The Minnesota Timberwolves’ big offseason reshuffle is basically done, and the 2026-27 roster is starting to take shape around a much clearer core.
LaMelo Ball is set to join Anthony Edwards in the backcourt, Ayo Dosunmu is locked in on a long-term extension, and Jonathan Kuminga is in place as the short-term answer at power forward. Aside from a veteran’s minimum deal - possibly Kevin Love - to fill the 15th and final roster spot, the Wolves are essentially finished making moves.
That means the real questions now are aimed at 2027, when Minnesota will have to decide how far it wants to go to keep this group at the top of the Western Conference.
The biggest one centers on Edwards. If he earns a spot on an All-NBA team during the 2026-27 season, he becomes eligible for the supermax. That would open the door for Minnesota to offer him a four-year extension worth roughly $300 million, on top of the two years left on his current deal, keeping him under contract through the 2032-33 season.
The Wolves could try to negotiate that number down. But with Edwards’ level of stardom, and Tim Connelly’s apparent lack of interest in grinding over a few million dollars, Minnesota would likely end up offering the maximum it can.
And if that’s the price, the Wolves should be glad to pay it. Locking up Edwards for as long as possible has to be the priority. If money needs to be saved elsewhere, there are other places on the roster to do it.
Rudy Gobert is the one major piece not already tied to a long-term arrangement. He has two years left on his deal, with the second year a player option, which makes next summer a decision point for both sides.
Two years ago, Gobert passed on a $46.6 million player option and instead re-signed with Minnesota for three years and $110 million. That move lowered his 2025-26 salary by nearly $7 million.
A similar setup could be on the table again next offseason, or even before then. Gobert could decline his option and work out a new extension with a lower annual number, giving the Wolves more breathing room while securing more guaranteed money for himself.
It’s too early to know whether the team or Gobert would want to move that quickly, but a three-year, $90 million deal would make sense for both sides if they decide to do it.
Donte DiVincenzo gives Minnesota another important contract call. After he tore his Achilles in Game 4 of the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, the Wolves had to decide whether to trade his $12.5 million expiring deal ahead of what will mostly be an injury-lost season or keep him around and try to bring him back in free agency.
They chose to keep him, a clear sign they still view him as part of the core. Even if he doesn’t play this season, the expiring contract remains useful for Minnesota because it makes him easier to re-sign next offseason.
How DiVincenzo’s recovery goes will shape both his next contract and the Wolves’ appetite for bringing him back. If he and Minnesota do reunite, Dosunmu’s $22.4 million per year deal could serve as a starting point.
Then there’s the tax bill, which is already getting serious. This season will be Minnesota’s third straight as a luxury tax team, and the Wolves are currently looking at a tax payment of nearly $22 million. Over three years, ownership has now paid more than $121 million.
Former majority owner Marc Lore and current co-owner Alex Rodriguez deserve credit for covering that kind of spending. But the tougher test comes next offseason, when Minnesota becomes a luxury tax repeater team.
At that point, the penalties can jump to as much as triple depending on spending. If the Wolves carry the same salary structure into 2027-28, their luxury tax bill would climb to $57.5 million.
With new majority owner Marc Stad taking over, the level of spending remains uncertain. The expectation, since Stad was previously an active minority partner, is that he may be willing to spend at a level similar to Lore. But that still has to play out.
Minnesota could try to get under the tax and reset its repeater status, but that would likely mean letting one or both of Gobert and DiVincenzo leave and replacing them with vet minimum players and Kuminga-level additions.
That route comes with a big downside: it takes two seasons out of the tax to fully reset the repeater penalties, which would limit the team’s ability to improve while Edwards, Ball, and Jaden McDaniels are in their prime.
A more realistic path is trimming the salary total a bit without tearing the team down. The Wolves could keep Gobert and DiVincenzo on the kinds of deals laid out above, replace Kuminga with a smaller signing or trade, and round out the roster with minimum contracts. That would still leave them facing a tax bill, but a more manageable one even with repeater penalties.
Of course, there’s always the most aggressive option: keep spending and worry about the tax later. Minnesota could absorb a major contract in a trade, bring back Gobert and DiVincenzo, and keep pushing the payroll higher without much concern for the spreadsheet.
That’s the version Timberwolves fans are probably hoping for.
In Other News...
Jonathan Kuminga Just Gave Timberwolves Fans A Reason To Believe
Jonathan Kumingas first day with the Timberwolves was less about flash and more about fit. In his introductory press conference, the veteran forward made defense the center of his pitch, saying he wants to improve in that area as he enters his sixth NBA season and arrives in Minnesota with a new opportunity to carve out a role. For a team that has built its identity on toughness and length, that kind of message lands the right way.
Kuminga also pointed to the value of learning from teammates such as Jaden McDaniels, which fits neatly with a roster that has plenty to teach on that end of the floor. He comes from Golden State with championship experience, but this stop feels different in one key way: the defensive growth he said hes chasing now sounds a lot more central to who he wants to be next. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Connelly Just Sent A Clear Timberwolves Message With Kuminga
Tim Connelly has built a reputation on being willing to swing big, and the Timberwolves' pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga fit that mold. Minnesota did not treat the process like a long shot and move on. Instead, Connelly and the organization kept making their case, leaning into the kind of aggressive team-building approach that has marked his time in charge and helped shape the roster around another push to rise in the West.
What stands out here is how much work went into simply getting Kuminga to listen, a sign that Minnesota is thinking beyond the usual playbook. Connellys history says he is comfortable betting on conviction when a roster needs another jolt, and this latest move reinforces that the Timberwolves are still operating with an eye on bigger possibilities rather than incremental change. [Read more 🡒]
Terrence Shannon Jr. Faces A Tough Timberwolves Role Crunch
Terrence Shannon Jr. gave the Timberwolves a useful glimpse of what he can become last season, especially in the closing stretch when his confidence and activity started to show through. But Minnesotas offseason changes have made the path to more on-ball responsibility a lot less straightforward, with the team adding more creators and handlers into a backcourt that already needed careful sorting out.
Ayo Dosunmu, LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga all bring more playmaking to the mix, and that can push Shannon into a narrower lane if the rotation settles the way it looks on paper. For a player whose best traits come when he can attack with the ball and make quick decisions in space, the concern is that he may spend more time as a spacer than a secondary creator, which is a very different job than the one that helped him flash late last season. [Read more 🡒]