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The Minnesota Timberwolves will be watching the NBA Finals from home after losing in five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals. For the most part, it wasn't a particularly close series, but it gives Minnesota a road map on how to get better for next season to try and get back to this point again.
From a roster standpoint, the Wolves have massive decisions to make, as Nickeil Alexander-Walker is an unrestricted free agent, while Julius Randle and Naz Reid both have player options before becoming free agents next summer. It's going to be an expensive summer for Minnesota as it tries to figure out how to construct this roster to be better than it was this season. Despite falling short of winning a title this season, there's still going to be high expectations next season, and Wolves coach Chris Finch is already laying out what he wants to see his star player improve on for next year.
"For areas of improvement for him, just going to be along the think the game route," Finch said. "I think he's got to also figure out a bit of a closing package, we have to help him there. What shots and places on the floor can he repeatedly get to. Foul drawing, I think you see right now in the league, you see 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."
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Part of Finch's response feels like some residual frustration from that series against Oklahoma City. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was continuously called a free throw merchant, and the officiating was visibly upsetting the Wolves. SGA is one of the best players at getting to the free throw line, and while it may not always be warranted, the issue isn't that he foul baits, because quite frankly there's a handful of players in the league who do the same thing. The issue is that it's being rewarded by the officials, and that's probably at the crux of Finch's subtle complaint.
Edwards may not get to the line like SGA, but he attempted the fifth-most free throws this season. A big part of Edwards' game is getting downhill and getting to the rim, which naturally creates contact, though he's usually barreling his way to the rim for a highlight dunk. Edwards isn't methodically trying to get a foul call like Gilgeous-Alexander does, and while that may be criticized, it's a high IQ tool to have in your arsenal. And unless the league changes some rules this offseason to reel in some of that foul baiting, it seems like Finch's message to his star guard is if you can't beat them, join them.