The Jon Krawczynski Show - Timberwolves Podcast
Jul 2, 2026 · 56 min · 13 segments
Jon is joined by Mirin Fader for an in-depth conversation on LaMelo Ball before delving into the LeBron James intrigue. From Aquarius Home Services…
Jon KrawczynskiHostMirin FaderGuest
Mirin Fader has left, and I just wanted to take a few minutes to let us collectively wrap our minds around all of the chatter over the last 24 hours or so about the possibility of LeBron James coming to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As I've written at The Athletic, what I would caution everyone to just kind of take a deep breath and understand that it is unlikely that LeBron James would pick the Minnesota Timberwolves to come and play for a minimum salary and try and win a championship.
Is Miami in it? I'm not sure, but certainly his history there, going to play with Giannis and Bam, is interesting.
But I do think that the Timberwolves are, do not have a 0% chance at getting LeBron James.
And so if it isn't zero, the Wolves would be silly not to explore it, not to reach out and, and, you know, connect with LeBron James' people, with Rich Paul, with, with the whole group, and just say, "Hey, we're interested.
I've reported at The Athletic that they have reached out and connected with LeBron James' camp and expressed a, an interest and a willingness in LeBron coming here.
Now, why on earth would he pick the Minnesota Timberwolves over all the other options that he do ha- that he does have? Let's go by, down by them one by one.
If you go to Golden State, it's a great opportunity to play with Steph Curry, play with his guy Le- Draymond Green, and, and just kind of go out with, you know, people who are right around his age, you know, obviously a little younger, but certainly of the, his same era, play really, really smart basketball, and probably compete for the playoffs, maybe even win a series.
But I think if you look at that group The ages of all of the main guys, Jimmy Butler coming off of, uh, an ACL, um, and you just wonder, do they have enough in the Western Conference to really challenge to go for a championship? Probably not.
Then you look at Cleveland, um, certainly would be really, really compelling to go back home, spend, if this is his last year, uh, in the NBA at, you know, some sort of retirement tour on the home front, um, go back one more time to a team that is competitive in the Eastern Conference.
But I mean, you know, you have James Harden who, like always fails in the playoffs.
Uh, Donovan Mitchell has played very well in the playoffs, but that y- y- you'd have some questions around the fit with everyone there.
If he were to go to like San Antonio, that's just a bald-faced ring chase, and it would look, I think, a little less genuine for a player of his caliber, who even though he is really-- if he really wants to get that fifth championship and, a- a- and secure it, that would be a very good place to go.
Um, it just would feel like he was jumping on to the bandwagon of a team and not the one that elevates that team.
And I think that you can make the argument that in Minnesota, coming to a team that has never won the title, playing with a bunch of players on the roster that have never won the title outside of Dante DiVincenzo, who's gonna be injured for most of this year, um, that the opportunity is there for him to have a legendary impact if he could be the missing piece that gets this team over the hump in the Western Conference and to the finals or certainly winning the championship.
This is w-- you know, Minnesota sports market that, um, none of the men's teams have won since nineteen ninety-one, which I believe is the longest drought, um, in North-- in, uh, in America.
And so you see if he's won in Cleveland and then he also w- wins in Minnesota, like if you're looking at making a real kind of run at challenging Michael Jordan for the greatest of all time, man, that is a hell of a closing argument on your case is you-- I came to Minnesota and I helped this team win the championship and I ended this long, long drought of all the men's teams, uh, in the, in the region.
The other part about the Timberwolves is they just offer so much of what LeBron James needs as a player at this stage of his career.
Mirin Fader has left, and I just wanted to take a few minutes to let us collectively wrap our minds around all of the chatter over the last 24 hours or so about the possibility of LeBron James coming to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
As I've written at The Athletic, what I would caution everyone to just kind of take a deep breath and understand that it is unlikely that LeBron James would pick the Minnesota Timberwolves to come and play for a minimum salary and try and win a championship.
Is Miami in it? I'm not sure, but certainly his history there, going to play with Giannis and Bam, is interesting.
But I do think that the Timberwolves are, do not have a 0% chance at getting LeBron James.
And so if it isn't zero, the Wolves would be silly not to explore it, not to reach out and, and, you know, connect with LeBron James' people, with Rich Paul, with, with the whole group, and just say, "Hey, we're interested.
I've reported at The Athletic that they have reached out and connected with LeBron James' camp and expressed a, an interest and a willingness in LeBron coming here.
Now, why on earth would he pick the Minnesota Timberwolves over all the other options that he do ha- that he does have? Let's go by, down by them one by one.
If you go to Golden State, it's a great opportunity to play with Steph Curry, play with his guy Le- Draymond Green, and, and just kind of go out with, you know, people who are right around his age, you know, obviously a little younger, but certainly of the, his same era, play really, really smart basketball, and probably compete for the playoffs, maybe even win a series.
But I think if you look at that group The ages of all of the main guys, Jimmy Butler coming off of, uh, an ACL, um, and you just wonder, do they have enough in the Western Conference to really challenge to go for a championship? Probably not.
Then you look at Cleveland, um, certainly would be really, really compelling to go back home, spend, if this is his last year, uh, in the NBA at, you know, some sort of retirement tour on the home front, um, go back one more time to a team that is competitive in the Eastern Conference.
But I mean, you know, you have James Harden who, like always fails in the playoffs.
Uh, Donovan Mitchell has played very well in the playoffs, but that y- y- you'd have some questions around the fit with everyone there.
If he were to go to like San Antonio, that's just a bald-faced ring chase, and it would look, I think, a little less genuine for a player of his caliber, who even though he is really-- if he really wants to get that fifth championship and, a- a- and secure it, that would be a very good place to go.
Um, it just would feel like he was jumping on to the bandwagon of a team and not the one that elevates that team.
And I think that you can make the argument that in Minnesota, coming to a team that has never won the title, playing with a bunch of players on the roster that have never won the title outside of Dante DiVincenzo, who's gonna be injured for most of this year, um, that the opportunity is there for him to have a legendary impact if he could be the missing piece that gets this team over the hump in the Western Conference and to the finals or certainly winning the championship.
This is w-- you know, Minnesota sports market that, um, none of the men's teams have won since nineteen ninety-one, which I believe is the longest drought, um, in North-- in, uh, in America.
And so you see if he's won in Cleveland and then he also w- wins in Minnesota, like if you're looking at making a real kind of run at challenging Michael Jordan for the greatest of all time, man, that is a hell of a closing argument on your case is you-- I came to Minnesota and I helped this team win the championship and I ended this long, long drought of all the men's teams, uh, in the, in the region.
The other part about the Timberwolves is they just offer so much of what LeBron James needs as a player at this stage of his career.
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