It’s All or Nothing As Timberwolves Face a Pivotal Season
After a frustrating 2022–23 campaign—which began with All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns sustaining a calf injury early on that kept him out for 51 games and largely ended with a Naz Reid wrist fracture, a self-inflicted hand injury to Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert punching teammate Kyle Anderson in a team huddle—the Timberwolves should get a more unfiltered look at what they have this season.
As you might’ve picked up from the opening paragraph, very little was routine for Minnesota last season; even as star wing Anthony Edwards took another step in his development in his third year as a pro. Things never seemed to get off on the right foot. Following the organization’s enormous trade for the defensive-minded Gobert—the club gave up four first-round picks, a pick swap, the rights to rookie standout Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley, among others—there was the hope that the T-Wolves would contend. But things never quite panned out that way. Minnesota was 13–13 in the 26 games Towns and Gobert shared the floor before Towns’s calf injury, and, for the season, the Wolves were essentially neutral, outscoring opponents by just 0.43 points per 100 possessions, when the duo played together.
And all this took place as coach Chris Finch was leading the team in his first full season as coach. Meaning just about everyone will be putting more stock into how this campaign goes, assuming things run more smoothly, with the stability necessary to try to make a run.
On some level, that’s why this year will be so pivotal for the Wolves: Even after going all in to get Gobert, Minnesota undoubtedly has big-time talent. Reid was one of the best reserves in the league last season and showed clear improvement, explaining why the club felt compelled to extend him at considerable money. McDaniels is among the NBA’s most talented wing defenders, falling just outside the All-Defensive team voting along with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the forward spot. Gobert has long been one of the most dominant rim protectors in the sport, and even in a less-than-stellar campaign managed to hold opponents 7.8 percentage points beneath their season averages on 7.5 rim attempts per game. And none of this even includes Towns, who is widely seen as the third-best center in the NBA, or Edwards, who, if this grouping doesn’t work, could very well be the sole franchise player when all is said and done.
The thing to watch this coming season is what things look like with a handful of changes. D’Angelo Russell is gone, having been dealt to the Lakers at last season’s deadline, allowing Edwards more opportunities to serve as a lead ballhandler as soon-to-be 36-year-old Mike Conley ages. Towns and Gobert being able to play together will be a change, too, raising the question of how the two will be utilized offensively going forward.
Far fewer of Towns’s attempts—a career-low 20.1% to be exact, according to Basketball Reference—came at the rim, while a 38.3% share of his tries came from the arc. The offense was anemic, logging just 109.2 points per 100 possessions with those two on the floor together. (Pick-and-rolls will naturally leave at least one big man outside of the play’s action, finding a separate way to be involved.) Defensively, though, their efficiency metrics would have rated among the best in the league, perhaps showing potential to be a solid group in Year 2.
Should things fall through again—because of injuries, immaturity or any other reason—be prepared to hear endless speculation about a bigger move being made. Towns is in line to make $50 million in 2024–25, $54 million in ’25–26, $58 million in ’26–27 and $62 million in ’27–28. It’d be understandable if the Wolves want to explore what they could fetch for him if the franchise isn’t winning more with him in the near future. And while it would require putting pride to the side, the notion of moving Gobert would have to be considered, too, although executive Tim Connelly would never get what he traded for Gobert back in return.
These are the sorts of big names that are bound to come up in trade conversations when a club that’s essentially gone all in has little left to deal in hopes of improving. And it explains why this coming campaign in Minnesota will be so pivotal.