The Minnesota Timberwolves are being tied to a possible roster shakeup, with Jon Krawczynski saying the team could make a “fairly significant” change and that the opening-night lineup may look different from the group that finished this season.
In that same conversation, Krawczynski said Kyrie Irving looks like a more realistic target than Giannis Antetokounmpo, while Kawhi Leonard and Jalen Suggs have also been thrown into the rumor mix.
Minnesota has reasons to keep searching. The Timberwolves finished 49-33, reached the Western Conference semifinals, and lost to the Spurs in six games, leaving them short of a breakthrough despite another productive year from Anthony Edwards, who averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 61 games. Julius Randle added 21.1 points and 6.7 rebounds, and Jaden McDaniels supplied 14.8 points while shooting 41.2% from three.
Irving would give Minnesota the most obvious offensive fit of the three names. He has averaged 23.7 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds across 779 regular-season games, and his résumé includes nine All-Star selections, Rookie of the Year, and one NBA championship. For a team built around Edwards, Irving would add another late-clock creator and pressure point for defenses that already have to account for Edwards’ downhill scoring.
Leonard would change the Wolves in a different way. He is entering the final year of his three-year, $149.5 million deal and just finished a season in which he played 65 games, all starts, and averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 32.1 minutes. He shot 50.5% from the field, 38.7% from three, and 89.2% at the line, production that underscores why contenders continue to monitor his contract status even as his long-term availability remains a central question.
Suggs sits in a different tier of the rumor chain, but his profile fits Minnesota’s defensive backbone. The 25-year-old is set to begin the second year of a five-year, $150 million contract, and he averaged 13.8 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 57 games for Orlando this season. He shot 43.5% overall and has already shown he can impact games with point-of-attack defense, something Minnesota values around Rudy Gobert and McDaniels.
