Top 3 Priorities for Minnesota Timberwolves During 2026 NBA Offseason
After losing Game 6 to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, the Minnesota Timberwolves' season is officially over.
And it ended prior to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2023.
Now, after being pretty well handled by the less experienced Spurs, the Timberwolves have some boxes to check this summer.
3. Nail the Draft (Unless You Pull Off No. 1)
1 of 3
The last two postseasons have suggested that winning a title in the near future could require more youth and explosiveness than we're used to.
For years, experience was often a trump card in the playoffs. But the teams making the deepest runs now are young, hungry, incredibly explosive and unforgivingly physical on defense.
Minnesota has a couple starters in their early- to mid-20s who can assert their will in a fashion similar to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Spurs, but Ant may have been playing on less-than-100-percent knees. And for the most part, San Antonio ran circles around the T'Wolves in the three blowout wins.
Now, Minnesota's front office is going to have to pull a rabbit out of its hat with the No. 28 pick (which it will receive from the Detroit Pistons because of a trade) if it wants to modernize and catch up to the Spurs and Thunder.
That could require a gifted player to slide to them on draft night. Maybe the Wolves already have a beat on a diamond in the rough.
However Minnesota pulls it off, nailing the draft is almost a must (unless that pick comes in handy for a trade).
2. Shop Julius Randle
2 of 3
Julius Randle has had a solid run with the Timberwolves.
He was a key cog on one of those conference finals teams. And during his two seasons in Minnesota, he's put up 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.5 threes.
But in the same stretch, he also shot 32.9 percent from deep. And during this playoff run that the Spurs just ended, he made just 44.8 percent of his twos and 25.6 percent of his triples.
With his shaky outside shot and the fact that he's just way too ball-dominant, two years is probably more than enough evidence that Randle isn't a great fit with Edwards.
Finding those players should be real high on the priority list.
In the absence of the influx of athleticism previously mentioned, the complementary pieces who make the most sense on an Ant roster are shooters.
Minnesota was in the top 10 in three-point percentage this season, but it could be even more lethal with a more efficient offensive player taking Randle's minutes.
1. Revisit the Giannis Trade Talks
3 of 3
When the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors became most buzzworthy in February, a surprising suitor emerged.
It may have seemed like the T'Wolves didn't have the assets to win a bidding war for Giannis' services, but they were reportedly one of the teams he'd consider staying with long term. And that could go a long way toward weakening the offers of other teams not given the same assurances.
Now, in the summer, Minnesota will have access to more resources than it did a few months ago (including a 2033 first-round pick). It might be time to throw out a "whatever you want besides Ant" offer.
Pairing those two obviously wouldn't make Minnesota younger (unless he just wound up taking the minutes for Gobert, who's a few years older than Giannis), but the raw talent between those two would be off the charts.
The athleticism (assuming both could stay healthy) would be too.
If the Wolves could pull this off, it would keep them, at the very least, in the conversation with OKC and San Antonio.
