The Timberwolves are a long shot.
When LeBron James first entered what has since become a lengthy free agency process this offseason, it looked like the entire league was going to be interested, but there was clearly an inner circle of teams that had the best chance of bringing the 41-year-old veteran aboard.
In that initial inner circle, the Minnesota Timberwolves looked like contenders and after bolstering their roster with LaMelo Ball to complement the ever-rising star that is Anthony Edwards, the Timberwolves looked to have an even better case at attracting James.
But as the weeks have gone on, a true shortlist of destinations has emerged, and the Timberwolves aren't on it. The consensus top picks for James based on recent reports have been the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and much more distantly, the Golden State Warriors.
It could be thought of as the Timberwolves being in distant fifth and the darkest of dark horses in the sweepstakes, but in truth there has been little mention of the Timberwolves signing James that has been based in reality.
That being said, the team is still making efforts for him, like most teams are, at least publicly. Anthony Edwards recently made a public pitch to try and lure James to the Twin Cities, but he's also publicly shared his doubts that James will be joining him by the start of next season.
In terms of fit, the Timberwolves do have a good argument for being one of the more complimentary teams. They hav an exciting guard core in Edwards and Ball that would not only take the offensive pressure off of James, but give him fun, young players that he could mentor or even could reinvigorate him in these late years of his career.
Minnesota also has a good mix of physical threats with players like Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels on the floor, which too would take pressure off James.
But, the factors that are working against the Timberwolves are lack of personal or sentimental connection to James, like the Cavaliers and Heat and even Warriors have, and they're outclassed in terms of lineup strength by the 76ers.
There's also the matter of location to be considered. James shared that his 11-year-old daughter Zhuri, who has spent most of her life in Los Angeles, is one of his biggest factors in picking a new team and there isn't more of a severe culture shock than Los Angeles to Minneapolis, especially if James would be moving to a team he doesn't have much of a connection with.
With all of these factors in mind, while it would be undoubtedly fun to see James team up with Edwards and Ball under the lights of Target Center, it's unlikely to happen.
