Anthony Edwards made a promise after the Minnesota Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time in 20 years.
“We’ll be back next year,” he said confidently.
In other years, such a proclamation would come off as false bravado. However, Edwards often backs up his word, and the Wolves have positioned themselves to contend next season. Edwards is a dynamic scorer for Team USA. The Timberwolves moved up to pick 8 to select Rob Dillingham out of Kentucky, and he put up 25 points in his final Summer League game. Terrence Shannon Jr. also looks NBA-ready after showing out in Vegas.
That’s not to say there’s a straightforward path to reaching the Western Conference Finals again, let alone winning a championship. The West remains challenging. The Dallas Mavericks may still be a bad matchup, the Oklahoma City Thunder are a year older, and the Denver Nuggets took Minnesota to seven games last year. Furthermore, Dillingham also got off to a slow start offensively in Vegas, and Shannon left Sin City with a toe injury.
Still, the Wolves would be having a good offseason, even if they hadn’t gone on a playoff run last year. Edwards has captured everyone’s attention with Team USA. He’s been productive on the court, claimed he’s the best player on a team with LeBron James and Stephen Curry, and said he can beat all his teammates in swimming. Edwards looks as ready as any young NBA star to take over for James, Curry, and Kevin Durant as the next face of the league.
The Wolves also have three other Olympians vying for gold in France. Rudy Gobert is teaming up with Victor Wembanyama in Team France’s version of the two-big system. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is part of a talented Canadian team that won bronze at the World Cup last summer. And Joe Ingles is playing for Team Australia in his fifth Olympic games. That means Minnesota’s third-best player, seventh-best player, and its Kyle Anderson replacement will be playing on the world stage.
Absent context, Minnesota’s representation at the Olympics and in Vegas would be encouraging. If you didn’t know that the Wolves had gone on a playoff run last year, you could easily conclude that they got lucky in the lottery and moved up to No. 8 to take Dillingham, then packaged their second-round pick and grabbed Shannon. That they got both players without giving up anyone on the active roster or having to move up late in the first looks like a steal.
People would be talking about how the Olympics will prepare Edwards, Gobert, and Alexander-Walker for the playoff pressure and that Ingles is a battle-tested veteran who can help guide a relatively young team through the postseason. However, expectations change after a team experiences success. It’s not as though anyone lacks excitement for next season. Still, the Wolves must do more than go on a playoff run to meet fan expectations. They need to reach the finals and look like a bona fide contender for people to consider next season a success.
After the Western Conference Finals last season, Edwards vowed to work harder in the offseason because he felt exhausted by the time the Wolves faced Dallas. Edwards’ coaches and trainers will encourage him to put in the work this offseason. Still, the coaching staff also asked too much of him late in the playoffs. He was guarding Luka Doncic, bringing the ball up, and driving offense for Minnesota. It’s fair for any team to lean on their star player, who will make $42 million next season. Still, any star needs a competent team around him.
Tim Connelly acted swiftly to build off of last season’s success. Last year, the Timberwolves entered the season without a proper backup for Mike Conley, 36. They acquired Monte Morris at the trade deadline, but he only played 24 seconds in the Dallas series. Part of the reason that Edwards brought the ball up is that the Wolves tried to avoid fatiguing Conley. In response, Minnesota drafted Dillingham, 19, as Conley’s heir apparent, knowing they can’t solely rely on Conley to carry them through a playoff run.
The Timberwolves also need to provide Edwards with secondary scoring. Karl-Anthony Towns was the Game 7 hero against Denver but shot 37.9% from the floor and 24.2% against Dallas. Jaden McDaniels made second-team all-defense last year. However, he shot 48.9% from the floor and 33.7% from three a year after shooting 51.7% and 39.8%, respectively.
Still, Edwards should be in good company next season. He has three Olympians surrounding him and Naz Reid, an American hero, as Minnesota’s sixth man. Dillingham and Shannon have shown out in Summer League and look ready to contribute immediately. The Wolves have had a good offseason, even considering the expectations they created by going on a playoff run last year. They’re allowing Edwards to back up his promise. They look like they’ll be back next year.
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