The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to battle their way to a second-straight Western Conference Finals this season, but the franchise won’t be able to run back the same roster that got them there next season. Several players are up for a new contract this summer. According to Timberwolves legend Kevin Garnett, this means the team’s path to improvement won’t be easy.
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The Wolves were clearly overmatched in their series against the Oklahoma City Thunder and oftentimes lacked adequate offensive firepower. Both Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert are under contract for the foreseeable future, but other key members of Minnesota’s squad could be departing for more lucrative deals.
Naz Reid will undoubtedly decline his $15 million player option, possibly in hopes of snagging a full-time starting role somewhere next season. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a free agent, as well.
Also, Julius Randle, arguably the team’s second-best talent, could decline his $30 million option. He was a major contributor to their deep playoff run. If the Wolves were to let all of these players go, the franchise could find the flexibility necessary to bring in another star next to Edwards. But Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce don’t see that happening.
“You gotta re-sign Julius Randle, dawg. You gave up KAT,” Garnett said adamantly on KG Certified. “I gotta re-sign Naz Reid, too,” Pierce chimed in. “Hell yeah. Those two are right now. Those should have been done,” The Big Ticket agreed.
The pair of Celtics legends doesn’t have the same affinity for Minnesota’s starting center, though.
“I got to explore the possibility of trading Rudy Gobert,” Pierce said. “Cause I looked the last two years, and Rudy’s been solid for them for the regular season. But I think he kind of got exposed in the Conference Finals the last two years. And he don’t give enough production for him being on the floor for the amount of time.”
Pierce also mentioned his hope that Minnesota replaces the aging Mike Conley with a younger talent, which KG echoed the sentiment in his response.
“I would try to go after some young guards … I’m looking at Ant as being another player that’s going to be able to ascend. You gotta put pieces around him. And the new wave of how you build your team is through depth,” Garnett said.
The former Defensive Player of the Year believes the Minnesota Timberwolves already have their core. They simply need to fill out the roster around their stars.
“So you gotta build your team with some depth now,” KG continued. “Whatever you add to Minnesota, it’s gotta fit the pedigree of [Anthony Edwards]. It’s got to fit the pedigree of Randle. It’s gotta fit the pedigree of Naz Reid, McDaniels, DiVincenzo.”
The Timberwolves will have options in the way they want to operate this offseason, especially if Reid and Randle decline their player options as expected. But neither Paul Pierce nor Kevin Garnett believes Minnesota is in need of massive adjustments. They simply need to add the right pieces around what they already have.
