He is the Wolves’ franchise player. He has also proven to be remarkably inconsistent in the playoffs, capable of producing 40 points one night, and missing 90% of his three-point shots the next.
Most concerning about his performance in the Western Conference finals was his unwillingness or inability to play defense as hard and as well as every player who took the court for Oklahoma City.
I asked Finch where Edwards is in his developmental arc, and how he needs to improve. Finch provided a remarkably comprehensive answer:
“I think he’s in a really good place in his developmental arc. I think he’s 23 years old. He’s got two Western Conference finals under his belt. He’s been able to navigate a lot of looks and defenses. He’s got a pretty good amount of winning — a lot of winning, actually, underneath his belt.
“This was a big year for him, and, you know, it’s kind of ”his team." I thought he did a good job with his leadership. He’s pretty much a show-up-and-play-every-night kind of guy. He’s about the right things — his habits supporting his game, he keeps getting better and better with his work, his preparation, his diet.
“So there’s a lot to be encouraged about there. I think for areas of improvement, is just for him to keep going along the same route, really. I think he’s got to also figure out a bit of a closing [late-game-scoring] package, and we have to help him there — what shots, what places on the floor can he repeatedly get to. Foul-drawing. You see right now in the league what gets rewarded. You need to kind of lean into that a little bit, even though it’s not necessarily how he likes to play, but it seems to be effective.