The Timberwolves are still behind the Spurs and Thunder, so what can they do to catch up?

The Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns trades still loom large for a team that is a tier below the Western Conference's best

Sam Quinn

May 16, 2026

12:48 am ET

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12 min read

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Always the bridesmaids, eh Minnesota? For the third straight season, the Timberwolves have outperformed playoff expectations. Their 2024 upset over the Denver Nuggets is one of the more memorable playoff series in recent memory. They reached the Western Conference Finals as a No. 6 seed a year ago, and they once again slayed Nikola Jokić in the first round this season before falling to Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in six games in the second round. There is clearly something in the DNA of this team that translates to the postseason. As a group, they are playoff risers.

As a collection of individuals, they have lately seemed outgunned. Minnesota's only legitimate shot at a championship came in 2024. They had home-court advantage in the Western Conference Finals. They'd played two overtime games against the eventual champion Celtics in the regular season and went 3-1 against Dallas in the regular season. But Karl-Anthony Towns had the most disastrously timed slump of his career. He shot 15 of 54 in Games 1, 2 and 3 against the Mavericks. That gave Luka Dončić enough room to squeak out three single-digit victories. Minnesota couldn't recover. The Mavericks reached the 2024 NBA Finals.

Months later, Towns was gone. Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and a first-round pick took his place in a move that was seemingly financially motivated. Minnesota was afraid of paying Towns supermax money with Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert making the max as well and a new Jaden McDaniels deal looming. The ups and downs of Towns' journey with the Knicks have been well-chronicled. At various points, Minnesota has been widely declared the trade's winner.

Yet they've had an undeniably Towns-shaped hole in their roster in their past two playoff defeats. The Timberwolves and Thunder played only two games in last year's Western Conference Finals decided by less than 25 points in Oklahoma City's favor. Randle scored 11 combined points in those two competitive games. Through the first five games of Minnesota's loss to San Antonio this year, Edwards was the only Timberwolf to average more than 15.2 points per game. Randle, brought in to replace Towns, was at 14.8.

Beating Oklahoma City last year and San Antonio this year wasn't really a reasonable expectation for the Timberwolves in either series, and you can't boil down those defeats to any single factor more complex than "those teams were way more talented." But if you were to point to the single thing Minnesota most lacked, it would probably be a second, genuine offensive star. Without one, those stout opposing defenses could key in further on Edwards. He averaged just 23 points in the Oklahoma City series and resolved to work on his mid-range and post games to give himself more ways to score tough, contested points. He improved significantly on those fronts this season, but played hurt against the Spurs. He surely would've been better healthy. He also probably would have benefitted from the presence of another All-Star level scorer.

Missing KAT?

The scorer the Wolves gave up is currently lighting the Eastern Conference on fire. The Knicks have won their last seven games by 185 combined points. Through 10 games, Towns has a playoff Box Plus-Minus of 14.4. Forget about leading this year's postseason. According to Mat Issa, only three other players have ever done that across a postseason that included at least 10 games: 2009 LeBron James, 1991 Michael Jordan and 2017 Kawhi Leonard. Pretty good company!

The Wolves, again, chose depth. Circumstance has slowly chipped away at that depth. Nickeil Alexander-Walker walked after last season as the Timberwolves elected to duck the second apron. He immediately became the NBA's Most Improved Player. Mike Conley will be 39 at the start of next season. He overperformed in this postseason, but he's no longer a starting-caliber player. DiVincenzo tour his Achilles tendon against Denver. He'll miss all or most of next season.

The Timberwolves have done an admirable job of recovering. Ayo Dosunmu proved a critical Alexander-Walker replacement. Terrence Shannon Jr., a late first-round pick, gave them good minutes this postseason. But without someone doing the heavy offensive lifting alongside Edwards, it's just hard to imagine Minnesota ever really competing with the Spurs or Thunder. That's where Tim Connelly's two other big swings enter the equation.

The Rudy Gobert (and Rob Dillingham) trades in hindsight

The Rudy Gobert trade, in a vacuum, was good. It turned the Wolves into perpetual bridesmaids after decades of never getting invited to the wedding. It's also the single biggest reason they may not get to be the bride.

Gobert has lived up to