnesota’s run to the Western Conference Finals should be a building block season. However, the Wolves have spent more money than any other team, so they had to get creative with adding to the roster in the offseason.
Getting creative doesn’t mean slashing salary. The Wolves want to maximize their opportunity to bring the first men’s professional championship to Minnesota. The Wolves didn’t make a salary-minimizing trade. Instead, they used the draft as their avenue to get plug-and-play rookies capable of contributing to winning now and well into the future.
All those high-end extensions the Wolves have made over the last two years have caught up to them. They currently have a total salary of $241,826,711 entering 2024-25, the most expensive in the NBA. More importantly, they are $17,060,718 over the second apron, which creates penalties for a team over the cap.
- Aggregate contracts to trade for a single player, making more money.
- Send out cash in trades.
- Use trade exceptions from prior years (The Wolves will not be able to use their $3,688,117 exception from the D’Angelo Russell trade or the $4,000,000 exception from the Troy Brown Jr. trade).
- Take back more incoming than outgoing salary in a deal.
- Cannot trade a first-round pick seven years in advance.
Connelly and Co. will try to cut costs over the next two years. However, being over the second apron in back-to-back seasons increases the penalties and severity. Still, they will likely try to keep the Wolves in title contention. They took their first step in creatively bolstering the roster by trading up in the 2024 draft, selecting Rob Dillingham with the No. 8 pick and Terrence Shannon Jr. at No. 27.
Entering the draft, the Wolves sought a point guard who could eventually take over for Mike Conley. Finch was surprised when the front office traded up to No. 8, but Minnesota was looking for a guard who could impact winning now, grow under Mike Conley’s veteran wing, and eventually replace the 17-year guard.
Minnesota’s biggest rotational hole last year was depth in the point guard room. Conley gave his team 11.4 points and 5.9 assists on a red-hot 44.2% from three over 76 regular season games. However, Minnesota’s offense was far too reliant on Conley’s level-headed presence. He’s 36 and nearing the end of his playing career. Father Time hasn’t slowed Conley down yet, but the Wolves know they must downsize his role in 2024-25 to keep him healthy for the playoffs.
Point guards Monte Morris – who the Wolves traded for at the deadline last season – and Jordan McLaughlin walked in free agency this summer. So did Kyle Anderson, Minnesota’s primary playmaker off the bench last year. The Wolves brought in Joe Ingles, who offers a skillset similar to Anderson, to replace him. However, Dillingham, who is 19 years old and weighs 175 pounds, will be Finch’s first point guard off the bench to start the season.
Dillingham’s spot in the rotation is not guaranteed. If he proves that he’s not ready for such a significant role, the Wolves must adjust accordingly, most likely relying on Ingles and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to lead the offense off the bench.
Minnesota will prioritize building its offense when training camp starts in three weeks. Against Dallas in the West Finals, Finch and the coaching staff realized that elite-level defense can only get you so far. The Wolves had the NBA’s best defensive rating last season, but it is fair to assume they will drop a few spots in 2024-25.
The Timberwolves are committing to a youth movement. However, they aren’t rebuilding, and their roster is largely the same as last year. Still, Finch hopes to get production out of his rookies and other young players buried deep in Minnesota’s depth chart more than he has in previous years. This is a unique path for a team with championship aspirations to take.
Therefore, there will be a natural learning curve at the beginning of the season. The Wolves will need time to get on the same page as they iron out rotations, minutes, and lineups. As the regular season begins, there should not be reason to panic if the Wolves regress from the dominant team we saw last year.
Ownership allowed Minnesota’s front office to be creative this summer. The Wolves didn’t slash payroll despite being in the second apron. Instead, they made moves that will take time to develop. The regular season is a long 82-game battle. For the Wolves to win the battle and duplicate the success they had last year, they need patience from the front office, coaches, players, and fans.
