The Timberwolves are heading into a stretch without Anthony Edwards, and the reason the team is choosing surgery now instead of back in the summer comes down to a change in his knee imaging.
Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly said Wednesday morning that Edwards’ arthroscopic procedure was not considered necessary during the offseason. At that point, the team and the star guard decided to go the rest-and-recovery route instead.
“The imaging has changed,” said the Timberwolves front office leader, who met with the media at shootaround this morning. “The most recent imaging … we’ve had a bunch of imaging going back to this summer. And it changed after yesterday.”
Edwards is expected to miss multiple months as the procedure addresses knee pain that had been lingering since last season. The news landed with extra force because Edwards had played through obvious discomfort in his last game against Cleveland, where he was seen grabbing at the knee multiple times and still poured in 47 points on 34 shots.
Even with the injury concern, Connelly said Edwards wanted to keep going.
“He wants to play tonight,” said Connelly. “He looked pretty good the other night having the 47.
We’re just concerned about his long-term health. We want to make sure we’re putting him in the best position he can be so he can be the best version he’s going to be for a long time.”
Connelly also said there is no firm timetable yet, and Edwards is expected to have the procedure on Thursday.
Tim Connelly met with the media regarding Anthony Edwards’ injury. He noted that this was not something that could have been addressed over the summer, and that the imaging had changed since then.
— Jack Azoulay-Haron (@AzoulayHaron) October 28, 2026
On Edwards: “He wants to play tonight” pic.twitter.com/o5TNnU2vrE
The Wolves, meanwhile, are leaning on the idea that they’ve shown they can withstand his absence. Connelly pointed to last season’s playoffs as a preview.
“I think there was a little proof of concept last year in the playoffs when we were able to play without Ant,” said Connelly. “We have great depth at that possession. And we’re constantly adding depth.”
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