T-Wolves tinkering

From a purely basketball standpoint, it’s hard to dispute the contention that the Timberwolves should not have traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks in the offseason. After all, they did reach the 2024 Western Conference Finals on the strength of his hefty contributions, not to mention his chemistry with the rest of the lineup that included such notables as Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. And given the strides they made and their capacity to stand toe to toe with the best of the best of the National Basketball Association, the safe option would have been to stick with the status quo.

Unfortunately, the state of the Timberwolves’ finances juxtaposed with restrictive provisions in the collective bargaining agreement precluded them from maintaining the roster and running it back. With Towns in the middle of a $224-million supermax contract extension he signed in 2022, salary cap constraints would have ultimately compelled them to choose between him and vital cogs Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Faced with the inevitable, they chose to accelerate the timeline and deal him to the Knicks in favor of Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.

Fast forward to today, and the Timberwolves are decidedly worse on the court as a result of their decision off it. Their offensive rating has gone down to 111.8 from 114.6 in Towns’ absence and amid lower production from their new acquisitions, DiVincenzo in particular. Meanwhile, their defensive rating has stayed the same despite the supposed infirmities of their number one overall pick in 2015 on that end of the floor. Bottom line, the changes — and head coach Chris Finch’s seeming inability to make the most of his new roster — have them in play-in territory a fourth into the season.

True, there is still more than enough time for the Timberwolves to develop the esprit the corps that made them exceed themselves collectively through their 2023-24 campaign. On the other hand, the Western Conference is so competitive that any swoon figures to hurt them in the end. Which is why they need to get their act together, and fast; if nothing else, their poor performance against the Warriors in the crunch the other day underscores their unhealthy overreliance on Edwards.

In any case, the Timberwolves may not yet be done with their tinkering, especially with Randle able to exercise an option to enter free agency next year. They’re being prudent, to be sure, and in the face of the Celtics’ runaway payroll and impending ownership change, who’s to blame them? Until then, they’re hard-pressed to make the most of what they have.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.