The most-asked question is can the Minnesota Timberwolves move one step forward? If so, the 2024-25 Wolves will join their arena stablemates, the Minnesota Lynx, as championship participants.
A quick look back at the 2023-24 Western Conference runners up:
- 26 road wins, tied for third-most in the NBA; 16 road wins by 10+ points, a franchise best.
- Outscored opponents in the fourth quarter by 10+ points 19 times, an NBA high.
- Led the league in holding opponents’ effective field goal percentage (51.5%).
“Everything that I have seen—guys got in early, they’ve been in the weight room, they’ve been working on their game—these guys have the belief that they can take it a step further,” noted Wolves Play-by-Play Michael Grady.
The current voice of the Timberwolves talked to us earlier this month just after the Wolves completed a surprising trade October 2 by trading Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for three players, including Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo and Keita Bates-Diap. Bates-Diap later was waived.
“I think that they made a move that will have impact in the short term and the long term,” said Grady “We know Randle is a quality player, a dog out there, and DiVincenzo provides three-point shooting,” he added.
Randle is a three-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All NBAer. DiVincenzo hit a career-high 15.5 PPG and 40% from deep (283 three pointers), a career high last season.
Randle is expected to replace Towns in the Wolves’ starting five—Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Mike Conley are the other probable starters.
Most of us are still waiting for the 6’9” McDaniels to be the consistent player he’s capable of being, but mostly he has been both inconspicuously good and bad, sometimes in the same game.
“I just think Jaden is full of untapped potential on this roster where you have so many offensive weapons,” said Grady. “He has so much to bring to the table offensively with his efficiency.”
DiVincenzo is expected to join Naz Reid as first players off the bench. Last season, the 6’9” Reid scored the second most points (843) off the bench in a single season in franchise history, and won NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
“I think Naz is going to continue to be confident,” noted Grady “He has so much in his arsenal as a basketball player. He can put it on the floor, can finish with the best of them. I just think he is building on that consistency and being a guy that the team can really rely on game in and game out, because he is undoubtedly an X factor for this group,” stated Grady on Reid.
Terrance Shannon, Jr. and Rob Dillingham are two rookies Minnesota are looking for a year of learning and growing. “I think the raw talent is tremendous, and I think it’s a breath of fresh air for this group, and it creates a lot of excitement to see these guys grow,” said the veteran broadcaster.
Grady will join ESPN’s NBA coverage as one of the network’s play-by- play voices this season. He will continue alongside Jim Petersen on Wolves telecasts this season as well.
“That’s an opportunity for a larger audience to get used to what a Michael Grady broadcast sounds like,” he said. “In this field, where you set the tone in terms of what your broadcasts are going to be all about, people will tune in to you for the first time. They’ll find something that they appreciate. It brings them coming back and coming back and coming back.”
Finally, Grady sees the 2024-25 Minnesota Timberwolves season to be another exciting one. “They learned some valuable lessons last season. Hopefully they can stay healthy, but they have the commitment, leadership and hard work,” concluded Grady.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.