The Minnesota Timberwolves have opened the 2025–26 season on shaky ground, and it’s not just their 2–3 record that’s raising eyebrows. After another disappointing defensive performance in a 127–114 loss to the Denver Nuggets, followed by a heartbreaking 116–115 buzzer-beater defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers, cracks are beginning to show, not only on the court but possibly within the locker room.
The tension surfaced when Jaden McDaniels, one of Minnesota’s cornerstone defenders, responded to head coach Chris Finch’s public criticism with an answer that suggested disconnect and confusion. Finch had called out McDaniels and Rudy Gobert following the loss to Denver, saying, “We need more from all-defensive guys to set the tone at the point of attack and at the rim.”
When reporters informed McDaniels of those remarks, his response was surprisingly uncertain.
“I don’t know. I’m not playing defense how I should, I guess… Shoot, my aggressiveness, I guess. I don’t know. I feel like I play the same defense all the time, but it’s obviously not working.”
Those words may sound harmless at first glance, but between the lines lies something deeper, a lack of clarity and communication between Finch and his players. When your top defensive wing, widely considered one of the NBA’s elite perimeter stoppers, says he doesn’t know what’s wrong, that’s a sign of confusion at the leadership level.
That confusion became even more glaring the following game when Austin Reaves sealed a Lakers win with a one-legged floater after getting past both McDaniels and Gobert. The play encapsulated everything wrong with Minnesota’s start: miscommunication, poor execution, and defensive breakdowns in critical moments.
The Wolves, once a defensive juggernaut that ranked first in defensive rating two seasons ago, now sit 25th in that category, a stunning drop for a team that still has Gobert, McDaniels, and Julius Randle anchoring the front line.
Fan frustration has reached a boiling point. On X (formerly Twitter), a Wolves fan named Hoodie Naz voiced what many are starting to think: that Chris Finch might no longer be the man for the job. His post, which went viral among Timberwolves fans, listed several concerns: Finch’s refusal to develop young players like Rob Dillingham and Leonard Miller, his overreliance on veterans, and his inability to adjust mid-game or manage rotations effectively.
The post didn’t stop there. It accused Finch of ‘running players into the ground’ with short rotations, failing to implement a zone defense despite having elite length, and making predictable offensive adjustments that opponents easily counter. “
To Finch’s credit, he remains the most successful coach in franchise history, having guided Minnesota to three consecutive playoff appearances and two consecutive Western Conference Finals. But this season’s regression is glaring, especially defensively. Losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Hawks hurt, but with this much talent, the Wolves should not be languishing near the bottom of defensive efficiency.
As Anthony Edwards recovers from injury, the Wolves are trying to stay afloat. Yet, as McDaniels’ uncertain comments hinted, there’s a growing sense that the message from Finch isn’t resonating the way it once did. The Timberwolves’ problems run deeper than missed rotations; they may be staring down a leadership crisis that could derail their season before it truly begins.
