Within their report on the latest Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors, which we recapped earlier today, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic say that Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has shown “some level of interest” in Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant.
Based on the wording of the report, it’s unclear whether Irving and Morant were options Connelly and the Wolves considered in the past and are no longer interested in, or if they’re potential targets the club may pursue this summer.
[RELATED: Anthony Edwards Wants Timberwolves To Upgrade Roster]
When we previewed Minnesota’s offseason earlier this week, I mentioned both Irving and Morant as possible trade options for the Wolves, noting that neither player is at the peak of his value at this point. Irving is coming off an ACL tear and will have been sidelined for over 18 months by the time the 2026/27 season tips off, while Morant has been limited to 79 total games over the past three seasons due to various injuries and has lost some of the explosiveness that defined his game earlier in his career.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the knee injury Anthony Edwards suffered in the first round of the playoffs and the way the Timberwolves guard managed to return to action earlier than anyone expected. As Krawcynski writes, the experience taught Edwards that if he’s willing to devote the time and effort to it, he can get more out of his body than he knew. “This is the worst injury I’ve seen him deal with in his career and I’ve been knowing him for almost 10 years,” his best friend Nick Maddox told Krawczynski. “To see him bounce back and have that motivation, it speaks volumes to his faith, what he believes in, and he cares about the fans. It’s like, ‘Man, if I can go out there, I’m going out there.’ I really appreciate him for that.”
- Thunder wing Isaiah Joe had the best season of his six-year NBA career in 2025/26, setting new career highs in points per game (11.1) and three-point percentage (42.3%), among other categories. However, as Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes in his report card evaluating Joe’s season, the 26-year-old’s improvements on both ends of the floor weren’t enough to earn him regular, consistent minutes in the playoffs. Joe, who is viewed as a possible trade candidate, has said he wants to focus on speeding up his shooting motion and extending his range this offseason, Mussatto notes.
- In his preview of the Nuggets‘ offseason, Keith Smith of Spotrac suggests that Peyton Watson‘s next deal could be in the range of $27MM per year and expresses skepticism that Denver will seriously explore trading Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon. We published our own preview of the Nuggets’ summer on Thursday.
Nuggets need a change.Braun better put in the work to get better.