The Minnesota Timberwolves made the loudest noise in terms of trades prior to the 2024-25 season. However, it was the complete opposite during the trade deadline, with the team opting not to make any moves. This certainly made sense, given that Minnesota is hard-capped at the second apron. Without much trade assets, the Timberwolves were left with no choice but to live and die with their current roster.
By now, basketball fans have realized that this Timberwolves squad isn’t as dangerous as the one we witnessed last year. Unlike the team that made the Western Conference Finals, this edition has been mediocre at best, especially with initial questions of fit surrounding their blockbuster acquisitions during the offseason.
Moreover, it also doesn’t help that their main point guard has been drastically hit by Father Time. Nonetheless, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ fatal flaw that must be fixed after the 2025 NBA All-Star break has got to be the lack of a reliable playmaker.
Mike Conley’s slumping season
Spacing emerged as an issue when the Timberwolves sent away Towns for Randle. By now, everyone has realized that the latter isn’t filling the shoes of the former. To make matters worse, the team has also struggled with spacing even more when Mike Conley is having the worst season of his career.
The one-time NBA All-Star is only putting up 8.2 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting a measly 37.4% clip from the field overall.
Conley’s struggles have put a dent in the Timberwolves’ already limited spacing. His age has also negatively affected his effectiveness as the squad’s main floor general. This placed more pressure on the shoulders of superstar Anthony Edwards to adapt to tougher defensive coverages against him.
To make matters worse, Conley has also struggled to stay healthy, suffering a myriad of injuries in the course of the 2024-25 season. He has missed a total of nine games this year at 37 years old.
Without a steady playmaker, it makes sense as to why the team has struggled with turnovers, putting up 14.9 per game which is 19th in the league. Conley contributes 1.1 of those. Unfortunately, the team continues to be in the second apron, which prevented them from making any needle moving trades and acquiring anyone from the buyout market.
Fast-tracking Rob Dillingham’s development
With an aging Conley, it isn’t surprising that head coach Chris Finch has turned to Rob Dillingham for more playmaking. The eighth overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft has been productive in his rookie season, averaging 5.8 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in limited minutes.
In late January, Dillingham proved to be a great fit in Finch’s rotation, producing career-high numbers of 19 points and eight assists in a 138-113 win over the Utah Jazz.
The 6-foot-1 rookie guard was also instrumental in their last game against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. Dillingham finished with 12 points during the nail-biting 131-128 overtime win against the Thunder. His rise should be a welcome sight for Timberwolves fans and coaching staff as he continues to get comfortable with his role.
Nonetheless, Minnesota should hope that Dillingham maintains his steady rise. With the Timberwolves sitting at the seventh seed with a mediocre 32-27 record, the team needs all the help it can get to secure a playoff spot without having to go through the Play-In Tournament.
Furthermore, with the team unable to make some upgrades with their roster, fast tracking Dillingham’s development is the best possible move the coaching staff can make.
Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle nearing return
Although DiVincenzo and Randle haven’t had a smooth start to their stint in Minnesota, these two key players have finally settled down with their roles before suffering their respective injuries that have sidelined them for quite some time. Without them, the Timberwolves have paraded a depleted rotation, forcing Finch to dig deeper into his bench, which wasn’t ideal for a team aiming to secure an automatic ticket to the postseason.
Luckily for Minnesota, the team won’t have to hold its breath any longer with DiVincenzo and Randle’s impending returns.
DiVincenzo and Randle won’t exactly be relied upon to do point guard duties. In fact, the experiment with the former was easily dubbed as a failure, with DiVincenzo struggling to convert his shots. However, the 3-and-D player can still improve the team’s spacing with his off-ball shooting.
On the other hand, Randle is still a respectable ball-handler. His ability to create for himself should be a boost to Minnesota’s depleted rotation.
Although Randle’s tendency to stagnate the offense hurts the team on some occasions, it’s safe to say that the team is better off with the former NBA Most Improved Player than without him. If he can only improve on his bad habits and find his teammates better, the Timberwolves could still make the most out of the controversial Towns-Randle swap. With Randle and DiVincenzo continuing to develop their chemistry with their Minnesota teammates, the team might just have enough gas in the tank to make a playoff push.
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