For the second year in a row, the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ season has ended in the Western Conference Finals. After a strong playoff run beating both the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, they fell in five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Despite not reaching their ultimate goal, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly believes that their core group of players is enough to eventually finish at the top of the NBA landscape.
“We feel very happy with the core we have. We don’t feel like there’s tremendous pressure to do much,” Connelly said during Minnesota’s end of season press conference on Monday. “But until you’re raising the trophy, you’ve got to be as active and as creative as possible to get to the point where you’re the final team.”
Connelly has been the architect of the Timberwolves since he joined the team in the summer of 2022. In his three years as team president, he has made major roster changes to reshape the team. Of those, include trading for Rudy Gobert, and sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
Minnesota’s Major Offseason Decisions
As the offseason quickly approaches, Connelly and the rest of the front office have multiple decisions that need to be made. Of the upmost importance for the team are the extensions of Randle and Naz Reid. Randle has a player option worth more than $30 million for next season, while Reid has a player option for $15 million. Both also have the choice of opting out of their deals, and testing the waters of free agency next month.
“Those guys are really really good players who play really really well together,” Connelly said about Randle and Reid. “We have nothing but positive indicators both of these guys will be in Wolves jerseys next season.”
For Randle, his performance in the regular season and first two rounds of the playoffs indicated that he could enter free agency in hopes of landing another big contract. But after his showing in the Western Conference Finals, he will likely opt into the extension and stay in Minnesota for next year.
Randle finished the 2025 NBA Playoffs with career-highs in points and assists, while shooting over 50% from the field and 38% from three. His regular season numbers were also strong considering his change of scenery directly before the start of the year, averaging 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 69 games played.
A similar notion could be said for Reid, who after winning the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last season, had even higher numbers this year. Reid averaged 14.2 points, six rebounds, and two assists in the regular season, all of which were career-highs. Reid had a slight drop-off in performance in the postseason, but his consistent improvement at just 25 years old make him a strong candidate for a new contract this offseason.
Other Offseason Priorities For The Timberwolves
Another key player for Minnesota who is set to be a free agent is Nickeil Alexander-Walker. The 26-year-old played in all 82 regular season games for the second year in a row. He also had the task of guarding players like Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander during the Timberwolves’ playoff run. Alexander-Walker is set to be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason after making $4.2 million this year.
While both Randle and Reid have player options making their returns to Minnesota potentially more likely, Alexander-Walker is expected to leave the Timberwolves in hopes of signing a larger deal somewhere else. All three were major factors in the Timberwolves success this season, but it remains a difficult task to bring them all back for next year.
Young players Rob Dillingham, Terrance Shannon Jr., and Jayden Clark are also expected to have larger roles for the team next season. The trio is set to make a combined $12 million in 2025-26, so they have much less of an impact on the team’s payroll compared to their other top players.
Minnesota’s Payroll Concerns
Minnesota’s payroll was above the NBA’s second apron this season, and bringing back at least Randle and Reid on their current deals would put them above the expected salary cap for next season. Connelly stated he has full support of team ownership, but steep increase in luxury tax might hinder their ability to keep the currently constructed roster.
“The goal is to keep everybody. What’s neat is the players are all very happy here. They love the coaching staff, they love the teammates, they love the community,” Connelly said. “When the player wants to be here and the team wants to have them back, there’s always room for optimism…We’re pretty cautiously optimistic we’re in a good place with all of the guys.”
Luckily for Minnesota, Mike Conley is under contract for next season. The veteran point guard is set to make $10 million but will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next year’s campaign. DiVincenzo is another key player who will likely stay, as he is under contract until 2027 making roughly $12 million annually.
They also aren’t expected to move on from Gobert, who is set to be owed $74 million over the next two seasons. Jayden McDaniels is also under contract until 2029, with an average salary of more than $26 million for the next four seasons. But besides those two and their star player Anthony Edwards, there is little set in stone for a Minnesota team who have enjoyed recent playoff success.
While the Timberwolves will continue to build around Edwards, players like Randle and Reid could have a massive impact on their future payroll.
Though Connelly has stated that he feels confident in bringing back the team’s roster for next year, the NBA has proven that anything can happen in the offseason.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Timberwolves President Sends Strong Message About Team’s Core appeared first on Heavy Sports.