It can be easy to fall into the trap of ripping the Minnesota Timberwolves for “losing” the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. The New York Knicks are 16-10 and have the second-best adjusted net rating (117.4) in basketball, according to Dunks & Threes. Towns has been a massive part of that, as he’s averaging 24.8 points and a career-high 13.9 rebounds per game. He’s also shooting 52.6% from the floor and a career-high 43.9% from three. Towns is also in the 97th percentile in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (+3.9). Meanwhile, Minnesota is just 14-11 through 25 games. Last year, the Timberwolves were 20-5 at this point in the season.
Not only does Minnesota have a worse record through 25 games, but the advanced numbers aren’t quite as good. Last year, the Timberwolves were third in the NBA in efficiency differential (+8.8) at this point in the season, according to Cleaning the Glass. This year’s efficiency differential is just +4.8.
Then there’s the “vibes” issue. After a 115-104 loss to the Sacramento Kings on November 27th, Anthony Edwards ripped into his team when addressing the media in the Minnesota locker room.
“Everybody right now is on different agendas. I think that’s one of the main culprits of why we’re losing,” said Edwards.
The 23-year-old is generally nothing but a ball of fun. Sure, he’s arrogant. But his quotes generally get laughs out of people. From not knowing who Alex Rodriguez was to saying he could beat the entire Team USA in swimming, Edwards is normally an outspoken goofball. So, when Edwards spoke about the state of the team, it was somewhat surprising.
Edwards did make it a point to emphasize that he wasn’t just singling out newcomers Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. However, that didn’t stop people from picking apart the former Knicks. Randle has been a polarizing player throughout his NBA career. Many view him as a ball-stopper offensively, while also being a bit of a turnstile on defense. And DiVincenzo’s mental state has been under fire for months. At first, there were rumblings about DiVincenzo wanting out of New York, as he views himself as a starter in this league. Then, after the Knicks and Timberwolves clashed in the preseason, people said the former Villanova star was clearly bitter about being traded and still wants to be in New York. Only a few weeks later, it was back to DiVincenzo being unhappy with a bench role again.
Well, don’t look now but Minnesota has rattled off six wins in seven games since Edwards’ locker-room tirade. The Timberwolves are now tied for sixth place in the Western Conference, and the team is suddenly looking more like the elite group it was a year ago — with the potential to be even more dangerous.
Did Edwards’ speech change the season for Minnesota? Probably a little. After the win over Golden State, Edwards joked that Randle was “playing f***ing defense” and that he’s “never seen him playing defense before.” Edwards might have noted that he wasn’t calling out the team’s new additions, but Randle and DiVincenzo surely have a little self-awareness. The only striking roster differences between the 2023-24 Timberwolves and the 2024-25 Timberwolves is the presence of them. So, with both players having voiced their excitement about playing for a Western Conference contender, one would think that Edwards’ comments lit a spark underneath them. However, the real key to the turnaround could also be the presence of veteran Mike Conley.
When trying to incorporate new pieces, having a floor general is extremely important. Conley isn’t the offensive player he once was but he knows how to distribute touches. With Edwards being one of the game’s most explosive perimeter scorers and Randle needing his share of touches as a wrecking ball that mostly creates off the dribble, having a selfless initiator with a brilliant basketball mind is important. The numbers back it up too. Minnesota is 14-7 in the games Conley has played this season, which means the Timberwolves are 0-4 without him. And Conley had missed time with a toe injury before returning the night of the Sacramento loss. Well, with Conley, Edwards and Randle on the floor together, Minnesota is outscoring opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions.
Minnesota seemed to be lacking an identity to start the year, but the last seven games show that this Timberwolves team isn’t all that different from what it was last season. Since November 28th, Minnesota is allowing just 91.8 points per 100 possessions. That’s the best mark in the league, by far. This team has found its tenacity once again, and its points allowed per 100 possessions for the season is now 107.4. That’s better than last year’s 108.9.
