The end of the Karl-Anthony Towns era in Minnesota was sort of sad. Towns didn’t want to leave the team that drafted him first overall in No. 2015, and he’d successfully reoriented his game — if not fully reinvented it — to fit next to the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ franchise player (Anthony Edwards) and rim protector (Rudy Gobert). Despite all of his history there, and despite the fact that the Wolves were coming off their best season since Kevin Garnett, Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell were in town, last Friday they agreed to a trade that sent Towns to the New York Knicks.
Towns was shocked, and the timing was certainly surprising. On the other hand, though, the whole league knew Minnesota would eventually have to shed salary, and the Knicks (whose lead executive, Leon Rose, used to be Towns’ agent) had been linked to the All-Star big man for years. The deal brought Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to Minnesota along with a protected first-round pick, improving the team’s depth in the short term and its flexibility for the foreseeable future.
The depth was appealing in part because the Wolves had let veterans Kyle Anderson and Monte Morris go in free agency. They were already counting on a rookie, Rob Dillingham, to be a contributor from Day 1, and, even after the trade, he’s not the only unproven player who projects to be in the rotation. If you view Towns’ max contract as onerous, then you might see this blockbuster as a big win, particularly after the breakout season that DiVincenzo had last year. Considering how far Minnesota got last season, though, pivoting like this is a dicey proposition, and the ownership dispute in the background makes it feel even dicier. But hey, Edwards is still there, still developing and perhaps the most captivating player on the planet. Maybe he’ll make all of this moot.
The state of play
Last year: Gobert was the league’s best defender, Reid the league’s best sixth man and Towns (arguably) the best version of himself. Edwards took another leap, leading the Wolves to a 56-26 record (No. 17 on offense, No. 1 on defense) in the regular season, and started the playoffs on such a heater that pundits lost their minds. Minnesota swept the Suns and knocked out the defending-champion Nuggets in a seven-game slugfest, but poor fourth-quarter execution doomed them against Dallas in the conference finals.
The offseason: The Wolves loved Dillingham so much that they sent the Spurs their unprotected 2030 first-round pick and an unprotected 2031 pick swap in order to nab him with the eighth pick in the draft. They drafted Terrence Shannon Jr. with the No. 27 pick, too, and then proceeded to lay low for the next three months — Joe Ingles was their biggest free-agent signing, and, aside from Luka Garza, they let all their own FAs walk — before sending Towns to New York right before his 10th media day.
Best-case scenario for 2024-25: Randle and Edwards quickly bond over bucket-getting, Dillingham wins Rookie of the Year and Reid presents DiVincenzo with the Sixth Man of the Year award (like Ingles did when he finished second to then-teammate Jordan Clarkson in 2021); despite early season questions about their depth and direction, the Wolves once again finish with the league’s best defense … but their offense, which jumps into the top 10 in the regular season, is what puts them over the top against the heavily favored Thunder in the conference finals.
Worst-case scenario for 2024-25: Randle makes 28% of his spot-up 3s and, after leading the league in turnover rate for the season’s first 20 games, effectively forces Finch to simplify the offense; the resulting your-turn, my-turn style of play makes the Wolves slightly more efficient but visibly miserable, as they are unable to stop their torturous tumble toward play-in territory or the constant rumors about Randle, Gobert and Tim Connelly’s respective futures.
The conversation
Wolves believer: I wasn’t down on the Wolves a week ago, but I wasn’t amped about the offseason, either. I figured that, after their first conference finals run in 20 years, they’d make a big move to juice the offense, not just swap Kyle Anderson and Monte Morris for a 37-year-old and a 19-year-old. After the KAT trade, though, I’m all the way in. Julius Randle makes much more sense for this team from a positional standpoint, and I can’t believe the Knicks actually gave up Donte DiVincenzo. Did you know the only players who got 3s up more frequently than DDV last season were Stephen Curry and Sam Merrill? He’s the missing piece.
Wolves skeptic: Let me get this straight: A legitimate contender made a trade that was clearly about slashing payroll, and you’re praising it?
Wolves believer: I’m praising it because it wasn’t just about slashing payroll. The beauty of this deal is that it makes the team deeper and more balanced (in other words, just plain better) than it was beforehand … and gives the front office more options moving forward. Maybe KAT was the best player in the trade, but the guy is going to be making $61 million in the last year of his contract. DDV, meanwhile, is one of the biggest bargains in the whole league. Regardless of what ends up happening with Randle down the road, the cap situation is much more manageable now. I would have done the deal even without the first-round pick, so I see it as a huge win for Tim Connelly.
Wolves skeptic: I see it as a huge capitulation. Connelly made a big, bold move as soon as he got to Minnesota, and, after some truly terrible early returns, he was vindicated! Now, after jumping so aggressively into win-now mode, he’s tiptoeing out of it? Rudy Gobert is 32. Mike Conley is just about 37. This was the time to tweak a winning formula, not find a new one. I like DiVincenzo just fine, but adding him doesn’t justify the downgrade in the frontcourt. Randle can score, but he’s a horrible fit in this offense! He wants isolation touches, and he’s not much of a floor spacer. The team is deeper than it was before the trade, I guess, but I won’t buy that it’s “more balanced” than last season’s until the front office flips him (and the pick, probably) for a totally different kind of player. Don’t bet on that happening, by the way — it seems more likely that he just walks, at which point whoever owns the team can celebrate the savings. I wonder if Connelly will have exercised the out clause in his contract by then.
