The Minnesota Timberwolves got the offseason ball rolling when they made a pair of major moves in the same week, sending out star forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid and bringing in ascending star point guard LaMelo Ball.
As ESPN’s Dave McMenamin noted, these moves, first and foremost, showed the Wolves’ ambition to compete in the Western Conference.
“Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly continued to show his aggression, orchestrating a four-team trade with the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets that sent out three-time All-Star Randle and the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year, Reid, and a future first-round pick to bring in the talented — but polarizing — Ball. That move followed Connelly inking 6-foot-4 guard (Ayo) Dosunmu to a five-year, $112 million extension in June, following his acquisition at the deadline. Minnesota also re-signed wing (Jaylen) Clark and guard (Bones) Hyland and acquired the 6-foot-6 Evans out of Duke with the No. 33 pick in the draft. Coach Chris Finch also lost his top lieutenant on the bench, Micah Nori, who left to coach the Portland Trail Blazers.”
The Wolves made another move for a potentially high-impact player by signing Jonathan Kuminga to a two-year deal. We may be quickly approaching the start of a new season, but the Wolves may not be done making acquisitions.
Former All-Star Ready to Return to the Timberwolves?
One player seemingly in line to come back to Minnesota is veteran forward Kevin Love, who spent the first six seasons of his career with the Wolves, achieving three All-Star nods and emerging as one of the best power forwards in the NBA. Love, 37, is tracking to return to the Wolves, according to NBA insider Brett Siegel.
“I think Kevin Love being a free agent is a very interesting situation,” Siegel said this week. “… I think that, personally, it would be awesome to see Love go back there. I think it’s a real possibility at this point to bring in him as a former champion, a franchise icon and a great locker room guy for this Minnesota team, especially to be the perfect veteran to kind of help Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball as they enter the primes of their careers. I would love to see Kevin Love back in a Wolves jersey. I think that it’s looking more likely than not likely at this point, but we’ll wait and see what happens over the course of the next few weeks.”
Love Could Land Minnesota’s Final Roster Opening
Wolves insider Jon Krawczynski reported that Love is open to a reunion.
“From what I understand, Kevin Love is open to coming back to Minnesota. I do think the Wolves have some interest in bringing him back as well,” Krawczynski said on his podcast (h/t Bleacher Report). “It would just be a phenomenal story if the Wolves did decide to fill that spot, and they did it with Kevin Love.”
Krawczynski noted that Minnesota having a 15th roster spot to fill could bode well for its chances to bring Love back.
“… Now they have 14 players under contract. So that 15th spot is open,” Krawczynski said. “A lot of teams will keep that spot open for financial reasons, but also just for flexibility in terms of deal-making. But if you do look at one thing the Wolves could use, it is another veteran presence who can play some, which Love can do, but also who is that guy in the locker room who knows how to communicate with the coaches, who knows how to communicate with the players.”
In six seasons in Minnesota, Love tallied 6,989 points and snatched 4,453 rebounds, the third-most in franchise history. Love was, memorably, traded from the Wolves to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 offseason.
Report: Timberwolves ‘Likely’ to Land 5 All-Star PF Next to Anthony Edwards