The Timberwolves cannot afford a slow start to the 2023-24 season
By Will Eudy
After finishing with a perfect record in preseason, the Minnesota Timberwolves will look to keep their momentum going in a Western Conference stacked from top to bottom with capable teams. This season, it will be even more important than usual for Minnesota to get off to a quick start.
Of course, the team has been in win-now mode. That is nothing new. The top-level talent on the Wolves’ roster will give them a chance to make a deep run in the playoffs. Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, Jaden McDaniels and others will all be instrumental in helping this group reach their ceiling.
The flip side to those guys being on the roster is the impeding financial implications they will eventually bring. The Timberwolves are set to begin paying out Karl-Anthony Towns’ new supermax contract beginning in the 2024-25 season. Minnesota will be paying him $49.7 million that season, with that number only increasing in the years following.
The Minnesota Timberwolves will soon be strapped for cash
That same season, the team will owe Rudy Gobert $43.8 million. Factor in the $27.2 million they will owe McDaniels along with Edwards’ new max extension, and you can start to get the picture. The Timberwolves’ financial flexibility is about to become very slim.
Timberwolves General Manager Tim Connelly has done an exceedingly good job of getting his guys re-signed over the last several months. The fact that Minnesota was able to retain Naz Reid, Edwards, and McDaniels all in one summer should be considered a massive win.
But from a financial perspective, the odds that the team can realistically keep everyone around long-term is shrinking. As a result, this situation makes it all the more important for the Wolves to get off to a strong start in the 2023-24 season. A sluggish first few weeks could potentially accelerate trade talks and muddy the waters surrounding this team’s future even more.