Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has shown some level of interest in Kyrie Irving and Ja Morant, a fresh sign that Minnesota may be weighing another swing at star power this offseason. The report does not say the club is committed to either guard, only that both names are in the orbit of a decision-maker who has already shown he is willing to consider bold moves.
The timing matters because the note landed on June 12, 2026, just as the offseason starts to take shape and teams begin sorting out which ideas are real and which are just noise. For readers looking at the Timberwolves now, the question is not whether Connelly has heard of Irving or Morant. It is whether either player could become a genuine target before the 2026/27 season opens.
Sam Amick and Eric Nehm of The Athletic described Connelly’s stance as “some level of interest,” which leaves room for a wide range of possibilities. It could mean the Timberwolves have explored both guards before and moved on. It could also mean they are only now circling back as the market opens. Luke Adams published the report at 3:08 pm, and the framing put the discussion inside broader offseason planning rather than as a finished pursuit.
That caution is warranted. Irving is coming off an ACL tear and, by the time the 2026/27 season tips off, will have been sidelined for over 18 months. Morant, meanwhile, has been limited to 79 total games over the past three seasons and has lost some of the explosiveness that once defined his game. The Timberwolves may like the talent, but both names come with the same hard problem: availability.
That is the real friction in this story. Connelly can admire the upside of two star guards and still decide the price is too high, especially with Anthony Edwards wanting the Timberwolves to upgrade the roster and with Minnesota already in the middle of a larger push to reshape its future. The search for help has already connected the Timberwolves to other roster chatter, including buzz around Irving and separate talk involving Morant, but none of that changes the central issue here.
For now, the clearest takeaway is that Minnesota is not done looking for impact talent, and Connelly is at least open to two names that would alter the team’s ceiling if they were healthy. What remains unanswered is whether “some level of interest” is the start of a serious pursuit or just another offseason possibility the Timberwolves will leave on the table.
