The NBA trade deadline is Thursday afternoon, and Minnesota is expected to be in the mix between now and then amid the league-wide player movement frenzy.

Whether any such move is big or small in relative scope remains to be seen.

It is worth remembering Minnesota has been in the past two Western Conference Finals – it’s the only team in the West to reach consecutive conference finals since 2020. The Wolves’ front office does believe if you reach that point, you are a title contender.

Minnesota entered Monday’s slate seeded fifth in the conference’s playoff picture, just two and a half games out of the No. 2 spot.

With all that in mind, weighty decisions face basketball boss Tim Connelly and Co. over the next few days, as Minnesota must consider whether a seismic shakeup to a productive core is wise or foolish. And if tinkering is the proper path, what tiny maneuver could push the Timberwolves over the top?

The big swing

The Timberwolves remain firmly in the public conversation centered on a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade.

But Minnesota doesn’t have the draft capital the likes of, say, a Golden State possesses in negotiations. So a Wolves package would be built around current players.

It’s impossible to forecast a trade that wouldn’t feature talented two-way wing Jaden McDaniels going out to bring in Antetokounmpo – a top-three player in the NBA at the peak of his powers. Julius Randle and/or Naz Reid may need to be included, as well.

The result of such a deal, which would pair Edwards and Antetokounmpo as the NBA’s clear top tandem, would also require an on-the-fly restructuring of Minnesota’s entire roster.

Such all-in moves can result in championships, but they can also fly directly in the face of a franchise.

Connelly has proven to not be risk averse during his time in Minnesota, but this certainly would be a massive swing with numerous long-term implications.

A seventh man

Minnesota’s starting lineup has been effective for most of the season. But the bench production outside of Naz Reid – the frontrunner to win a second Sixth Man of the Year trophy – is hit or miss.

Bones Hyland has shown flashes, but he remains inconsistent on both ends of the floor. Mike Conley has struggled to score, and the tolls of an 82-game season weigh physically on the 38-year-old. Jaylen Clark’s defense is enticing, but his offense remains a hindrance. Terrence Shannon Jr. hasn’t panned out when healthy, and Rob Dillingham is out of the rotation entirely.

No team is stacked one through 10, but Minnesota doesn’t have a surefire seventh man it can consistently rely on behind its five starters and Reid.

That could be a point guard, sure. But could just as easily be a guard/wing combo player. Anyone who could provide more consistent offensive production while – perhaps more importantly – seamlessly fitting into the team’s desired defensive identity could increase confidence in the team’s rotation as a whole to go pound for pound with the best of the West for three consecutive playoff rounds.

The Nickeil Alexander-Walker archetype doesn’t grow on trees, but Minnesota’s rotation is missing exactly that type of player.

Of the names realistically available mentioned in connection with Minnesota, Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu may best fit the bill.

Veteran center

A rim protecting center who could patrol the paint during the non-Rudy Gobert minutes looked like a must add earlier in the season, but rookie big man Joan Beringer’s aptitude in limited opportunities of late have quelled much of that concern.

Should Minnesota face a bigger front or need additional defensive resistance when its starting center is off the floor, Beringer looks to be at least as good of a solution as anything the Timberwolves would find available on the trade market.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 13: Joan Beringer #19 of the Minnesota Timberwolves defends Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks during the second quarter at Fiserv Forum on January 13, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

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After selling out a pair of 2024 shows at the former Xcel Energy Center, singer/songwriter Noah Kahan will take his show outdoors when he headlines Target Field on Aug. 5.

Tickets go on sale at noon Feb. 12 through Ticketmaster. Fans have access to a presale if they register at signup.ticketmaster.com/noahkahan by the end of the day Thursday. Kahan is using Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange and tickets will be non-transferable and can only be resold on Ticketmaster at face value.

Raised on a tree farm in Vermont, Noah Kahan started writing songs at the age of eight. He later applied and was accepted to Tulane University, but chose instead to focus on his music. In 2017, he signed a deal with Republic Records and went on to score a hit in 2019 with the single “Hurt Somebody.”

Kahan’s second album “I Was/I Am” was largely ignored in 2021. When he set out to make 2022’s “Stick Season,” he adopted a more pronounced folk-pop style that struck a chord with listeners. Thanks in part to TikTok, the title track became a worldwide hit, as did 2023’s “Dial Drunk” with guest Post Malone.

