Minnesota needed all the reinforcements they could get against the Spurs.
The Minnesota Timberwolves' season ended Friday night with a 139-109 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals, and if anything the final score was generous.
San Antonio shot 56 percent from the field, outrebounded the Wolves 60-29, and pretty much had this one put away before halftime.
For a 49-33 team that genuinely thought this was the year, that is a miserable way to go home.
Edwards Wants His Shooter Back
After it was over, Anthony Edwards sat down with reporters and kept circling back to one name when asked what this team needs to get over the hump.
Donte DiVincenzo, who tore his right Achilles in Game 4 of the first round against Denver and did not play a single minute against the Spurs.
"We just need everything to be clicking at the right time," Edwards said. "I think missing Donte is big for us, man, like he spreads the floor like no other. A series like this, where they just double teaming, like I would love to have Donte in my slot and just throwing it to him the entire time and shoot 20 threes."
Hard to argue with that.
DiVincenzo averaged 12.2 points and 3.1 threes per game this season on 37.9 percent shooting from deep across all 82 regular season games, and he started every one of them at point guard.
His spacing opened up driving lanes for Edwards that just did not exist against San Antonio.
The Spurs kept sending doubles and traps at Edwards all series long, and with nobody like DiVincenzo on the perimeter to make them pay for it, Minnesota's offense went nowhere.
A Career Year With an Asterisk
Edwards put up a career-best 28.8 points per game this season along with 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists, but health was an issue all year.
He played just 61 regular season games after suiting up for at least 72 in each of his first five seasons, and his right knee sat him for 11 of the final 14 games before the playoffs even started.
In Game 6 he finished with 24 points on 9-of-26 shooting while Julius Randle managed three points on 1-of-8.
That is not going to beat a 62-win team.
Where Does Minnesota Go From Here
The Timberwolves went to back-to-back Western Conference Finals before getting knocked out in the second round this time, so the trend line is going the wrong way.
DiVincenzo will probably miss most or all of 2026-27 rehabbing the Achilles, Conley is 38 and about to hit free agency, and Randle's disappearing acts in the playoffs are getting harder and harder to wave off.
Edwards sounds like he still trusts this roster when it is healthy, but three straight postseasons ending in blowout losses is a lot to sit with.
The front office has some real decisions to make this summer, and running it back without changes feels like a tough sell at this point.