There are a lot of eyes around the league looking at Minnesota and the future of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns there.
On one hand, that dominant front line is part of the reason the Timberwolves reached the Western Conference Finals last season and enter this one as a title contender. On the other hand, Minnesota is the most expensive roster in the NBA this season, above the second tax apron, will only get more expensive, and passes what can politely be called a nasty ownership struggle (one headed for arbitration). How long can Minnesota continue to spend like this? The team extended Anthony Edwards and Towns, but what about Gobert?
Timberwolves president Tim Connelly says he also wants to keep Gobert long-term. This is what he said when speaking with KSTP 5’s Darren Wolfson in Minneapolis.
“We’I would like Rudy to be here for a long time. We love his agent, he’s been a friend for a long time and is one of the best guys in the league. And certainly our goal with most of these guys is to keep them here as long as they want to be here. … Ideally, I think continuity will be one of the better strengths we have going into the season and we really like our core group.“
The questions are: Which ownership group buys/holds the majority of shares and controls the team, and how long are they willing to spend at this rate? That’s a question even Connelly can’t answer.
What he did say was that the team planned to lean heavily on young players — like recently drafted rookies Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. – to play significant roles and help keep costs down.
“We don’t want to put too much on any young man’s shoulders, but we will put a lot on their shoulders. Obviously, they will have to prove that they have earned those minutes. But where we are, we’ve become a pretty expensive team, so we’re going to have to find some spots for these young guys. We know it won’t always be pretty.”
The Timberwolves’ championship window is open but the question is, how long is ownership – whoever it is – willing to pay to keep it open? If a major cost savings needs to be made, it will almost certainly be one of the big men, Gobert or Towns, who will change uniforms. The rest of the league is watching and waiting, even if it takes a few years.
