The Minnesota Timberwolves are apparently dealing with some anxiety right now after their second-round exit.
Minnesota has a fear that All-Star forward Anthony Edwards will request a trade, Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV reported on Wednesday on the “Flagrant Howls” podcast. Wolfson notes that the possibility of Edwards asking out is still nowhere close but that the Timberwolves want to satisfy their franchise player regardless.
Edwards, still only 24, was Minnesota’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and has since blossomed into one of the league’s top young talents. He is now a four-time All-Star as well as a two-time All-NBA selection and just averaged a career-high 28.8 points per game for the Timberwolves this season.
It also appears that Minnesota has done enough to maximize Edwards’ potential up to this point. They made back-to-back Western Conference Finals trips in 2024 and 2025 and also swung blockbuster trades over the last several years for the likes of Rudy Gobert (who completely transformed their defense) and Julius Randle (who has been a 20-ppg scorer all throughout this time with the Timberwolves).
But Minnesota fell in their second-round playoff series this year to the San Antonio Spurs. With both the Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder looking poised to dominate the Western Conference for at least the rest of the decade, more drastic moves may be required for the Timberwolves to continue to compete.
Edwards remains under contract through 2029 and will be making roughly $52 million per year in that span. While it does not sound like Edwards will be asking out any time soon, Minnesota could still pull an extreme move this summer out of fear (especially with Edwards sounding lukewarm on the topic of his future a little while back).
