All Things 2025 Minnesota Timberwolves Off-Season Thread

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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How do we tweak our lineup to battle OKC, knowing the road to the finals goes through them the next few years.

Howl Wolves!!
 

Souhan chimes in:

Souhan: Timberwolves’ weak performance in Game 5 invites change, so don’t let it shock you​

While Randle, Conley and Reid could all depart — or, in the case of Conley, have his role reduced — the Wolves have young players who could solve some of their current problems, and who probably wouldn’t have spent Wednesday night mired in self-pity.

Terrence Shannon Jr. is a powerhouse power forward. Jaylen Clark is an excellent defender who shot the ball well this season. Rob Dillingham is the point guard of the future, and if he can develop a reliable outside shot to pair with his slashing drives, he could energize the entire offense.

Dillingham and Shannon, in particular, would solve the Wolves’ inability to run frequently and effectively.

It’s hard to imagine Connelly deciding that Anthony Edwards isn’t his franchise centerpiece. Edwards is 23 and has played in two Western Conference finals.

But let’s not let him off the hook. His defensive effort wasn’t consistent in this series, and his three-point shooting was often hopeless.

Because Edwards is young, has a strong work ethic and is highly coachable, being patient with him is the only reasonable option. As is the case with his team, his missed shots aren’t as concerning as his inconsistent effort while playing the biggest games of his life.

Because of questionable effort by the entire team, changes are coming.
This time, we won’t be surprised.

www.startribune.com

Souhan: Timberwolves’ weak Game 5 invites change, so expect it

Timberwolves roster-builder Tim Connelly isn’t afraid to shake things up when it’s going well. He certainly won’t stand by this group now after its failure to compete, columnist Jim Souhan writes.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 


BleedGopher said:
How do we tweak our lineup to battle OKC, knowing the road to the finals goes through them the next few years.

Howl Wolves!!
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Guard: you need another effective lead guard. Mike will be back next year for his last year, but you otherwise need to break in TSJ, Clark and Dilly more or move on there. Mike should be coming off the bench to provide calming presence in your non-Ant minutes where needed. Would prioritize Dilly as you need to make a decision on him after next year and he is 20. I would also try resign NAW if you can get him on a decent contract as he suffices as a backup guard and solid rotational guy.
Forward: sign and trade (or just trade) Randle if you can. You need draft assets so either for picks so you can move up in the lottery to address above or to get a distributor/dribble drive guard that can hit a spot up 3 that let's Ant be more off ball. If you can, then resign Naz at 15-20 as he projects as a pick and pop forward which spaces the floor with Ant well and we're already stuck with Rudy for 2-3 more years. If Randle opts in, this roster gets hamstrung real fast and I guess then you can try sign and trade Naz.
Center: its Rudy for several more years, which is what it is at this point.

Trouble is you have 105mil in 3 guys guaranteed (contrast this to the Thunder who's 3 highest paid guys this year total 81mil and the league put in the aprons to combat super teams/high paid players all coming together) with 2 more guys who can opt in and put you at the cap max already and your under contract guys for next year hit the apron. Someone has to be traded if you're going to do anything other than run it back, which would be the wrong choice unless you're just counting on your internal guys getting better.

I expect the Thunder to run it back and win back to back titles. The cap gets rougher after the next year (as we'll see with the Celtics this offseason given they're already way over the 2nd apron and going to pay over 200mil in luxury tax and what we saw happen to the Nuggets in having to let guys walk). Think if you're wolves brass, you're not so much looking at next year, but being honest you're looking at 2 years from now so you get things in place this year to figure out what you've got so we may see us let Randle and Naz opt in and then try shop them on what will be friendly, expiring contracts
 

It's nearly impossible to speculate on roster changes until we find out if the Lore/ARod ownership group is willing to pay luxury taxes or if rumors are true that they want/need to get below the base Salary Cap.

Outside of Ant, I'd be willing to move anyone for the right deal. It will never happen but a case can be made for a quick 1-2 year talent/salary reshuffle around Ant and Jaden.

Gobert, Randle, DDV and Naz (S&T) are very tradable assets for Expiring contracts, guys on Rookie deals and Draft capital. In the 2026-27 season, we'd have about $100M on the books with 80% of that for Ant and Jaden.

That would leave us with approximately $85M under the projected Cap to sign another Max player and fill out the roster around these guys:

C - Miller
PF - Shannon Jr
SF - McDaniels
SG - Edwards/Clark
PG - Dillingham

Oof. Let's hope the new owners are willing to spend to win.
 


Slim Tubby said:
It's nearly impossible to speculate on roster changes until we find out if the Lore/ARod ownership group is willing to pay luxury taxes or if rumors are true that they want/need to get below the base Salary Cap.

