Where Do the Timberwolves Go From Here?

One of the NBA’s most exciting teams and their fight to stave off stagnation

Jaden McDaniels (left), Naz Reid (center left), Julius Randle (center right), Anthony Edwards (record from right) , and Donte DiVincenzo (right), watch on from the bench during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Mar. 11, 2026 — Source: AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh

The Timberwolves have a lot of questions they need to ask themselves this offseason.

A team that just two years ago was up-and-coming, even ahead of schedule, now has an unfamiliar sense of urgency. Even though they took a 62-win, blossoming juggernaut in the San Antonio Spurs to six games, that second-round series wasn’t all that competitive. In their four wins, the Spurs won by a combined margin of 104 points. The Wolves eked out two wins by 7 points.

From Minnesota’s perspective, losing never feels good especially when it’s earlier than you’ve made it before, but it’s important even after an ugly blowout loss in a must-win game, to not overreact. This postseason was relatively successful for the Wolves all things considered.

They beat the Denver Nuggets and exposed their many flaws, and they lost several key players along the way. Donte DiVincenzo suffered a devastating torn achilles, Ayo Dosunmu dealt with calf and heel pain after the first round, and Anthony Edwards was clearly hobbled having hyperextended his knee. Yet they still got within two wins of their third consecutive Western Conference Finals appearance — that’s nothing to scoff at.

But the difficult question that the Wolves, and every other western conference team needs to ask themselves, is how do they not just get better, but contend with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs going forward.

Julius Randle catches his breach during a home game on Mar. 5, 2026 — Source: Jesse Johnson/Imagn Images

First and foremost, the Wolves need to upgrade their offensive talent across the board and the biggest part of that is Julius Randle.

Randle is an extremely polarizing player due to how high his highs can be versus how low his lows can get. He’s a big, bruiser-style, mismatch-attacking forward with a lot of offensive skill. He’s got touch in the paint, a midrange game, and can even shoot the three. Against most teams in the league Randle can get his own and be a positive contributor to his team’s offense.

But in two consecutive postseasons now, Randle has faced an elite defense like the Thunder and Spurs that can switch and guard everything, and his ability to back a player down or get to his spots comfortably vanishes. His handle gets tested, the ball is forced out of his hands, and he becomes a liability for his team. Despite the sheer physicality and skill, Randle is just too flawed and inconsistent to be a championship level №2.

Moving off of Randle is of course easier said than done. The goal is to upgrade and for all his flaws and inconsistencies, it’s exceedingly difficult to find a player who can average 20 points and 10 rebounds, shoot the three, while providing above-average playmaking and four-to-six assists per game.

Julius Randle (right) and Anthony Edwards (left) celebrate during a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Feb. 11, 2026 — Source: David Berding/Getty Images

Even with the upside, it’s hard to imagine there’s a huge market for Randle out there. He’s getting paid $35 million next season on an expiring deal so it’s not a pariah of a contract, but it also means a team would have to convince him to resign even after trading for him. The dollar amount on his contract also means it’s not strangling the Wolves salary like a $50 million-dollar salary would. Nonetheless the goal is to improve and it’s not going to be easy to move off of Randle for a player that’s better than him.

It’s even worth saying that while having to upgrade from Randle may seem obvious, no one should be surprised or angry at the Wolves if he’s still on the roster next season. Minnesota might have to attach assets to Randle to get rid of him and that hurts their ability to build a contender in this tough of a west, so it may be better to just ride his contract out if they don’t find a suiter this offseason.

Jaden McDaniels (left) and Ayo Dosunmu (right) celebrate during a home game against the Toronto Raptors on Mar 5, 2026 — Source: Jesse Johnson/Imagn Images

To the Timberwolves credit, depth is one of their defining strengths and injuries kept them from being able to max out all of their lineup variations or get the most out of their offense with guys like DiVincenzo and Dosunmu. That being said, even off the bench players like Kyle Anderson, Jaylen Clark, Bones Hyland, Joan Beringer, Julian Phillips — none of them played significant roles during this postseason.

Some of that is a lack of high-end skill, some of that is youth and a lack of experience, but either way if the Wolves are serious about competing in the present, than upgrading those spots into pieces that can more consistently have an impact off the bench would make the Wolves’ depth a lot more functional.

One specific role that Minnesota needs to improve is getting an elite guard defender. Guarding Victor Wembanyama is a complex problem in it’s own right, but the Wolves struggled to contain any of the three Spurs guards throughout the entire second-round series. The Wolves are a great collective defense and thrive in the paint through their size, but don’t have a starter to matchup on quick, downhill guards.

Mike Conley warms up before a game versus the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 27, 2025 — Source: AP Photo/Bailey Hillesheim

Mike Conley will be 39-years-old by the start of next season and he hasn’t had the ability to keep up laterally in quite some time. Ant Edwards has all the tools to be a great defender but isn’t committed to that end of the ball enough.

Edwards’ lack of engagement on defense highlights the biggest area in need of improvement from the Timberwolves internally — better habits.

The Wolves are one of the most inconsistent effort teams in the league and have been consistently inconsistent for several years now. During media availability after the Game 6 loss, Edwards spoke about how the regular season is for building championship and playoff habits and Minnesota hadn’t done that.