Rudy Gobert is back to looking like the league’s best rim protector. Jaden McDaniels is flying around the court, using his length to disrupt forwards of all shapes and sizes. And as Edwards noted, Randle is playing some defense too. Minnesota is again looking like one of the toughest teams to score against around the basket, and the team has several pesky point-of-attack options. Conley plays angles well. Edwards is an absolute dog on defense. And Nickeil Alexander-Walker is one of the best guard defenders in the NBA. All these things were true for most of the year. But there’s now a togetherness amongst the group that wasn’t there early on.
The next step for the Timberwolves is getting the offense right. However, it’ll be much easier with Edwards and Randle both performing at high levels, individually. This season, Edwards is averaging 26.2 points per game. That’s a career-high mark for the fifth-year pro. He’s also blistering hot from three, shooting 42.4% on 10.2 attempts per game. Also, in this recent seven-game stretch, Edwards’s overall shot volume is down. That speaks to his maturity. Edwards sees that his teammates are also shooting well, and he’s not looking to disrupt chemistry. Randle is one of the teammates. After a cold start to the year as a shooter, Randle is shooting 38.5% from deep in December. And overall, Randle’s averaging 20.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game on the season, and his field goal percentage (48.3%) and three-point percentage (34.8) are the highest they’ve been in quite some time.
Minnesota has a bit of a “your turn, my turn” offense right now, with Edwards and Randle switching off cooking opponents in a half-court setting. But that works when both guys are knocking down shots. And bringing it back to Conley, it works better when there’s somebody out there that can properly identify the right matchups to attack — or just the right side of the court to do so. Without him out there to orchestrate, everything looks a little awkward and the players themselves come off as a little more selfish.
Minnesota’s offensive efficiency numbers leave a bit to be desired right now. There’s no arguing that. But the vision for the Timberwolves when making the Towns deal is clear. Minnesota clearly believes it can still be an elite team defensively, and the group felt it was missing a little shot-making juice in last year’s playoffs. Towns is a Hall of Fame-level floor spacer, and it doesn’t get much better than him when it comes to pick-and-pop, or pick-and-roll, partners. But there was a lot of pressure on Edwards to create last year. Teams were able to blitz Edwards and get the ball out of his hands, and they liked their chances of getting stops from there. That simply isn’t an option now. Randle will feast if presented with any 4-on-3 opportunities, and the same can be said about any isolation opportunities without a packed paint in front of him.
There are also reasons to believe that the offensive efficiency will improve. While Randle and Edwards have it going right now, the floor spacing hasn’t been there for the Timberwolves. Conley is down from 44.2% from three in 2023-24 to 36.6% in 2024-25. Naz Reid is down from 41.1% to 35.0% and McDaniels is down from 33.7% to 32.6% (and was at 39.8% in 2022-23). Also, DiVincenzo just isn’t comfortable at all. Last year, DiVincenzo shot 40.1% on 8.7 three-point attempts per game. He’s down at 31.9% now. Most of the shots those guys take are good looks. Once they start burying them, Minnesota will start to climb the ranks when it comes to adjusted offensive rating. That will make the entire offense a lot tougher to deal with.
There’s just a different energy with the Timberwolves right now. However, it’s different from where they started the season, and it’s not far off from what Minnesota had last year. The Timberwolves are back to being the team you don’t want to play. They’re going to get up right in your grill and defend. Opponents never know when they’re going to get a scratch or a fat lip, but they know it’s coming eventually. That’s Minnesota basketball with Chris Finch on the sidelines. Finch now just needs to do what he does best, and that’s find a way to build a trustworthy offense. Things have been better over the last few weeks, but he’ll continue to fine-tune some things moving forward. And when it’s all said and done, the Timberwolves will be just as tough of a playoff out as they were last year — if not tougher. That said, after a few weeks of panicking and endless talk of a cost-cutting Towns trade, Minnesota is back to looking like one of the West’s best.
