Dane Moore

I got laid off from my writing gig covering the Wolves on April 26th, 2020. And excited to share that as of today — April 26, 2025 — my company has our own offices with a podcast studio. Meant a lot to be able to break it in with both @brittrobson and @KyleTheige — who have been with me since the beginning.

The Wolves players, for example, got bored with the regular season before Christmas. Not a championship habit.

Most important offseason Wolves thing to me is figuring out why this team has been incapable of developing championship habits during the regular season. And addressing those reasons. All of them. Anthony Edwards on championship habits... “We’ve just got to listen to the coaches. We had a hard time with like processing stuff and going out there and doing it, trying to do stuff on our own. I think that’s our problem... I feel like you’re supposed to build championship habits in the regular season."

The Wolves are still figuring out/learning how much they want to play Anthony Edwards as the point guard. Tim Connelly exit interview 2025: “We’re either going to win or lose with Ant... It doesn’t mean we’re not always trying to look for complementary skill sets that can help him reach what we think he can be, but we’re either going to win a championship or not get there on the back of Ant. The greatest thing is he embraces that responsibility. He’s such a positive teammate. Obviously, he’s supremely talented, but I think there’s nobody in the league that we could choose who’s more ready for that level of responsibility.” Tim Connelly exit interview 2026: "I think he should have the ball a lot. I think we need more help to get him off the ball to get easier guys to shoot looks and not have such a heavy load. But the point guard position has become, it's hard to find real point guards, right?... I like that the ball is in his hands more. I think we put too much responsibility on him, and we need to help him more. Every shot he gets should not be a hard shot."

Thought this was a good point from @KyleTheige Ant doesn't just need a No. 2, he needs someone he can/will develop a two-man game with -- in ways he never did with KAT, Gobert or Randle.

Today's (second) show. This one w/ @brittrobson - Connelly's aggression + willingness to "mess up loudly"; Dillingham trade and a potential Giannis deal (6:00) - The Wolves' flawed roster construction, moodiness + Julius Randle (20:00) - Different paths to trading for a point guard (29:00) - Is there any circumstance you would be willing to keep Randle? (43:00) - McDaniels' next step + the future of the frontcourt (50:00) - Do the Wolves *need* to make an all-in move? Can they take a step back? (1:06:00) YouTube: youtu.be/qvNdOngqCGs?si… Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6fQLRk… iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tak…

Today's show w/ @KyleTheige - The moodiness of this season's Wolves (2:00) - Lacking championship habits and discipline (24:00) - Wolves players saying they need a traditional PG next season (54:00) - Does Randle's presence get in the way of addressing the above issues? (1:11:00) YouTube: youtu.be/Y0kfLD3Sbe8?si… Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/09btqj… iTunes: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

Asked Tim Connelly his thoughts on the Anthony Edwards as the point guard experiment this season. "I think he should have the ball a lot. I think we need more help to get him off the ball, to get easier catch and shoot looks and not have such a heavy load. But the point guard position has become -- it's hard to find real point guards... So I like that the ball is in hands more. I think we put too much responsibility on him, and we need to help him more. Every shot he gets should not be a hard shot."

Asked Tim Connelly about Finch and the players at exit interviews talking about this group's general moodiness and not developing championship habits during the regular season. "I think the guys will tell you it's the thing that most drives me nuts because these are all really good people. Our team is full of great guys... You can't skip any steps. I've never won a championship, so I can't tell you how to win it. But I've observed enough to know that you can't string together bad days. And I think a little of that, to me, is a bit of excuse making after a poor end of the season. Our guys didn't talk about that when we won in the first round... But there's too many nights where we were not as locked-in as we should be. And that's unacceptable, plain and simple."

Tim Connelly on making changes to the roster without losing the identity of the group and style of play. "I think on the most simplistic level, if you have enough good players, and we have a great, great one in Anthony, you’re going to be a good team. So I don’t think you want to lose sight of that. Because then I think you start chasing your tail a little bit, and you look up and go, ‘Oh my God, we traded all these good players because we were trading matchups and we were unhappy with the conclusion of the ‘26 season.’ But I think it’s more art than science. I think sometimes you luck into players. Sometimes your internal growth surprises you, to where I think we have a couple guys in here whose roles will be much bigger next year... I think it’s a bit of everything. It’s certainly not a linear path."

Tim Connelly when asked about trying to match the templates of Oklahoma City and San Antonio or trying to find counters when constructing the Minnesota roster going forward. "If there's a template for Wembanyama, you gotta let me know... I do think both teams did a really good job, Oklahoma City in particular, of building up this deep bench... But I think they're the gold standards... There's no time to rest in the Western Conference, but we think we're an elite Western Conference team. But we have to take that next step."

Asked Tim Connelly about draft night 2024, when the Wolves traded a 2031 top-1 protected 1st round pick and a 2030 1st round pick swap for Rob Dillingham. "We took a swing on a young player we really liked. Didn't work out here like we had hoped. I think Rob is gonna have a heck of a career. But you have to be creative... If we mess up, we'll mess up loudly. We're gonna try to be as aggressive as possible."

Tim Connelly on replacing Donte DiVincenzo's production next season and what the outlook is for bringing back Ayo Dosunmu in unrestricted free agency. On DiVincenzo: "I think people just see shooting with Donte, but really it's his toughness and competitive spirit that will be most missed." On Dosunmu: "Ayo is our most important free agent. He’s a guy we thought we knew pretty well and we liked him from afar. Now seeing him day to day, we love him. I think he fits in not just on the court but off the court... We’re pretty optimistic that we’ll get something done there. He’s everything we thought and more."

Tim Connelly on how he and Wolves ownership approach the luxury tax. "I've been very fortunate since I've come here, ownership has been very aggressive and they're all about winning... I think if we're a team that can really look ourselves in the mirror and be a championship level team, I don't think money matters."

Asked Tim Connelly about building around Anthony Edwards with few draft picks to trade and about getting Edwards back to being a plus player on both offense and defense. "We're pretty aware of the guys that can most not just help him but also protect him... You're not great at everything. While Anthony is I think a top-5 player, clearly. We think he's the best two-way guard in the league. Where are the areas that he needs help with." "I think we have a pretty good core. I like our collective sub-26 core... I think we've learned to win in the postseason. I also think we haven't learned to win enough." "I think the more you're asked on one end, it's harder to get the other... The reason he's elite is he's a superhuman offensive player. But we think he has the same ability on the defensive end... We have to hold him to the standard that he's gonna be elite on both ends."

Tim Connelly on emotional maturity, basketball IQ and toughness being things the Wolves need to add or develop more internally. "If we can't improve internally, then we don't have the right people in the building. So I think we have to hold these guys to incredibly high standards... I think moving forward, emotional maturity is certainly something we talked about consistently... And then, certainly, basketball IQ and toughness are two attributes we're going to look for to continue to augment the core group."

Tim Connelly on San Antonio and Oklahoma City changing the equation for what winning the Western Conference looks like going forward. "I think the equation changes when you see the two teams playing in the Western Conference right now and how good they are. We got smacked by Oklahoma City last year, we got smacked by San Antonio... We know our competition is not gonna sit still and nor will we."

With the Wolves getting knocked out by Oklahoma City and San Antonio these last two seasons, asked Naz Reid about what they need to do to be able to catch those teams. "Probably just the moodiness. You look at both of those teams and they're playing for one another, they're excited to be on the floor with one another, they're a team where they're selfless... I think we have more than enough talent... But just being less moody. I think that's just the name of the game for us, just being less moody and more selfless."

Donte DiVincenzo says he's talked to Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton and Damian Lillard numerous times since the injury.