For almost the entirety of 20 years, things were quiet for the Minnesota Timberwolves. One could say things were peaceful. However, in this context, peace is pernicious.
The Timberwolves didn’t have any rivalries. They didn’t have any playoff heartbreaks, birthing those rivalries. Fans didn’t have to file out of a packed Target Center crestfallen after a playoff heartbreak, thinking about how close they were to winning a championship.
Things were quiet for the Wolves because they were a losing franchise.
However, that suddenly changed in 2022. It was loud inside Target Center when the Timberwolves made the playoffs for the second time in 18 years. Deafening chants of “DE-FENSE … DE-FENSE … DE-FENSE” berated the Memphis Grizzlies during the first round of the playoffs. Even though the Wolves let the series slip away after winning Game 1 in Memphis, the foundation on which Minnesota made the playoffs seemed sustainable.
Three years, as many postseason appearances, and two Conference Finals runs later, things are louder for the Wolves than ever before. They are in the thick of a loaded Western Conference that has only gotten better this summer. Everything around the Wolves, including the expectations their fans have for them, is loud and passionate.
However, they have had a tranquil offseason, which has caused the national media to shift their focus to the teams around Minnesota that have made notable moves. For as loud as things are for the Timberwolves, this quiet, peaceful, and perhaps boring off-season is exactly what they need.
ESPN predicted the 2022 Wolves to win 31 games, placing them at 22nd in the preseason power rankings. Minnesota’s biggest move that offseason was flipping Jarrett Culver and Juancho Hernangómez for Patrick Beverley. The Wolves had a flashy core of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, and a 20-year-old Anthony Edwards. Still, there wasn’t much noise surrounding the team, even during their home opener, which wasn’t a sell-out.
But that all changed as the Wolves made their run to a postseason berth, which reached its crescendo during Minnesota’s Play-In win over the LA Clippers.
The meme of Patrick Beverley jumping onto the scorer’s table after the Wolves won that game remains on social media three years later. Still, that win — and the season as a whole — helped to carve out Minnesota’s identity moving forward.
For whatever reason, the Wolves reach their best when nobody expects them to, or when the spotlight is directed elsewhere. It has become synonymous with the Chris Finch era in Minnesota. Perhaps it derives from a place of resentment. The mainstream media didn’t expect the Wolves to make the playoffs in 2022, but the team proved them wrong.
Now, the Wolves carry high expectations. ESPN has them second in the current power rankings, behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. However, similar to the summer before the 2022 season, the Wolves have been quiet this year.
Tim Connelly extended Naz Reid (5 years for $125 million), Julius Randle (3 years for $100 million), and re-signed Joe Ingles (one year for $3.6 million). He also drafted Joan Beringer and Rocco Zikarsky. After all of those signings, the Timberwolves are roughly $6 million below the second apron with two standard roster spots open. Barring a splashy trade, Connelly didn’t have the resources to improve last year’s roster significantly.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant and acquired Dorian Finney-Smith. The Denver Nuggets traded for Cam Johnson and brought in Jonas Valančiūnas and Bruce Brown. The Clippers traded for John Collins and signed Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, and Brook Lopez. The Los Angeles Lakers added Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, and Marcus Smart.
The Rockets, Nuggets, Clippers, and Lakers finished ahead of the Wolves in the West last year. And at least on paper, they have all improved entering this season.
The Timberwolves pursued Durant relatively seriously this summer. Had Minnesota been on his preferred list of trade destinations, he could have ended up in a Timberwolves uniform. But ultimately, the Wolves retained most of last year’s rotation, setting up a familiar stage for Finch’s squad to hit the ground running and maybe even surprise people again.
Connelly pulled the trigger on the Karl-Anthony Towns trade immediately before training camp last year, and the Wolves got off to a slow start because of it. They didn’t catch back up until March. When the blockbuster trade went through, ESPN’s Bobby Marks said Minnesota got better, and many eyes were on the Wolves to see what they could do with their new-look roster.
Now, all the spotlight is on the five teams above that have made talk-worthy additions. The Wolves aren’t one of those teams, but their greatest reinforcement is continuity.
Finch reaches the height of his powers when he has ample time to get there. Anthony Edwards has been familiar with the tools around him all summer and knows where to focus accordingly. Julius Randle knows what the Wolves need from him after his hot finish to the season. He won’t have to adapt on the fly. Finch and his staff, which seems to be remaining the same with Micah Nori and Pablo Prigioni staying in Minnesota, can figure out more ways to put Donte DiVincenzo in a position that turns him into the invaluable role player he was in New York.
But will the added time for players and coaches to prepare for the season be enough to secure a top-four seed in the West and ultimately make a run to the Finals?
Before the 2023-24 season, Shake Milton and Troy Brown Jr. were Minnesota’s only substantial off-season additions. Milton and Brown didn’t make the impact the Wolves were looking for, and they traded the two at the deadline. Minnesota had a quiet off-season then, and ESPN predicted they would win 43 games. However, the Wolves dominated the West for most of the regular season, winning 56 games before advancing to the Conference Finals.
A third Conference Finals appearance in as many seasons this year would be a feather-in-the-cap accomplishment for the Wolves, but nothing more than that. The ownership, coaches, players, and fans know that the goal is now to make the Finals. Their window is currently open to do it.
The Wolves haven’t made a move that suggests they are better than they were last year. They may be worse on paper after losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker. However, this version of the Wolves gets the loudest when things around them are the quietest. With a roster that is bound by chemistry because of a quiet off-season, the Wolves may have put themselves in the best position to clinch a Finals berth in 2026 and make Target Center louder than ever before.