Wolves are winning without Anthony Edwards — and aren’t changing their identity

Anthony Edwards needing knee surgery that would keep him sidelined for at least two months prompted an immediate and understandable wave of concerns about how the Timberwolves would survive without him.

The Details

Can the Wolves replicate the presence of someone like Edwards?

Who will step up and take on more in Edwards’ absence?

What changes will the Wolves make in order to stay competitive?

While some change has been necessary, a massive shift in changing players’ roles is not what the Wolves have wanted or needed and it’s not how they want to approach things going forward.

Instead, keeping roles defined — to a certain level — is a major part of the coaching staff’s philosophy.

“We’re big on it,” head coach Chris Finch said. “Everyone’s got an opportunity to grow their role. ... But we didn’t necessarily want everyone to kind of just step up and try to fill the scoring void.”

The team had been working diligently over the summer, during training camp and in the first week of the season to establish the roles that they wanted to carry through the 2026-27 campaign.