The Minnesota Timberwolves have changed the look of their roster around Anthony Edwards, but Stan Van Gundy isn’t ready to call that a clear upgrade.
On The Zach Lowe Show, the former NBA coach pushed back on the growing buzz around Minnesota after the team added LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga. Van Gundy didn’t deny that the new backcourt could be entertaining. He just doesn’t think it automatically moves the Timberwolves into a higher tier in the West.
“You know, everything I read, most people are saying, ‘Oh, Minnesota’s better.’ I just don’t see that at all. I think they’re going to be fun to watch with that backcourt.”
“I think they’ll put some points on the board, but I’m not sold on them. I’m with you that they’ll be in the top six because I just don’t know if there’s anybody else, but I think they’re a pretty solid sixth, in my opinion.”
“Now, could they catch the Lakers? Yeah, because as I said, I see a lot of variance there. But other than that, I mean, I don’t see them as good as Denver or Houston, and nobody’s close to San Antonio or Oklahoma City.”
That’s the heart of Van Gundy’s read on Minnesota: a team that should score, should stay in the mix, but still doesn’t belong in the same conversation as the conference’s top groups. And he offered that opinion after a summer in which the Timberwolves tried to reload following another frustrating playoff finish.
Minnesota reached the Western Conference Finals in 2024 and 2025, then went out in the second round last season by falling to the San Antonio Spurs. That left the front office looking for more help around Edwards, and the result was Ball coming over from the Hornets, plus the addition of Kuminga.
Ball brings a very specific kind of value. Last season, he averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists while shooting 40.7% from the field.
That kind of playmaking gives Minnesota another creator next to Edwards, who put up 28.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists last season and continues to operate as one of the league’s most dangerous scorers. The four-time All-Star has also sounded excited about what the partnership could become.
The early evidence has looked promising. In the Timberwolves’ 122-104 preseason win over the defending champion New York Knicks, Edwards scored 26 points and hit 5 of 6 from three-point range.
Ball finished with 10 points and 7 assists, and four of those assists led directly to Edwards baskets. Jaden McDaniels also chipped in 22 points, a reminder that the offense could have several ways to threaten defenses.
Still, the questions Van Gundy raised aren’t going away just because the new pieces fit well in one preseason game. Minnesota’s offseason also included the departures of Julius Randle and Naz Reid, which puts more pressure on the frontcourt rotation. Rudy Gobert remains the anchor on defense, but the Timberwolves will need Kuminga, McDaniels, and other younger players to help preserve that identity.
Ball’s defensive questions and injury history add another layer of uncertainty, especially with so many established teams in the conference. Even so, the Timberwolves believe this version of the roster gives Edwards a better shot at chasing the first title of his career, and Edwards has made his goals plain.
Van Gundy, though, is sticking with the larger picture. In his view, Minnesota’s new offensive juice does not put it ahead of Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver, or Houston.
Now the Timberwolves get a full season to show that this gamble is about more than highlights and good scoring nights.
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