Where do the Minnesota Timberwolves go from here? That is a question that nearly all but four NBA teams are forced to address now. And soon, only two NBA teams will compete in the best-of-seven NBA Championship series, while the other two teams will be sent home, and join the other 26 NBA teams contemplating their future, and their offseason strategy to improve their roster next season.
While some may or may not be all rah-rah-sis-boom-bah over the Minnesota Timberwolves right now, the path for the Timberwolves this offseason is not nearly as obscure or convoluted as many teams. The Timberwolves have several key players who are most deserving of extensions, and from there the team has one second-round selection to make in the 2023 NBA Draft.
From there, the team must fit the remaining roster slots with the best player fits, and do it with their remaining salary cap dollars. But first and foremost on everyone’s mind in the Timberwolves’ front office is getting ink to paper on a contract extension for Timberwolves’ All-Star shooting guard Anthony Edwards. So what type of contract extension are the Timberwolves looking at?
The kind of contract extension that will make Anthony Edwards a very wealthy young man, that’s what:
This summer, Anthony Edwards can sign the same contract extension Ja Morant signed a year ago.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) May 10, 2023
Assuming that is agreed to, these would be the numbers…
— Edwards makes All-NBA next season: 5 years, $245M
— Edwards doesn’t make All-NBA next season: 5 years, $204M https://t.co/6kx8txC27e
So how can the Timberwolves afford to pay Anthony Edwards with two supermax contracts already on the team’s payroll in the form of veteran Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns? Thanks to Timberwolves “capologist,” Dane Moore, here is what the Timberwolves’ salary cap looked like one year ago:
Timberwolves current cap sheet, using the new salary cap figures.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) July 1, 2022
- Karl-Anthony Towns' supermax extension (which he is currently eligible to be offered): 4 years, $213,669,792
- Anthony Edwards max extension (eligible to be offered in 12 months): 5 years, $197,590,050 pic.twitter.com/e6rTu8vrj9
And here is how the salary cap looked after the Mike Conley Jr. for D’Angelo Russell trade took place:
Have talked about this before, but here’s a visual of why “preserving the DLo salary slot” is a thing — and would be part of the salary cap motivation behind a D’Angelo Russell for Mike Conley swap. https://t.co/y4s38hGhpf pic.twitter.com/Opi7fhD6my
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) February 9, 2023
Per the latest estimations, the Timberwolves roster will get very expensive very quickly, and that has some speculating that the Timberwolves have not settled in for the long haul with their roster as it is currently constructed.
The Timberwolves will find the money to pay Anthony Edwards, as well as to pay Jaden McDaniels. Beyond those two players, there is a bit of chance involved. Even though the Minnesota Timberwolves are confident that they will have a fair market value offer to lure backup center Naz Reid to return to play for the Timberwolves next season, there are no guarantees.
What we do know is that Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards will be a very wealthy young man. Beyond that is anybody’s guess.