Anthony Edwards has long been the embodiment of resilience for the Minnesota Timberwolves—a player who thrives in chaos, shakes off brutal playoff exits or extended slumps, and rebounds with bold promises and dominant performances.

Lately, though, the lows have tested even his unbreakable mindset. In a blowout loss to the Atlanta Hawks on New Year’s Eve, Edwards threw his towel during a timeout and walked off the court early with about eight minutes left, heading to the locker room as the team trailed by 29. Just days earlier, after a flat home defeat to the Brooklyn Nets, he quipped with visible exasperation, “I don’t know what’s going on. I guess this is just Timberwolves basketball.”

But following the Timberwolves’ gritty 125-115 road win over the Miami Heat on Saturday—snapping a slide and halting the Heat’s four-game streak—Edwards offered a clear-eyed assessment of the root issue.”Chris [Hines] had a great game plan,” he told reporters. “Most of the time we just don’t listen to the game plan, but when we listen to it and execute it, we’d be pretty good… We’re hard-headed and want to make the game harder, but we listened tonight, and it worked.”

Edwards reaffirmed his belief in the team’s ceiling when they commit fully.”I mean, I feel like we can beat everybody,” he told reporters. “But if we play to a certain level, yeah, I feel like we can beat everyone. Sometimes, we play to that level. Sometimes, we don’t. If we play to this level right here — I feel we can hang with the best of them.”

This unwavering optimism is vintage Edwards, the same mindset that has carried him through slumps, playoff heartbreaks, and moments of doubt before. He’s consistently the spark who rallies the group, channeling frustration into fuel rather than defeat.

Still, with the team sitting at 22-13 after 35 games and showing flashes of elite play alongside inconsistent stretches, the Timberwolves may need to address roster gaps, particularly in ball handling and secondary creation, as the trade deadline approaches to fully unlock the potential Edwards sees.

Anthony Edwards demands change as Tim Connelly faces pressure ahead of trade deadline

After a strong start to the season, the Timberwolves have proven they can rise to the occasion against elite opponents. They hold a 15–5 record (75.0% win rate) against teams above .500, underscoring their ability to compete with top-tier competition.

Yet, their performance slips noticeably against weaker opponents—just 6–8 (42.9%) against teams below .500. Following an impressive stretch where they won 10 of 12 games, including standout victories over the Thunder, Knicks, and Celtics, Minnesota stumbled to a 1–3 mark in their next four, with surprising losses to the sub-.500 Nets and Hawks.

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Their inconsistency also shows within games: a -2.5 net rating in first quarters contrasts sharply with a +10.7 in the fourth.

During the loss to the Hawks, Edwards walked to the locker room early. Although it wasn’t the first time, it was very uncharacteristic of him. Two games that for Edwards and his team would have been a cakewalk with double-digit wins, turned into double-digit losses, including a 24-point loss.

After the loss to the Nets, Edwards sounded the alarm and called for change.

“I guess we gotta change something,” Edwards said. “I don’t know what it is.”

While the aspect of the change is fairly obvious, the ‘who’ part still requires clarity. The Timberwolves are one of the top 10 defensive teams in the league, although they have shown improvement in recent seasons. However, there is just one problem.

Their defensive numbers are reflective of Rudy Gobert’s minutes on the floor. Minnesota slides down to one of the worst defensive teams in the league when Gobert is off the floor, specifically with Julius Randle and Naz Reid on the floor.

Opponents are constantly hunting the pair when Gobert is off the floor. Chris Finch must find a way to either substitute a player who can compensate for Randle and Reid’s defensive liabilities or make a tough decision.

Moreover, this year, Finch has drastically changed Edwards’ role, who has now become the leading point guard on his team. While Edwards has done an excellent job, they need a certified point guard who could take the ball-handling pressure off of the Minnesota star. T’Wolves president Tim Connelly has until Feb. 5 to reach his decision.