The Minnesota Timberwolves are approaching winning the NBA title, with Tim Connelly thinking he is one or two away.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have played two consecutive Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, but have yet to break through the NBA Finals.
But between rising teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, La Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, the Western Conference is more crowded than ever, and Wolves will try to back it up.
Julius Randle and Naz Reid are expected to explore free agency, with the Timberwolves linked to Kevin Durant, while team president Tim Connelly outlined his vision for the team.
The Timberwolves have a legitimate superstar to build in Anthony Edwards after years of trying to break through the towns of Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony. Between his offensive excellence and the defensive power of Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gortbert, the wolves have a foundation to build a two-way foundation and don’t seem keen to move on from any of their key players.
Connelly makes it clear that no one is completely safe, but he aims to see the team build a draft with the 17th and 31st overall selection.
“You had to be very self-critical and look for areas where you could improve,” he said.
“We’ve just finished our draft workout. This time of year, we’re particularly active as drafting eliminates free agency. So this is really one of the biggest transaction windows we have.
“We don’t feel like there’s a lot of pressure to do a lot, but before you raise the trophy, you’ve become as active and creative as possible to try and get to the point where you’re the final team at some point.”
The Wolves’ series against the Thunder in the Conference Finals helped prove that Randle wasn’t the long-term option to build. Plus, Randle, Gobert, Mike Conley and Joe Ingles are all on the wrong side of 30.
“We have a lot of people who have these huge roles. “So you always want to have people behind them.”
Minnesota misses the best talent at the top of the 2025 NBA Draft, but Connelly outlined a very clear prioritization.
The Wolves already drafted Conley’s alternative with Rob Dillingham last year, allowing Minnesota to prioritize size on either pick, with Goats getting older and Randle and Reid being the player option.
Thomas Solver of Georgetown Center missed much of his freshman season with a foot injury, but he has a bruise in paint, works on pick and rolls and is able to provide rebounds when Gobert is not on the court.
Huge, high-risk/high-upside centres like China’s Hansen Yang and Australia’s Roccodicar Ski were able to join the board with two rounds of picks. Yang is 7 feet 2 and Zikarsky is 7 feet 3, but there is no guarantee that neither will pan out.
Despite boasting the ability to land superstars, the wolves seem content to maximize Edwards’ long peak with draft picks and familiar moves instead of blockbusters, allowing them to move forward.