u/Milly-the-Kid

The Minnesota Timberwolves have precious little money to spend and a freezing cold winter waiting ahead, which makes luring LeBron James in free agency one of the longest of long shots.

With a player as talented and cerebral as James is, and a spot in their starting lineup that fits him perfectly, the Wolves had to at least let him know they would love to have him in Minnesota. And that’s exactly what they are doing. After James informed the Los Angeles Lakers he would not be returning and would instead seek out another team to play for next season, the Wolves were one of several teams to reach out Tuesday and express interest in bringing James aboard, team and league sources that spoke on condition of anonymity to describe ongoing deliberations told The Athletic.

The Wolves would be silly not to ask now James is on the open market. They have a roster teeming with young talent headlined by Anthony Edwards, plenty of defenders to ease his burden on that side of the floor and an opening at power forward after trading Julius Randle and Naz Reid to help make room for their acquisition of LaMelo Ball.

The Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers have all been mentioned as preferred landing spots for James. The Wolves do not believe they’re anywhere near the front of the line for James’ services, the team and league sources said, especially considering their lack of spending power.

Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has proved to be one of the league’s most aggressive executives since coming to Minnesota in 2022, so it comes as no surprise they are letting James’ camp know they are interested.

If James is prioritizing a chance at a fifth championship over money, the Timberwolves can make a compelling argument. James has long been a fan of Edwards, and the two won Olympic gold together in Paris last summer.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7410378/2026/07/01/lebron-james-minnesota-timberwolves-free-agency/?source=user\_shared\_article&unlocked\_article\_code=1.uVA.tzLi.B-ZV0apXSRN6

The Wolves are widely regarded as a team that will undoubtedly be as aggressive as possible this offseason to try to reshape the core around Edwards after finances forced Minnesota to let Nickeil Alexander-Walker walk in free agency last summer. Alexander-Walker immediately won NBA Most Improved Player honors this season in Atlanta while the Wolves, after a second-round exit to San Antonio, made the decision to salary dump Randle to create the needed flexibility to re-sign Dosunmu and perhaps do more.

Minnesota has maintained that perimeter defensive ace Jaden McDaniels is off limits in trade conversations. Sources say that the Wolves also prefer to "do right" by injured guard Donte DiVincenzo and keep the Villanova product out of their offseason business after he sustained a devastating torn Achilles during Minnesota's first-round playoff victory over Denver.

The Wolves, sources say, would also prefer not to part with 2024-25 Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid, but it is difficult to see how they could construct a credible trade offer for Ball without including Reid or fellow big man Rudy Gobert.

Minnesota's three-team trade with Brooklyn and Chicago, however, cannot be finalized until early July after the league's new salary cap year begins and its annual moratorium at the start of free agency is lifted. If the Wolves were to assemble a trade offer that convinces the Hornets to part with Ball, it is conceivable that the Randle trade could be expanded to help facilitate other transactions.

https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/sources-a-line-of-trade-suitors-is?r=1m9zg&utm\_medium=ios

I don’t know if I’m completely stupid or having a bad day but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to use the supplied material and instructions to secure the TV to the TV cabinet.

There’s numbers for pieces in the instructions present on the pieces and vice versa. What am I missing?