3 teams exposed in the NBA Playoffs that need a rebuild

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

This one is so obvious it almost feels like cheating.

The Wolves traded perhaps the grandest package in league history for Rudy Gobert, banking on a twin towers lineup that combined one of the best defensive linchpins ever with the sweetest-shooting big man of all time in Karl-Anthony Towns. Those two and human torch Anthony Edwards were supposed to make Minnesota a contender.

Instead, KAT was injured, Gobert was merely a very good defender instead of an all-timer, and Edwards didn’t find his game until too late in the season. Injuries to crucial depth pieces and a lack of chemistry sunk Minnesota’s chances before they could leave the dock, and now Minnesota is looking at an offseason of uncertainty.

(It is interesting that both Minnesota and Cleveland, two teams banking on two-big lineups, struggled in the playoffs. Perhaps that formation just isn’t as viable when the lights shine brightest.)

Frankly, we don’t really know how this team would’ve looked in a different universe. They had little time to gel, and there were plenty of positive developments. Jaden McDaniels became a lockdown defender and exploded offensively toward the end of the season, and backup center Naz Reid looked like a potential Sixth Man of the Year candidate in the last quarter (his free agency will be fascinating — can the Wolves afford to keep him? Can the Wolves afford to lose him?).

But nothing that we saw suggested that the core trio of Gobert, KAT, and Edwards would ever be a true contender. Edwards doesn’t yet have the passing chops to take advantage of Gobert’s rolling ability, and KAT’s lack of foot speed is exposed on the perimeter, exacerbating his foul-prone tendencies. Additionally, despite playing large lineups, the Wolves were a bottom-five rebounding team on both sides during the regular season.

Moving off Gobert so quickly will be unpalatable to still-new ownership and management, and Edwards is too young and good to trade. With approximately zero other trade assets, the Wolves will have to look hard at trading Towns while he still has some value.

Towns is locked into a supermax contract, and he has never shown the ability to be a positive playoff player. But it’s possible that his offensive versatility and incredible shooting prowess could shine on a new team and with a changed role. What he would command back in a trade is unclear, but it would likely be a substantial sum.

The Wolves need to lean on Anthony Edwards, and the best way to do that is to find a reliable table-setter (Mike Conley was great for the Wolves this year, but he’s older than most oak trees) and others who can provide defense and shooting around him.

Despite the bitter taste in the mouths of Minnesota fans, there is still a promising core here. Any team with an ascending comet-like Edwards will always be dangerous. The Wolves just need to get rid of a KAT to find their identity.

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