Knicks vs. Wolves Named Most Compelling Finals Matchup

The New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves face tough odds to come back in their respective Conference Finals series, but an NBA Finals matchup between the two franchises would be intriguing.

ESPN writer Kevin Pelton named the Knicks vs. Wolves as the best potential Finals matchup left out of the four scenarios.

"There's never been an NBA Finals quite like a potential Minnesota-New York matchup. Dan Feldman noted this week in the "Dunc'd On Basketball" NBA podcast's Daily Duncs newsletter that not since 1977 have teams (in that case the Denver Nuggets and Seattle SuperSonics, both in the West) swapped starters and then both made the conference finals, let alone the Finals," Pelton wrote.

"Even that trade -- Paul Silas and Marvin Webster to Seattle for Bob Wilkerson -- paled in comparison to the magnitude of the Knicks and Timberwolves swapping All-Stars."

The potential Finals matchup would also add a storyline with Knicks boss Tom Thibodeau, who was with the Wolves from 1989-91 as an assistant and 2016-19 as the head coach.

"A Knicks-Wolves Finals would also pit Thibodeau against his former team. Minnesota hired Thibodeau in the dual role of coach and president of basketball operations hoping to get to this point, but his tenure resulted in a single first-round exit before being scuttled by Jimmy Butler's trade request," Pelton wrote.

On top of that, Jalen Brunson and Anthony Edwards are perhaps the most marketable stars left among the final four teams. This isn't meant to discredit the work of Tyrese Haliburton and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but having New York in the Finals is a game-changer and perhaps the player many are calling as the future face of the league in Edwards.

In order for this to happen, the Wolves and Knicks need to play better than they have in the first three games of their respective series.