For a stretch, the Minnesota Timberwolves let themselves imagine something huge: LeBron James in their uniform.
It was always a long shot. Minnesota is not Los Angeles, not New York, not South Beach, and it certainly isn’t Cleveland.
James ended up choosing Philadelphia, a team that had just acquired Jaylen Brown and gave him a route through the Eastern Conference. Still, the Wolves weren’t just going through the motions.
This was a real swing from a franchise that no longer behaves like the old Glen Taylor-era Timberwolves. With Alex Rodriguez as the face and Marc Lore as the money, Minnesota has shown it’s willing to chase big names and make bold moves. That was clear when the Wolves cut bait on Julius Randle and went after LaMelo Ball to become Anthony Edwards’ new point guard.
According to The Athletic’s David Aldridge and Joe Vardon, Minnesota’s pursuit of James had more substance than the outside world may have realized. The Timberwolves and team president Connelly knew from the start they were entering as underdogs.
The cold weather and the lack of championship history were obvious hurdles. But they also believed they had a few real advantages.
One of them was Edwards. James has long been a believer in the Wolves’ star, praising his game, his charisma and his attitude over the years, including during their run to gold together at the Paris Olympics. Edwards and Ball both connected with James over the phone as part of the recruiting effort.
Minnesota also leaned on Rodriguez, whose own career under the brightest lights gave him a rare kind of credibility in a pitch like this. Rodriguez worked quietly behind the scenes to reassure James’ camp that the Wolves would know how to support him and connect with him if he landed in Minnesota.
The pitch went beyond basketball, too. The Wolves pointed to James’ appreciation for the game’s history and framed the move as something bigger than a normal free-agent decision. If he joined a team that had never won, in a market without a title in the four major men’s pro sports since 1991, and did it on a minimum deal while trying to lead a young core to a championship, they told him, that could strengthen his case as the best player ever.
There were moments when Minnesota really thought it had a chance. That feeling spiked during a flurry of conversations with James’ representatives heading into the Fourth of July weekend.
But even then, the Wolves never fully lost sight of reality. As the process wore on, optimism gave way to growing doubt, and the ending played out the way they had feared.
One team official put it bluntly in the days before James made his call: “We have a 4-percent chance, but we have every bit of that 4 percent.”
Minnesota took its shot and came up short, but the chase made for one of the more intriguing storylines of the offseason. Now the Wolves may still need another frontcourt option at the four, a spot that could have gone to a 41-year-old who still averaged 20.9 points per game in his 23rd season.
What comes next for Connelly and the front office is still unsettled. The offseason is not over, and Minnesota still has money to spend, but the market does not offer many clean answers.
The bigger mission remains the same: getting past the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. If the Wolves ever do that, maybe they’ll see James and Philadelphia again in the NBA Finals - and this time, send them home.
In Other News...
Timberwolves Suddenly Have The Leonard Miller And Josh Minott Problem
Leonard Miller and Josh Minott barely got a runway in Minnesota before their paths split from the Timberwolves, and both cases have started to look a little more complicated in hindsight. Miller was moved on in the Ayo Dosunmu deal, while Minott had his team option declined last summer, decisions that made sense at the time for a team trying to manage its roster and rotation. Since then, Minnesotas roster has shifted enough that the club could use more forward depth, the kind of minutes those two once seemed destined to fight for.
What makes the situation sting a bit is that both players have shown real signs of life elsewhere. Miller has flashed for the Bulls, and Minott has turned heads with the Celtics and Nets, giving their former team a reminder of what it gave up before either had much of a chance to settle in. For a Wolves frontcourt that has thinned out, the question is less about what happened then and more about what might have been if Minnesota had been able to hold onto either one a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets May Be Headed For The Painful Move Wolves Fans Wanted
Minnesotas offseason splash with LaMelo Ball has changed the outlook in a hurry, giving the Timberwolves a clear boost while one of their biggest Western Conference rivals has been forced to tread carefully. Denver has mostly stayed quiet, with Marvin Bagley III among the few additions, and the Nuggets decision to match the offer for Spencer Jones has only tightened the financial squeeze around a roster that still looks short on obvious upgrades.
Peyton Watsons restricted free agency remains another piece Denver has to sort through, and the cap math is starting to matter as much as the on-court fit. If the Nuggets want enough room to keep maneuvering, they may have to consider painful salary-dump moves just to stay flexible, which is exactly the kind of pressure Wolves fans were hoping to see build on a contender that cant afford many missteps. [Read more 🡒]