The Minnesota Timberwolves find themselves on the brink of elimination after going down 3-1 in their Western Conference Finals matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. While the series isn’t over, they face a daunting task taking down the No.1 seed in the Western Conference, along with a daunting offseason that could see some significant changes to the franchise.
The team made some significant moves last offseason, notably acquiring Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo from the New York Knicks in exchange for a Player to Be Named Later. Randle, alongside Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, will enter this offseason as free agents.
On the latest episode of Pardon My Take, ESPN Insider Brian Windhorst weighed in on the Timberwolves and the challenge they face in retaining all three stars this offseason
“Well, I don’t think they can keep this team together — the core, the big pieces they can… they have new owners coming on, Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez. They’ve demonstrated to the NBA they’ve got a whole bunch of money to operate the team,” Windhorst said. “But, I would be surprised if they’re able to re-sign all three guys.”
The contract situation only adds to the uncertainty. Randle has a $30.9 million player option that he can choose to pick up, while Reid and Alexander-Walker are expected to draw some interest in the offseason.
The Timberwolves ownership group has done a stellar job of fielding a contender around ascending superstar Anthony Edwards. They drafted well, with Rookies Rob Dillingham and Terance Shannon Jr. proving to be solid contributors throughout this postseason run, and they restructured Rudy Gobert’s contract last offseason to maintain financial flexibility.
If they can retain all three, there’s no doubt the Timberwolves could make another deep run.
