Mike Conley’s exit from Minnesota didn’t just take away a guard. It took away a voice Chris Finch clearly trusted.
Conley has left the Timberwolves to sign with the Boston Celtics after three and a half seasons in Minnesota, and Finch made no attempt to hide how much that goodbye hurt. During the Timberwolves’ first summer league game on Amazon Prime’s broadcast, the head coach laid out exactly what Conley meant to the team.
"It was very hard. Mike came to us at the exact perfect time.
Helped Anthony a ton, helped Rudy a ton... He imparted so much wisdom to everybody who was still pretty young and trying to figure it out together.
Has such a wealth of experience in his temperament. Yeah, and me personally, I leaned on him a lot, just like you would an assistant coach.
It was hard to see, but happy that he gets an opportunity to keep continuing his career. And I know he has meaningful basketball left to play, and that's what you know he's committed to trying to do too," Finch said.
That kind of praise fits the role Conley played in Minnesota. His latest season was not nearly as strong on the floor, but his value went well beyond box scores. He was part of the Timberwolves’ back-to-back conference finals runs, and his presence helped steady a team that was still growing into itself.
Minnesota’s trade for Conley, along with Nickeil Alexander-Walker, at the 2023 deadline changed the direction of the roster. Finch pointed to Conley’s connection with Rudy Gobert, and that mattered.
With D'Angelo Russell running the offense before that, the Gobert trade looked like a mess. Conley knew Gobert from their time together in Utah, and he helped get him involved in a way that turned that situation around.
He also played a major role in Anthony Edwards’ development as a pro, helping sharpen habits both on and off the court. Edwards had the talent already. Conley helped him take another step.
More broadly, Conley helped turn the Wolves from a promising young group into a team that expected to win in the playoffs. Finch’s comments made it plain that Conley was more than a point guard - he functioned like part of the staff. That’s why Finch kept leaning on him, and why he kept calling him "outstanding" or "great" even when the scoring wasn’t there.
Now Minnesota has to replace that leadership somewhere else. Edwards, Gobert, Jaden McDaniels and even the newly acquired LaMelo Ball will have to help cover the gap.
Conley’s time in Minnesota should be remembered for more than what he did with the ball in his hands. Finch’s reaction said the rest.
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