Minneapolis – He Minnesota Timberwolves have many reasons to run the same list after reaching the WEST CONFERENCE ENDS For him Second consecutive hour.
But that was its initial evaluation last year, also before Great trade He fell just before the start of the training camp. You cannot rule out many movements, particularly at this time of the NBA That never seems far from the next surprising exchange that involves star players.
“We feel very happy with the nucleus we have. We do not feel that there is a tremendous pressure to do a lot,” said the president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly. “But until you are lifting the trophy, you must be as active and creative as possible to get to the point where you are the final team.”
Connelly then added: “Those organizations that can show patience tend to have a really high level of success. But patience should not lead to risk aversion. If there is something that if we have to shake it and make us a better team, we are certainly open to that.”
The most pressing issues for Connelly and the main office during the next month will be negotiations with the agents of Julius Randle and Naz Reid, the two power forward with very different styles and background that face the same decision on whether to exercise a contract option for 2025-26 or reject it to become a free agent.
Randle’s is for more than $ 30 million, an agreement inherited from the New York Knicks when it was acquired with Donte DivinCenzo in the exchange that he sent to the Karl-Anthony Towns cornerstone. He got excited about the solution of his family in Minnesota and played for Chris Finch, and his performance during the first two rounds of the playoffs was excellent, until some struggles against Oklahoma City in the conference finals.
Reid is for about $ 15 million, which makes it more likely to choose not to participate in favor of a larger and longer agreement. But that does not mean that the Timberwolves will not be aggressive in trying to recover the favorite of the fans.
“I would tell you that it was optimistic even if I was lying to you, but we are quite optimistic. Those boys are really good players who play very well together,” Connelly said. “We have only positive indicators that both types will be in Lobos T -shirts next season.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, another vital part of the rotation of eight players, will be a free free agent. Connelly did not give indications that it will be limited to the property of what can commit to the salaries of the players, but after spending this season over the second apron of the NBA for the team’s payrolls, the wolves clearly have little appetite for staying there, not only for the empinated tax but for the construction penalties of the list that come with the expense on the scale.
Bringing back to Alexander-Walker and Randle and Reid without passing the second apron could be impossible.
“The goal is to keep everyone. The good thing is that players are very happy here. They love the coaching staff, they love teammates, they love the community. When the player wants to be here and the team wants to have them back, there is always room for optimism. Certainly, these boys have finite windows to earn a lot of money. We are very appreciative of what the market is very important.
The other factor in the game is the desire to increase the roles for the rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. and the second year player Jaylen Clark, who was essentially a rookie in 2024-25 after sitting in his first season in recovery of a lesion in the Achilles tendon. The wolves also have general selections 17 and 31 in the NBA draft at the end of this month.
A key figure for this franchise whose future seems established is Connelly, who agreed to retreat for a year an option in his contract that would essentially make him a free agent by deference to the property transfer process that was complicated at that time. After an arbitration panel group side Found by Marc Lore and Alex Rodríguez in a decision achieved in February, the sale of Glen Taylor expects the final approval of the NBA.
“Super happy here. It has been great, not only as working with the team, but this whole community really feels at home,” said Connelly. “I think you are trapped with me.”
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