Outside of Ant, I'd be willing to move anyone for the right deal. It will never happen but a case can be made for a quick 1-2 year talent/salary reshuffle around Ant and Jaden.

Gobert, Randle, DDV and Naz (S&T) are very tradable assets for Expiring contracts, guys on Rookie deals and Draft capital. In the 2026-27 season, we'd have about $100M on the books with 80% of that for Ant and Jaden.

That would leave us with approximately $85M under the projected Cap to sign another Max player and fill out the roster around these guys:

C - Miller
PF - Shannon Jr
SF - McDaniels
SG - Edwards/Clark
PG - Dillingham

Oof. Let's hope the new owners are willing to spend to win.
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no one is going to want rudy on a 36.5mil AAV with a 7.5% trade bonus that makes it 40mil that he can opt into for 3 total years. maybe that very final year you can move him but you're not going to gain much there for draft capital as it'll be pretty obvious what you're doing
 

upnorthkid said:
no one is going to want rudy on a 36.5mil AAV with a 7.5% trade bonus that makes it 40mil that he can opt into for 3 total years. maybe that very final year you can move him but you're not going to gain much there for draft capital as it'll be pretty obvious what you're doing
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I disagree on Gobert as there are a number of teams that would love to have a defensive, screen setting C to complete their roster and willing to spend above the Cap to do so (GS, LAL, BOS, etc).

I agree that we won't get a lot of value back for Gobert but my thought process was around clearing Cap space to rebuild the roster around Ant over the next 1-2 years. Getting expiring contracts and Lotto protected picks in return is not a ton of value IMO.
 

Everything starts with what Naz/Randle do. Naz had such an up and down season, would he actually opt in at 14 million hoping to get a bigger deal after next season? I doubt it but I can hope right? $31 million is about right for Randle, I doubt he gets more than that per year if he opts out. If both of them are back, I think the Wolves would look very similar next season as they do this year.

I think NAW is gone no matter what. TSJ, Clark, and Dillingham will all play more next year. I think Rudy will be very tough to move now, and more likely to move after next season.

If they were able to move Rudy, I don't mind the idea of Randle/Naz starting in the front court next season. The more Naz plays, the better he is and he'll want to be a starter next year. Conley will continued to be phased out, and you have the 3 young guards off the bench.

In the draft, I think Walter Clayton Jr would be a great pick at 17. PG who can create, hit big shots, and likely make an immediate impact. They could use the other pick or FA to find another backup big man.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Everything starts with what Naz/Randle do. Naz had such an up and down season, would he actually opt in at 14 million hoping to get a bigger deal after next season? I doubt it but I can hope right? $31 million is about right for Randle, I doubt he gets more than that per year if he opts out. If both of them are back, I think the Wolves would look very similar next season as they do this year.

I think NAW is gone no matter what. TSJ, Clark, and Dillingham will all play more next year. I think Rudy will be very tough to move now, and more likely to move after next season.

If they were able to move Rudy, I don't mind the idea of Randle/Naz starting in the front court next season. The more Naz plays, the better he is. Conley will continued to be phased out, and you have the 3 young guards off the bench.

In the draft, I think Walter Clayton Jr would be a great pick at 17. PG who can create, hit big shots, and likely make an immediate impact. They could use the other pick or FA to find another backup big man.
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I honestly believe that Clayton Jr will end up being one of the best 5-7 players in this Draft when the dust settles. I hope he's still available at 17 because the rest of this Draft is pretty meh to me after Flagg.

BOS is the interesting team to watch in the offseason with Tatum likely out next season. Jrue Holiday has declined with age and still has three (3) years left on his deal and most reports say he'll be made available.

Gobert or Randle for Holiday?
 



Slim Tubby said:
I disagree on Gobert as there are a number of teams that would love to have a defensive, screen setting C to complete their roster and willing to spend above the Cap to do so (GS, LAL, BOS, etc).

I agree that we won't get a lot of value back for Gobert but my thought process was around clearing Cap space to rebuild the roster around Ant over the next 1-2 years. Getting expiring contracts and Lotto protected picks in return is not a ton of value IMO.
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GS is cap strung because of curry/draymond/jimmy and are not going to add another 35 year old making that dollar amount. Boston is going to have to let Porzingas walk because they can't afford him. LA could have space with Lebron retiring eventually. Rudy may pair ok with Doncic, but the timeline is way different between the stars.

to me your better bet would be to trade him to a young/rebuilding team who wants some paint protection and a veteran leader.
 

Slim Tubby said:
I honestly believe that Clayton Jr will end up being one of the best 5-7 players in this Draft when the dust settles. I hope he's still available at 17 because the rest of this Draft is pretty meh to me after Flagg.

