Why cautious optimism is warranted for the new-look Wolves

· Yahoo Sports

The Timberwolves made significant changes this offseason. LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga are in, while Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Micah Nori are out, among other minor changes. Change often brings excitement, but cautious optimism is warranted for Minnesota this season, and here’s why.

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We’re less than three weeks away from every NBA team officially reporting for training camp on September 29. Wolves head coach Chris Finch recently did his annual sit-down with longtime writer Britt Robson, and there were plenty of fascinating nuggets.

The biggest takeaway was how much different Finch thinks the 2026-27 Wolves will be compared to the last four seasons. When Minnesota traded for Rudy Gobert before the 2022-23 season, it completely changed their identity as a team. He was paired with Karl-Anthony Towns, which gave them one of the most intimidating frontcourts in the league. Even after trading Towns before the 2024-25 season, they remained a relatively big team with Randle and Reid. That’s not the case this season.

The Wolves will likely lean on the versatility and athleticism with the additions of Ball and Kuminga, who are not historically known as great defensive players. Finch and his coaching staff might be forced to adapt their philosophy, and one person he consistently mentioned to Robson was defensive coordinator Elston Turner, who has been on the staff since 2021.

“My gut tells me it will map out similar to when we had the two bigs (after the trade for Rudy Gobert first paired him with Karl-Anthony Towns to start the 2022-23 season) and every night we were presented with a slightly different challenge at the 4-5 positions (power forward and center) based on matchups,” Finch told Robson. “We settled into a rhythm of two or three solutions based on the profile of the opponent we were guarding. Hopefully it maps out like that.”

The biggest difference between the 2026-27 team and the 2022-23 team might be the experience of Anthony Edwards. NBA teams that make huge offseason moves, historically, do not hit the ground running unless they have a transcendent talent. Edwards is coming off a career-best campaign, and Year 7 might be the time he truly becomes an MVP-level player.

May 12, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) warms up before game five of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The Wolves started shaky to begin that 2022-23 season, which ended in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. They’re currently tied for the ninth-best odds to win the 2026-27 NBA title at 30-1, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The pieces are there to outperform those expectations, but will they?

The additions of Ball and Kuminga are plenty of reason for Wolves fans to be excited, but it’s hard to change an identity overnight. Finch is fully aware of the obstacles he faces in his seventh season as the Wolves head coach, and it might take a little longer for Minnesota to get its engines started on its new-look sports cars.

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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Sep 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Timberwolves section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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