"Back To The Forests of Minnesota"

Another postseason has concluded for the Minnesota Timberwolves, as 
they made one last howl Wednesday night. A 124-94 blowout loss in the 
Western Conference Finals to Oklahoma City. For all the howling and 
mauling, Minnesota has nothing to be ashamed of. Making back to back 
West Finals appearances is difficult to accomplish. Even if you're not a 
favorite in either series.

Superstar Anthony Edwards is still scratching the surface and continuing 
to improve his game. Defeating the "legends" in two different playoff 
runs in Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and Steph Curry.  
There's higher expectations each year and it feels as if Edwards can be 
inconsistent.

Yes, this postseason run was tougher, but Edwards isn't aggressive 
enough. A guy who's on every commercial and very marketable. 
Swagger, confidence, style of play to a point the national sports media 
was dubbing him "Young MJ." Now, as a basketball fan, I have to 
disagree because this agenda has become nauseating. Every time 
Edwards made a play, that's all we heard. 

For the team itself, a roster which had its ups and downs falling behind 
Oklahoma City before a game three blowout win. Minnesota blew their 
best chance in game four which would've made the series more of a 
pressure situation. Edwards and Randle couldn't finish the job after 
strong bench play was an afterthought. It was what the great coaches 
would moniker "back to the drawing board and reset." Minnesota never 
started fast, yet relied on Edwards' reckless offense hurt any remote 
chance of making this a series.

Minnesota has decisions to make contract wise with Julius Randle, Naz 
Reid, and Nickel Alexander-Walker, there's very little wiggle room to 
maximize. Veteran point guard Mike Conley Jr has enjoyed a solid 
career, but being in the NBA Finals would be icing on the cake for an 
underrated player in his latter years. With Anthony Edwards, will he be
there long-term as the Wolves stare into the forests?

We've seen this before with former MVP and franchise player Kevin
Garnett. Hitting that ceiling very early and not breaking through.
Edwards is the franchise and fans pay big money to see him posterize
other players. There has to be concerns because of how we've seen no
superstars are safe from year to year. Minnesota is a mid-tier market
and not a lot of marquee free agents will play where the weather is cold
here in the Midwest during December through March.

Can the Timberwolves build a team to combat Oklahoma City? This will
be the forefront of their offseason in retooling their roster. Head coach
Chris Finch has done all that's possible but it's on the players to
respond. We've seen coaching changes and another guy take a team
beyond expectations. With Denver, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State
Warriors, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks looking to retool,
Minnesota can't afford to be left behind howling for dear life.