The Timberwolves underwent a fairly transformative offseason. Key players like Julius Randle and Naz Reid departed, while LaMelo Ball and Jonathan Kuminga are the big names who were brought in. Wolves general manager Matt Lloyd had plenty to say while making the media rounds at the State Fair on Thursday. Let's dive into some interesting insights from Lloyd into a busy Wolves offseason.
After trading away both Randle and Reid, the Wolves were left with a pretty sizeable hole at power forward. Much of the focus this offseason was on the pursuit of LeBron James that ultimately came up short. It was, however, the recruitment of former Warriors and Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga where Lloyd had the highest praise for Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.
"Tim Connelly put on one of the greatest NBA recruiting segments in the history of the NBA," Lloyd told Skor North's Flagrant Howls podcast. "We spent more time trying to recruit (Kuminga) and get him to understand that we had the ability to put him in the position to succeed, while he augmented what we already established, in terms of personnel on the team."
Lloyd admitted that the past handful of weeks have been solely about trying to land Kuminga, telling WCCO radio, "This was a six-to-eight-week recruitment." He also credited Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards' work in the recruitment of Kuminga.
As for his role, "It's going to be what he determines it to be, by his ability to function in and level up with the team," Lloyd said. "His defense is one of the calling cards of his strengths. His switch-ability, his athleticism and power."
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While there was some growing worry about what Minnesota's rotations would look like without a bona fide power forward, Lloyd said internally there were no concerns about that. He also seemed to hint that there may be an eye towards the longer-term with Kuminga than his initial contract (one year with a player option in year two) would suggest.
"We were fully prepared to address any perceived hole in the starting lineup internally," said Lloyd. "Our development program has two recent graduates who are going to come off the bench this year that were prepared to fight it out for that starting position. This was an opportunity to add a 23-year-old player who is on the same timeline as the core of the team and see what happens. It doesn't mean it's a one-year deal, this could be a long-term relationship."
Kuminga's addition rounded out a busy offseason overhauling the starting lineup for Minnesota. While the new-look squad will have to mesh on the court, Lloyd appears extremely positive about the offseason work, saying, "The collective will be better than the sum of itss parts."
The other massive move this offseason for Minnesota was the trade for star point guard LaMelo Ball. Lloyd categorizes LaMelo as an "energy giver" and that there is "palpable excitement in the building" after the offseason additions of Ball and Kuminga.
"(LaMelo Ball) walked into the building from day one… and he's done nothing but light the building up since he's been here," Lloyd told KFAN's Paul Allen on Thursday. "Every day it's just the same energy, same energy, same energy."
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"He's got a personality that people gravitate to," said Lloyd. "So, I think he's going to inject a level of energy into the building."
The deal to land Ball saw fan favorite Naz Reid head the other way to Charlotte. Lloyd called the decision to trade away a beloved figure like Reid "one of the more emotional player transaction pieces that I've ever been a part of."
Particularly with the addition of Ball, Lloyd repeatedly pointed out the size element in changing the dynamic of the Wolves' backcourt, something he admitted they needed to do to compete with the size of OKC and San Antonio. After all the offseason dealings, Lloyd said he feels Minnesota has closed the gap on the teams ahead of them in the West last season.
Wolves fans only got one glimpse of last year's 17th overall pick, French center Joan Beringer, in this year's Summer League. It was an 18-point, 11-rebound, 4-block performance that had fans in Minnesota buzzing about a potential breakout sophomore campaign for the French big man. That same feeling is held within the Wolves' building.
"We had the luxury of being able to watch him grow in practice last year," Lloyd said of Beringer's development. "He grew, he got stronger. He was introduced to an NBA weight lifting program and gobbled it up. When we assigned him to the G League, he was consistently productive in many ways. I don't think it's fair to Joan in particular to put any sort of ceiling on what he could be."
"Joan's going to provide us some versatility on defense," continued Lloyd. "Not only can he go up and protect the basket, but he can go out and switch in pick-and-rolls, and challenge ball handlers, and really be aggressive when he's in a switch. He can run. He can finish. He's a great lob catcher and finisher."
Beringer appeared in just 40 games during his rookie campaign. From the sounds of it, his role could grow this upcoming season and he could be a weapon offensively and defensively off the bench for Minnesota.
"From what we've seen and what we've watched in the confines of our practice facility, we're pretty confident he can take that next step and we're going to need him to do that," said Lloyd.
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This story was originally published by Bring Me The Sports on Sep 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN Timberwolves section. Add Bring Me The Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