Collaborating with other artists has become common for Kahan, who made “She Calls Me Back” with Kacey Musgraves, “Northern Attitude” with Hozier, “Everything, Everywhere” with Gracie Abrams and “Homesick” with Sam Fender. Kahan also guested on Zach Bryan’s single “Sarah’s Place,” a Top 5 hit on both rock and country radio.

Last week, Kahan released “The Great Divide,” the first single from his album of the same name, which is due out April 24.

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The Ramsey County Board will use $1.95 million in state grant money to acquire properties to serve as therapeutic treatment homes for youth in the juvenile court system.

Funded through the state Department of Public Safety, the first home is expected to open by the end of the year and the county is currently negotiating with outside organizations for services. Services will include individual and family therapy and trauma-informed therapy methods, anger management, substance use disorder counseling, life skills education and mentorship and extracurricular activities.

Each facility will house up to six young people who have a judicial order for placement and services through juvenile court as an alternative to detention or out-of-county placements, according to the county.

“I just want to say that this is really important work. It’s transformational work,” said county Board Member Tara Jebens-Singh at the board’s Jan. 27 meeting. “There has been heavy lifting from community, from our community engagement teams that have been working on this to make sure that there is community voice in this. And a tremendous heavy lift with staff in the midst of doing many, many, many other things.”

The county board received a total of $4.64 million in funds from the state to establish up to seven “trauma-informed” therapeutic treatment homes in May 2024, with current plans for two to three homes. The homes will be licensed by the Department of Human Services and must provide intensive treatment. Another $4.75 million from the state will go toward services.

The $4.64 million will go in part to 10-year mortgages on the homes, after which the county would have first right of refusal in the case of a property sale, meaning repurchase of the property would be reserved for the county first, as requested by board members.

“We’ve been working on this since like 2019,” said Board Member Rena Moran. “So to get providers who are in this and want to invest in it and want to do this work is really critically important.”

Ramsey County closed Boys Totem Town, its male juvenile corrections facility, in 2019, due to a decline in the number of young people sentenced there and a focus on more community-based programs.

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Stand-up comic Dave Chappelle will perform at St. Paul’s Grand Casino Arena on Feb. 16 as a “statement of respect, unity and unwavering support for the region’s residents” during the ongoing ICE presence in the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota.

Tickets go on sale at noon Tuesday via Ticketmaster. Hip hop duo Clipse will open.

The comedian’s decision to perform in Minnesota “exemplifies his decades-long commitment to showing up for communities in crisis and using comedy as a force for connection and solidarity,” according to a news release. “The people of Minneapolis and St. Paul have stood up with remarkable courage and resilience, demanding accountability and justice in the face of extraordinary circumstances.”

Chappelle, 52, rose to fame as the star of Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show,” which ran for 28 episodes in the early ’00s before Chappelle quit, despite blockbuster ratings. One of the most famous sketches featured Eddie Murphy’s brother Charlie recounting a late-night basketball game with Prince. The Purple One loved it and made references to it online.

After the end of “Chappelle’s Show,” the comic mostly stepped out of the spotlight, but returned to regular touring in 2013. That fall, he performed four nights at First Avenue followed by two more at the nearby Pantages Theatre.

In 2022, Chappelle announced a last-minute series of shows at First Avenue that led to an online backlash due to the comedian’s numerous jokes about transgender people. The four performances were ultimately moved to the Varsity Theater. Chappelle made his St. Paul arena debut the following year at the former Xcel Energy Center.

While Chappelle has raised controversy over the years, he’s also been vocal in his support of various causes. He’s a longtime financial contributor to his high school, Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. In August, he hosted a special preview screening of his documentary “Dave Chappelle Live in Real Life” at the 23rd annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival. Proceeds from the event benefited the school’s programming and equipment upgrades and established an endowment for the theater department.

Next week, he’ll join fellow comic Jon Stewart for a live event in Ohio that will raise funds for a community-owned public radio station in Yellow Springs, where Chappelle has lived since 2004.

Chappelle has filmed a series of specials for Netflix and was reportedly paid $24.1 million for 2021’s “The Closer,” which he said will be his last stand-up special for the foreseeable future. He has since released two more specials for the streamer in 2023 and 2025.

No cell phones will be allowed during Chappelle’s performance. Attendees are asked to leave their phone at home or in their car. Those who do bring their phones inside the venue will be required to secure them in a Yondr pouch. Audience members can access their phones at designated stations in the lobby, but will be ejected from the venue if caught using their phone at their seat.

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