Anthony Edwards Not Looking To Leave Timberwolves

“Ant was really frustrated throughout — really just been frustrated since Towns got traded, at how he gets double-teamed,” Windhorst said, adding, “They have to do something this offseason about addressing the Ant double team situation.”

Speculation about Edwards increased this week when Minnesota agreed to deal Julius Randle to the Nets in a three-team deal in order to offload his contract.

“It’s not so much Randle being traded, it’s about Randle being traded as a salary dump,” Windhorst explained.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon says the NBA executives are on the lookout for signs that Edwards might want to go elsewhere.

“The NBA vultures are swirling around Ant in anticipation of him potentially becoming the next superstar who’s available in the trade market,” he said.

However, for the time being, there’s nothing to indicate that the teams monitoring Edwards’ situation will have a real opportunity to make a play for him, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Chris Hine, who throws some cold water on that speculation.

Multiple sources close to Edwards dismissed the chatter, according to Hine. One said flatly there was no truth to any of it. Another reiterated Edwards and his team love Minnesota and that they think being here is the “ideal” situation for him.

Of course, the situation could evolve, particularly if the Timberwolves fail to make a deep playoff run in 2027. But there is faith in the team and in president of basketball operations Tim Connelly that it will continue to contend for a championship, says Hine, though he echoes Windhorst’s sentiment that the front office needs to make moves to take some of the pressure off of Edwards.

Edwards still has three years and nearly $157MM remaining on his five-year, maximum-salary contract. The star guard will be extension-eligible this summer, but he’s unlikely to agree to a new deal yet because he fell short of the 65-game threshold required to qualify for All-NBA honors and major postseason awards.

That means he’s only eligible for a standard two-year maximum-salary extension at this time, but if he makes an All-NBA team next year, he could put himself in position for a four-year, super-max deal that begins at 35% of the cap instead of 30%. That super-max extension wouldn’t be available to him if he’s traded.