In this edition of “Road to Relevance” I’ll be taking a look at the team that finished 13th in the Western Conference this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves. One of the NBA’s least successful franchises historically, the Timberwolves have finished seasons with a winning percentage above .500 on just eight occasions since their introduction to the league in 1989. Of those eight winning seasons, just one has taken place in the past 16 years, as they earned their first postseason berth since 2004 when they finished eighth in the West in 2018.

The NBA Playoffs have not been kind to the Wolves in their relatively short time in the NBA. With nine postseason appearances to their name, they have gotten out of the first round just once in 2004 when they were led by the league’s Most Valuable Player Kevin Garnett to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal’s Los Angeles Lakers. Their 2018 first-round series against the Houston Rockets resulted in a 4-1 defeat for the Timberwolves.

Currently, the Timberwolves roster features several young players who have been able to benefit them on the court. First and foremost among them is Karl-Anthony Towns, the star big man who is a two-time NBA All-Star and one of the most talented centers in the league. Towns continued his dominance in the 2020-21 season, finishing with averages of 25 points, 10.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. He shot nearly 39 percent from beyond the arc, providing valuable floor spacing as a threat from the three-point line. His numbers deteriorated slightly compared to his 2019-20 season, but he has cemented his spot as the Timberwolves’ star player.

Although he ranked behind Malik Beasley for third on the team in points per game this season, Anthony Edwards is definitively the team’s second-most-important player. In his rookie year, Edwards averaged 19.3 points per game, although his shooting splits of 41/33/77 left a lot to be desired. Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, however, as Edwards had a rocky start to the season before blossoming under head coach Chris Finch, who took over from former coach Ryan Saunders in late February. Excluding games where he was coached by Saunders, Edwards’ points per game mark jumped up to 23.5, as he showed increased aggressiveness and confidence in the second half of the season.

D’Angelo Russell and the aforementioned Beasley both produced efficiently for the Timberwolves this season as well, as they averaged 19 and 19.6 points per game respectively. Russell was the team’s second-most-effective distributor, averaging 5.8 assists per game, while Beasley led the pack in three-point percentage with 39.9 percent. Under contract until 2024 with a reasonable salary, Beasley could be a building block for Minnesota’s future at just 24 years old. Russell, meanwhile, will enjoy a pay raise to above $30 million next season, the team’s second-highest paid player. This exorbitant contract is a key reason why Russell has found himself at the center of trade rumors in recent years, coming to Minnesota as part of the deal that sent Andrew Wiggins to the Golden State Warriors in February 2020. This trade was facilitated by Russell’s friendship with Towns.

Jaden McDaniels and Jaylen Nowell are two 21-and-under players who have proven their ability on the floor for Minnesota this year, and Jarrett Culver will look to make a third-year jump after missing more than half of this season due to ankle surgery. Veteran Ricky Rubio manned the point guard position for the Wolves this season but didn’t quite live up to his lofty $17 million salary. 

Without a first-round pick in this year’s NBA Draft because of the trade to acquire Russell, the Wolves will have to look to other avenues to improve their roster, and building through free agency with their current payroll situation could prove difficult because free-agent stars are unwilling to make the trip to the northern Midwest. As reported by Kurt Helin, the Wolves are rumored to be a contender in the trade conversations surrounding Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons. Simmons, a flawed but promising player once thought to be a future star alongside Joel Embiid, would almost certainly benefit from a new environment, and he checks a lot of boxes for the Timberwolves’ needs on the floor. With a salary matching that of Russell, a swap between the two teams could benefit all involved, but Minnesota would likely need to sweeten the deal to bypass other teams presenting offers to the Sixers. 

Following the insertion of Finch at head coach, the Wolves showed marked improvement on the floor, finishing the season 16-25 with him at the helm compared to a 7-24 record under Saunders to start the year. Injuries to starters and underwhelming performances from a few players likely held the Wolves back from being a fringe playoff team who could have ended up in the West’s play-in tournament. With Finch on the sidelines, a healthier roster and potentially a high-impact player joining the team in exchange for Russell, next year could see a big jump in the cards for the Timberwolves.