More like Timber-woof

Minnesota collapses in spectacular fashion and Anthony Edwards holds court.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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A View of Delft After the Explosion of 1654; Egbert van der Pol; 1654

The Timberwolves’ decision to trade Karl-Anthony Towns for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo right before the season was a thunderclap in so many ways. From Minnesota’s perspective, the primary point of contention was whether Tim Connelly gave up on a rising power too soon, jettisoning the second or third most important player on a team that had just broken through to the Western Conference Finals after sweeping a superteam and knocking off the defending champs. It was an abnormal decision from that standpoint, given that most clubs hang on to proven success too long instead of pivoting early in the maturation of an era. (The Towns era with Rudy Gobert had been two seasons long.) Financial considerations certainly weighed heavily for a small-market team in ownership flux. That Randle is not a popular player leaguewide — arguably less popular as an asset than even the divisive Towns — matters, too.

It’s hard to imagine how things could have gone worse from that moment on, save for some disaster film like the ones the Sixers and Pelicans are currently starring in. In fact, the Sixers’ implosion after being touted (fairly) as a title contender is probably keeping a good portion of attention off of the Wolves. (The same cannot be said of the Pelicans, because no one ever pays attention to the Pelicans unless it’s to gawk at Zion Williamson in a positive or negative way.)

The attention isn’t staying off the Timberwolves now, not after Anthony Edwards lambasted his team after a horrific collapse against the also-struggling Kings on Wednesday. (The Wolves trailed by 14 in the third, roared back to lead by 12 with seven minutes left in the game and were outscored 29-6 from there. At one point, Sacramento scored on 11 straight possessions.)

Damn. That’s an indictment. And given that most of the team has been together for a while, it’s an easy leap to look at the new guy, Randle. It’s especially easy when certain interpretations of negative aspects of Randle’s personality have followed him through his career, at least once he left the rebuilding Lakers. Without being in the locker room, it’s impossible to know if Randle’s vibe, or as Edwards might call it his “agenda,” is impacting whether the Wolves follow the game plan or do their own thing or like each other or are moving apart.

The vibes matter, and they are bad, and that’s mostly what Edwards is calling out here. The basketball matters too, and the matters are interrelated for sure, but it’s worth teasing those on-court problems out.

To wit: