How the Wolves' big experiment is impacting their next superstar

ANTHONY EDWARDS AND Rudy Gobert, the 2 players near successful the FedEx Forum locker room, person conscionable struck up a conversation. It's Nov. 11, and the Minnesota Timberwolves' had conscionable suffered their sixth nonaccomplishment successful 7 games, this night's coming connected the roadworthy against the Memphis Grizzlies, the squad that past play ended the Wolves' 2nd playoff tally successful 18 years.

The duo is engaged discussing the nuances of a circumstantial antiaircraft coverage, an speech the 21-year-old prima shooting defender initiated with the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, who caller squad president Tim Connelly traded distant 3 rotation players and a stockpile of draught picks to the Utah Jazz to acquire.

It's a elemental chat astir strategy betwixt caller teammates but besides a motion of progress. For these Timberwolves, immoderate semblance of gathering chemistry -- immoderate denotation of prioritizing the little glamorous aspects of the crippled -- provides a sliver of hope.

The 7-8 Timberwolves person spent the archetypal period of the play inconsistently navigating 1 of the league's astir scrutinized roster experiments: pairing 2 All-Star large men -- and watching the Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns concern struggle.

"Everybody's successful the paint," Edwards said aft a Nov. 1 nonaccomplishment to the Phoenix Suns erstwhile asked wherefore 1 of the league's astir explosive finishers didn't person a dunk done the archetypal 8 games of the season. The aboriginal returns haven't been "all peaches and cream," to get different operation Edwards utilized then.

But for each the absorption connected the Gobert-Towns fit, the spotlight has besides often shifted toward Edwards. The eventual look of the franchise has connected a fig of occasions gone viral, appearing disinterested -- a stark opposition to Edwards' infectious vigor connected show past play -- arsenic helium and the Timberwolves spell done the increasing pains of gathering a contender.

"It's the small things," Edwards said aft an Oct. 21 nonaccomplishment to the Jazz. "We've got to fig it out. I'm going to fig it out."

EDWARDS RAISED EYEBROWS aft that nonaccomplishment to the Jazz by mentioning that, "The smaller we go, the amended it is for me," successful effect to a question astir his accumulation during a agelong erstwhile the Wolves went with an undersized lineup.

He past smiled erstwhile asked a follow-up question astir the acceptable with Gobert, possibly realizing he'd slipped successful excessively overmuch honesty. Days later, knowing the speech he'd spurred, helium politely asked reporters to debar asking for his opinions connected circumstantial lineups.

But Edwards isn't unsocial successful expressing concerns astir the Timberwolves' spacing. So, too, has constituent defender D'Angelo Russell, whose scoring mean (14.2 points per game) is the lowest since helium was a teenage rookie.

"It's our main happening connected discourtesy we're trying to fig out," Russell told ESPN aft the nonaccomplishment successful Memphis. "Obviously, you spot america moving into each other, trying to backmost doorway and mightiness tally into a guy. It's conscionable small things similar that that aren't successful sync close now. It's benignant of hard to find bushed oregon flow."

The Wolves person been atrocious offensively with Gobert connected the level (106.6 points per 100 possessions, which would fertile No. 28 successful the league) and atrocious defensively erstwhile helium isn't (113.2). Their starting lineup (Russell, Edwards, Towns, Gobert and guardant Jaden McDaniels) has a antagonistic nett standing (-0.8 points per 100 possessions) successful 198 minutes together, a statistic that improved drastically with Wednesday's 126-108 blowout of the overmatched Orlando Magic.

"We either fig it retired oregon we don't. Simple arsenic that," Russell said. "We either fig it out, perpetrate to it and beryllium accordant doing it, oregon we don't. And past we'll beryllium wherever we're astatine adjacent year."

Minnesota manager Chris Finch said helium gets "great hope" from the chemistry he's seen make betwixt Towns and Gobert. He cited Towns' assists to Gobert (25) arsenic an particularly encouraging sign. But that's much than Wolves' starting guards' combined assists to Gobert; and Towns' scoring (21.9 points per game) is the lowest it has been successful 5 seasons, though his assists (5.2) are astatine a vocation best.

"He's done specified a bully occupation of trying to marque the changes and the sacrifices successful his violative game, but astir apt overcompensated a small bit," Finch said of Towns. "I deliberation there's maturation for him conscionable getting backmost to being a small spot much of his mean self."

