The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to approach a highly important offseason ahead of them.
After making it to back-to-back Conference Finals and being obliterated this year by league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Minnesota Timberwolves head back to the drawing board.
Beyond taking a much needed leap and improvement, the Minnesota Timberwolves will also face the urgency of retaining their elite and talented core.
The trio of Julius Randle, Naz Reid, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are positioned to become free agents, and Minnesota should want to keep all of them from a long-term viewpoint.
Julius Randle will be a huge priority for the Minnesota Timberwolves to re-sign this upcoming summer.
The star forward holds a $30.9 million player option next season and it is highly expected that he will opt out of it to pursue another bigger and longer contract.
After being doubted upon his blockbuster trade arrival, Randle bounced back and served as the driving force of Minnesota’s season, where they finished as the six-seed.
Randle previously expressed openness to stay in Minnesota. Although he remains unsure on what the future holds, he noted that he couldn’t ask for a more thrilling experience in his first season as a Timberwolf.
“I will say that I love it here, and this is the most meaningful basketball that I’ve played in my career,” Randle said in his season exit interview. “From how the organization has made me feel, from just my teammates and playing with [Anthony Edwards] as our leader, I love it.
“There’s a lot to be excited about. I haven’t even really thought about it, but I will say having the ability to compete for a championship is everything that I ask for at this point in my career. So we’ll see.”
Emerging from being an undrafted prospect in 2019, Naz Reid is now set for a golden opportunity to seize his first major career break.
Reid signed a three-year $42 million contract extension with the T-Wolves in 2023. He has a $15 million player option for 2025-26, and the big man admitted that he is planning to turn it down.
“For sure. I think the work has been put in,” Reid said. “Obviously, I’ve got a long way to go with being only 25, but for sure. I think that’s what the future looks like for me.”
There is significant skepticism about the Wolves’ chances to maintain Reid, with Bill Simmons tipping him to leave. The 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year averaged career highs in points (14.2), rebounds (6.0), assists (2.3), and minutes (27.3).
Given his productivity, a potential starting gig from a different team might be on the table for Reid.
“I’m not completely ruling that out. It will be a lot to think about around that, for sure,” Reid said about starting.
“If you want to be in a winning position, sometimes you might have to sacrifice. So I definitely view myself as a starter, but things happen, things change. You never know what’s ahead of you until you talk about it and until you go through it.”
The Timberwolves shockingly parted ways with longtime franchise star Karl-Anthony Towns last year in order to be flexible enough to re-sign Reid as well as Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the 2025 offseason.
Alexander-Walker, who averaged a career-high 9.4 points and made his second-straight 82-game appearance for Minnesota, will become an unrestricted free agent with his expiring $4.3 million deal.
“It’s the elephant in the room,” he said about his looming free agency situation. “I haven’t given it thought at all. Still trying to process this year. I get the chance to be a full-time dad now, at least for a week before things get crazy and you’ve got to back into this world.”
Alexander-Walker impressed many during his battle with cousin Gilgeous-Alexander in the Conference Finals.
Developing into a solid and reliable wingman, it can already be expected that the 26-year-old will draw plenty of market interest. Regardless, going back to Minnesota stands as one of his top possibilities.
“I’ll never burn a bridge. For me to have this opportunity, and I love Minnesota, and what the fans have meant to me, what the team has meant to me,” Alexander-Walker said.
“This is the only place I’ve had a real opportunity to play and be the best version of myself.
“There’s no way that I’m going to go into the offseason and X-out Minnesota. That’d be crazy.”
