30 days/30 teams: Minnesota Timberwolves

What’s the point of trading a team that wins (two rounds of playoffs)? The Wolves remain in two conference finals, a first in franchise history. Faced with athletic and financial choices, Minnesota decided to focus on continuity. There are as many contract extensions as there are recruits, with nice paychecks Julius Randle etc Naz Reid. The only downside is Nickeil Alexander-Walker he couldn’t hold on when the payroll was on the verge of exploding, with five players being paid more than $20 million per season.

Wolves are among the few teams that continue the season with an unchanged top five compared to last season. Minnesota is primarily counting on Anthony Edwards to bring them closer to the top of the NBA. The guard is improving season after season and has added a very high level of outside shooting to his game. But he also broke his teeth in the West Finals against a Thunder defense that forced him to release the ball too often and limited his impact (three of five games in the series under 20 points). Very discreet this summer, he claims to have spent all his time improving his game and his physique so that he doesn’t experience such a situation again.

The Wolves’ ceiling will be directly dependent on his ability to further elevate his level of play. Around him, his lieutenants are experienced, but should no longer add an extra dimension to Minnesota’s game. Julius Randle has been downright impressive in the playoffs and seems to have found his place in the game Chris Finch. His racket association with Rudy Gobert as a defensive cornerstone and Naz Reed as a spark off the bench offers real guarantees. Young Habs Joan Beringer he will bring his athleticism while learning from Rudy Gobert in circle protection.

A few changes also on the outer lines, with Mike Conley to lead and Jaden McDaniels on the wing, the only other carrier who still seems to have room for improvement. Donte DiVincenzo he’ll need to bounce back from a playoff that was too average in terms of skill (8.7 ppg on 36.5% shooting, including 31.8% on 3-pointers). The departure of Nikhil Alexander-Walker will have to be compensated for by a gradual emergence Terence Shannon Jr etc Jaylen Clark. The necessity to compensate for the loss of “NAV”, the precious wild card of the last two seasons, and to allow the team to finally cross the threshold that separates them from the status of title contenders.

SUMMER MOVEMENTS

arrivals: Joan Behringer (draft), Enrique Freeman (2-way), Johnny Yuzang, Rocco Zikarski (2-way)

Departures: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Luka Garza, Josh Minott

PLAYER TO WATCH: ROB DILLINGHAM

Of the entire “bottle class” of the Wolves, he is probably the one who has to live up to expectations the fastest. The eighth pick in the 2024 draft didn’t exactly shine in his first season, with limited playing time. Not always fair in his choices, the explosive former “combo guard” from Kentucky did not convince Chris Finch to offer him more than an average ten minutes. Wolves expect more, with Mike Conley having just celebrated his 38th birthday and entering the final year of his contract.

In a team that sometimes hums in attack, Rob Dillingham has the explosiveness to give Minnesota a boost. But he also has to learn to better control the pace of his team, which is what he focused his work on during the summer, especially with Mike Conley. In decline, both physically and statistically, the former Grizzlies and Jazz player is destined to give up his place in the starting five in more or less short order.

It’s up to Rob Dillingham to take the opportunity he’s been given and offer another option to this team. His preseason (9 assists against the Grizzlies and against Guangzhou) is quite encouraging in that regard.

Average age: 27 years

Payroll: $216.4 million (4th)

IDEAL SCENARIO

Only four teams finished last season in the Top 10 for best “offensive” and “defensive rating”: three reached 60 wins (Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Boston) and … the Wolves.

Not too bad for a team that wasn’t sure to escape the playoffs a few games before the end of the regular season. This fairly high average level, even when Minnesota doesn’t look so great, looks like an all-risk insurance for Chris Finch’s gang.

The dynamic of the end of the season and the authoritarian qualifiers against the Lakers and Warriors, to whom they dropped only one game, must set the course for the Wolves from the beginning of this exercise.

Especially since this time there won’t be a major recruit to integrate like Julius Randle did a year ago. Minnesota has to aim for a Top 4 finish in the West, showing more of its abilities than last season’s 6th place finish. Anthony Edwards still could take on a new dimension if he continues to improve and if his work heralded during the offseason pays off against aggressive defenses. As long as the young players on the team (Dillingham, Shannon, Clark, even Beringer) are winning, the Wolves can logically have big ambitions.

WORST SCENARIO

Yes, Minnesota proved that its feat in 2024 was not without a future and that this team is one of the strongest in the league. But she also showed her limits against the best by going 4-1 in the conference final two years in a row. Without big signings and with an aging executive, how will the Wolves really be able to close the gap with the best teams in the NBA?

Few big names can really rely on second-year players to play an important role in the most important games. Even Anthony Edwards’ upward curve may not be enough to catch up to the Thunder’s steamroller.

Minnesota will also have to watch for shifts in concentration throughout the season, sometimes even in the middle of the same matchup. Wolves do not lack character and know how to bare their fangs. But what happens is that the pack disperses, a mistake he can no longer afford if he wants to move up another rung in the hierarchy.