The Minnesota Timberwolves have three days to figure out what comes next. And after watching Karl-Anthony Towns celebrate an NBA Finals win with the Knicks, the urgency to get Anthony Edwards some real help is impossible to ignore.
Enter LaBaron Philon. The Alabama guard is scheduled for an individual workout with the Timberwolves, per the Minnesota Star Tribune. That alone isn’t unusual — teams bring in dozens of prospects this time of year. But the context around this one matters.
Philon shot the hell out of the ball this past season for Nate Oats. He’s quick, shifty, and knows how to read a defense in the pick-and-roll. Pair that with Edwards and suddenly Minnesota’s backcourt looks a lot more dangerous. The Timberwolves hold the 28th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Philon isn’t expected to last that long. So the question becomes: are they trying to move up?
Chris Hine of the Star Tribune wrote that Philon’s workout “is an indication the Wolves are canvassing their options in terms of moving up from No. 28.” He pointed out the last time Minnesota moved up for a guard, it worked out pretty well. That was two years ago, and while Hine didn’t name names, the implication is clear enough.
But there’s a bigger variable here. Rudy Gobert remains a polarizing figure around the league — an All-Star talent who also creates matchup headaches the Timberwolves haven’t fully solved. Trade rumors have followed him for months. Shipping Gobert out could bring back significant draft capital, the kind you’d need to make a jump into the teens for a player like Philon.
This isn’t just about one workout. It’s about whether Minnesota is willing to reshape its roster around Edwards in a more aggressive way than they have so far. Philon is a name to watch in the pre-draft cycle, but what the Timberwolves do with their current assets might tell us even more.
We’ll know in three days.
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