The Minnesota Timberwolves were stuck in neutral this time last year. It was February 2023, and a team with playoff aspirations was still trying to force a fit between Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns.
The offense ranked 20th in the league, and on nights like the 34-point loss to Denver on Feb. 7, it looked even worse. The floor spacing was a mess, Gobert wasn’t being utilized effectively, and the team lacked the kind of steady hand that could guide a roster full of young talent and big personalities.
Then came Mike Conley.
Just days after that Denver blowout, the Wolves pulled off what now stands as one of the most important trades in franchise history. They sent D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers in a three-team deal that brought Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker over from Utah.
At the time, it may not have made major headlines. But for Minnesota, it was the move that changed everything.
Conley wasn’t just a veteran point guard-they brought in someone who knew Gobert’s game inside and out from their time together in Utah. He understood how to keep the big man engaged offensively without sacrificing flow, and more importantly, how to anchor him defensively. Conley’s arrival didn’t just unlock Gobert-it brought balance to a locker room that needed poise and leadership.
He wasn’t loud. He didn’t need to be.
Conley’s leadership came in the form of quiet conversations with Anthony Edwards, subtle guidance for Jaden McDaniels, and a steadying presence alongside KAT. He brought maturity, IQ, and a sense of calm to a team that was still learning how to win.
The result? Back-to-back runs to the Western Conference Finals-something Timberwolves fans had only dreamed of before Conley showed up.
“He’s meant a lot to my career,” McDaniels said earlier this season. “Mike’s always been someone I can go to if I don’t know what’s going on or if I just want to talk.
He’s more than a vet to me. I feel like he’s a good friend.”
But on Tuesday, the Timberwolves closed that chapter.
Conley is heading to the Chicago Bulls as part of a three-team deal that also includes the Detroit Pistons, according to team sources. To move off Conley’s contract, Minnesota had to attach a 2026 first-round pick swap, but the trade clears over $20 million in luxury-tax payments-an important step for a team eyeing financial flexibility.
Whether this move sets the stage for something bigger remains to be seen. Minnesota has reportedly been in talks with Milwaukee about Giannis Antetokounmpo and is also exploring bench upgrades, with names like Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu on the radar. But even if no blockbuster follows, this trade gives the Wolves some breathing room under the first salary apron.
From a basketball standpoint, Conley’s production had clearly dipped. At 38, he’s averaging a career-low 18.6 minutes per game while shooting just 33% on twos and 32% from beyond the arc.
The once-lethal floater that made him a nightmare in the pick-and-roll has all but vanished-he’s converting just 21% of those attempts this season. He’s scored more than six points only twice in his last 17 games.
Yet despite the decline, head coach Chris Finch kept leaning on him. Finch never fully trusted Rob Dillingham, last year’s No. 8 overall pick, to take the reins just yet. Conley’s decision-making, defensive discipline, and ability to execute the game plan made him invaluable-even if the box score didn’t reflect it.
“Makes all the small plays, his defense is on point,” Finch said earlier this season. “If he gets beat, it’s usually only because he loses a physical matchup-maybe size, strength, quickness or something like that. We’re just better with him on the floor, but certainly in clutch situations.”
Still, the scoring droughts became too hard to ignore. Conley went scoreless in four of his last eight games, including a tough loss in Memphis on Monday that felt like the final straw.
But if his final games in Minnesota were quiet, his legacy is anything but. Conley will always be remembered for his role in one of the most iconic moments in Timberwolves history: Game 7 of the 2024 Western Conference semifinals in Denver.
With the Wolves clawing back from a 20-point deficit, Conley stripped Jamal Murray in the backcourt, sparking a sequence that ended with an Anthony Edwards corner three to seal the comeback. That play-gritty, smart, clutch-was Mike Conley in a nutshell.
Even as his role shifted this season, Conley embraced it. He accepted a move to the bench in favor of Donte DiVincenzo and saw his minutes cut during a stretch in December as Finch took a longer look at Dillingham.
Conley didn’t complain. He leaned in, supported his teammates, and stayed engaged.
“He’s like my mental coach,” DiVincenzo said. “If he sees I’m not 100 percent locked in or whatever, he knows when to get on you, but he also knows when to pick you up.
… Most guys in this league, at that stage of their career and they’re on the sideline, they’re not locked in. He’s locked in the entire game.
He’s happy for everybody, and he just wants to keep racking up wins.”
Now, with Conley gone, the pressure shifts to Bones Hyland to step up as the primary point guard off the bench. Hyland has had his flashes-17 points against the Warriors, 23 against the Bucks-but he’s also struggled with consistency.
He’s been held to single digits in nine of his last 10 games. If the Wolves don’t make another move at the position, Hyland will get every chance to grow into the role.
Conley’s departure doesn’t guarantee a Giannis deal, but it does signal that Minnesota isn’t standing pat. This is a team that believes it can hang with the West’s elite, and they’re looking for the right pieces-whether that’s a superstar or a spark plug scorer off the bench-to help them get over the hump.
But regardless of what comes next, Mike Conley’s impact on the Timberwolves is already etched in team history. He didn’t just steady the ship-he helped steer it into uncharted waters.