Timberwolves quality in the West Finals is questioned and faces another problem of hundreds of millions of dollars this summer

In the early stages of the regular season, the Timberwolves were once regarded as the big loser of the Towns trade. The record of 21 wins and 19 losses is worrying, and the team may even miss the playoffs. However, at the end of the regular season, the Timberwolves finally ushered in an explosion. They scored a record of 17 wins and 4 losses and successfully got ashore.

Although you were eliminated by the Thunder today, it is difficult for you to equate the Timberwolves' season with failure. This season, they reached the Western Conference Finals again and became one of the four best teams of the season. However, how to correctly evaluate the strength of the team's lineup is a question that management must think about this season. In the series against the Thunder, except for a big victory, the Timberwolves had little room to fight back in the remaining four games. Obviously, if we want to go further in the future, the current lineup structure cannot support their ambitions. In addition, despite defeating the Warriors in the second round, Curry's absence made this advancement look inadequate.

Timberwolves' new owners Roll and Rodriguez have taken over the team, which will be their first offseason. Although the team has 13 players with contracts next season, three important players, Randall, Reed and Walker, may become free agents. If the Timberwolves decide to keep these three players at the same time, the team's total spending next season will easily reach the second rich line. Among the three players, Randall is the most difficult one. In the final stage of the regular season, the Timberwolves' rapid progress was inseparable from Randall's outbreak. In the last 21 games, he averaged 18 points per game. In the first two rounds of the series, Randall scored more than 20 points in 8 games, and averaged 24 points per game. But on the higher level of the Western Conference Finals stage, Randall touched his own ceiling. He scored only 11 points in G2 and G4, which is a key factor in the Timberwolves' offense. If Randall chooses to execute the player option, he is eligible to renew a four-year, $194 million contract with the Timberwolves. The salary in the 2025-26 season is $43 million, about $13 million higher than the salary in the last year of the current contract.

Reed is also a very important player. This season's regular season, Reed averaged 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists per game, and all three basic data set new highs in his personal career. Reed ranked first in the league in both the 2024 and 2025 playoffs. According to ESPN's forecast, nearly half of the league's teams will have sufficient salary space to participate in the free agent market game in the summer of 2026. At the same time, in the 2026-27 season, Edwards, McDaniels and Gobert alone will occupy the Timberwolves' cap space of $110 million. In this way, in order to maintain salary flexibility, Walker is the most likely to be sacrificed.

Considering Xiao Xiangnong's performance in this round of series, coupled with the hungry Dillingham, the Timberwolves need to make time and space on the front line and back line, Walker may become the biggest victim. However, when he came to the free agent market, he was not worried about not having a job when he performed well in the playoffs. In addition to the Nets, which have direct cap space, there are 16 teams in the league that can offer Walker a full-time middle class worth $14.1 million, chasing this excellent puzzle wing.