Hanifan’s offseason outlook: Evaluating the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2026 offseason

Minnesota Timberwolves Offseason — (Mandatory Credit: David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The calendar has turned to September. You know what that means, right?! Our offseason outlook series is back for the third-straight year!

Hot Hot Hoops senior writer Matt Hanifan will provide his take on the offseasons of all 30 teams for the next 30 days! We will be going in alphabetical order, beginning with the Eastern Conference. To continue along, we will be diving into the Minnesota Timberwolves’ active summer.

Previous offseason outlooks:

Evaluating the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2026 offseason:

Additions: LaMelo Ball, Jonathan Kuminga, Cody Williams

Subtractions: Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Kyle Anderson, Mike Conley, Julian Philips

Re-signed: Ayo Dosumnu, Bones Hyland

Draft: Isaiah Evans (No. 33 overall)

Hanifan’s outlook: Timberwolves president Tim Connelly — in the final year of his contract — shook up their core this offseason, most notably offloading Julius Randle and Naz Reid to acquire star point guard LaMelo Ball — a trade that was evidently combined into one after it was announced as two separate deals.

Randle’s fit with Minnesota was always strange. He didn’t mesh with Rudy Gobert in the frontcourt, and wasn’t a connector who could seamlessly slot alongside Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels. Ball is a better fit, but questions still exist.

Will Ball be able to stay healthy for an 82-game season? The 25-year-old has played more than 51 games just twice in six NBA seasons, appearing in less than 63 percent of available games (excluding postseason) over that span. The Timberwolves have championship aspirations, and the best ability is availability. So him staying on the court is critical to their success this season.

I also have questions about his buy-in defensively. Randle wasn’t the epitome of great defense, either, but Ball has historically been a disaster at the point-of-attack. Even though Jaden McDaniels will assume an opposing team’s top guard or wing, that element will still be quite important in the Western Conference against players like two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

The most shocking development was letting go of both Randle and Reid. Minnesota went from having one of the NBA’s deepest frontcourts to a fairly thin one, although this is a bet on Joan Beringer’s development heading into his second season. Still, I would have liked to have kept Reid if that was an option if I were them. Perhaps that wasn’t an option with Ball heading back, especially since salary matching would have become more arduous.

Snagging Ball is still a big risk by Connelly; that’s what executives who are contending teams do in the final year of their deals, however. Minnesota has stayed aggressive, and that’s not a bad thing in this economy. I also don’t hate some of the other moves they made: Re-signing Dosunmu, dafting Evans — one of the best shooters in the class — as well as buying low on both Jonathan Kuminga and Cody Williams. I’m not sure how much either (especially Williams) will factor into their rotation, but both are good upside plays.