Less than one full day after being eliminated in blowout fashion by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, the Minnesota Timberwolves held exit interviews with the media to discuss their feelings on the season ending, where the team can get better, and what the offseason might bring.
Wolves players, along with head coach Chris Finch, discussed numerous topics, including the failures during the series against the Thunder, the mammoth trade made before the season, the successes that came with figuring it all out, how the team might look the same or different next year, and much more.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Thursday morning’s exit interviews with the Timberwolves.
A Season of Difficulties and Resilience
The first player to take the podium bright and early in the morning was, unsurprisingly, Mike Conley. When asked why he chose the first time slot, he gave a classic Conley answer.
“I volunteered to go first. I knew I wouldn’t be asleep. I’d probably be up doing something. I got to see my kids this morning before they got off to school. That was my first thing. Might as well come in and knock it out.”
Conley was also the first player to discuss some of the difficulties that came with this season and how this team’s resiliency was what stood out most to him.
“It was a tough year. It really was. I think it’s our resiliency. Through a lot of the ups and downs that was probably the thing that stuck out the most because it was not easy. It wasn’t easy to start the way we did, to make trades, to do all that stuff and be looked at like we weren’t going to be much of anything throughout the season. To fight through that and to kind of stay together and not worry about it and choose to figure it out and not let it overcome us, that’s what was special about the unit and what’s special about being here. Just thankful that we found it at least to a point at the end of the season.”
Rudy Gobert also spoke on his overall thoughts of the season and how to balance the accomplishment of making the Western Conference Finals while also falling short of their ultimate goal of a championship.
“I thought it was a year with a lot of adversity, lot of ups and downs, but a lot of mixed feelings right now. Obviously you want to win a championship, so it’s a lot of disappointment, frustration but at the same time, knowing that this is year 12 for me and to get back to the, having the opportunity to work our way to the Western Conference finals for the 2nd year in a row, it’s not something we or I should take for granted.”
Finch closed out the session with the media and echoed what many players before him said about the season being difficult. He mentioned that the season was not a very fun one for him, while saying that the season was rewarding overall because of the trials and tribulations the team was able to overcome.
Chris Finch when asked about his feeling on the season as a whole
"This shit never ends well. It don't matter if you lose by 40 or you lose at the buzzer, there's only one way that it ends well... Every city, every sports team goes through the same stuff. You should be an Eagles… pic.twitter.com/R8wCNE2C4P
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) May 29, 2025
There has been a lot of talk locally about this loss to the Thunder being “classic Minnesota sports” and just another disappointment among many others of the past 30 or more years. Finch clearly believes harping on that is not healthy for any fan base. Each team is different, each season is different, and Minnesota is far from the only place to feel sports pain.
Fans can or should feel a level of disappointment with how the final series of the year ended, but a season can still be viewed as a success even if it didn’t end with a championship.
Upcoming Free Agents Discuss Their Offseasons
The Timberwolves have three major roster pieces that are far from guaranteed to be back next season. Julius Randle and Naz Reid have player options they will likely decline, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s contract expires, making him a free agent.
All three players expressed that they would like to come back, while acknowledging the realities an NBA offseason can bring. Randle gave his thoughts on both his player option and the enjoyment he has gotten playing in Minnesota this year.
“I haven’t even thought about it to be honest with you. I barely got any sleep or a whole lot to eat. I will say that I love it here, and this is the most meaningful basketball that I’ve played in my career, and from how the organization has made me feel, from just my teammates and playing with Ant as our leader, I love it. There’s a lot to be excited about. I haven’t even really thought about it, but I will say having the ability to compete for a championship is everything that I ask for at this point in my career. So we’ll see.”
Reid was also asked about his future with the organization and what will go into his decision of whether or not to return to the Timberwolves.
“There’s a lot that comes with it, that goes into it. You want to obviously make the best decisions for yourself, within knowing you want to be in the same situation or a winning situation, so it’s a lot to think about, but obviously we’ve got the time now to think about it.”
Reid was later asked if he views himself as a starter and if that would be a requirement for him coming back to the Wolves.
“Yes, 100%. But if you want to be in a winning position, sometimes you might have to sacrifice. So I definitely view myself as a starter, but things happen, things change. You never know what’s ahead of you until you talk about it and until you go through it.”
