MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� In his four-plus NBA seasons, Anthony Edwards has never been afraid to speak his mind.
But the Minnesota Timberwolves star was particularly candid in a profanity-laced explanation of his team's recent struggles following a
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 we soft as (heck) as a team, internally,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淣ot to the other team, but internally, we soft. We can鈥檛 talk to each other. Just a bunch of little kids. Just like we playing with a bunch of little kids. Everybody, the whole team. We just can鈥檛 talk to each other. And we鈥檝e got to figure it out, because we can鈥檛 go down this road.鈥�
Minnesota reached the 2024 Western Conference finals. But the Timberwolves have lost four in a row and seven of nine after starting 6-3 this season. A lineup that experienced a significant shakeup late in the offseason with the still looks disjointed at times.
That includes blowing a 12-point fourth-quarter lead against Sacramento a day after losing 117-111 in overtime to Houston at home.
鈥淲e look like frontrunners for sure tonight,鈥� Edwards said Wednesday. "We was down, nobody wanted to say nothing. We got up and everybody (was) cheering and (hyped up). We get down again and don鈥檛 nobody say nothing. That鈥檚 the definition of a frontrunner. We as a team, including myself, we all was frontrunners tonight."
鈥淓verybody right now is on different agendas," he added. "I think that鈥檚 one of the main culprits of why we鈥檙e losing.鈥�
Edwards, who led the Timberwolves with 29 points on 9-of-24 shooting, didn't only admonish his teammates after the game. More than once, he could be seen communicating demonstratively in the huddle with Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert and others.
Randle and guard Donte DiVincenzo were the top gets in the October trade that sent Karl-Anthony Towns to New York three weeks before the start of the season. Both have experienced up-and-down starts to their Twin Cities tenures.
Towns, meanwhile, has with the Knicks.
Edwards said this isn't just about the new guys, though.
鈥淚鈥檓 talking about the whole team,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淗owever many of us it is, all 15, we go into our own shell and we鈥檙e just growing away from each other. It鈥檚 obvious. We can see it. I can see it, the team can see it, the coaches can see it.鈥�
So can the fans, who voiced their collective displeasure more than once Wednesday night.
鈥淭he fans (are) booing us,鈥� said Edwards, whose team is 8-10 heading into Friday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers. "That (stuff) is crazy, man. We鈥檙e getting booed in our home arena. That鈥檚 so (freaking) disrespectful, it鈥檚 crazy.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Phil Ervin, The Associated Press
