MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said the team’s offensive identity will still flow through Anthony Edwards this season, with LaMelo Ball now beside him in the backcourt.
Finch made the comments in the fourth and final installment of a Q&A series with Britt Robson of MinnPost, recorded in Minneapolis on Sept. 8. During that session, Robson noted that training camp was still more than two weeks away.
Over the offseason, Minnesota traded Julius Randle and Naz Reid in a four-team deal that became official July 10. Ball came over from the Charlotte Hornets in the same transaction.
Chris Finch On How Anthony Edwards And LaMelo Ball Fit
Pace, passing, and off-ball movement are the areas where Finch sees Minnesota changing this season.
“As I sit here now, I want to see how it plays out,” Finch said. “Your identity is driven by your best players, for sure, and we still have them. I can see a lot of our offensive identity still flowing through Ant.
“It is just that I think we have a chance to play faster, be a better passing team, maybe people benefit from off-ball movement more,” Finch continued. “With Rudy, a lot of different things, so I can see everything kind of get a little polished, if you will. But ultimately a lot of our identity is still going to flow through Anthony a lot.”
Minnesota ranked 16th in the NBA in assists per game last season. The Timberwolves went 49-33 and lost to the San Antonio Spurs in six games in the second round.
Ball was the third overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, two spots after Minnesota took Edwards first overall. Last season, he averaged 20.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists in 72 games for Charlotte. Injuries had limited him in each of the previous three seasons.
Rudy Gobert, the “Rudy” in Finch’s answer, is entering his fifth season in Minnesota. Finch also told Robson that the Timberwolves need another step forward from Jaden McDaniels.
The Four-Team Trade That Sent Julius Randle and Naz Reid Out
Charlotte’s package included Reid, Minnesota’s 2033 first-round pick, three second-round picks, and the right to swap first-round picks with the Timberwolves in 2028, 2029, and 2030.
Randle went to the Brooklyn Nets along with the draft rights to the 28th pick in the 2026 draft. That piece started as a separate deal on the eve of the draft, and the two trades were combined when the league made them official.
Randle averaged 21.1 points per game in 2025-26. In Minnesota’s 12 playoff games, he shot 39% from the field and 24.4% from 3-point range.
Chris Finch On Lineup Combinations and Defense
On Aug. 26, Minnesota added Jonathan Kuminga on a two-year deal with a player option, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported. Kuminga is expected to start at power forward next to Ball, Edwards, McDaniels, and Gobert.
Two-man actions with Edwards are one place where Finch sees the added flexibility showing up.
“I could see us being more purposeful with our combinations,” Finch explained. “Putting (Anthony Edwards) with people in a two-man game, and things like that. I think we’ve got more flexibility there now.
“Having the point guard we have now gives us the chance to get back to using Anthony a little bit more strategically in certain situations that we couldn’t do last year,” Finch added. “Anyway, defensively, I want us to increasingly use our physicality, ball-pressure, all the things that we have wanted to do.”
Ball has three seasons left on the five-year, $203.9 million designated rookie extension he signed with Charlotte.