NAW’s situation, as the only true free agent among the three, is much more cut and dry. He will become a free agent this summer and will likely be in line to make a lot more money than the $4.3 million he made this season.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker on his upcoming free agency
“It’s the elephant in the room… but I haven’t given it thought at all, I’m still trying to process this year. I get the chance to be a full time dad now for at least a week before things get crazy… now that the season is… pic.twitter.com/tp9zjQUqvh
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 29, 2025
NAW finished his media session, saying, “I love Minnesota, and what the fans have meant to me.” That feeling was true for both Randle and Reid as well who have enjoyed their time in Minnesota and felt supported by the fan base.
It’s unclear how the offseason will play out and which, if any, of these players will be back on the roster next season. One clear thing, the Wolves as an organization have built a culture and an environment that players want to play for and return to if they have the opportunity.
That may not sound like a lot, but it’s a bar so few Timberwolves teams of the past have been able to clear.
Areas of Improvement After Conference Finals Loss
The Wolves' season ended on Wednesday night with a thud. They were never close to getting the Game 5 win to extend the series, making it clear that while the Wolves had played a lot of good basketball in the playoffs, they will need to play even better to win a championship.
When looking for Wolves players who can diagnose where the team needs to improve, Mike Conley is always the first place anyone should go. As the Wolves' most veteran player, as well as possibly the most thoughtful, Mike is almost always able to give a good diagnosis about where the team is at.
Mike Conley on improving team IQ
"It has to become even more important to them. Maybe that means studying the game, or maybe it means taking coaches on the side. ― You got to try to bring them up to a certain standard where the non-negotiables are things you just do by habit." pic.twitter.com/0IwNrXYfkn
— Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) May 29, 2025
Mike wasn’t the only player who felt some of the smaller details are the place the Timberwolves most need to improve. Donte DiVincenzo was asked if he felt the team reached its full potential and what they can do to get to that level.
“Based on the rest of your question I think you don’t think we fulfilled it either. I agree. This team has a lot of potential and I think the difference between those teams that go all the way and end early are just the little things. Superstars are going to be superstars. Everything else has to be all the little plays and big plays down the stretch that give you a chance to win. Unfortunately in this series they made a lot of the little plays and we did not. They beat us to a lot of the 50-50 balls, offensive rebounds. They did all the little things that when you look back at it those are the things that you can control. It also gives you perspective that you’re not far off and you’re right there.”
The main area Chris Finch pointed to was getting more consistency defensively, which fell from being first in defensive rating a season ago to sixth this season during the regular season.
“I think we had a little bit of a regression defensively this year. I think some individuals didn’t have the year that they had a year ago. I think it starts there. We’ve got to get our individual defense, particularly our on-ball containment was inconsistent all year. That’s got to be better. I think defensively we have to begin to morph a little bit around Rudy. We’ve got to do different things. He’s got to be open and available to allowing us to do those things, which help us protect him too.”
Jaden McDaniels also felt that the Timberwolves' defense could have been better this season, saying, “We’ve all just got to be communicating together and willing to put the work in.” McDaniels also referenced the team’s relationship with the officials as a place to improve for the following season.
“I’d probably say just worrying about the officials, like going into the game like, ‘He’s going to get calls. They’re going to call stuff for him.’ So next time, we know just not to even worry about the refs at all.”
While the Wolves have they could have done better on the court, it doesn’t seem like the players and coaches feel like the team was too far off from reaching their goals. They didn’t underplay the need to keep getting better while also recognizing what they were able to accomplish.
No Anthony Edwards Exit Interview
Anthony Edwards was the only core Timberwolves player not to do an exit interview with the media. Skipping media availabilities has become a bit of a theme for Edwards, who also did not speak to the media following Game 2, after being fined for a single f-word during Game 1 postgame media availability.
Edwards not showing up for media shouldn’t be some grand indictment of him as a player or a person, but it’s a bad look that, following a 30-point drubbing to end the Wolves' season, Ant skipped out on the final media availability of the year while all his teammates showed up and answered questions.
It would have been nice to hear Edwards’s thoughts on how he felt his season went, what went wrong in the series against OKC, and where he feels the Wolves can improve. Instead, his final words this season came after Game 5, where he said, “Nobody is going to work harder than me this summer.”
Maybe he is just getting a head start.