MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have made clear that their ambitions cannot be any grander.
Tim Connelly made that evident Friday evening while explaining why he chose to trade a player he paid a hefty price to select in the draft just a year and a half ago to go get a much-needed combo guard who will be a free agent in a matter of months.
“I think we have a real puncher’s chance to win a championship,” he said.
On nights against the best teams in the league, when they are going toe-to-toe with Oklahoma City or San Antonio or Boston, it is hard to argue with him. On nights like those, Anthony Edwards looks like an MVP candidate, Julius Randle is a bully ball force, Jaden McDaniels is the kind of two-way young star deserving of headlining a trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert is a frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year.
Then you see why Connelly sent Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller and four second-round draft picks to Chicago to get Ayo Dosunmu to stabilize the team’s biggest weakness on the bench. It is also why the Wolves were in on Antetokounmpo until the Milwaukee Bucks informed teams they weren’t ready to trade him.
“That locker room thinks they can win a championship,” Connelly said, adding that he was speaking in general terms and not about a specific player. “So anytime there’s an elite player, not talking about any names, we’re going to do our due diligence.”
On nights against the worst teams, when they are slogging through four quarters against Utah or Brooklyn or, on Friday night, New Orleans, those aspirations look laughably unserious.
The Timberwolves led the Pelicans by 18 points in the third quarter, which may be the worst thing that can happen to a team that has a maddening complex.
They think they cannot be beaten. That mindset serves them so well against the best teams. They are never intimidated in those moments; they are emboldened. They know they have no margin for error, and that brings a focus and fire that makes them formidable.
When it comes time to play a weaker opponent, the confidence that is so inspiring when the bell rings for the heavyweight fight turns into a nauseating arrogance that makes them pathetically vulnerable. That is how Friday night played out. Edwards scored 35 points, but the Wolves were outscored by 12 points in his 37 minutes because his defense was as soft as his offense was unrelenting.
Jaden McDaniels picked up three fouls in three minutes in the second quarter, chasing and reaching on top of missing shots in an uncharacteristically poor performance. Julius Randle had 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, but his defense was non-existent as well. Donte DiVincenzo went 2 for 10.
But their 119-115 loss was about more than numbers on a box score for Gobert, who drew a line in the sand while standing in front of his locker, calling on coach Chris Finch to be more proactive in addressing the players when their intensity drops.
“It should start with ourselves, but it seems like we don’t have that, so I think at some point (it has to come) from the coaches,” Gobert said after scoring 12 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. “It’s not an easy position for a coach to take guys out of the game. It’s not something that you want to do, but I think if the players don’t show any effort, at some point, no matter how talented we are as a team, if you don’t have that, you just can’t be a winning team.”
Gobert’s pointed comments made it difficult to dismiss this as just one of those nights in a long season. Disappointing performances like this one are nothing new for this team. They have done this over and over again over the last few seasons, taking lesser teams lightly and losing games they had no business losing. But they have also won plenty of games, including four playoff series.
The past was of little consolation to Gobert Friday night. He reached a breaking point with what he saw against the Pelicans (14-40).
“At some point, if the players don’t have accountability, someone has to have accountability for the players,” Gobert said. “I’m on straight effort. I’m just talking straight effort. I’m not even getting to the basketball side of things, like there’s always mistakes are a part of the game, but the effort to me for a team that wants to play for a championship, it’s unacceptable.”
Gobert did not name names, but the lack of defensive intensity from Edwards and Randle was palpable. They combined to shoot 20 for 40 and score 59 points, but neither one appeared to be locked in on the other end of the floor. During one sequence in the fourth quarter, Edwards allowed Bryce McGowens to get by him for a score, Randle gave up a driving bucket to Saddiq Bey and then Derik Queen hit a wide-open 3 for a 112-106 lead with three minutes to go.
“We want to be a championship team. We want to lift that trophy in June,” Gobert said. “This is a lesson that we need to get right now. It starts at the top.”
Gobert said he needs to take accountability as well. He has been one of the best rim protectors in the league this season, but he had nothing for Zion Williamson Friday night. Williamson got to the rim any time he wanted and never had an issue finishing when he got there. He scored 29 points on 11-for-13 shooting, all of them right at the cup. Some of that came from poor ball contain on the perimeter, but Gobert has to provide more resistance than he did.
“It starts with me. If I’m not showing effort, bench me,” Gobert said. “Take me out of the game. Everybody else will follow. Our best players, leaders, if we don’t show any effort, it doesn’t matter if you score 50, we’re not going to win.”
In a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies Monday, Gobert did not play much of the fourth quarter because Jaren Jackson Jr. was having so much success against him. Finch would have had a difficult time benching Edwards or Randle, both of whom were providing scoring for an offense that only managed 45 points in the second half.
The loss dropped the Wolves to 7-8 in their last 15 games, a concerning run for a team that believes it is a Western Conference contender. They have the sixth-ranked offense in that span, but the 18th-ranked defense. It just hasn’t been good enough.
That makes the acquisition of Dosunmu even more important. The Wolves spent much of this week trying to prepare themselves to acquire Antetokounmpo if the Bucks had expressed an interest in negotiating a trade with Minnesota. But Milwaukee never fully engaged with them, or any other team, and so Connelly switched gears Thursday morning in search of bench help.
Dosunmu is a 6-4 guard who can play both ends. But perhaps most importantly, he is known for bringing energy every night. He comes from a team that has not been to the playoffs since he was a rookie in 2022. Moving from a mediocre team to one that wants to contend.
“That was one of the things that when I talked to Tim, we talked about those aspirations, and taking that next step,” Dosunmu said. “And as a competitor, there’s nothing more you can ask for to put yourself in a position to be able to play meaningful basketball.”
Connelly said Dosunmu “checks all the boxes” for the Wolves. Right now, they look like a team that is going through the motions far too often, a team that is bored by its own success. Dosunmu has none of that complacency. This will all be new to him. He is expected to make his Wolves debut Sunday against the Clippers, and the Wolves need him as much as he needs them.
“It’s going to help us a lot,” Edwards said. “Play hard every night, and he’s from Chi-town so he’s got some toughness to him.”