The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently in the golden era of their franchise’s history. Now in their 37th season, they are coming off back-to-back conference finals appearances. Prior to those two years, Minnesota only went that far once in its first 34 seasons.
While the Timberwolves are still looking for their first trip to the NBA finals, the front office has done commendable work to put them amongst the league’s best. The Athletic voted them as the seventh-best front office in the NBA.
Seen as a top front office
On Wednesday, The Athletic posted its second annual NBA front office rankings. They asked 36 executives to name their top 5 (10 points for first, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth, one for fifth). Notably, executives couldn’t vote for the team they work for.
Coming in at seventh are the Timberwolves, who even saw their front office receive two second-place votes. Altogether, Minnesota was named on 11 ballots. While the recent ownership change wasn’t the cleanest change of hands, that noise has dissipated, and the focus has returned to the court.
Tim Connelly took over as the president of basketball operations in May of 2022. The trade for Rudy Gobert in 2022 was nearly panned by everyone, but it was a culture-changing one for the team. The Stifle Tower won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24, a year where the Timberwolves finished first in defensive rating. They have also finished in the top 10 in Gobert's other two full seasons with the club.
In February of 2023, Minnesota acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley in a three-team deal. While aging, Conley has been a steadying presence as the Wolves' starting point guard (until this season). Alexander-Walker was one of the better reserves in the league until leaving for the Hawks in free agency in the 2025 offseason.
Trading Karl-Anthony Towns late in the 2024 offseason helped alleviate future salary cap issues while also bringing in Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Both are currently entrenched in Minnesota's starting lineup, with Randle being the team's second-best scorer.
Recent draft picks may have hurt their standing
For the most part, the Timberwolves' front office has done a masterful job at constructing a contending team that hasn't had all that much success in the franchise's history. They haven't necessarily been hitting on their draft picks, especially of late though.
The jury is still out on Joan Beringer, the 19-year-old who was selected 17th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft (a pick that Minnesota also acquired in the Towns trade). Thus far, trading a future first-round pick and a future first-round pick swap to the Spurs in order to add Rob Dillingham eighth overall in 2024 hasn't panned out. Terrence Shannon Jr. looked like he might be a steal after being taken 27th overall in 2024, but he is in the midst of a disappointing sophomore season.
The front office looks to have made a wise decision, though in grabbing Jaylen Clark late in the second round (53rd overall) in 2023. He missed his entire rookie year due to an injury sustained in college, but now the team is 12-0 this season when he plays at least 14 minutes.