Миннесота Тимбервулвз зуны улиралд багаа эрс шинэчилж, ирэх аравдугаар сараас эхлэн ЛаМело Болл, Энтони Эдвардс, Жонатан Куминга, Жэйден Макдэниелс, Руди Гобер нараас бүрдсэн шинэ гарааны тавтыг талбайд гаргахаар бэлтгэж байна.
Тим Коннелли тэргүүтэй багийн удирдлага өнгөрсөн хугацаанд Өрнөд бүсийн финалд хоёр удаа шалгарсан ч цаашдын амжилтад хүрэх зам нь мухардалд орсныг хүлээн зөвшөөрч, бүрэлдэхүүндээ томоохон өөрчлөлт хийжээ. Шинэ бүрэлдэхүүний хувьд Энтони Эдвардс болон ЛаМело Болл нарын хослол довтолгооны хүчирхэг хөдөлгүүр болох боломжтой бол, 2025 оны плэй-оффын цувралд Тимбервулвзэд хүндрэл учруулж байсан Жонатан Кумингагийн атлетизм дөрвөн номерын байрлалд чухал нөлөө үзүүлэх хүлээлттэй байна.
Гэсэн хэдий ч энэхүү шинэ бүрэлдэхүүнтэй холбоотой олон асуулт гарч ирж байна. ЛаМело Болл болон Жонатан Куминга нар хувийн тоглолт ихтэй, багийн тогтолцоонд бүрэн нийцэх тал дээр өмнө нь дасгалжуулагчдын зэмлэлийг хүртэж байсан удаатай. Мөн ЛаМело Боллын плэй-оффын туршлага дутмаг, хамгаалалтад сул талтай байж болзошгүй зэрэг эргэлзээтэй асуудлууд байгаа юм. Эдвардс, Болл, Куминга нар бүгд бөмбөгтэй тоглох дуртай тоглогчид тул тэднийг хэрхэн нэг системд багтаах нь багийн довтолгооны үр ашигт нөлөөлөх гол хүчин зүйл болно.
Миннесота Тимбервулвз өмнө нь хамгаалалтад түшиглэсэн, бие бялдар сайтай баг байсан бол одоо илүү динамик довтолгооны хэв маяг руу шилжиж байна. Гэвч багийн гүн болон хамгаалалтын чадавхын талаар лигийн хүрээнд эргэлзээтэй байр суурьтай хүмүүс олон байгаа бөгөөд өнгөрсөн улиралд 49 хожил авч, плэй-оффын хоёрдугаар тойрогт шалгарсан амжилтаа ахиулж чадах эсэх нь тодорхойгүй байна. Хэрэв бүх тоглогч үүрэг ролоо сайн ойлгож, бүрэлдэхүүн хоорондоо төгс зохицол юм бол Тимбервулвз Өрнөд бүсийн шилдэг гурван багийн нэг болж, Оклахома Сити Тандер болон Сан Антонио Спөрстэй өрсөлдөх боломжтой юм.
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Give team president Tim Connelly and the brain trust in Minnesota credit: They realized that the road they had gone down, a road that took them to consecutive Western Conference Finals, had reached a dead end. They made a U-turn and reshaped the roster this summer. Dramatically.
The Timberwolves that take the court in October will be radically overhauled in style and key personnel from just a season ago. Check out this likely starting five:
LaMelo Ball. Anthony Edwards. Jonathan Kuminga. Jaden McDaniels. Rudy Gobert.
It’s a roster a lot of fans — not just in Minnesota — are excited about. LaMelo Ball next to an MVP-level two guard in Edwards could be dynamic. Fans believe in the potential of Jonathan Kuminga — and so do the Timberwolves, who struggled to slow him in a 2025 playoff series against the Warriors. Rudy Gobert is still a defensive force in the paint.
But are the Timberwolves really improved? Or just different?
Questions Minnesota must answer
That high-profile starting five comes with a lot of questions:
• Ball and Kuminga are immensely talented, and both have frustrated coaches and teammates in previous stops by not playing within the system and doing too much on their own.
• Kuminga took less money this season with a shorter deal so he could get back on the free agent market as soon as next season and get the payday he feels he deserves (which was not out there for him this summer). The Timberwolves need his athleticism at the four, but they also need him to play within the team system. Will he do that, or at times try to put up numbers at the expense of what is best for winning?
• LaMelo Ball is untested in the playoffs. In the play-in games last season, he scored 30 against Miami and hit the game-winner in overtime, but could/should have been ejected for taking Bam Adebayo’s leg out, knocking him to the ground and out of the game. In the next play-in game, a loss to Orlando, Ball scored 23 points but on 7-of-17 shooting, had five assists and three turnovers, and was -9 (by far the best +/- of all the Hornet starters).
• With Gobert and Kuminga (and some questions about McDaniels’ consistency), is there enough shooting?
• Ball is a defensive target for other teams. While he is surrounded by other quality defenders (and they can hide him some), can he step up more on that end?
• Edwards, Ball and Kuminga are all guys who prefer to operate with the ball in their hands, breaking guys down, then scoring or setting up the assist. At any moment, two of them have to play off the ball.
Overall, this is a Minnesota team that went from being huge, physical, and relying on defense, with hopefully just enough offense, to a much more dynamic offensive team but without the same depth and at least some questions about fit and defense.
Fans are excited about this team, but after talking to people in league circles over the past couple of months, there is plenty of skepticism. There is doubt Minnesota really improved after last season’s 49 wins and second-round exit.
In the West, the Thunder and Spurs are the proven powerhouses we know will be elite. Then comes a group of four teams with a lot of potential but also a lot of questions: The Timberwolves, the Lakers, the Rockets and the Nuggets. Teams that are going to be good, but just how good? Can one of them break out and join the upper tier?
If the pieces fit…
Connelly and the Timberwolves front office gambled big on all those changes, but saw it as a bet worth making because more of the same wasn’t going to work (and could have led to an increasingly frustrated Edwards, who is extension-eligible next summer).
Sometimes big bets pay off.
An Edwards and Ball backcourt has the potential to be one of the best in the league, a high-octane offensive engine that drives a lot of wins. Kuminga may thrive as an athletic four in the role Chris Finch and the Timberwolves lay out for him. Defense and shooting may be questions we wondered why we asked about in the first place.
If Connelly’s bet pays off, if all the puzzle pieces fit together, this is at worst the third-best team in the West and one that is a threat to the existing powers in Oklahoma City and San Antonio. A return to the Western Conference Finals for the third time in four years would absolutely be on the table (and maybe more).
But there are a lot of questions to answer before we get to that point, and don’t be surprised if this team stumbles out of the gate a little as everyone tries to settle into their roles.
Ultimately, the fans may be right — this team is going to produce highlights and should rack up a lot of wins. But are they contenders? Did they improve? Color me and a lot of people skeptical.
Either way, there may be no more must-watch team in the league this season than Minnesota.