BOS is the interesting team to watch in the offseason with Tatum likely out next season. Jrue Holiday has declined with age and still has three (3) years left on his deal and most reports say he'll be made available.

Gobert or Randle for Holiday?
Click to expand...

I'm with you on Clayton Jr. Most mocks have him slipping to the early 20s. I think that's a mistake if GMs let him fall that far.

The only way I would consider Holiday is for Gobert. But I'm not interested in adding another aging player that's going downhill quickly, despite how good of career he's had. The Wolves need to get younger around Ant.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
www.si.com

3 trade ideas that would make the Timberwolves a juggernaut

Pipe dreams? Maybe, but some of this makes sense from the perspective of an armchair general manager.
www.si.com www.si.com

I think Durant is over the hill, but I just want Gobert off the team. He's a very good player, but I'm just fed up with watching him fumble the ball half the times he gets his big stone hands on it.
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that giannis trade sounds terrible.

The KD one I like as it moves you back into contract flexibility, KD spaces the floor, and can get his own still despite his age (and we can rest/protect him through the year to let him be healthy/fresh for postseason). Would need to find a big though.

Fox fits with the roster well, you're going to have to sacrifice depth to get him though unless you move Rudy or Julius for him.
 



Shama chimes in:

It appeared during the playoffs that Anthony Edwards was gassed late in at least some games. It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if a revised nutrition and conditioning program materializes in the offseason.


Howl Wolves!!
 

Slim Tubby said:
I disagree on Gobert as there are a number of teams that would love to have a defensive, screen setting C to complete their roster and willing to spend above the Cap to do so (GS, LAL, BOS, etc).

I agree that we won't get a lot of value back for Gobert but my thought process was around clearing Cap space to rebuild the roster around Ant over the next 1-2 years. Getting expiring contracts and Lotto protected picks in return is not a ton of value IMO.
Click to expand...

Maybe we can trade Rudy for this Walker kid from Utah. He looks pretty good, and he's only 23... If you run the math, Rudy is only providing 0.01 blocks per game for every million dollars we pay him, compared to Kessler’s 0.84 rejections per million. Think we can also get Utah to throw in say four or five first round picks in the deal?

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1748546408228.png
 

Full Speed Ahead said:
Maybe we can trade Rudy for this Walker kid from Utah. He looks pretty good, and he's only 23... If you run the math, Rudy is only providing 0.01 blocks per game for every million dollars we pay him, compared to Kessler’s 0.84 rejections per million. Think we can also get Utah to throw in say four or five first round picks in the deal?

View attachment 37171

View attachment 37170
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When you factor in team results, revenue generated, the irrelevance of the Pick Swaps and the collection of stiffs UTA has selected with our picks thus far, MIN won that trade by a decent margin.

Honestly, I disliked the KAT trade far more. The new CBA crushed our roster flexibility and facilitated the need to financially make that deal.

What makes the Gobert trade painful is the fact that we could've gotten Durant instead for that same package we sent to UTA. What the Knicks sent for a good role player in Bridges is far more egregious IMO.
 

The biggest player in the off season might be a 5'4" 75 year old named Mike Bloomberg. If he really is a member of this purchasing entity with some say in the management of the asset, they will have the cash to upgrade the roster. If not, they are undercapitalized and won't have the money to pay the tax to upgrade.

In a perfect world they need three things:

1. PG upgrade. (It's not Dilly)
2. A center who can score from more than six inches away;
3. Ant needs to improve his conditioning. He was gassed.
 

jamiche said:
The biggest player in the off season might be a 5'4" 75 year old named Mike Bloomberg. If he really is a member of this purchasing entity with some say in the management of the asset, they will have the cash to upgrade the roster. If not, they are undercapitalized and won't have the money to pay the tax to upgrade.

In a perfect world they need three things:

1. PG upgrade. (It's not Dilly)
2. A center who can score from more than six inches away;
3. Ant needs to improve his conditioning. He was gassed.
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he's playing 40min a night having to run to get open and isoing almost exclusively on offense. most other teams hide their primary guy on defense to let them do this and they don't play 40min/game. there's a reason that the Thunder have one of the best defenses in the league (from a historic standpoint)
 

Twolves need a starting point guard. Conley is a nice backup for 15 minutes per game, but he cannot handle the bulk of the minutes. DeVincenzo is not a point guard and, in my opinion, is a trade for a primier point guard. Keep Naz, if you can, and see if you can move Gobert.
 


Timberwolves Naz Reid, Julius Randle and Nickeil Alexander-Walker could be free agents​

Throughout the season, the Timberwolves often mentioned that they had eight starters on their team, with coach Chris Finch relying on that top eight as his playoff rotation most nights.

As the Wolves head into the offseason, three of those eight have uncertain contract statuses. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is an unrestricted free agent, while Julius Randle and Naz Reid both have player options that can make them free agents should they choose to opt out.

