Minnesota and Philadelphia Offseason guides

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves made a bold move on the eve of training last season, trading away franchise cornerstone Karl Anthony-Towns. He was the longest tenured Timberwolf and had been with the franchise for 9 seasons. However, that didn’t waver in the success they had in the postseason, as they raced through both the Lakers and Warriors in 5 games. However, I still think the Stephen Curry injury made a huge difference in that series; it is what it is. They made it back in the Western Conference finals after breaking through the year prior, before losing in 5 games to the eventual NBA champion Thunder. The Wolves started playing some great basketball towards the back half of the regular season, owning the second-best record post-All-Star break. The Julius Randle addition was a perfect match, given Randle's commitment to playing team basketball on both ends of the floor. He provided some nice playmaking alongside Superstar Anthony Edwards. Now, how do the Timberwolves get back to the Western Conference finals and find a breakthrough?

The Timberwolves financially traded away Towns to have some flexibility in the future, and this is the year they were going to pay the piper. Both Naz Reid and Julius Randle had player options that they declined, opting instead to sign deals that averaged $25 million annually over 5 years for Reid and $33.3 million annually over 3 years for Randle. This gives the Wolves some flexibility to keep the depth, but it is now very likely the team won’t be able to keep Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who had a stellar season this year for the Wolves. The Wolves already had a salary of $203 million this past season, which put them near the second apron. While they are an expansion team, the top 6 of Edwards, Gobert, Randle, McDaniels, DiVincenzo, and Reid will be under contract for the next two seasons. The Timberwolves won’t have much wiggle room for exceptions due to the first and second aprons restrictions they face, so they’ll need to focus internally for some development. They also do not own a ton of first-round and draft assets overall over the next several seasons. 

The player development side of the ball needs to start with Rob Dillingham. While everyone loves Mike Conley and proved this past season he was extremely effective in the postseason, this is the whole reason Minnesota drafted Dillingham; they also gave up a 2031 first-round pick to the Spurs to move up and get Dillingham in the 2024 draft. Dillingham showed some flashes of what he offered in his lone season at Kentucky this past year, but the defense is a work in progress as of now. Both Jayden Clark and Terence Shannon Jr. should promise to be key rotational guys to fill in for the potential Nickeil Alexander-Walker loss. The final part of development still needs to come from Anthony Edwards and his playmaking. He showed last season in his development to become one of the best pull-up three-point shooters in the league last season and made a league-leading 312 total threes last season. His becoming a better play-maker after building on a productive season will have the Wolves ready to challenge the Thunder and everyone else for the Western Conference. 

Philadelphia 76ers

Possibly the biggest flop in the NBA last year was the Philadelphia 76ers, given the expectations for them. The injuries to Joel Embiid and Paul George showed that winning the offseason means absolutely nothing. They finished 24-58 and raced at the bottom of the East to keep a top 6 protected first-rounder away from the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 76ers, however, found some luck in the lottery and ended up drafting 3rd overall and were able to justify a truly unethical tank. They were able to acquire VJ Edgecombe with the third overall pick and acquired Quentin Grimes at the deadline, who showed some promise to contribute to the team in 2025-2026. So, how do the 76ers not have a season like last year?

The number one thing would be the health of Joel Embiid and Paul George, both players were plagued with injuries the entire season. George had his worst season since his rookie year, only playing in 41 games and scoring 16.8 points per game on 43% from the field and 35.8% from 3.  Joel Embiid, however, was worse in that he only played in 19 games in this past season. Embiid dealt with various amounts of knee issues and publicly announced that he would no longer play in back-to-backs for the rest of his career. Unfortunately, it’s quite likely the 76ers are stuck with Embiid until the end of his 3-year $193 million extension that he signed last year. His trade value is very low, and his health still remains relatively unknown for the most part, with his knee. However, for the 76ers, there are still some positives. Quentin Grimes, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe should be very solid contributors to the team, and they have already seen a couple of guys step up from last season. The signed Justin Edwards to a deal after he had a productive rookie season. They will also lose Eric Gordon, who was a net negative. Kelly Oubre also opted in to his player option. The 76ers will likely need some wing depth in free agency and will likely have to go after defensive-minded wings, as this is an area they struggled with last season. Overall, the 76ers' season depends on the health of Paul George and Joel Embiid. If they aren’t healthy, it’s hard to imagine a world in which this team gets to the postseason, let alone make the Eastern Conference Finals. Typically, once a guy dips to the levels Joel Embiid and Paul George do, it’s hard to come back from that. However, if they’re healthy, you pair those two with Tyrese Maxey, Grimes, Edgecombe, another perimeter defender, and a backup center, and this team can compete, especially with how depleted the Eastern Conference is next year. Possibly the biggest and most pressure-filled season is coming up for Philadelphia this season.