In 2021-22, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a pretty solid season. They had their first winning season since 2017-18 and qualified for the 2022 NBA Playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference. Looking ahead to the 2022-23 season, Minnesota realized it needed to level up with some moves from the Timberwolves’ offseason.
In the 2022 off-season, many teams sat on the sidelines and built around the edges, but Wolves jumped off the cliff without a life jacket. They rocked the offseason and set market standards by trading an assortment of picks and players to acquire three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. They plan to pair the Stifle Tower with their recently expanded superstar Karl-Anthony Towns. It’s a very heavy roster that can potentially deliver great results throughout the regular season.
Of course, Gobert also comes with a lot of questions. His playoff impact (or lack thereof) and how he’ll age until his monster contract expires in the summer of 2026 are the big unknowns. The Timberwolves have also signed Kyle Anderson, who allows Wolves to play small if necessary. They have also extended Taurean Prince, who will be filming.
Overall, Minnesota has rolled the dice in the Gobert case. If the result goes beyond the first round of the 2022 playoffs, it would be worth it.
That said, bringing in Gobert, expanding towns, and adding Anderson were all smart moves. Nonetheless, the Timberwolves seem to have overlooked the most essential move they needed to make. They really should have traded D’Angelo Russell.
The Timberwolves’ off-season move they had to make
D’Angelo Russell Exchange
During the 2019-20 season, Minnesota acquired D’Angelo Russell in exchange for Andrew Wiggins. Russell and Towns were supposed to be a strong attacking tandem, but that didn’t quite happen.
A look back at the Warriors x Wolves swap in 2020:
The Warriors traded D’Angelo Russell, Omari Spellman and Jacob Evans to Wolves for Andrew Wiggins, the 2021 1st round pick (who turned into Jonathan Kuminga) and a 2nd round pick. pic.twitter.com/B9WN8F6iHB
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 14, 2022
Russell struggled terribly on offense throughout the playoffs, while he’s not much of a defenseman either. In the 2022 playoffs, he scored 12 points per game on 33.3% shooting from the field and 38.7% on three. He also averaged 2.8 turnovers per game which was very detrimental to their attacking flow.
Keep in mind that now that the Timberwolves have 30-year-old Gobert, time is running out. They committed to a Gobert-Towns-Anthony Edwards core, with the caveat that Edwards is still on his rookie contract. Gobert and Towns, meanwhile, are both on long-term, exorbitantly priced contracts.
Gobert is expected to earn $38 million in the 2022-23 season, while Towns will receive $33 million. With Edwards earning just $10 million over the next two seasons, the Timberwolves actually only have two seasons to figure out how to use their minimal budget space. This gives them even more urgency to trade D’Angelo Russell.
Russell, of course, is not a bad player. He scored 18.1 points per game in 2021-22 but was an important part of the Timberwolves’ journey to the NBA playoffs. However, he earns $31 million this season and his contract expires. Obviously, the Timberwolves need to prioritize Edwards over Russell.
They can still potentially try to keep Russell in Minnesota, playing him next season alongside the Edwards-Gobert-Towns core. This, however, would essentially be a waste of money. After that, Russell can walk for free as well, leaving the team unrewarded.
Again, it all boils down to a move they should have already made, which is to ship Russell maybe even for a small loss. They could have given him a first-round pick or even a cheaper veteran to complete their roster.
The reality is that the Timberwolves will not win a championship with these four players as the core to their current and future salaries. Russell is especially expensive considering what he brings to the table for this team.
Keep in mind that the Timberwolves are on the verge of something spectacular. They must have the nerve to play to their strengths and fill in the gaps in the list. While Russell has been solid since joining, he’s not a championship piece for this team. As such, Wolves must act now if they are to complete their playoff puzzle.
Minnesota showed Timberwolves fans what it’s like to be in the playoffs. Edwards, Towns and Gobert have the skills to bring them back, but now is the time to improve the team in order to make a deeper run.
