Timberwolves: What Happened?

When last season ended there were a couple of those same teams we instantly expected to contend for this year, teams like Boston, Oklahoma City, Dallas and the Timberwolves were good and had their pieces under contract to be able to compete once again in the 2024-2025 season. This has obviously not been the case for the Minnesota Timberwolves who, 20 games into the season, sit at just 10-10 which makes them the 11th seed in a very tough Western Conference.

To first understand why this team is so different to last year you have to simply look at what happened right before the season started.

Karl Anthony-Towns, the Timberwolves 2015 first overall pick being shipped to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a 2025 first round pick from the Pistons. It would be an understatement to say this was an unexpected trade right before the season started.

It would be reasonable to say that a roster shake-up of that magnitude just a couple weeks before the season started would be plenty of reason for a disappointing start. But looking at the specific regression of the new additions Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle makes the pre-season trade even more disturbing for Timberwolves fans.

Donte DiVincenzo this season has regressed in literally every single statistical category except turnovers and assists. With a regression of his shooting splits from 44/40/75 of last year to now shooting 36/33/75 with the Timberwolves it is clear to see how they are dropping games.

Julius Randle has been better than his teammate DiVincenzo, averaging 21 points on good efficiency though his volume is lower now playing with Anthony Edwards.

Speaking of the superstar, Edwards has been fairly similar to last year which could be seen as disappointing as there was much expectation that since the T-wolves were moving on from Karl Anthony-Towns it would be Edwards’ team but nonetheless the 23-year old star is averaging 26 points and is shooting an incredible 42% from three point range on almost 11 attempts a game. The only disappointing statistic for Edwards is his lack of assists, only averaging 3.7 assists per game as compared to the 5.1 he averaged last season.

This is a prevalent trade with the T-wolves, they lack passing fundamentally. Their leading passer is Mike Conley who is averaging 4.7 assists per game. As a team, Minnesota averages 24.6 assists per game which is 22nd in the NBA. Of the teams below Minnesota in assists only two have a positive record, the Milwaukee Bucks (11-9) and Houston Rockets (15-7).

It is an overreaction to say a team who was in the Western Conference Finals last season would need to make a trade, especially 20 games after trading a franchise player. But, to be competitive again this season the Minnesota Timberwolves will need to add a passer, Mike Conley being the leading passer is not sustainable against playoff defenses such as Oklahoma City, Boston, Houston, and even the Golden State Warriors.

A trade package to go after a veteran point guard looking to be offloaded to a contender, such as Brooklyn Nets G Dennis Schröder, who averages 6.6 assists per game, could prove to be very valuable for the Timberwolves as they attempt to surpass their 2023-2024 campaign with Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle, and Rudy Gobert.

There is a high likelihood of the Timberwolves making the playoffs but if they do not address the holes to their team such as passing, then in a Western Conference as tough as this, that could be all the advantage a team needs to win.

Massimo Manfra is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mgm6116@psu.edu.