NBA playoffs: Timberwolves face crucial offseason decisions regardless of series outcome against Spurs

Minnesota is going into the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs down some key players, but the results of this postseason should shape the franchise ahead of a pivotal offseason and era

Chinmay Vaidya

May 4, 2026

3:14 pm ET

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8 min read

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When the Minnesota Timberwolves lost Donte DiVincenzo and Anthony Edwards in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets in the 2026 NBA Playoffs, it would've been easy for the team to chalk any result up to personnel losses. The Timberwolves managed to rally in Game 4 behind 43 points from Ayo Dosunmu and eventually win the series in six games. It's the second time in three seasons the Timberwolves have eliminated the Nuggets, though they did it this time without their best player and another key rotation piece.

Minnesota nows heads into the second round against the San Antonio Spurs, who were initially massive -2000 favorites to prevail in the series at DraftKings Sportsbook, while the Timberwolves are +900 underdogs. The series spread also heavily leans toward San Antonio, with Spurs -1.5 games (-600) and Spurs -2.5 games (-270) offering value on those looking to avoid the overall series outcome price.

This was projected to be a short battle, with the Under on 5.5 total games priced at -290. Edwards suffered a hyper-extended knee in the first half of Game 4 and was expected to miss multiple weeks, so the most optimistic timeline would likely mean he'd be ready for Game 4 in Minnesota on May 10. While DiVincenzo is done for the year with an Achilles tear and will likely miss the entire 2026-27 NBA season, Edwards was reportedly pushing to be ready by Game 3 in Minnesota. That turned out to be two games too many, as he's going to suit up for Game 1 on Monday night. The Spurs are still favored to win the series but the line is now Spurs -525 and Timberwolves +390, with Spurs -1.5 on the series spread now priced at -220.

No matter how this second-round matchup ends, Minnesota has important questions to answer this offseason as it tries to build a contender around Edwards. The Timberwolves will have to determine if the results of their series win over the Nuggets can be replicated over the next few seasons as Edwards and several other prominent rotation players enter their hypothetical peaks.

Edwards enters his peak as a playoff monster

There's no question the guard is Minnesota's franchise player. He'll be just 25 entering next year, which will be his seventh in the NBA. Assuming he does not return in these playoffs, he'll already have 46 postseason games under his belt. And he's been an absolute monster under the bright lights.

Edwards is averaging 26.2 points on 46/37/79 shooting splits in the playoffs for his career. He's been particularly great against the Nuggets, dropping 31.6 ppg on Denver on 48/35/85 splits in 2023 before going for 27.7 ppg on 50/37/85 splits in the 2024 series that saw the Timberwolves overcome a 20-point deficit on the road in Game 7 to win.

In the last two postseasons, Edwards has averaged 26.5 points, 6.0 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game on 47/38/77 splits. More importantly, the Timberwolves are 18-13 across those games, with series wins over the likes of Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Nikola Jokic. In short, Edwards has quickly become one of the NBA's most prominent postseason players. And he seems determined to add San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama to his playoff list.

The Timberwolves don't have the same avenues for adding talented players like other franchises, given their market, but playing with Edwards could be an attractive proposition to plenty of players. That's why this offseason becomes critical for Minnesota.

Minnesota's roster outlook heading into 2026-27

Assuming the Timberwolves retain Dosunmu, which won't be easy given his 43-point effort in Game 4 against Denver, they'll have four players who are 26 or younger heading into next season with Edwards, Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon and Jaden McDaniels. Naz Reid will just be turning 27. They'll also have Rudy Gobert and a late first-round pick on the roster.

Gobert has been a befuddling player for much of his career. He's a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but those accolades don't reflect his postseason struggles. The big man registered a 104 defensive rating during the regular season across 2020-23, per basketball-reference.com, but that number ballooned to 116 during those playoffs. The Timberwolves spent a ton of draft capital to acquire him, and the early results have been mixed.

However, the first round against Denver this year was among Gobert's most impressive showings of his career. He registered a 105 defensive rating, according to basketball-reference.com. That is up from his 110 defensive rating during the regular season and the best mark he's had in the playoffs since 2017-18. He's the reaso