A new-look Minnesota roster has already pushed some old faces to the background, but there’s still plenty of unfinished business when it comes to the players who left after key rotational roles last season. Four names stand out in particular: Naz Reid, Julius Randle, Mike Conley, and Kyle Anderson. Each landed in a different spot, and each situation comes with its own expectations.
Reid’s move to Charlotte is the one that will sting most for Wolves fans. The projection here has him at 17.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 45/38/77 splits, and the belief is that he steps into the Hornets’ starting power forward job right away.
That’s a major shift for a player who went from undrafted and on a training-camp deal to Sixth Man of the Year and one of the league’s better stretch bigs. There’s a clear sense that his game was always built for more than the role he had in Minnesota, and this season could be the first time he gets to show it on a full-time starting stage.
Even with some Hornets fans frustrated about the LaMelo Ball trade, Reid is expected to win people over quickly.
Randle, meanwhile, lands in Brooklyn with a stat line projected at 22.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on 46/32/76 splits. The view here is blunt: he’s not seen as a player who can anchor a true championship push, and he hasn’t exactly left his last two stops with people eager to keep him around.
Still, the Nets may actually be the right place for him. They’re not viewed as a serious playoff threat, and in a crowded Eastern Conference their ceiling is described as a competitive Play-In team at best.
That means plenty of touches for Randle, and with that kind of usage, his numbers should tick up. The concern is what it looks like in practice, especially if he and Michael Porter Jr. end up trading possessions in a “your turn, my turn” setup that could be rough on the eyes.
Even so, big individual nights seem likely, just not a lot of wins.
Conley’s departure to Boston came with more surprise attached than some of the others. The projection for him is 5.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists on 37/39/84 splits.
There was a belief he might finish his career in Minnesota, but the appeal of the Celtics made sense: a chance to play for a storied franchise and still log meaningful minutes for a team with championship goals. With LaMelo Ball in the picture, plus Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland off the bench, there wasn’t much room left for Conley to play the kind of role he wanted in Minnesota.
Staying would have meant settling into the Joe Ingles role, and the move to Boston reflects his belief that he still has more to offer than that. The Celtics’ backup point guard spot behind Payton Pritchard is open enough for him to slide in, and his shooting and decision-making still fit what they want.
Then there’s Kyle Anderson, who heads to Toronto with a projection of 6.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 49/30/73 splits. Anderson wrapped up last season back in Minnesota after earlier stops in Golden State, Miami, Utah, and Memphis, and the basic scouting report hasn’t changed much.
He won’t dazzle anybody, but he finds ways to be useful. He’s a solid playmaker for his position, a flexible defender, and he has a knack for creating looks in the paint with a style that can feel a little unconventional.
That all lines up neatly with what the Raptors tend to value, and the expectation is that he’ll mesh well off the bench alongside Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes.
In Other News...
LaMelo Ball Faces The Timberwolves Pressure That Will Define This Move
LaMelo Balls arrival gives Minnesota a new layer of talent and intrigue, and it also brings a different kind of pressure than he faced in Charlotte. Over six seasons with the Hornets, Ball showed he can tilt an offense when he is rolling, but his move comes with the kind of scrutiny that follows a player expected to matter in bigger moments for a team with real postseason aspirations.
For the Timberwolves, the questions are less about flair than fit. Balls offensive gifts are obvious, but his durability has been a concern, and Minnesota needs to know he can stay available and hold up when the games turn more physical and the margins shrink. How he handles that challenge will go a long way toward defining whether this becomes a savvy addition or another frustrating what-if. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Connellys Wolves Vision Around Anthony Edwards Is Suddenly Clear
Minnesotas roster makeover has pushed the Wolves into a different phase, one built less around patching holes and more around lining up the next several seasons around Anthony Edwards. The group is now one of the youngest in the league, and the front office has clearly tilted toward a core that can grow together rather than one that simply tries to squeeze every last win out of the present.
Tim Connelly has been explicit about the logic behind the reset, framing the LaMelo Ball trade as a move that could address immediate needs while also stretching the teams competitive window. With almost everyone in the rotation cluster young enough to still be on the rise, Minnesotas plan is starting to look like a bet on continuity, development and a longer runway than the franchise has often had in the past. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Fans Are Stuck On The Rob Dillingham Drama Off The Court
Rob Dillinghams brief stop with Charlotte became a talking point almost as soon as it began, with the Hornets moving on from him on Sept. 28 after bringing him in via trade. The decision was framed around roster and financial flexibility rather than anything tied to his play, which only added to the sense that this was more about business than basketball.
Still, the conversation around Dillingham has not stayed on the court. Unverified social media screenshots involving him and influencer Tatiana Chanel have been circulating, even though the exchange was said to have happened months before the waiver and has not been independently confirmed. For a player whose name had already entered Minnesotas orbit through the larger Dillingham conversation, it leaves one more layer of noise hanging around a situation that was already messy. [Read more 🡒]