It’s not enough to be talented. Just because you’re capable of reaching a certain level, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to when the pressure is greatest, and especially if you haven’t been building that repetition.

The Wolves had some really bad giveaways throughout the regular season. They lost games they were in total control of, they didn’t maximize their rebounding abilities, and they had consistent turnovers problems. They likely could have finished higher than the sixth seed if they stayed more engaged throughout the season.

Anthony Edwards holds up the Most Valuable Player trophy after the 75th NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome on Feb. 15, 2026 — Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Another component that keeps the Wolves from reaching their ceiling enough is the play of their superstar.

For as talented as he is, and as much success as the Timberwolves have had so early into his career, Anthony Edwards is clearly not at that apex level of having complete control over the game. In particular, playmaking is the area he’s most lacking in. Whether it be reads he misses, a pass he can’t make out of double teams consistently, or just his decision making on any given possession — Ant has a lot of room still to grow.

He’s 24-years-old and again, the Timberwolves have experienced the most amount of postseason success they ever have over the past few years and that’s not something to overlook. But Edwards seldom takes over a game with his decision making its really only ever as a scorer which itself is subject to defensive coverages and variance.

In the interim, the Wolves can do Ant and themselves a favor by pairing him alongside a true point guard that can initiate offense and take on defensive assignments to a greater degree than Conley or DiVincenzo (Dosunmu may end up starting full-time next season).

Part of that maturation for Edwards also has to involve being more committed as a defensive player. For a player as strong, athletic, and clever as Ant; he frequently misses rotations, doesn’t get back in transition, and just fails to give much effort on that end.

It’s extraordinarily hard to be an elite offensive player and also be a plus defender but if Edwards can just contribute a bit more, be a bit more engaged on a possession-to-possession basis, that would make a meaningful difference.

Rudy Gobert (left) guards Nikola Jokic (right) during the first quarter of game 3 of the western conference first round — Source: Bruce Kluckhohn/Imagn Images

There also remains a Rudy Gobert to factor into all of this. Gobert had a superb, highly-underrated season covering up for a Wolves team that took a step back defensively during the regular season. But no matter how impactful Gobert is on one side of the ball, he can’t help but hurt his team on the other end.

In the modern NBA’s “weak link era”, the top teams can switch everything, help off of players who lack the offensive skill to punish them, and Gobert’s lack of touch, ball-handling, or shooting, has consistently been something said teams can attack.

His lack of ability to finish around the basket makes Edwards an even more reluctant passer than he already is. And while his presence in the paint crowds up lanes and makes it more difficult to get to the rim, unfortunately for Gobert’s teammates, that goes both ways.

Rudy Gobert is one of the best defenders in the world and this is not a top priority for the Wolves but it is a real issue teams with him tend to run into eventually. He’s only got two more years left on his deal so, much like with Randle, the Wolves are probably best just riding out his contract out in lieu of having better options.

Julius Randle (left), Anthony Edwards (center), and Rudy Gobert (right) jogging down the court during a game in the 2024–2025 season — Source: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

It may seem like the Wolves don’t have a ton of paths towards leveling up in the immediate future but it’s not to say that none of it’s realistic.

Minnesota can definitely improve their overall offensive talent along the margins, improve their depth, and they do have a few first round picks through 2032 they can try to build a package with to go out and make a bigger, bolder move.

Regardless, it’s not likely that the Wolves seriously contend with the Thunder or Spurs in said immediate future. OKC and San Antonio have raised the bar out west to an all-time height and it’s changed the outlook for a lot of teams.

The Timberwolves as currently constructed were built to beat the Denver Nuggets, and they did, twice. But now the teams to beat aren’t just elite two way teams unlike the Nuggets, they’re athletic, all-time great defenses with vastly different superstars at the helm. It’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of prescient moves not just going right but exceeding expectations, to build a roster that can really compete.

In the meantime the Wolves remain in that second tier of teams in the west, alongside the Lakers, Nuggets, and possibly the Rockets as well — if you want to be optimistic.

Teams that will be slowly working towards building rosters that can compete but are essentially biding their time, waiting for an opening or a slip up from one of the two juggernauts. Teams that likely don’t stand a chance at winning a series over a healthy OKC or San Antonio for another half decade or so. Not until they finally reach that point or the second apron start bringing those two juggernauts back down to earth.

Anthony Edwards smiles during the third quarter of a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 21, 2025 — Source: David Berding/Getty Images

With all that said the Timberwolves may not be able to compete with the Thunder or Spurs at this moment, but they’re also not going anywhere. They can very reasonably be in this same position next season, win a first round series, and really — the Wolves can beat anyone in the west outside of the Thunder or Spurs so it’s on them to maximize their regular season and give themselves a chance of not running into either of them until later rounds.

It may sound odd because Edwards is such a promising bright spot within this new generation, but this first title window of his career might be officially closed, and by the time an Anthony Edwards team has a legit shot at winning a title again, that team is going to look very different.

This is just the reality of the NBA today, it’s never been harder to build a championship contender, especially while we’re on the precipice of two budding dynasties.