The NBA has been witnessing what can be called the Western Conference supremacy for years. While the East has produced champions recently (the Celtics were crowned in 2024), the grind around getting through the West is something else entirely. And the Minnesota Timberwolves are illustrating that reality better than most.

The Wolves have reached the conference finals in consecutive years, but have not yet won an NBA championship. Now, this season as well, the road ahead doesn’t appear any easier. Anthony Edwards and Co. are currently sixth in the conference and will have a rough playoff path if things stay the same. However, with the NBA’s expansion talks in full swing, a change of fate might await the storied franchise.

According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, “The Timberwolves or Grizzlies are expected to move to the Eastern Conference if the NBA approves expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle.”

With both Vegas and Seattle set to enter the Western Conference, the league will have to move one existing team to the Eastern Conference to align things. Adam Silver and the rest of the management have narrowed their choices to two candidates – Minnesota and Memphis. That said, even though the Grizzlies are further east than the Wolves, division-wise, Memphis is closer to its rivals.

They are much closer to the likes of San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and New Orleans than Minnesota is to its division foes, Oklahoma City, Denver, Portland, and Utah. There, the Wolves can be put in a division with Milwaukee, Chicago, and either Indiana or Detroit, assuming that the league only wants four teams per division.

Well, that’d be huge if the NBA does give its nod to this reshuffling of teams, especially with the Timberwolves having been a part of the Western Conference since 1989. And as earth-shattering as it may be for the players and staff, the new conference might turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as it might provide them with the right balance.

Paul Pierce believes that the Timberwolves need a ‘leader’

It’s no secret that the Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t been able to replicate their form from the past two seasons during this campaign. Currently, the storied franchise has a 41-27 record and sits sixth in the Western Conference, a place they don’t want to be in. So to get out of this slump, Minnesota needs a leader, according to former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce.

“Not to say that Anthony Edwards is not a leader or Julius Randle. But I also think when you’re trying to win a championship, there has to be somebody in that locker room that everybody respects that’s been to the promised land, to help you,” Pierce said recently.

“Like, for us, we had veterans Ray, KG, myself but we didn’t win a championship. Having James Posey in that locker room, who won a championship, was important for us.”

“And I think that’s the one piece they’re missing, a guy that’s been around the block, that’s like look guys it’s playoffs time and lock in and practice habits right now, a lot of little things,” he continued. “But with the teams jockeying for positions right now, if Minnesota doesn’t get the No. 3 seed. It’s gonna be a rough playoffs for them.” Well, the former Cs guard might have a solid point.

While there’s no doubt that this Minnesota team, led by their young and energetic superstar Anthony Edwards, knows how to win series, they haven’t tasted real success. For now, they will focus their energy on regrouping against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.