Reid agreed his plan was to decline his $15 million player option when asked if he expected to opt out and look for a long-term deal in Minnesota or elsewhere.

“For sure. I think the work has been put in,” Reid said Thursday. “Obviously, I’ve got a long way to go with being only 25, but for sure. I think that’s what the future looks like for me.”

Reid signed a two-year deal with a player option for a third year two summers ago, and since then his role has only grown with the Wolves. He won NBA Sixth Man of the Year a season ago, and averaged a career-high 14.2 points per game this season while averaging 27.5 minutes per game off the bench.

Reid said he views himself as a starter in the NBA, but he would be open to returning to the Wolves in the sixth man role if the team ends up with Rudy Gobert (who signed a new three-year extension in October) and Randle back in the frontcourt.

“I’m not completely ruling that out. It will be a lot to think about around that, for sure,” Reid said. “... If you want to be in a winning position, sometimes you might have to sacrifice. So I definitely view myself as a starter, but things happen, things change. You never know what’s ahead of you until you talk about it and until you go through it.”

Randle, who was in the third season of a four-year, $117,089,280 contract, said he hasn’t given much thought yet to whether he will opt out of the final season.

Through the end of the season, when Randle helped spark a 17-4 finish headed into the playoffs, he said he was happy living in Minnesota and happy playing under Finch. He reiterated that Thursday.

“I will say that I love it here, and this is the most meaningful basketball that I’ve played in my career,” Randle said. “From how the organization has made me feel, from just my teammates and playing with Ant [Anthony Edwards] as our leader, I love it.

“There’s a lot to be excited about. I haven’t even really thought about it, but I will say having the ability to compete for a championship is everything that I ask for at this point in my career. So we’ll see.”

www.startribune.com

Timberwolves Naz Reid, Julius Randle and Nickeil Alexander-Walker could be free agents

Three key members of the team’s rotation talked about their futures after the team was eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 


How do we get over the hump?

Well, we certainly know how the SuperSonics did it .....

*ducks flying chairs*
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
If they were able to move Rudy, I don't mind the idea of Randle/Naz starting in the front court next season.
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The defense would be non-existent with that frontcourt. Randle doesn't attempt to play defense with most of his minutes, and Naz is just terrible at it. Both make Towns look Rudy-like. Plus, paying both around 60 million for years to come. Yuck.
 

tikited said:
The defense would be non-existent with that frontcourt. Randle doesn't attempt to play defense with most of his minutes, and Naz is just terrible at it. Both make Towns look Rudy-like. Plus, paying both around 60 million for years to come. Yuck.
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Naz is a 6th man. He is not a starter on a serious NBA team.

I couldn't stand his play over the season and playoffs.
 


Trading Jaden would be the dumbest thing they could do outside of trading ant. Even if you get a haul, ant loves Jaden and will certainly look at things differently if you do
 

upnorthkid said:
Trading Jaden would be the dumbest thing they could do outside of trading ant. Even if you get a haul, ant loves Jaden and will certainly look at things differently if you do
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Omitting the obvious superstars like Jokic, Shai, Doncic and Giannis, do you have an example of a player that would change your mind about trading Jaden?

Derrick White would be perfect for this roster but he's older. DeAaron Fox might become available if the Spurs draft Harper but he wants a Max contract and he's not close to being worth that deal.
 

Slim Tubby said:
Omitting the obvious superstars like Jokic, Shai, Doncic and Giannis, do you have an example of a player that would change your mind about trading Jaden?

Derrick White would be perfect for this roster but he's older. DeAaron Fox might become available if the Spurs draft Harper but he wants a Max contract and he's not close to being worth that deal.
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Jalen Williams?
Basically someone of the age that can secondary score but also defend at a high level. Flexible wings/guards that can shoot the 3 at a 38% or higher clip, particularly if they match around Ants age would be my target. There aren’t going to be many who are better than Jaden for the contract you get him for. The year he shot almost 40% from 3 I thought we were going to get his offense unlocked. He’s grown massively but we’ll see if he can take that last step or two
 

upnorthkid said:
Jalen Williams?
Basically someone of the age that can secondary score but also defend at a high level. Flexible wings/guards that can shoot the 3 at a 38% or higher clip, particularly if they match around Ants age would be my target. There aren’t going to be many who are better than Jaden for the contract you get him for. The year he shot almost 40% from 3 I thought we were going to get his offense unlocked. He’s grown massively but we’ll see if he can take that last step or two
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I personally don't value Jaden very closely to Jalen Williams but your preferred target for an acceptable return makes a ton of sense.

I think the talent is there for Jaden but I question if he'll every display the maturity, BBIQ and consistency to reach his potential.
 

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