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The Timberwolves will introduce new President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly at a news conference Tuesday afternoon, and his arrival will coincide with one of the most interesting offseasons in recent memory.
The Wolves went 46-36 last season, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2017-18 and just the second time since 2003-04. They have a good core of players, but they also have obvious needs. And Connelly immediately will be faced with some big roster questions.
How he and the Wolves choose to move forward will be influenced by both internal and external factors, as Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Tuesday's Daily Delivery podcast.
There are essentially three paths forward, and each of them has both merit and risk:
Run it back: This is the safest choice, at least in the short-term. It would probably mean offering the four-year, $211 million super max deal to Karl-Anthony Towns. It would at least mean holding onto D'Angelo Russell for another season, even if that didn't involve a contract extension.
There could be minor moves around the periphery to address needs, but basically it would push the biggest decisions — aside from a Towns extension — down the road to see if the current core of players can be even better next season.
There is merit in that approach given the team's trajectory, but there is also a danger in standing still while the rest of the Western Conference figures to improve.
Reshuffle the core: This would likely mean trading D'Angelo Russell. It might also mean pursuing a deal for another key piece since a Russell deal might be more about salary relief than acquiring another member of a "Big Three."
A player like Indiana's Malcolm Brogdon would be a great fit here, though the acquiring price could be fairly steep.
Blow it up: This seems like a very unlikely option given how last year went, given current contracts and given new personnel bosses tend to like to spend time evaluating a situation before taking bold action.
But what if Connelly looked at Towns and the impending super max and decided his best value was in a trade that rebuilt the Wolves' core around Anthony Edwards?
If you aren't convinced this team is on a championship course with Towns and Edwards as the top two players, it isn't a crazy idea. But it would be awfully tough to tear something down before it is fully built, squandering good will with an energized fan base in the process.
