​The Minnesota Timberwolves will begin the upcoming season without the veteran guard who helped hold the locker room together. Mike Conley reached free agency earlier this month and agreed to a one-year contract with the Boston Celtics, a move that will mark his 20th NBA season and place him in the exclusive club of players to reach that milestone for just the 14th time in league history. Head coach Chris Finch spoke about Conley’s departure for the first time this week, and it was clear that the separation still weighs on him.
“It was very hard. Mike came to us at the exact perfect time,” Finch said. “He helped Anthony a ton, helped Rudy a ton.” Conley’s fit with Minnesota had always made sense. He joined the Timberwolves in a February 2023 trade and immediately started for both of Minnesota’s runs to the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025, sharing the floor with a then-young Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. This past season, however, tested that bond.
Conley slipped from the rotation, was traded again in February, then bought out and brought back by Minnesota before the playoffs, finishing the year with career-lows in several statistics, including a drop to 34 percent from three. Yet he rebounded in the postseason, starting five playoff games after injuries to Jrue DiVincenzo and Edwards and delivering a signature performance in Game 1 at San Antonio, where he shot 56 percent from three as a 49-33 season ended in the second round. He is remembered not only for his skill but for his even-keeled presence, a two-time Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year winner who never earned an All-Star nod.
“He imparted so much wisdom to everybody who was still pretty young and trying to figure it out together,” Finch said. “Has such a wealth of experience in his temperament. Yeah, and me personally, I leaned on him a lot, just like you would an assistant coach.”
Minnesota had already begun reshaping that leadership presence even before Conley reached free agency, sending Naz Reid and multiple draft picks to Charlotte for LaMelo Ball. The trade left the frontcourt with a hole that still isn’t fully addressed. Ball brings a markedly different skill set—a scorer and passer who can post 20 points and eight assists on any given night when healthy—and his Charlotte numbers back up that potential. Not everyone is convinced it’s a clean upgrade. Some view Ball, who arrives with his own injury history, as someone who might have benefited more from Conley’s steadiness, a tension already surfacing in Minnesota’s projected rotation.
Finch spoke as plainly about Conley’s destination as about his current role. “It was hard to see, but happy that he gets an opportunity to keep continuing his career,” Finch said. “I know he has meaningful basketball left to play, and that’s what he’s committed to trying to do too.” The departure leaves Minnesota chasing a championship window with a different leadership dynamic and a need to stabilize the backcourt and locker room culture without Conley’s veteran presence.
Conley’s departure also shifts the dynamic for Anthony Edwards, who is positioned to take on a larger leadership role and push his own development to new heights next season. Edwards, who has already shown the capacity to grow into a more complete floor leader, is expected to shoulder more of the responsibility that Conley carried, both on and off the court, as Minnesota looks to maintain its title-contending trajectory.
For a team built on a blend of youthful energy and seasoned professionalism, the loss of Conley is notable. His calm demeanor, his ability to communicate clearly in high-pressure moments, and his proven reliability in late-game and playoff situations were assets that helped anchor Minnesota’s ambitious plans. The challenge now is for the Timberwolves to translate that steadying influence into another cohesive, competitive season without him.
As Minnesota recalibrates, the focus will be on how Edwards and Gobert respond to the new leadership landscape and how the front office translates the Ball acquisition into tangible on-court gains. The organization remains committed to pursuing excellence while developing its younger talents, knowing that the next chapter will demand more from Edwards as a leader and from Ball as a dynamic dual threat who can create opportunities for teammates while also stretching defenses.
Ultimately, Conley’s one-year note with Boston marks the end of an era for Minnesota’s locker room, but it also signals a fresh chapter. The Timberwolves are betting on internal growth and strategic acquisitions to sustain their competitive arc, while Conley himself pursues a late-career opportunity to chase a championship that has so far eluded him. For Finch, the job is to guide a team through this transition with the same emphasis on communication, discipline, and resilience that defined his time with Conley, and to ensure that Edwards, Gobert, and the rest of the roster rise to meet the increased expectations of a fanbase eager to see Minnesota return to deep playoff runs and, ultimately, contend for an NBA title. The season ahead will test that resolve, but it will also reflect the enduring values that Conley embodied and that Minnesota aims to replicate as it moves forward.