The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming off another relatively successful season that included a playoff appearance and knocking off the higher-seeded Denver Nuggets for the second time in three years.
That said, a six-game second-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs was a step back from consecutive Western Conference Finals appearances, and with a player like Anthony Edwards in his prime, anything short of a championship is a disappointment.
That’s especially the case in a market like Minnesota, and according to team reporter Darren Wolfson, the organization’s biggest fear is Edwards one day requesting a trade out because of it.
“It’s about satisfying Ant… The fear is, that at some point, does Ant through his representation, Bill Duffy and others, signal a desire to be elsewhere? We are nowhere near that point, but the fear is there. So Ant, I’m sure deep down knows that he can’t get to where he wants to get to with this roster,”
The 24-year-old Edwards has three years left on the five-year, $244,623,120 contract extension he signed with the Timberwolves in 2023. He averaged a career-high 28.8 PPG this season, along with 5.0 RPG and 3.7 APG across 61 games played.
Like with every small-market team in sports, keeping your star player happy is crucial, and that certainly applies to Edwards in Minnesota.
The superstar guard hasn’t even turned 25 yet, but he’ll be heading into year seven in 2026-27, so the urgency to win is at a new level, something he made clear after the Timberwolves’ elimination.
As Wolfson mentioned, this is not an imminent issue by any means, but another early playoff exit next season would only intensify those potential questions and concerns moving forward.
Next: Best in the World? Victor Wembanyama Puts on a Show in Game 1 of the WCF
