Can Anthony Edwards lead the Timberwolves to a Finals run?

Here is the storyline for No. 16:

For the Timberwolves, anything short of a trip to the NBA Finals is a step backward, right?

After a shaky first season, the Rudy Gobert trade has played about as well as could be expected, and suddenly that pick haul to the Utah Jazz doesn’t seem quite so steep. Gobert grabbed another Kia Defensive Player of the Year award, even though he was left stranded on Luka Doncic island during Minnesota’s run to the Western Conference Finals.

A show-and-prove season awaits the Wolves, and you know who understands that.

Anthony Edwards.

His breakout season felt like it was happening as the playoffs wore on, and the fervor might have peaked as the Wolves ousted the Denver Nuggets in the West semifinals. Yet one round later, Edwards was spent.

“I’ve never played this deep into a basketball season,” Edwards told reporters after a Game 5 series-clinching loss to the Mavericks. “So now I know, like, OK, in order for me to be dominant in the third round and if we get past this and finally go to the Finals, I’ve got to train like I’m going to go to the playoffs. So I can’t be missing training days, I can’t take days off … I’ve got to be ready.”

If Edwards sticks to that plan, that’s the final chapter in every leading-man leap.

Edwards’ front-court complement, Karl-Anthony Towns, fit in alongside him while ceding the spotlight to him. But with the team’s financials about to force some difficult decisions salary-wise, the Wolves sent Towns to New York for Julius Randle and others in a three-team swap. They gain flexibility and add playmaking (Randle) and shooting (Donte DiVincenzo) with solid defense at both spots, all while centering their universe around Edwards.

Considering the free-agent replacement of Kyle “Slow-Mo” Anderson with “Slow Mo Joe” Ingles was Minnesota’s prior biggest offseason exchange, the surprise Draft-night addition of Kentucky product Rob Dillingham could provide a sneaky boost.

The 6-foot-1, 164-pound Dillingham started one game with the Wildcats, posting 15.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 23.3 minutes per game while shooting 44.4% on 3-pointers.

Adjustments to the NBA will come, but Dillingham can be eased in. The offensive attention on Edwards and Randle could allow the 19-year-old to thrive against secondary units, all with their stifling team defense cleaning up his inevitable rookie mistakes.

Come May and June, if Edwards has leveled up, Randle and DiVincenzo mesh well and Dillingham becomes a strong X-factor, these Wolves may have a new North Star: the Larry O’Brien trophy.

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Ben Couch is director, editorial content for NBA.com.

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