Wolves believer: Hating on Randle on the internet? How original. The coaches who voted him an All-Star in three of the last four seasons must all be idiots, in your view. Same with the media who voted him All-NBA. Look, you don’t have to love everything about Randle’s game, but need to update your scouting report. I suggest watching his tape from last January, after the Knicks acquired OG Anunoby. In the 14 games that preceded Randle’s season-ending shoulder injury, he averaged 24.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists and made 36.9% of his 3s. New York went 12-2 in that stretch, outscoring opponents by 14.2 pints per 100 possessions in his minutes. He made quick decisions off the catch, competed on defense and created tons of open looks for his teammates. The lineups he’ll play with in Minnesota are constructed pretty similarly, and I think he’ll make Edwards’ life easier in a way that Towns couldn’t. No, the shooting gravity won’t be the same, but his drives will force defenders to collapse, opening up opportunities for Edwards to either shoot open 3s or attack with an advantage.
Wolves skeptic: That 14-game sample isn’t representative of the full Randle experience, unfortunately, aside from the fact that it included a seven-turnover game and a couple of six-turnover games. And I don’t know how “similar” these lineups are. That Knicks team was starting Jalen Brunson, DiVincenzo, Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein next to Randle — I’d kill to see what Chris Finch would do with a group like that. Gobert doesn’t have Hartenstein’s floater game or passing ability. Jaden McDaniels doesn’t have Anunoby’s shooting gravity and the Wolves don’t have a movement shooter in their starting five … unless they decide to start DDV over Conley, the one guy who keeps them organized. Just thinking about this makes me feel bad for Finch, an extremely creative coach whose offense would look so much prettier if the personnel were collectively better at passing and decision-making. If I were him, I’d bring Randle off the bench to minimize the clunkiness.
Wolves believer: I admit Minnesota’s offense was clunky at times last year, but, generally speaking, that wasn’t the case with the starters on the floor. If the only change is at the 4 spot — as fascinating as your plan to bench a perennial All-Star is, this is what I anticipate — it’s hard to envision some huge drop-off. Randle is a respectable enough catch-and-shoot guy (35.6% over the last four seasons), a big-time release valve for Edwards and a terror in transition. (Maybe the halfcourt offense suffers slightly, but I can pretty much guarantee Finch will encourage Randle to push the ball after defensive rebounds, as the Wolves desperately need to find more fast break points.) The reason I think the offense will be better this year, though, is the bench. Naz Reid and DiVincenzo are the best pair of reserves in the NBA. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is an overqualified eighth man. Rob Dillingham is an elite spot-up guy who can also shoot off movement and off the dribble. Joe Ingles will do some of the same connector stuff that Kyle Anderson did, but he’ll improve the spacing rather than ruining it. I even think the less discussed young guys could help, too — Terrence Shannon Jr. seems most likely to crack the rotation based on summer league, but Finch raved about Josh Minott at media day and I’m insanely high on Leonard Miller long-term.
Wolves skeptic: Finally, the bench! This is the most interesting thing about the Wolves. And for once, we agree on something: Reid and DiVincenzo are definitely the league’s best bench duo, provided that Finch doesn’t decide to take my suggestion and bench Randle. But does this mean Minnesota is “deep?” Does this mean even it has a “good” bench? I like NAW just fine, but, after that, the Wolves don’t have a single reserve I can confidently say should be an every-night rotation guy. This is a crazy situation for a team that fancies itself a contender. I really wish Ingles were three years younger and Dillingham, Minott and Miller were three years older. As things stand, I fear that Minnesota will miss Anderson, Monte Morris and Jordan McLaughlin, all of whom left for nothing. What does the second unit look like if, say, McDaniels or Conley has to miss a couple of weeks?
Wolves believer: It probably depends when they have to miss a couple of weeks. Early in the season, it’s fair to say that the Wolves, more than most teams, need to avoid the injury bug. Once Dillingham gets some reps in, though, it’ll be pretty obvious why Connelly made a play for him on draft night. I don’t know exactly what the back end of the rotation will look like yet, but it’s October, so that’s OK. To borrow a term from former Sixers coach Brett Brown, I’m looking forward to the “quiet tournament” between the young guys trying to earn Finch’s trust (and PJ Dozier, who is back in the NBA, baby). I’m also looking forward to watching Ingles run pick-and-rolls with Gobert again, which brings me to the three pieces of advice I’d like to leave you with: 1) The next time you’re about to imply that Ingles is washed, look at his on/off numbers with the Magic last year. 2) The next time you’re about to imply that the Wolves are cheapskates, look at the amount of guaranteed money on their books going forward and the roster-building restrictions for big spenders in the CBA. 3) Open your mind! Embrace uncertainty! The playoffs don’t start tomorrow, and if Connelly needs to plug some holes at the trade deadline — or next summer — he can. Edwards is only 23, remember? The way I see it, these changes should only expedite his ascension to the top tier of the sport. If there is one person who can stop the Wolves from taking a step back, it’s him.
Wolves skeptic: I appreciate your “Hakuna Matata” perspective here, but I simply do not share it. Yes, Edwards is 23, just made his first All-NBA team and should be even more awesome this season. (Better shot selection and off-ball defense, please.) Had his team been operating as if it has a long runway, I’d be worry-free. In 2022, though, the Wolves signed Towns to a four-year, $224 million extension, traded four first-round picks (plus a guy they’d just selected in the first round and and three rotation players) for Gobert and added Anderson with the midlevel exception. At the trade deadline a few months later, they acquired Conley and Alexander-Walker. You might not have loved every move they made, but, until this weird offseason, there was no confusion about the direction of the franchise. Now, in addition to all my concerns about Randle and the roster, I’m worried about the ongoing ownership drama, Gobert’s potential contract extension and whether or not Connelly will even be running the team next year. It didn’t have to be this way.
