The last time the Timberwolves were on a court that mattered, the Spurs were finishing them off in six games in the second round. Three of those losses came by 29 points or more, as NBA.com’s season preview points out. It was a 49-33 team that got to the second round and then found out exactly how far it was from the top.
Monday is media day, and the roster that shows up is a different one. LaMelo Ball is here. Naz Reid and Julius Randle are gone. Jonathan Kuminga signed. Donte DiVincenzo is rehabbing a torn Achilles. Even the jerseys are different: this is the first season in the new Wolves uniforms.
Most media day answers are the same every year. Everybody is in the best shape of their life and the vibes have never been better. But a few answers will tell us something real about how this season goes, and these are the five I’ll be listening for.
1. Who starts at the four, Kuminga or Dosunmu?
Kuminga should be the starting power forward next to Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert. I made the full case for Kuminga over Dosunmu, and it comes down to size.
Ayo Dosunmu just signed a five-year, $112 million deal, and Kuminga is here on two years and about $12.4 million with a player option in year two. The contracts point one way and the fit points the other. Put Dosunmu with Ball and Edwards and the starting group gets small fast, with three guards who all want the ball. Put Kuminga there and Minnesota keeps its size, its athleticism on the wing and a real forward to guard the other team’s big four.
Dosunmu’s best job is running the second unit, and there’s nothing wrong with paying a sixth man like a starter. What I want to hear from Chris Finch is whether he calls Kuminga a starter on Monday or falls back on “we’ll figure it out in camp.” The first answer means the plan is set. The second means the $112 million is going to make some noise.
2. Is Anthony Edwards ready to play off the ball?
This is the question that decides the season.
Edwards hit 49.6% of his catch-and-shoot threes last season, the best mark in the league among qualified shooters. Only 27% of his threes came off the catch, the fourth-lowest share among 307 players with at least 100 attempts. Both numbers come from NBA.com’s preview, and together they make the case better than anything I could write. The best spot-up shooter in the league barely spots up.
Ball is the reason that can change. Charlotte had a +9.1 net rating and a 123.2 offensive rating with him on the floor last season. He creates easy shots for other people, and the easiest shot Edwards could get is a clean catch-and-shoot three.
The Wolves didn’t give up Reid, Randle, their 2033 first-round pick and three pick swaps to get a second scorer. They got a passer. If Edwards says on Monday that he wants to cut more, relocate more and let Ball run the offense for stretches, that’ll be the best thing anybody says all day. If every answer is about his own scoring, watch that dynamic closely in October.
3. Who plays center when Gobert sits?
This is the biggest hole on the roster, and it’s the price of the Ball trade. Reid was the backup center and a lot more than that, and Randle took frontcourt minutes too. Both are gone.
Behind Gobert right now: Joan Beringer, who played 40 games as a rookie at 7.9 minutes a night and averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds, per Basketball Reference. Trey Lyles, on a one-year minimum deal that’s only partially guaranteed. Enrique Freeman and Rocco Zikarsky on two-way contracts. That’s it.
The front office can’t do much about it, either. Minnesota is $4.5 million under the second apron and hard-capped there, which leaves room for one minimum signing and not much else. Every contract on the books is in our 2026-27 roster and contracts guide.
My guess is the real answer is Kuminga at center in small lineups, with Beringer getting the first shot at the traditional backup minutes. I’d like to hear Finch say that out loud. If he says they’re “comfortable” with the depth, I don’t believe him.
4. When is Donte DiVincenzo coming back?
DiVincenzo tore his right Achilles in Game 4 of the first round against Denver on April 25. On September 4, general manager Matt Lloyd declined to give a return timeline, according to NBC Sports, though he was optimistic DiVincenzo would play at some point this season.
I’d plan for the whole season without him and treat anything else as a bonus. Achilles recoveries run long, and Minnesota has no reason to rush a 29-year-old guard back into a rotation that suddenly has more guards than it knows what to do with.
His absence still matters. The minutes he would have played go to Bones Hyland, Jaylen Clark and second-round pick Isaiah Evans, and none of them has proven he can hold a playoff rotation spot. Any update on Monday, even a vague one like “after the All-Star break,” tells us whether he’s part of the spring plan.
5. Are extensions coming for Gobert and Edwards?
Two contract conversations hang over this season.
Gobert makes $36.5 million this year and holds a $38 million player option for 2027-28. He becomes extension-eligible after opening night. He turned 34 in June, and I would only extend him on a short deal that brings the number down, because the Wolves are already $15 million over the tax line.
Edwards has three years left on his deal. An All-NBA season would put him on track for a super-max extension after 2026-27. Nobody is going to announce anything on Monday, but how Edwards talks about this team’s direction matters. A star who sounds sure about the new plan is worth more than any quote about his own numbers.
What matters most
If I only get one answer on Monday, I want it to question two. The Kuminga debate, the backup center and even the Gobert extension all get easier if Edwards and Ball figure out how to share the ball. If they do, this is a better team than the one the Spurs ran off the floor. If they don’t, the Wolves traded their depth for a very expensive fit problem.