With a successful season in the rearview mirror, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2024 offseason plan seems pretty clear.
Chris Finch’s team exceeded all expectations and improved significantly in their second season with their twin towers, and it’s more than evident that Anthony Edwards is here to stay. With a couple of tweaks, we could be looking at one of the best teams in the Western Conference for years to come.
Of course, their season didn’t end on a high note. Perhaps the matchup didn’t favor them, or maybe they just ran out of gas. Whatever the case, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this team.
With that in mind, we’ll take a look at the Timberwolves upcoming free agents, potential targets, and the overall outlook of what the Minnesota Timberwolves 2024 offseason plan should look like.
Minnesota Timberwolves’ Offseason: How To Help Anthony Edwards
First things first. Most of the Timberwolves’ roster is locked in for years to come, so they don’t have to worry about losing most of their key pieces. Kyle Anderson is the only key rotation piece that could walk away in free agency, and it would be in their best interests to keep him around because of his defense.
AJ Lawson, Luka Garza, and Daishen Nix will all become restricted free agents, with Monte Morris, TJ Warren, Jordan McLaughlin, and the aforementioned Anderson as their free agents.
Things get a lot trickier when it comes to their potential trade candidates. Naz Reid is coming off the best season of his career as the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, but he has a player option after next season. The same goes for Rudy Gobert, who has the résumé of one of the greatest centers of all-time, but definitely not the play of one.
His pairing with Karl-Anthony Towns proved to be quite good in the regular season, and their three-headed monster was enough to get past the Denver Nuggets in the second round, but should they double down on them and keep them together?
The Timberwolves Must Make A Decision
Gobert’s reputation around the league isn’t good, at least amongst the players. He’s the least-respected veteran in the game, and his well-documented postseason woes have outweighed his rim protection and defensive impact in the regular season.
That’s what makes his trade value so difficult to gauge. Will a team be willing to give up something even remotely close to the massive package they gave to get him from the Utah Jazz? And if so, would moving on from him be the right decision?
Karl-Anthony Towns is a former first overall pick who’s still young and one of the best offensive big men in the game. He’s still under contract for the next three seasons, so perhaps he could be a better trade chip for them.
Of course, he also comes with plenty of baggage, as he’s been a no-show in big moments over and over, and some have questioned his character. Still, multiple teams would gladly take him off the Timberwolves’ hands, and he could receive the kind of trade return that could take this team to the next level.
Edwards Needs To Hit The Gym
At the end of the day, the Timberwolves don’t need to make many free-agent signings; they could be good by just keeping Anderson and trading one of their bigs.
However, what they truly need to get over the top is to get Anthony Edwards in better shape. It’s not that he’s overweight or anything, but his conditioning needs to get better.
He was completely exhausted and gassed out in the Western Conference Finals, and that took a massive toll on his offensive game. Granted, he’s coming off playing in the FIBA World Cup and has logged heavy minutes, but he’s just 22 years old.
Still, that summer with Team USA did wonders for his game, and he’s got a solid work ethic, as he’s shown by improving every year and making great strides on defense.
So, under the right conditioning program, he should be able to come back stronger and better than ever, and that’s a scary thought for the rest of the league.
