Unpacking Anthony Edwards' brutally candid criticism of Timberwolves

In the NBA, there are losses. And then, there are the types of losses that serve as a breaking point and reveal exactly how bad problems are for a struggling team. The Minnesota Timberwolves' loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday was just that kind of game.

After completing a double-digit comeback to take a 12-point lead with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves wilted down the stretch. Surrendering a 29-6 run to close the ball game, Minnesota looked completely defeated as they dropped their fourth game in a row, and incurred their seventh loss in their last nine games.

The Wolves' mounting struggles reached a boiling point with this loss, and the locker room featured just the kind of tense, candid atmosphere you might imagine. Anthony Edwards, in typical fashion, held nothing back in speaking with reporters, and told the story like it is.

"We've been trying to figure this out for the whole year, man," Edwards said, speaking of the Timberwolves' defensive struggles. "We thought defense was our identity, and it's not looking like it at all. Our identity right now, me and Mike were talking about it, I think is we're soft as h---. Like, the team, internally. Not to the other team, but internally we're soft."

Edwards kept it real with criticism of Timberwolves' performance

These are shocking words to hear from Edwards. Most times, guys won't admit the degree to which problems have escalated within a locker room. Oftentimes, that stuff stays within the bounds of the team, and it is disguised with prototypical non-answers instead, which can then be interpreted one way or another by the masses. But things are so bad for the Wolves right now that Ant is just airing everything out, and for good reason.

"We can't talk to each other," said Edwards. "It's a bunch of little kids, just like we're playing with a bunch of little kids. Like, the whole team. We just can't talk to each other, and we've got to figure it out, man. Because we can't go down this road."

Once again, just eye-popping words from this team's best player. Having communication problems on the level of it feeling like "playing with a bunch of little kids" speaks volumes about how far Minnesota has to go from a maturity perspective. When asked about what changes they can make to sure up their defense and get their identity back, Ant gave another blunt and honest answer.

"I think doing what the f--- the coach tells us to do," he said. "Like, that's what I mean. The coach tells us one thing, we go out there and do a whole 'nother thing. Like, that's not our game plan. The s--- that y'all see us doing on defense, that's not what the coach is telling us to do. We're supposed to be doing a totally different thing, and we go out there and try to manipulate in our mind that we're smarter than the coaches ... I don't know man, s--- is crazy right now."

If there was any question about the level of concern from within the Timberwolves' locker room before, it should be long gone now. But in a way, it is refreshing to see Edwards talk like this, purely from a perspective of knowing that they are seeing everything the fanbase is seeing. Ant and everyone else is aware of how bad things have gotten, and they know very well that changes must be made for this team to return to the level they were at a year ago.