Three questions the Timberwolves must answer to take the next step

The Minnesota Timberwolves are in the middle of the most successful period in the history of their franchise. They've gone to the Western Conference Finals two years in a row, losing in five games each time. Last year they knocked LeBron James, Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers out of the playoffs as well as the Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors. 

But now the expectations are higher for the Wolves and All-Star guard Anthony Edwards. It's the first season new owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are in charge of the team. Julius Randle and Naz Reid signed new long-term deals. They drafted two foreign teenage centers in June. Minnesota wants to build on its success.

That means getting to the NBA Finals out of the stacked Western Conference. Here are three big questions the Timberwolves need to answer in order to do that.

1. Can the Timberwolves older veterans keep it up?

The Timberwolves have two all-timers in point guard Mike Conley and center Rudy Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year. Both players may end up in the Hall of Fame, but Conley turns 38 before the season starts and Gobert turned 33 this summer.

Conley was already down to 24.7 minutes last season. Though still a positive on defense, his scoring dropped to 8.2 points per game, lowest of his career. Gobert was second team All-Defense last season, but he scored two fewer points, grabbed two fewer rebounds and blocked only two-thirds as many shots as in 2023-24.

The Wolves don't need these players to turn back the clock completely, but they also can't have two starters combining for 13.9 points per game in the playoffs.

2. Can the Timberwolves second-year players become contributors?

The corollary to the decline of Minnesota's veterans is the possible rise of a trio of young Timberwolves, all of whom showed flashes in their rookie seasons.

Terrence Shannon, Jr. looks ready to add scoring to the Wolves rotation. He only played 32 games during the regular season, but he had a 25-point game against the Lakers, then scored 15 points in 13 minutes in a playoff game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Rob Dillingham was the No. 8 pick in the 2024 draft. The lightning-quick guard didn't play a lot as a rookie, but did score in double digits in four of his eight starts in January. If he's been able to add some bulk to his wispy frame, he should have plenty of opportunity to get minutes.

The least-heralded player of the trio might end up playing the most minutes. Jaylen Clark was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-23 at UCLA, but tore his Achilles in his final college game. He returned in January and by the end of the month had cemented himself as ninth man in Minnesota's rotation. If Clark can come close to his 43.1% three-point shooting from last season, he's the three-and-D guy Minnesota needs.

3. Will Anthony Edwards go up another level?

It's hard to criticize Minnesota's 24-year-old superstar, who finished seventh in MVP voting for the second straight year, led the NBA in three-pointers made and scored 27.6 points per game last season. When the team struggled at midseason, Edwards put the team on his back by scoring 134 points in a three-game span.