The Minnesota Timberwolves have one massive fear hanging over the franchise right now, and it has nothing to do with luxury tax bills, roster depth, or playoff seeding. It is the possibility of Anthony Edwards eventually deciding he wants out.
Timberwolves insider Darren Wolfson revealed on the ‘Flagrant Howls’ podcast that keeping Edwards satisfied has quietly become one of the organization’s biggest priorities moving forward.
“It’s about satisfying Ant. The fear is, that at some point, does Ant, through his representation, Bill Duffy and others, signal a desire to be elsewhere? We are nowhere near that point, but the fear is there.”
To be clear, Edwards has shown zero public signs of wanting a trade. He remains committed to Minnesota and still has three years left on his five-year, $244 million supermax extension.
Still, the concern inside the organization makes sense. Edwards has already spent six seasons in the NBA and made the playoffs in five of them. The first two postseason appearances ended in first-round exits. Then came back-to-back Western Conference Finals runs in 2024 and 2025, where Minnesota lost in five games each time to the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder.
This season brought another disappointment.
The Timberwolves were eliminated in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs while battling major injuries throughout the roster. Edwards himself was not fully healthy during the series. Despite that, he still averaged 21.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in the playoffs while shooting 42.8% from the field and 31.7% from three-point range.
His regular season was even more dominant. Edwards averaged a career best 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 48.9% from the field and 39.8% from deep. He looked every bit like a future MVP candidate and one of the faces of the NBA.
That is exactly why Minnesota feels pressure.
Edwards is watching players around his age already compete for championships. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his first title at 26 and is now chasing a second championship while also stacking two MVP awards. Victor Wembanyama is only 22 and already sits in the Western Conference Finals with the Spurs. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown already own championships. Luka Doncic is 27, and the Los Angeles Lakers are aggressively building around him.
Meanwhile, Minnesota feels stuck. The Timberwolves are clearly one of the better teams in the Western Conference, but there is now a visible gap between them and the true top tier. Right now, Oklahoma City and San Antonio look like the conference powers for the next decade. Both teams are younger, deeper, and built around generational superstars.
That reality creates urgency. Minnesota reportedly plans to explore major moves this offseason, including a possible interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo. The franchise has also been linked to trade scenarios involving Kyrie Irving and even Ja Morant as they search for another elite co-star besides Edwards.
Because ultimately, this is not about whether Anthony Edwards wants out today.
It is about whether Minnesota can convince him the franchise still has a real path toward championships before frustration eventually starts building. Edwards has already proven he can elevate his game on the biggest stage. Now the Timberwolves have to prove they can build a healthy, championship-caliber roster around him before the gap between Minnesota and the NBA’s true contenders becomes permanent.
