Timberwolves Must Give Anthony Edwards a Co-Star to Contend amid NBA Trade Rumors

The Minnesota Timberwolves have never been closer to cracking the NBA championship code.

They're just missing one pivotal puzzle piece to make it over the proverbial hump: a full-fledged co-star for Anthony Edwards.

While his age (23) and ability (back-to-back All-NBA second-team selections), the team theoretically has some runway to build the ideal roster around him. Then again, the Wolves' window to win might be right now—they punctuated the past two seasons with their second and third conference finals appearances in franchise history—and hoops historians would warn anyone against assuming things will stay this way indefinitely.

So, despite all this recent success, Minnesota must be on the lookout for more ways in which it can assist the brightest star in its orbit since Kevin Garnett resided in the Gopher State. Fortunately, it sounds like the organization has recognized as much with The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski reporting the Wolves plan "to continue to be aggressive in constructing a roster around Edwards that can compete to come out of the Western Conference."

Minnesota clearly appears on the cusp of something special. While this latest campaign, which was preceded by the blockbuster deal sending out Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo days before training camp started, featured its share of ups and downs, it still ended with the Wolves sitting fourth in net rating, per NBA.com, and then winning consecutive playoff series.

That's what can happen with a defense this dominant (sixth in efficiency) and an offense this explosive, thanks in no small part to Edwards, who just simultaneously hit new highs in points per game (27.6) and true shooting percentage (59.5, per Basketball-Reference).

All of that said, there might be a cap on how high this core can climb. The Wolves looked awesome in the first two rounds, when Randle aced the Robin role to Edwards' Batman. But when Randle stumbled against stiffer competition in the conference finals, the Wolves were effectively cooked.

Maybe Minnesota sensed this was coming—or was at least worried that it might. It did, after all, reportedly give "serious" consideration to a Kevin Durant pursuit ahead of the deadline, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst. An efficient, quantity-plus-quality scorer and shot-creator of Durant's caliber could be exactly what Minnesota needs to complete the treacherous climb from contender to champion.

That's not to say a Durant deal should have the organization's full focus this offseason, though. While the basketball fit could be tremendous, the 36-year-old is not at all a timeline fit with Edwards. Plus, Durant is down to the final season on his current contract, so the Wolves might be breaking open the piggy bank for a single-season rental.

At the proverbial right price, the potential reward might still be worth the wager. Anything above that, though, might be too risky. Minnesota's future should be blindingly bright by virtue of rostering Edwards. Misfiring on Durant would threaten to muddle that by a worrisome amount.

Still, if consideration in Durant is all part of a no-stone-unturned search across the basketball landscape for the right Edwards co-star, then this front office is doing this the right way. There's a chance for all of this to produce a special outcome, provided Minnesota plays its hand just right.

Again, though, the Wolves shouldn't be caught up in the fallacy that Edwards' age alone grants them a half-decade or more to figure things out. The franchise is already facing an asset deficit, and free agency threatens to deplete some of its depth.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker (unrestricted), Randle (player option) and Naz Reid (player option) all have opportunities to seek out greener pastures should they choose. And as Krawczynski noted, "it seems likely that the most realistic path forward is for the Wolves to retain two of those three players."

Minnesota must act with some urgency, in other words, because attrition is already coming for this roster. And even if the Wolves are bearish about young players like Rob Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr. or Jaylen Clark, they also know these aren't surefire contributors yet.

And that, more than anything, is what the Wolves really need: players who can consistently and confidently be relied upon to produce alongside Edwards.

He looks ready to lead a title run sooner rather than later. But he can't do this on his own. He needs the full support of ownership, the front office and the coaching staff, plus a fully loaded roster around him.

Minnesota has so far provided sufficient depth, stingy defense and support scoring. The sidekick role remains unclaimed, though, and simply running it back with Randle won't change that.

A true second star could be a literal fortune-changer for the franchise. Edwards might make everything feel possible, but a co-star could turn the Wolves' wildest dreams into reality.