LeBron James
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Listen, there was never much reason to believe the Minnesota Timberwolves were actually going to land one of the greatest players of all time, LeBron James. They aren’t the Los Angeles Lakers or New York Knicks. Minneapolis doesn’t offer the warm weather of South Beach, the destination James chose in his famous “Decision”, and unlike Cleveland, it isn’t home.
However, Philadelphia wasn’t exactly an obvious landing spot, either. With plenty of familiar suitors involved, James chose a team that had just acquired Jaylen Brown and offered him a path through the Eastern Conference. Maybe if Minnesota had already moved to the East, things would have been different.
That doesn’t mean Minnesota’s pursuit was a sham or that the Wolves never had a legitimate chance, though.
LeBron James gave MN Timberwolves a fighting chance
Though the odds were long, these aren’t Glen Taylor’s Minnesota Timberwolves anymore. With Alex Rodriguez as the face and Marc Lore as the money, this ownership group isn’t afraid to take big shots. That was evident once again when the Wolves ripped off the Julius Randle Band-Aid and swung for LaMelo Ball as Anthony Edwards’ new point guard.
The Athletic’s David Aldridge and Joe Vardon detailed just how legitimate Minnesota’s pursuit was, even though the Wolves entered the process as underdogs.
The Timberwolves and Connelly, their team president, knew they entered the proceedings as a long shot. Their cold winters and lack of championship pedigree would be difficult barriers to entry into the James sweepstakes. But they also thought they had a few things working in their favor.
First, James was a well-known believer in Edwards, the Timberwolves’ resident star. The veteran has gushed over Edwards’ game, his charisma, his attitude over the years, including during their run to gold together at the Paris Olympics. Edwards and Ball connected with James over the phone as part of the recruiting efforts.
The Wolves also have an ownership group that includes Alex Rodriguez, one of the few people on the planet who can fully understand the microscope, the demands and the scrutiny that come with LeBron’s kind of star power. Rodriguez worked quietly behind the scenes to ensure James’ camp that the Wolves would know how to support him and connect with him if he came to Minnesota.
The Wolves’ pitch also appealed to James’s well-known affinity for the history of the game. If he came to a team that has never won, in a market without a title in the four major men’s pro sports since 1991, and played on a minimum deal to lead a young nucleus to a title, they told him, it could be the closing argument for James’ claim to the throne as the best player to ever do it.
There were moments throughout the chase in which the Wolves truly believed James would pick them, including during a flurry of conversations with his representatives leading into the Fourth of July weekend.
The Athletic
Of course, Minnesota never lost sight of the fact that they were a long shot. Even after moments when they believed James would choose them, they grew increasingly pessimistic as the process dragged on, and it ultimately ended as they feared it would.
A team official also told The Athletic in the days leading up to James’ decision, “We have a 4-percent chance, but we have every bit of that 4 percent.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves swung for the stars and missed, but the drama certainly made the offseason a lot more interesting to follow.
Now they likely need another frontcourt option at the four, a spot that could have been occupied by a 41-year-old who still averaged 20.9 points per game in his 23rd season. Where Connelly and company go from here remains to be seen. The offseason isn’t over yet, and Minnesota still has some money to spend, but free agency isn’t flush with options.
The larger goal remains getting past the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. If the Wolves do, maybe they’ll meet James and Philadelphia in the NBA Finals and bounce them from the playoffs in the process.
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