{"id":200652,"date":"2026-06-15T13:30:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T17:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=200652"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:29:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:29:05","slug":"anthony-edwards-guards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/06\/15\/anthony-edwards-guards\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 3 Guards Who Could Take Pressure Off Anthony Edwards"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Timberwolves already have the hardest part, and that changes the whole board. Anthony Edwards<\/a> gives the Wolves a franchise engine, but an engine still needs a trusted driver beside it. As the Wolves enter their biggest summer<\/a> centered on roster decisions, Jalen Suggs<\/a>, Tyler Herro<\/a>, and Immanuel Quickley<\/a> keep surfacing as answers.<\/p>\n

Top 3 Guards Who Could Take Pressure Off Anthony Edwards<\/h2>\n

Jalen Suggs Brings Cleanest Two-Way Fit<\/h3>\n

Suggs is the safest Minnesota connection because the fit shows up before trade chatter does. A Timberwolves-focused SI target list<\/a> put him on the board as a two-way answer, and Orlando has him under contract through 2029-30, which keeps the price high.<\/p>\n

The contract only gets louder from there. Suggs is in the middle of a five-year, $150.5 million extension<\/a>, and that kind of control usually forces an acquiring team to pay for the privilege. Minnesota would get defense, but it would not get a discount.<\/p>\n

That is the part Minnesota has to weigh. Suggs would lift the defensive floor and let Edwards take cleaner first steps into possessions. The drawback is simple. A player that young, that useful, and that protected rarely moves without pain on both sides.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Tyler Herro Brings Shot-Making Gravity<\/h3>\n

Herro is the easier scoring bet because ESPN placed Minnesota among the best fits<\/a> for Herro. That matters for a team that still needs another shot creator when Edwards draws the first wave of help. Herro gives the Wolves scoring, and that still matters for a team with an incomplete offense<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Miami’s payroll makes the fit worth watching. ESPN puts Miami in a tight financial picture, with three players earning more than $25 million, including Herro. Minnesota should care because pressure creates opportunity.<\/p>\n

The Wolves would still have to decide whether the defense can survive the upgrade. Herro<\/a> can bend coverage and punish second units, but he also asks for cleaner help behind him. If the price climbs too high, the scorer starts looking like a luxury.<\/p>\n

Immanuel Quickley Offers Possession Control and Pace<\/h3>\n

Quickley is the cleanest possession answer because the numbers show both scoring and control. He averaged 16.4 points and 5.9 assists in 70 games, and that matters in Minnesota. The Wolves still need help solving Edwards’ biggest problem<\/a> when defenses load up on him.<\/p>\n

The contract makes the chase harder. He is currently on a five-year, $175 million contract with the Raptors, which suggests Toronto sees him as a core piece. That pushes Minnesota into a familiar spot where the fit matters more than the access.<\/p>\n

That is still why Quickley belongs in the conversation. He can run an offense, slide off the ball, and keep the pace from dying when the starters sit. Those traits may not headline a deal, but they often decide whether a contender survives quiet minutes.<\/p>\n

Cap Math Shapes Every Decision<\/h3>\n

The larger answer lives in the cap sheet, not the highlight reel. Third Apron’s Timberwolves offseason preview<\/a> makes the pressure clear because apron rules punish expensive mistakes and reward teams that know what they need. Minnesota cannot buy a headline if the price weakens roster flexibility.<\/p>\n

Taking a page out of the New York Knicks<\/a>‘ book, the newest champs showed that aggressive roster building can pay off when each addition sharpens the next. Minnesota should borrow the urgency, not the noise, because Edwards needs a guard who lowers his burden.<\/p>\n

The front office should also remember that every trade changes tomorrow. If the answer is wrong, the Wolves lose flexibility and still need the same upgrade next summer. A smart deal does the opposite because it opens the floor and keeps the next move alive.<\/p>\n

Thus, Minnesota does not need a copy of New York’s formula. It needs a guard who makes Edwards easier to use and makes other roster pieces more playable. If the Wolves land that player, the formula stops being a metaphor and starts becoming a path.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Jim Rassol-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Minnesota Timberwolves already have the hardest part, and that changes the whole board. Anthony Edwards gives the Wolves a franchise engine, but an engine still needs a trusted driver beside it. As the Wolves enter their biggest summer centered on roster decisions, Jalen Suggs, Tyler Herro, and Immanuel Quickley keep surfacing as answers. Top […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5867,"featured_media":200737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,16,21,62,17,14],"tags":[2109,3178,3259,1896],"class_list":["post-200652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-heat","category-timberwolves","category-nba","category-magic","category-raptors","tag-anthony-edwards","tag-immanuel-quickley","tag-jalen-suggs","tag-tyler-herro"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5867"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200652"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200738,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200652\/revisions\/200738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}