As the Minnesota Timberwolves attempt to process what went wrong during the 2025 Western Conference Finals, their next move has never been clearer: A renewed interest in Kevin Durant.
Durant will be one of the most sought-after targets on the open market during the 2025 offseason. He's entering the final season of his current contract, and after the Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs in 2024-25, the two sides are expected to part in the pursuit of a mutually beneficial future.
Minnesota, meanwhile, is coming off of a disappointing showing in the 2025 Western Conference Finals—and Durant has previously appeared at the top of their wishlist. That was reaffirmed when an NBA insider confirmed that the Timberwolves' rumored Durant interest was legitimate.
During a recent episode of The Hoop Collective, Brian Windhorst of ESPN revealed that the Timberwolves were intent on acquiring Durant at the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
"It became clear to me, in talking to the parties involved, just how serious the WOlves were about trying to trade for Kevin Durant at the trade deadline."
Windhorst made it abundantly clear that he wasn't reporting current interest, but the Timberwolves' next step is obvious: Renewing their interest in Durant and exploring what it would take to complete a trade.
Timberwolves must renew Kevin Durant interest
Important context includes the fact that Minnesota was struggling around the 2025 NBA trade deadline—amassing a 28-23 record. The Timberwolves then went 17-4 after Mar. 1 and reached the Western Conference Finals for a second consecutive season.
As such, it's fair to believe that the front office's focus has shifted to building around the current core and re-signing key players rather than acquiring Durant.
More than that has changed since the trade deadline, however, when the logistics of a deal were almost impossible to work out. Minnesota and Phoenix were both second apron teams at that point in time, and both sides now have the flexibility to escape that status.
Furthermore, the Timberwolves could realistically lose all three of Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid, who can enter unrestricted free agency this summer.
With that possibility in mind, the time has never been better to at least consider a trade for Durant. He may be 37, but Durant is still one of the most dominant scorers in the NBA. Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, he averaged 26.9 points per game on .525/.421/.848 shooting.
Furthermore, Minnesota's new governorship group is rumored to prefer an aggressive approach to building around Anthony Edwards—and if key players are headed out, then Durant would be the perfect star to bring in to offset their losses.
Furthermore, general manager Tim Connelly has proven that he's willing to take chances on the trade market. If Durant makes it clear that he's intent on playing for the Timberwolves, rival executives may be reluctant to go all-in on a player who can become a free agent in 2026—and Connelly can thus construct the ideal offer.
The path to acquiring Durant will be difficult to navigate, but after a lopsided defeat in the Western Conference Finals, renewing interest is the Timberwolves' most likely next step.