The Minnesota Timberwolves experienced one of the greatest seasons in franchise history this year. With Anthony Edwards taking another leap and the team’s defense clicking into place in the second season with defensive stalwart Rudy Gobert roaming the paint, the Timberwolves contended for the top spot in the Western Conference all season long.

While Minnesota slid to the third seed after a tight race with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets, the Wolves outlasted both of those teams and even ruined the Nuggets’ chances at a second straight NBA championship by winning Game 7 on the road in Denver in the second round. The Western Conference Finals did not go as well for the Timberwolves.

Despite being the higher seed, the Wolves, whose defense buoyed them all year, could not slow down the Dallas Mavericks’ offense enough to overcome their own offensive shortcomings. En route to its first NBA Finals in 13 years, the Mavericks completed the gentleman’s sweep, winning the series 4-1.

Now, all of the NBA’s 30 teams are focusing on the offseason and searching for ways to improve their respective rosters before Opening Night in October. For the Timberwolves, that task is not nearly as daunting as it may have been years ago before the arrivals of Anthony Edwards, Mike Conley, and Rudy Gobert.

However, while the team does not need to search for its superstar player anymore, Minnesota must now capitalize on its 2023-24 success and round out a roster capable of winning the NBA championship. That is much easier said than done, especially with the salary cap restrictions Minnesota will face, but building a championship-caliber team this summer should be the only priority for the Timberwolves because the title window is officially open.

Diagnose offensive issues© Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

For all the flak the Timberwolves’ offense rightly received during the regular season – Minnesota ranked 17th in offensive rating and was one of the most turnover-prone teams in the league – the offense improved in the playoffs. In the postseason, Minnesota’s offense ranked sixth out of 16 playoff teams (114.8 points per 100 possessions) and were among the best in terms of shooting (fifth in effective field-goal percentage and fourth in true shooting percentage).

But it was still not good enough. Even after defeating offensive wizard Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, the Timberwolves couldn’t quite overcome the dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the Western Conference Finals. Doncic and Irving each scored 30 in three of the five games in the Western Conference Finals, while Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Timberwolves’ two best offensive players, saw their shots more often bounce off of the rim than fall through the net.

In Game 1, Edwards and Towns combined for 35 points (two more than Doncic) and shot 12-for-36 from the field and 7-21 from three. Something similar followed in Game 2, as Edwards and Towns combined for 36 points (four more than Doncic) and shot 9-for-33 from the field and 3-12 from three. Fortunately, each got to the free-throw line more than a few times to keep the Timberwolves in it late.

Edwards had his best game of the series to that point in Game 3, scoring 26 on 11-for-24 shooting from the field. However, he and Towns went 0-for-10 on three-pointers as the Wolves fell behind 0-3 in the series. Minnesota managed to stave off a sweep in Game 4 behind 54 combined points from Edwards and Towns, the latter of whom made four of his five three-point attempts. The shooting touch was short-lived, though, as Towns went 1-for-6 on threes in Game 5 as the Timberwolves were eliminated from the playoffs.

Bowser2Bowser@bowser2bowser·Follow

Gonna thread all the ways playing 2 nonshooters — Gobert & SloMo — makes offense tough for the entire Timberwolves team First, Dallas can put 2 defenders on Ant in the PnR because SloMo’s defender will leave SloMo to tag Gobert

Watch on TwitterBowser2Bowser@bowser2bowser

SloMo? He hurts their offense in subtle ways (he can counter & help on offense some of the time, but that also takes Minnesota away from their standard offense). And he doesn’t play with Gobert (two nonshooters is tough to accommodate offensively)

5:40 PM · May 31, 202435ReplyRead 3 replies

A plausible excuse for Edwards and Towns’ varying woes in the Mavericks series could be their inexperience. While much older and with nearly a decade of NBA seasons under his proverbial belt, Towns has only played five more playoff games than Edwards, and this was the first time either had escaped the first round.

Moving forward, that explanation will not be accepted (if it even is now), and greater things will be expected of both of them. And if Minnesota were to win the championship, it would likely have to beat one or several historically great offenses, which would take consistently great performances from both Edwards and Towns.

But let’s be honest, the issues with the offense seem to go much deeper than Edwards and Towns underperforming for one series. The offensive shortcomings of Rudy Gobert are well-documented, and one of the more dynamic offensive players the Timberwolves have is Naz Reid, but the Timberwolves’ playoff offensive rating was at its highest with Gobert on the floor and fell off a proverbial cliff when Gobert took a seat on the bench.

This offseason, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch will likely work hard to figure out which lineups can actually produce meaningful minutes. In the playoffs, it was proven that Reid and Towns cannot play together and that the team can have some success without a traditional point guard like Mike Conley on the floor.

However Finch does it, he must diagnose and treat the issues plaguing the Timberwolves this offseason.

Find Mike Conley’s replacement© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

The effect of Mike Conley’s leadership and maturity on the Timberwolves cannot be understated. Every team needs a veteran point guard to mentor and guide the young players.

He won’t be around forever, though. At 36 years old (he will turn 37 before Opening Night), Conley may be part of the present, but he should not be a significant part of the future.

Conley signed a $21 million extension in the middle of the season that keeps him under contract for two more seasons, which means you have – at most – two years to find his replacement.

The Wolves could decide to reach for a low-cost free agent. But with how competitive the minimum-contract free agent market always is and how hamstrung the Timberwolves are with cap space, the best way to find a long-term successor at point guard is the NBA Draft, and that’s what the team appears to have done by drafting Rob Dillingham.

Shahbaz Khan@ShahbazMKhan·Follow

Timberwolves traded a pick that won’t be in the NBA until the NEXT DECADE for this dude. FLEECE

Watch on Twitter8:26 AM · Jun 27, 20246.4KReplyRead 73 repliesBuild roster to beat specific contenders