One opposing caput manager told ESPN that helium anticipates that portion Finch, who is considered an particularly originative violative mind, volition find ways to marque the two-bigs spacing work, helium believes the Wolves' biggest problems are "interpersonal."

The manager cited Edwards sulking erstwhile his squad employed a switching defense, resulting successful the Wolves often going to Towns successful an effort to onslaught a mismatch against a guard. A clip went viral of Edwards lasting with his hands connected his hips for an full possession portion the Wolves ran a play that wasn't called for him during their Nov. 5 triumph implicit the Houston Rockets.

"I don't person Twitter, truthful I don't wage attraction to it. I'm ever engaged, man," Edwards said of that moment. "I'm acceptable for it if it comes my way. I conscionable privation to play basketball."

Edwards has acknowledged helium wasn't acceptable to commencement the play reporting to grooming campy "a small excessively heavy." The Timberwolves listed him astatine 239 pounds connected the authoritative roster. (The NBA requires teams to database existent heights, but determination is leeway allowed with weights, and it's typically utilized for stars who mightiness person packed connected other pounds.)

Edwards attributed the value summation to "lifting a lot," and has said helium shed the excess pounds during camp, slimming down to 230. Towns, however, decided to publically telephone retired Edwards for his fare and conditioning aboriginal successful the season.

"I cognize you each deliberation it's comic up present erstwhile helium talks astir Popeye's and each that s---," Towns told reporters aft a precocious October loss, comments that could beryllium perceived arsenic an effort astatine enactment oregon different crushed to wonderment astir the Wolves' chemistry.

"That doesn't marque maine blessed to hear. We're high-level athletes."

Edwards responded 2 days aboriginal with a fewer workout clips.

WHILE THE TIMBERWOLVES request much discourtesy from Edwards to go a existent menace successful the Western Conference -- he's averaging 21.9 points and 3.9 assists per crippled but has country to turn offensively, peculiarly arsenic a decision-maker -- he's besides being pushed to fulfill what coaches and teammates see immense antiaircraft potential.

"Your way to being an All-Star oregon being All-NBA subordinate successful this league is being the high-level, two-way subordinate that you tin be," Finch said of Edwards. "A Paul George oregon a Kawhi [Leonard]."

Gobert, for his part, has challenged Edwards to go the NBA's champion helping defender and sees nary excuse for Edwards to not beryllium successful that speech fixed his size, spot and explosiveness. The missing ingredient, Gobert believes, is focus.

"He's shown maine that helium tin beryllium an All-Defensive subordinate if helium puts his caput to it," Gobert said. "I've been connected his ass a small spot astir off-the-ball [defense]. He's precise competitive. He's astir apt 1 of the champion on-ball defenders I've seen erstwhile helium takes it to bosom and he's guarding a truly bully player.

"But being large defensively is astir consistency. It's doing it each minute."

Edwards welcomes that situation but said he's "got to get successful amended shape" to beryllium capable to play hard each the clip connected some ends of the floor.

It's not arsenic if Edwards' caput occasionally wandering, oregon effort lapsing, connected the antiaircraft extremity makes him an objection successful the Minnesota lineup.

Towns' antiaircraft shortcomings were among the superior reasons the Wolves wanted to determination him to powerfulness guardant and brace him with a ascendant rim protector successful Gobert. Russell has a estimation arsenic a mediocre defender and was benched down the agelong successful past week's nonaccomplishment to the Grizzlies aft his mistakes allowed a brace of alley-oops, the 2nd of which caused Finch to propulsion his hands successful the aerial earlier signaling for a substitution.

Edwards enactment it much succinctly aft a nonaccomplishment to the New York Knicks past week: "We conscionable play soft, man." He said that disapproval included himself.

Yes, solving the Gobert-Towns puzzle volition rise the level for a franchise seeking consecutive playoff berths for the archetypal clip since 2003-04. But raising Minnesota's ceiling? That volition travel lone erstwhile Edwards emerges arsenic a two-way superstar.

"I inactive judge this is simply a bully team," Finch said. "We conscionable haven't earned the close to beryllium good."

Gobert, meanwhile, reminds that the Wolves request to absorption connected the small things and "the large things volition come."

"Most of the radical watching the crippled won't adjacent spot [them]," Gobert said. "It's the quality betwixt america winning and losing. I'm talking astir moving back, spacing for teammates, talking astir communication, physicality, boxout, worldly similar that.

"Just the things that winning teams do, but we haven't been doing consistently yet."