On one hand, the Minnesota Timberwolves overachieved. No one expected them to reach the Western Conference finals for two straight years.
But after being manhandled by the Oklahoma City Thunder, pressing questions are on the way, wrote Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“If team President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly was willing to make dramatic trades before, what’s he going to be willing to do now that the Game 5 loss made his team look overmatched?” Souhan asked, before breaking down the players and their futures individually.
“Julius Randle’s dramatic improvement was the reason the Wolves surged in March and April and romped through their first two playoff series. He has a player option for next year at about $31 million. After he flopped in three of the last four playoff games, the Wolves have to hope he’ll decline that option and leave.”
Ouch. But Randle wasn’t alone.
“Naz Reid can opt for free agency this summer and could command a massive contract. Reid was underwhelming against the Thunder,” Souhan wrote.
“Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a free agent. He did not perform to expected levels in these playoffs.
“Rudy Gobert was a nonfactor in this series and has two years remaining on his contract.”
Souhan didn’t excuse Anthony Edwards, either — writing that the Timberwolves star didn’t display consistent defensive effort in this series.
“Because of questionable effort by the entire team, changes are coming,” Souhan concluded.
Meanwhile, Randle said the pain is too fresh to look much beyond that.
“Super disappointing,” he said, via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “But just the series in general, I’m disappointed. I feel like we’re a better team than what we showed. So, a lot of motivation going into the summer, for sure.”
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