The Timberwolves’ path back to the Western Conference…

The Timberwolves’ path back to the Western Conference Finals in the future might not be as easy as you think

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes

Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had a great week and have an even better weekend ahead of you.

Things didn’t go so well for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night when the Mavs bounced them out of the playoffs. The Wolves lost 124-103, and somehow, it was one of those games where the score was a lot closer than the game was. We’re talking about a 21-point loss here. It was that bad.

The natural reflex for people after the loss usually sounded something like this: “Don’t worry — the Wolves will be back.”

That’s a reasonable take. After all, the team’s 22-year-old superstar in Anthony Edwards is only getting better. He’s not even close to reaching his prime yet he’s already carried this team this far. Expecting a higher climb in the near future makes plenty of sense.

While I fully believe in Ant-Man’s power and his ability to carry this team, I am not sure that this team will be taking the next step anytime soon. It’s not because of anything the Timberwolves are doing or have done — it’s because of what they might not be able to do.

The NBA’s new luxury tax rules make it extremely hard for teams already spending a ton of money to get any better. The Wolves fall into that category.

When Anthony Edwards’ extension finally kicks in next season, Minnesota will around $194 million in salary on their books, according to HoopsHype’s salary data. If the Timberwolves don’t make a move to shake things up, that puts them firmly over the luxury tax for next season at $171.3 million and well into the tax’s second apron, at around $190 million, per Yahoo! Sports.

If the Wolves are a second-apron team, it’s going to be hard to get better. Being in that second apron takes away access to key roster building tools like:

The ability to make sign-and-trades to acquire players
The ability to use the tax-payer mid-level exception to sign new players
Sending out cash in trades for things like extra picks
The ability to take back more money in any trade made

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot more that ESPN’s Bobby Marks goes over here. The point is, though, that the Wolves will have to find creative ways to get better while not taking on any money. That’s hard to do in the NBA.

Maybe Minnesota doesn’t have to — it could be a matter of internal improvement. Run it back with the same team, and they’ll likely still be competitive. This was a 56-win team, after all.

But don’t be surprised if the Wolves don’t do much this offseason. The new collective bargaining agreement might not let them.

There’s still basketball to watch, folks

I know we’ve got a minute before the first game of the NBA Finals tips off — there’s a long time between now and June 6. But don’t be like Nike and completely forget that there’s still other basketball being played.

Meg Hall has your fix for you here:

“We get it. There’s almost a week until the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks meet for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and you’re just not quite sure what to do without basketball. There’s no Luka Doncic around to troll fans ruthlessly, and there’s no Jaylen Brown here to be transparently and hysterically honest.

But there is the WNBA ― something the Nike basketball account forgot ― who has a staggering 16 matchups until the Celtics and Mavs take the floor.”

The WNBA is in full swing, and now is a good time to catch up on the league if you’ve been entrenched in the NBA playoffs. With a full 16-game slate this weekend, you’ve got plenty to watch. Tap in.