Was this the last run for this core?
The Minnesota Timberwolves' season ended about as badly as it could have, a 30-point blowout at home in Game 6 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Minnesota finished 49-33 and pulled off a first-round upset of the Denver Nuggets, which made the second round sting even more.
The gap between this team and the West's top tier is not some minor thing to tweak around the edges.
It's widening.
NBC Sports' Kurt Helin reported that the Timberwolves are expected to make "big changes" this offseason around the core of Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Joan Beringer.
Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert could both be on the move, and team president Tim Connelly is reportedly ready to go big game hunting this summer, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
Edwards put together the best regular season of his career, averaging 28.8 points along with 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists, though injuries held him to just 61 games.
He gutted through a knee hyperextension and bone bruise from the first round against Denver and was clearly off against San Antonio, going 9-of-26 for 24 points in a Game 6 that was never competitive.
At some point, three straight postseasons ending in blowouts stops being bad luck.
Why Now Is The Time
Minnesota has been running the same group back for two straight years since trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks before 2024-25.
The return from that deal, Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, has not pushed this team forward the way the front office needed.
Randle's playoff struggles keep coming up, and reportedly even his teammates believe trade rumors were in his head during the Spurs series.
DiVincenzo tore his Achilles in the first round and probably misses most of next season.
Conley is 38 and might be done.
Then there's Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Timberwolves went after him at the deadline, and Milwaukee sounds way more willing to deal now than in February.
Getting him would cost at least two of Gobert, Randle, McDaniels or Reid, plus draft capital Minnesota barely has after the original Gobert trade.
Beringer Flashing Future Star Potential
Joan Beringer being mentioned with the untouchable core says a lot about how the front office sees his ceiling.
The 19-year-old from France, drafted 17th overall in 2025, averaged just 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds across 40 appearances all year.
Then Minnesota let him play in the final two regular-season games and he went off for 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks against New Orleans, the youngest player in NBA history to post a 20/10/5 game.
Beringer didn't pick up a basketball until 2021 when he was 14, which is wild.
He's raw, but the physical tools and feel for the game suggest he could eventually take over for Gobert as the starting center.
The Wolves are betting on that trajectory and have no plans to include him in whatever blockbuster Connelly cooks up this summer.