Timberwolves HC Chris Finch Speaks on Losing Veteran Mike Conley
· Yahoo Sports
The Minnesota Timberwolves are moving into next season without the veteran guard who held their locker room together.
Visit milkshakeslot.com for more information.
Mike Conley reached free agency and agreed to a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics this month, a move that will make this his 20th NBA season and only the 14th time any player has reached that mark.
The Celtics are signing G Mike Conley Jr., per @ShamsCharania.
— Jack Aylmer (@Jack_Aylmer) July 1, 2026
The 19 year NBA veteran played 54 games with 15 starts last season. Averaged 4.5 PPG, 2.9 APG, 1.7 RPG, and 0.6 SPG. Shot 33.5% on FGs, 33.7% from 3, and 90% at the FT line. Put up 8.2 PPG and 4.5 APG in ‘24-‘25. pic.twitter.com/p9fhZVUtEf
Head coach Chris Finch spoke about the departure for the first time this week, and it was obvious the split still weighs on him.
"It was very hard. Mike came to us at the exact perfect time," Finch said. "Helped Anthony a ton, helped Rudy a ton."
Conley's fit made sense from the start.
He arrived in a February 2023 trade and started for both of Minnesota's runs to the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025, next to a young Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert.
What Conley Built in Minnesota
This past season tested that bond.
Conley fell out of the rotation, got traded away in February, then bought out and brought right back by Minnesota before the playoffs, finishing the year with career lows in his numbers, including a dip to 34 percent from three.
He turned it around in the postseason though, starting five playoff games after injuries to DiVincenzo and Edwards and delivering a signature win in Game 1 at San Antonio, where he shot 56 percent from three as a 49-33 season closed in the second round.
Chris Finch on how hard it was to say goodbye to Mike Conley:
— Nadine Babu (@NadineBabu) July 9, 2026
It was very hard. Mike came to us at the exact perfect time. Helped Anthony a ton, helped Rudy a ton.
He imparted so much wisdom to everybody who was still pretty young and trying to figure it out together. Has… pic.twitter.com/GAnU609owH
He is remembered just as much for his even keel as his talent, a two-time Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year winner who somehow never made an All-Star team.
"He imparted so much wisdom to everybody who was still pretty young and trying to figure it out together," Finch said. "Has such a wealth of experience in his temperament. Yeah, and me personally, I leaned on him a lot, just like you would an assistant coach."
Why the Backcourt Still Has Real Upside
Minnesota had already begun replacing that presence before Conley even reached free agency, sending Naz Reid and draft picks to Charlotte for LaMelo Ball, a trade that left a frontcourt hole still not fully addressed.
Ball gives the Wolves a completely different problem to solve, a scorer and passer who can get 20 and 8 a night when healthy, and his career numbers in Charlotte back that up.
Without being able to comment on specifics with the trade not being official, but Chris Finch on the future of this Timberwolves team: “We're extremely excited about our future. You know, it's always hard when you have to say goodbye to people. Been a large part of your success.… pic.twitter.com/qdU33cZXRm
— Nadine Babu (@NadineBabu) July 10, 2026
Not everyone is convinced it is a clean upgrade.
Some think Ball, who arrives with his own injury history, was actually the player who needed Conley's steadiness most, a tension already showing up in Minnesota's projected rotation.
Finch spent just as much time talking about where Conley is headed.
"It was hard to see, but happy that he gets an opportunity to keep continuing his career," Finch said. "I know he has meaningful basketball left to play, and that's what he's committed to trying to do too."
Conley is chasing the ring his career never gave him, while Edwards chases the leadership role he modeled and a bigger jump of his own next season.