標籤: VanVleet

On Friday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves 2025-26 season came to an emphatic end with a victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 by a score of 139-109. The loss means the Wolves are one of 10 teams to never win an NBA championship.

Still, the Timberwolves aren’t far off after reaching the conference finals the past two seasons and facing serious resistance against a team with the second-best record in the league. Still, if Minnesota wants to make a more serious run at its first title next season, changes must come this off-season.

They have a superstar scorer in Anthony Edwards, and a ton of front-court depth they could use in a trade to land another elite scorer or impressive veteran at point guard. With that in mind, we’re taking a look at eight stars the team needs to succeed this summer.

junior holiday

Mike Conley has been a good veteran for the last four seasons. However, at 38, his best days are well behind him, and he may retire this summer. Additionally, Ayo Dosunmu improved his free agent value with a strong postseason performance.

That’s why Jrue Holiday should be a target this offseason. Yes, he’s overpaid, but he’s a winner, and surprisingly, he played a key leadership role in getting the Portland Trail Blazers back to the postseason this year. With Damian Lillard returning next season, he will be the unique guy. Both teams could consider swapping him for Rudy Gobert this summer.

giannis antetokounmpo

After dealing with them in February, you can bet the Timberwolves will trade for Milwaukee Bucks veteran Giannis Antetokounmpo again this summer. The big question is, do they have the young players the Bucks will want?

If Milwaukee were to agree to take players like Gobert or Julius Randle in return, Minnesota would likely give up a hefty amount of draft picks to acquire the two-time MVP.

Fred VanVleet

Another possible option to get a veteran point guard would be Fred VanVleet. The 32-year-old has a player option he can exercise to sign a multi-year deal in the range of $15 million to $20 million annually. Like Holiday, the one-time All-Star is a winning player and could be a real difference maker leading Minnesota’s offense next season. That’s assuming he’s fully recovered from his ACL tear last year.

kyrie irving

If the Timberwolves want to be a little adventurous, Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving could be available. There have already been reports that the team will consider moving him next year because the deadline he wants to work with doesn’t line up with franchise newcomer Cooper Flagg.

A package of Jaden McDaniels, Donte DiVincenzo’s expiring contract, and a future first-round pick should be enough to get a deal done for the 34-year-old who is recovering from an ACL injury last year.

Kevin Durant

There were rumors last season that the Timberwolves had made a strong bid for future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant. However, no deal was reached and the Phoenix Suns traded him to the Houston Rockets. While it’s unlikely Houston would move him, keeping a player close to retirement and trading Alpern Sengun would seem like bad business.

Wolves could make a great offer, and the combo of Edwards and his idol making the team for a season or two would be must-see television.

ja morant

One player who could be available at a reasonable rate would be two-time All-Star Ja Morant. The Memphis Grizzlies star’s value has hit an all-time low in recent years due to his injury problems and off-court drama. If the Timberwolves have trouble making big deals, Morant would be an interesting fallback option because if they can get him right, a Morant and Edwards combo would be awesome.

paul george

If Minnesota likes the idea of ​​a player like Durant, but he is unavailable, a backup option would be another future HOFer in Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George. Has he passed his prime and is prone to injury? Yes. But when healthy, he is still an impact player who would be a good third option behind Edwards, and if they keep Randle.

Domantas Sabonis

Speaking of Randle, the front office may decide a divorce is in the best interests of both parties. One player with a similar contract and who also needs a change of scenery is Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis. The three-time All-Star offers a similar skill set and could fit well into Minnesota’s system. The bigger issue is that he missed much of last season due to suffering a meniscus tear.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

For Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet, there was one special thing he missed this season that led to his disappointing results: Fred VanVleet.

After trading for Kevin Durant over the summer, the Rockets were viewed as a serious threat to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. And why not? They were a young, talented, defensive-driven team that missed a late-game finisher in 2024-25.

But just before the season began, nine-year veteran VanVleet suffered an ACL injury during a September practice. Although it was a notable loss, most NBA experts believed that the Rockets still had enough talent to remain a force in the West under head coach Ime Udoka. However, despite looking strong early on, they slipped as the season progressed.

They finished the campaign as the fifth seed in the West, and were surprisingly eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by a Los Angeles Lakers team without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves for most of the series.

Fred VanVleet says the Rockets’ biggest problem in 2025-26 was not having Fred VanVleet

After their disappointing defeat in the playoffs, there has been much speculation as to what went wrong. However, it seems VanVleet believes his absences were the biggest reason for his disappointment in 2025-26 and that next season will be much better.

“I know what I bring to the table and I know having me on the team will make us a better team,” he said in a new video on his YouTube page. “It’s been the same for me on every team I’ve ever been on. Before you get to the game, I’m going to make the team better by being available, being around and bringing my energy.

“My leadership and competitiveness, that’s what it’s all about. I try to make everything I touch better,” he said. “That’s my mentality. I’m not saying I do that, or I don’t, but that’s how I look at it when I go in.”

The one-time All-Star has a $25.5 million player option for next season. From his comments it appears he is likely to exercise or fully expect to sign a new long-term deal for less money annually.

After earning a journalism degree in 2017, Jason Burgos worked as a contributor to several sites, including MMA Sacca… More about Jason Burgos

弗雷德·範弗利特最初於 2023 年休賽期與休士頓火箭隊簽約。幾年後，這位效力九年的老將透露，當他離開多倫多暴龍隊時，他無法足夠快地離開該組織。

在客串“Out the Mud”播客時，範弗利特宣稱他本來一直想離開多倫多，但由於他之前曾為球隊效力，管理層還是向他提出了報價。這位32歲的後衛表示，在火箭隊向他提供一份真正的合約之前，猛龍隊向他提供了一份低價合約。

「所以，成為自由球員很奇怪，因為，就像，我知道我真的不想回到多倫多，」範弗利特說。 「他們並不是真的想讓我回來，但這就像，我再次有了這種關係。所以他們有點想確保他們提出了一個體面的報價，但他們首先與公牛一起來了***。所以當休斯頓帶著真正的交易來時，這還沒有人知道，當他們說出這個數字時，我就下定了決心。

「我甚至不會透露沒人談論的事情……現在你們舉行了正式會議和類似的事情。所以我認為這就是報道中的交易，但那是在它真正發生之前的情況。所以當我與多倫多會面時，他們在最後一刻又達成了另一項交易，比如，『喲，我們將向你提供我們要為你提供的一切。 「你知道我在說什麼嗎？

「但即使是我和他們的會面，他們也都知道——你知道，房間裡的每個人都知道這件事已經結束了，」範弗利特繼續說道。 「但這幾乎就像是一種形式，就像我們只是這樣做，因為這是我們應該做的。然後在那之後，我就下定決心了，我們同意與休斯頓簽約……但是，我無法足夠快地簽署該協議。”

弗雷德範弗利特 (Fred VanVleet) 於 2023 年與火箭隊簽訂了一份為期三年、價值 1.3 億美元的頂薪合約。此後他一直留在該組織，並在 2025 年簽署了一份為期兩年、價值 5000 萬美元的續約合約。

雖然他將長期留在休士頓，但火箭隊目前將不得不在沒有他的情況下參加季後賽。範弗利特目前因右膝十字韌帶撕裂而缺席。他參加季後賽的機會很低。