A year ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were working from a much tighter range of possibilities. They had basically run it back after a 49-win regular season, and the big question was whether that same group could squeeze a little more out of a roster that had already been handled by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
The answer landed right in the middle. Minnesota won 49 games again, even with Anthony Edwards missing more than 20 games, and picked up a playoff series for the third straight season. But once the postseason got rolling, the Wolves again ran into the eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and were bounced.
This season looks very different. After multiple roster changes, Minnesota’s path now stretches much wider in both directions.
If the pieces fit, the Wolves have enough talent to live in the same top tier as the Thunder and Spurs. If they don’t, they could slide even farther back in the league pecking order.
The ceiling starts with the new additions. LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga have to slot in cleanly, and both jobs are specific.
Ball needs to operate as the primary ballhandler and a secondary scorer next to Edwards. He also has to bring the kind of floor spacing Donte DiVincenzo provided while giving Minnesota another creator beside a player who draws some of the heaviest double teams in the NBA.
Kuminga’s role is just as clear. Offensively, he has to function as an off-ball threat.
Defensively, he needs to defend hard and rebound well. He has said all the right things early in what could be a short stay in Minnesota, but the Wolves need that to turn into production.
The rest of the starting group would also have to move forward. Edwards would likely need to make the jump to MVP-candidate level, while Jaden McDaniels would need to deliver more consistent offense, the kind he flashed in last year’s Playoffs against the Denver Nuggets.
Then there’s Joan Beringer, who might be the biggest swing factor of all. The 19-year-old is expected to take over the backup center role, and Minnesota’s front office and coaching staff keep speaking about him in glowing terms. If the Wolves hit their best-case outcome, it may be because Beringer becomes a breakout piece - someone who can grow into one of the NBA’s top defensive bigs without the same offensive issues Rudy Gobert has carried.
A season that reaches that level would likely mean 55-60 wins, which would land in the 90th-100th percentile range. That kind of finish could put Minnesota in position for the No. 1 seed or at least force either the Thunder or Spurs into a tougher playoff path. It wouldn’t make the Wolves a title lock, but it would give them a real shot to knock off one or both of those powers, something that was not realistic with the previous version of the roster.
The downside is just as familiar. In the worst case, Minnesota could drift through the regular season and then go home in the first round for the first time since 2023. Ball wouldn’t unlock Edwards the way the Wolves need, the Kuminga move would collapse, and the bench - especially Beringer - would fail to provide useful minutes.
Even that version of the team still has a fairly solid floor. If injuries are taken out of the equation, the Wolves should still land in the lower 40s in wins, which could be enough to grab the sixth seed depending on how the Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz perform. But in the playoffs, that group would be overmatched by either the Thunder or the Spurs, who would look like a nearly impossible pair to challenge at the top of the West.
In Other News...
Timberwolves Just Made Their Biggest Bet On Anthony Edwards Yet
The Timberwolves have taken a clear swing at reshaping the roster around Anthony Edwards, landing LaMelo Ball in a deal that sent Julius Randle, Naz Reid and future draft picks out the door. It is the kind of move that says Minnesota is not just looking for another good player, but for a better kind of partner next to its franchise guard.
Ball brings a different offensive shape to the lineup, one that should make it easier for Edwards to work with and off the ball while keeping pressure on defenses from multiple spots. Minnesota gave up useful pieces to make the trade happen, which is why the fit matters so much now, and why this new pairing will be watched closely as the Wolves try to prove they chose the right co-star for their rising centerpiece. [Read more 🡒]
Wolves Frontcourt Debate Is Now All About Trust Behind Rudy Gobert
Tim Connellys offseason overhaul left Minnesota looking younger, quicker and a little less predictable, and that shows most clearly in the frontcourt conversation. Rudy Gobert still anchors the middle, but the supporting cast has been reshuffled enough that the Timberwolves are now sorting out who can best complement him in a rotation that also includes Trey Lyles and Cody Williams, with versatility suddenly carrying a lot of value. The appeal is obvious enough: more speed, more options and a group that can be mixed and matched depending on matchup.
The real interest is in how the Wolves settle the minutes behind Gobert, because that decision will say a lot about how much trust they have in the rest of the group. There is confidence in the depth overall, but the pecking order is still being defined, and the frontcourt has become less about simply filling spots than figuring out which players can be counted on when the game tightens and the big man needs a breather. [Read more 🡒]
Timberwolves Face A Big Late-Game Test Around Anthony Edwards
Late-game basketball has become one of the Timberwolves defining pressure points, and the staff around Anthony Edwards is adjusting to match it. With Micah Nori gone to take the head coaching job in Portland, Chris Finch is revisiting how Minnesota handles the final minutes, when every timeout, inbound and matchup can decide everything. The Wolves have spent enough time in clutch situations to know the margin is thin, and the need for cleaner structure has only grown as Edwards role at the end of games has evolved.
Finch said he will be more hands-on in those spots, with Pablo Prigioni and Nate Bubes also taking on pieces of the end-of-game operation. For Minnesota, the change is less about replacing one voice than making sure the right details still reach the floor when the game tightens. Around Edwards, that means finding the balance between giving the star room to go make a play and having a sharper plan when the possession count starts to matter most. [Read more 🡒]