NBA Notes: Timberwolves, Offseason, Thunder, Pacers, Myles Turner

So too, perhaps, does the fact that the Timberwolves failed to advance to the Finals each time. So now comes the time for tough offseason questions.

“If the Thunder are going to be the team Minnesota has to get through to win the West for years to come — and it certainly appears that way — the Wolves have their work cut out for them,” wrote ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“Their young tandem of Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels was a level below the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams in this series. And with contract decisions to be made on Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker this summer, their effectiveness — or lack thereof — against Oklahoma City has to be considered.”

• For more on Minnesota’s future, check out what one local columnist thinks may need to happen this summer after a total dismantling in Game 5 of the West finals.

Thunder

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City has rolled through most of the playoffs despite the narrative surrounding others for most of the year (Lakers, Warriors, etc.).

Yet here are the Thunder, and their dominance may only continue.

“Regardless of whether the Indiana Pacers finish off the Eastern Conference finals or the New York Knicks complete a comeback from down 3-1 in the series, Oklahoma City will enter the Finals with home-court advantage and as the overwhelming favorite,” wrote ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.

“The Thunder won 17 more games than the Knicks and 18 more than the Pacers, and while that’s not definitive — both East teams have taken down 60-win teams in the conference semifinals, and the 50-win Denver Nuggets gave Oklahoma City its toughest test to date — that’s a huge head start.

“The Thunder swept both East finalists 2-0 in the regular season and will have the rest edge because their series started a day earlier. If New York can extend the series, all the better for Oklahoma City, which didn’t have to push hard in the conference finals because of repeated blowouts (including the Timberwolves’ lone win).”

• For the record, OKC is the second-youngest team to reach the Finals in the last 70 years. Read more on that right here.

Pacers

Count center Myles Turner among the free agents unlikely to move this summer, Pelton wrote.

“With how the playoffs have gone,” a scout told ESPN, “he’s cemented his place there. They just don’t have a replacement for him.”

Added Pelton: “The Pacers will want to be careful with Turner’s starting salary. Indiana will enter free agency about $20 million from the projected luxury tax line with 12 players under contract, and Turner should command more than that after making $19.9 million this season.”