Wolves find comfort in feeling of being settled, after big trade brought rocky start last season

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The only splashes made this summer by the Minnesota Timberwolves were new contracts for two of their best big men, an unusually quiet offseason for an organization that has rarely been far from the next round of upheaval.

The front office stayed intact. No roster-rattling trade was made in the days leading up to training camp. Seven of the top eight players have returned from the 2024-25 team that reached the Western Conference finals for a second straight time. The candidates to fill roles in the regular rotation are picks from previous drafts, not rookies. Even superstar Anthony Edwards had a relatively quiet profile, without any international competition to play in.

“This time last year, I was on the plane flying here, so it feels great,” said guard Donte DiVincenzo, who arrived with forward Julius Randle in the stunning deal that sent cornerstone Karl-Anthony Towns to New York just three days before players reported to training camp. “We stayed here this summer. My family and I got to experience a Minnesota summertime, and it was beautiful. It was a comfortable feeling, feeling settled.”

Both Randle and DiVincenzo spoke bluntly last season about their unique challenge of being forced to quickly acclimate to new environments off the court — including moving families with young children across the country.

“It’s hard to be productive at your job when your off-court life is unsettled,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said.

The on-court part was tough, too. Randle, during his media day interview session at Target Center on Monday, recalled with a laugh one particular possession early in the season when he and Edwards both went to the same place to post up at the same time.

“It was like, ‘Bro, what are we doing right now?’” Randle said. “We learned how to give each other space. We learned how to play off one another. Not necessarily your turn, my turn. But learning, picking and choosing our spots. When to be aggressive, and also how to make the game easier for our teammates. Understanding how dynamic of a scorer he is, but also how dynamic of a passer I am and playing to those strengths even more. We both can score and pass. One might do one better than the other, but we do things to make the game easier for each other. With that, when our chemistry started to click, it also made the game easier for our teammates, as well.”

The Timberwolves re-signed Randle and fellow big man Naz Reid, only losing backup guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to free agency as they slid underneath the punitive second apron of the luxury tax.

“As long as you have good players and you believe in your team, you want continuity,” said coach Chris Finch, who will preside over his fifth training camp with the team when players take the practice court on Tuesday morning.

Finch is now comfortably in second place for longevity on the franchise’s list with 369 regular-season games, behind only Flip Saunders (819). With just one more first-round series, Finch (42) could even pass Saunders (47) for playoff games coached with the club.

Injuries to Randle and DiVincenzo compounded the struggle for chemistry last season, as the Timberwolves started 8-10 and 17-17 before finding their groove in time to go 49-33 and avoid the play-in games.

This time?

“I think we’ve got a cheat code to start off early,” Edwards said. “We should be able to win early before a lot of teams because they made a lot of trades. They’re trying to use preseason to fit it in, but we’ve been together since last year. And we’ve been here early. Everybody has been here early. So big shoutout to my teammates, man. It’s been dope to see everybody in the facility.”

New owners, same vibe

The biggest offseason news was the completion of the sale of the franchise from Glen Taylor to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez, but because this was a four-plus-year process — becoming complicated and contentious over the last year — the front office was already in sync with Lore and Rodriguez.

Connelly, whose arrival in 2022 was spearheaded by the incoming partners, deftly balanced his relationship with them and Taylor on his way out.

“It never really became too problematic,” Connelly said.

The core gets stronger

Edwards, Reid and forward Jaden McDaniels are the three longest-tenured players on the team, the trio of disparate skill sets and personalities that Connelly and the coaching staff have been committed to building a championship contender around. Reid is 26, McDaniels turned 25 on Monday, and Edwards is 24.

“We all just click. And we’ve got a special bond, man. We’ve been here together, and we’re going to keep this thing going,” Edwards said.

Reid leaned on that support this summer, when his sister was shot to death in New Jersey.

“That speaks for the brotherhood we have off the court,” Reid said, “the situations where I can lean on them and they can lean on me.”

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