Anthony Edwards is not pretending the Timberwolves are above campaigning. At Fanatics Fest in New York on Friday — the same event where LeBron James said his free agency decision is coming “sooner rather than later” — Edwards stopped at the Topps booth, held up a James trading card, and delivered his message on camera: “Bron Bron, come to Minnesota. We got your card, man.”
The recruiting pitch, reported by Bleacher Report and Yahoo Sports from the Topps video, landed on a day of discouraging signals for Minnesota. Dave McMenamin of ESPN reported that James is nearing a decision and that conversations around the league increasingly point toward an Eastern Conference team. Shams Charania of ESPN has reported James’s focus is primarily on Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia. Edwards himself acknowledged the Wolves are not being discussed among the perceived favorites, while leaving room for a surprise.
Minnesota’s case has been consistent since the LaMelo Ball trade closed: the roster has a hole at power forward after moving Julius Randle and Naz Reid, and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic has reported the front office privately views itself as a long shot while believing James and agent Rich Paul are giving the team real consideration. The Wolves are hard-capped at the second apron with roughly $4 million of breathing room, so their offer is a minimum slot — the same money Cleveland or Miami would pay, on a roster that has made two of the last three Western Conference finals.
That is the whole bet: Minnesota cannot outbid anyone, so it is selling fit and letting its 24-year-old franchise player do the talking. If the Eastern lean in this week’s reporting holds, the resolution comes quickly and the Wolves pivot to a veteran power forward on a minimum deal. Either way, the wait should be short — James said so himself.
For fantasy purposes, the Minnesota scenario is the long shot but the most interesting one: James at power forward next to Edwards and Ball would produce three top-40 players and squeeze bench frontcourt value hard. The likelier outcome — a minimum-salary veteran four — leaves Trey Lyles and rookie Joan Beringer as the names to watch for cheap frontcourt minutes in deep leagues.
