Timberwolves Notes: Conley, Future, Milton

Mike Conley and his family were prepared for the possibility of a trade out of Utah last season, but they began to become convinced as the trade deadline neared that they would stay put, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. After moving Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and Bojan Bogdanovic prior to the season, the Jazz remained in the postseason hunt for much of 2022/23, with Conley playing a key role for the club.

However, just before the deadline arrived, Utah agreed to a three-team deal with the Lakers and Timberwolves that sent Conley to Minnesota. It came as a shock to the Conley family, as Krawczynski details — Mike and his wife Mary weren’t together when the news broke and had to deal with the impact the move would have on their three children, who were seven, five, and three years old. Conley knows that trades are part of the business for highly compensated NBA players, but admitted it was a difficult time.

“You can make a lot of money, but if you get punched in the face, you’re still like, ‘Oh my God, that hurt,'” he said. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. But at this moment, it’s hurting me. So let me feel this for a second here and then move on.”

Nearly a year later, Conley and his family are enjoying life in Minnesota, according to Krawczynski, who notes that the kids have made new friends, while the veteran guard has taken to the area’s “lake life” off the court and embraced the opportunity he has with the Timberwolves on the court.

“It’s probably the best situation for me at this stage of my career,” Conley said. “Not only do we have a team that can be competitive to a contending team in no time, but I also get to be a part of that, like I’m not being thrown to the side where they say, ‘Hey, you know, you’re done playing. You’re not going to play much. It’s a leadership role.'”

Here’s more on Conley and the Wolves:

• Conley is on an expiring contract and it may be a challenge for the Timberwolves to bring him back on a market-value deal, given their other financial commitments. However, Minnesota has no in-house point guard to replace him and Conley sounds open to the idea of trying to find a way to make it work with the Wolves beyond this season. “Why not chase it here and hope that my family adjusts and gets settled here right now and not have to run around for three or four more times before I retire,” he said, per Krawczynski. “And just because I’m chasing something I want, you’re not guaranteed to get it anywhere else you go anyway. So why not do it with people that love, respect you and treat you the way you want to be treated? This organization is all about heading in that direction.”
• If the Timberwolves had fallen flat this season, it would’ve helped simplify some major roster decisions in 2024 and beyond, writes Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. However, as long as this group continues to prove it’s capable of playing at a high level, the franchise’s future will become much more “nuanced,” according to Rand, who points out that Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, Gobert, and Jaden McDaniels will earn approximately $155MM combined next season. Keeping that core together will result in a very expensive roster.
• Facing his former team for the first time on Wednesday, Timberwolves guard Shake Milton expressed appreciation to the Sixers for the years he spent there, as Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Milton added that he has been loving his time with the Wolves so far. “I just felt like this would be a good opportunity, and so far, it has been,” he said. “I love it out here, being in Minnesota, the people, the staff members. Just coming to work every day is really enjoyable. And we’re winning, too. You’ve got to love all three of those things.”