Rashad McCants
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Rashad McCants thinks some big changes could be in store for the Timberwolves if they flame out in the playoffs
For all intents and purposes, the Minnesota Timberwolves are having a nearly identical regular-season campaign to the one we saw just last year. And yet, despite finishing as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves returned to the West Finals for the second straight year, only to lose to the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder. This time around, though, expectations for the team feel a little bit larger.
One guy who has been keeping close tabs on Minnesota is Rashad McCants, who spent three-and-a-half seasons with the team during his playing career. In an exclusive interview with Heavy on Timberwolves, McCants kept it real when discussing his former team’s playoff hopes, while also opening up on his new “RAW with Rashad” column, which tackles a variety of topics revolving around the game of basketball and the NBA.
Rashad McCants Thinks Big Changes Could Be in Store for the Timberwolves
While the Timberwolves aren’t in a bad spot currently (their 44-28 record has them sitting in fifth place in the West), they haven’t taken the sort of step forward fans were hoping for after back-to-back trips to the West Finals. McCants doesn’t think folks can complain about the team, though, due in large part to all the struggles they have endured in years past.
“I think the Timberwolves fans should be grateful even being in contention and being in the Western Conference Finals, after all the years of turmoil and losing,” McCants bluntly told Heavy on Timberwolves. “At this point, it’s just about how far Anthony Edwards is willing to take them. Adding a couple of new pieces in Bones Hyland and (Ayo) Dosunmu definitely helps them out in the guard position. But I think Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle are gonna be the X-factors.”
The guy steering the ship for the Timberwolves is undoubtedly Edwards, who is in the middle of an All-NBA season (29.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 49.2 FG%). There’s no doubt that Edwards is one of the best players in the league, but McCants struggled to find a proper player in the league to compare him to (at least at the guard position), largely because he doesn’t feel anyone is on the same level as him.
“It’s hard to rank him in comparison to everyone else because he has the most talent, aside from (Victor Wembanyama),” McCants opined. “When it comes down to just raw potential, he’s up there with the Michael Jordans and the Kobe Bryants and guys you would expect to take it to the next level, given what he can do with the basketball on both sides of the floor. Ranking him is just kind of unfair.”
Edwards is tasked with leading Minnesota to at least the West Finals again, if not the 2026 NBA Finals. If the team can’t go on a deep playoff run, though, McCants thinks a busy offseason could be in store. “If you do fall short, you definitely need to make some changes,” McCants said. “I would look for those changes to be Gobert, Randle, Naz Reid, … If you’re not thinking about that, then you’re thinking about moving Edwards, which would be a mistake.”
Rashad McCants Dishes on New ‘RAW with Rashad’ Column
Rashad McCants
GettyRashad McCants opened up on his new “RAW with Rashad” column
In recent years, McCants has reemerged as a prominent figure in the world of sports media, appearing frequently on the popular “Gil’s Arena” podcast. However, McCants has begun a new project, as he has started his own basketball column titled “RAW with Rashad.” When asked what his motivation for starting the column was, McCants shared that he wants to have his own platform where he can share his unique insights on basketball and the NBA with his fans.
“When it comes down to journalism, and being a columnist … Jason Whitlock, Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, Bill Simmons, Michael Wilbon, all of these great guys came about … but these guys never played the game,” McCants revealed. “I wanted to be the first player to take about the step going into journalism and writing columns, being able to get some credibility in that aspect, tackling the hard topics that people don’t know about or want to write about.”
McCants has become renowned for his fiery personality on his various podcasts and shows, but with his column, he’s provided himself with an opportunity to show off his basketball knowledge in a different light. While he’s publicly known as a hot-take machine (a label that McCants does not agree with), the former first-round pick seems to be relishing the opportunity to provide a deeper look at whatever basketball-related topics he wants to explore.
“I don’t consider anything that I’ve said to be a hot take,” McCants admitted. “With these particular columns, they don’t come off as a particular style … I feel giving a deep dive into more detailed information about the game outside of the perspective that I give on the Gil’s Arena show is one that I think is much needed, because you can actually get a lot more information from the audience standpoint.”
McCants has already shown fans what they can expect from this project with his first two columns, and it sounds like he has a handful of ideas he’s already looking to cover. Whether it be highlighting overlooked players from NBA history, analyzing various coaching strategies, or providing a behind-the-scenes look at how these top-tier athletes take care of their bodies, McCants has big plans for his new column that will surely continue to capture fans’ attention.