Powered by Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns and a second season with Rudy Gobert after their oft-criticised blockbuster trade, Minnesota exceeded expectations en route to a Western Conference Finals finish, having knocked out the defending champion Denver Nuggets – where president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was lured away from – no surprise they want more.
Connelly: We can build on playoff success
MINNESOTA, armed with staunch defence and a resilience which saw their collective group improve together to combine more efficiently, were earmarked as Denver’s toughest test in their NBA 2023 title run so it wasn’t surprising they were the team eliminating the defending champions in a seven-game series twelve months on.
In an interview with KSTP’s Darren Wolfson, Timberwolves’ Tim Connelly contextualised their progress among the wider picture despite ultimately falling short out West against another team keen to improve, Jason Kidd’s Dallas Mavericks.
“We don’t want to be [in] a zero-sum game, it’s not one winner and everybody else losers. We didn’t reach the ultimate goal – to bring a championship to Minnesota – but our team played well, some playoff success that has been a long, long time coming and hopefully it’s something we can build upon.”
Comparing East with West, the latter is viewed as the more competitive and usually has 12 bonafide playoff-level teams battling for eight postseason spots.
The introduction of a play-in tournament in recent seasons has only magnified that volatility further and Connelly expressed just how brutal it can be, especially with the inevitability of injuries to consider given their impact on contending timelines. One untimely blow to a key rotational piece could prove decisive.
Houston, who finished 11th with a .500 record, were in serious contention up until the final weeks of the campaign after burgeoning star center Alperen Sengun sustained a season-ending ankle injury while the Utah Jazz (31-51) weren’t trying to compete for a berth beyond mid-April but Lauri Markkanen led by example.
“The West is so brutal, it [depends on] a shot here, a shot there, who’s healthy. So much is [based on] matchups and health. We just want to continue to be at the big table, as long as we internally grow and keep holding ourselves to the highest standards, we’re pretty excited about the season.”
Rudy Gobert’s status was uncertain throughout the summer competition, playing a reduced role on home soil during France’s run to the Olympic final, finishing with silver after losing 98-87 to a stacked US side in the Gold medal matchup last month.
Connelly stated Gobert (finger) would be okay for training camp, which begins in a few weeks’ time while expressing desire for them to collectively tie the big man down over coming seasons. He has $90.4m over two years left on his existing deal, though the 2025-26 season features a player option – they’ll likely negotiate fresh terms before then and potentially rescale his contract in that instance relative to their cap.
“We’d like Rudy to be here for a long time, love his agent [Bouna Ndiaye], been a friend for a long time and is one of the league’s best guys. Our goal with most of the guys is keep them here as long as they want, continuity is one of the better strengths we have going into the season and really like our core group.”
Connelly deferred to his head coach, Chris Finch, on who will fill their backup point guard position when Mike Conley isn’t on the floor. ESPN currently have Rob Dillingham inserted as their second-choice to run point, the Kentucky teenager they traded for on draft night after being selected #8 by the San Antonio Spurs.
“We drafted [Dillingham] to give him a real opportunity to earn minutes early on, we’re pretty confident he can – nothing’s given – the competitive nature of our depth helped us get through some tough times the last couple of years.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a shooting guard by trade, is third while Connelly made sure to highlight PJ Dozier’s ability to play in that role after a season of EuroLeague play with Serbian side Partizan Belgrade last term. We’ll have to wait and see.
Picture source: Getty Images, quotes hyperlinked
Mo and Sports 