Anthony Edwards is only 23 years old. It may not feel that way, as he's felt like such a cornerstone for the Minnesota Timberwolves for so many years. In just five years with the team, he's proven to be the face of the franchise - this is especially the case now with Karl-Anthony Towns with the New York Knicks and Rudy Gobert only being known for his defense.
Despite just how great Edwards has been over those five years, though, the closest the team has gotten to finally seeing success with him was in 2024, when Minnesota made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
And, instead of running it back, they packaged Towns to the Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, and completely dismantled their chemistry from that winning season.
Moves like these need to be a lot more feared by Minnesota's front office than they currently are, as it's obvious from current rumblings of a potential De'Aaron Fox trade that messing with a team too much can really force your stars to run from your process.
Fox's trade demand should strike fear in Timberwolves FO's hearts
Fox's request for a trade is coming after eight seasons with the Sacramento Kings. In those eight seasons, he witnessed the Kings part ways with Tyrese Haliburton, fail to sign meaningful free agents, and fire their first successful head coach since Fox was drafted to the team back in 2017.
They only managed to reach the postseason once with former head coach Mike Brown, but it was their first trip there in Fox's entire career with the team. Firing him felt like the final blow to what was possibly left of Fox's good will towards Sacramento, who are 10th in the West as of January 29.
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Edwards is close to being in a very similar boat. While he's younger than Fox, the writing feels on the wall for Minnesota - they have to improve quickly, or else it will become apparent that their trading of Towns was one of the biggest mistakes in their franchise history. What motivation would Edwards have to stay, to carry the Timberwolves any further, without a clear gameplan?
There's always a shot that they'll make some moves to better the teams' fit around Edwards at the trade deadline this season, and they'll likely have another year in Edward's good graces to fix what plagues them in 2025.
But, given the constraints that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement places on teams when it comes to trades, Minnesota may need to ride this current team out and hope Edwards doesn't tire of losing after such an incredible previous season.