"He’s really taking the team and making it his": Mike Conley on Anthony Edwards' growth, Rob Dillingham and more (Exclusive)

Even as he gained stardom for his high-flying dunks, brash confidence and playful personality, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards didn’t feel entirely comfortable being a leader.

He contended he was too young. He argued he still needed to improve his game. He reasoned that he would rather let his play and work ethic do the talking.

That all changed this season after the Minnesota Timberwolves dealt Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Rudy Gobert, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a future first-round pick. That set up Edwards both to have a bigger role with his performance and his voice.

After becoming a key veteran voice for the past three seasons, Wolves veteran guard Mike Conley likes that Edwards has eased his own vocal cords.

“He’s really taking the team and making it his,” Conley told Sportskeeda before the Wolves’ 108-80 win over the LA Clippers on Tuesday at Intuit Dome. “He’s really locked in on being a leader, what that means and what it entails. He’s animated. He’s loud. He’s not afraid to fail. He’s not afraid to make mistakes. He’s going out there and being himself. That has been really good for our team.”

Conley spoke to Sportskeeda about various topics, including Edwards’ vocal leadership, the transition with Randle and Rudy Gobert playing together and the latest on his recent left wrist and left toe injuries.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

What’s your assessment of the state of the team at this point in the season?

Conley: “It’s been a weird start to the season for us, especially with there being a lot of moving pieces right before training camp and practices started. That throws you off a little bit. We expected a rough patch, but not to be 10-10 [entering Tuesday’s game against the LA Clippers]. I expected for us to lose a couple here and there because of unfamiliarity with each other, learning each other’s games and how we’re going to play differently with our new guys. But looking back at it, man, a lot of it is on us with self-imposed stuff. We lost a lot of close games. You can easily look back and say, ‘Instead of 10-10, we’re 15-5’ even with playing poorly or not playing at our best. We’re starting to turn a little bit of a corner there and starting to play our brand of basketball.”

What are examples of self-imposed stuff?

Conley: “Turnovers and spacing. Our spacing has been a little off where we got multiple guys cutting into the paint at the same time with different lineups out there with how we’re going to utilize with taking advantage of everybody on the court. We’ve kind of, as players, not done the best job of making the game easy on each other. Whether that’s making the extra play or extra pass or setting hard screens, cutting or working to get guys open. And defensively, doing the same thing.”

To your point about the fluidity with integrating new guys: what has the transition been like with integrating Julius and Donte?

Conley: “Man, the thing is all we’re all great basketball players. That’s the encouraging thing is that we all got smart, great basketball players that want to win and want to do what’s right for our team. But what comes up with any person or any player, we all have our habits. We all have things that we did on our previous team where this team is different. Playing with Rudy is a lot different than playing with different bigs. So you have to adjust your game according to that. That’s normally a transition phase for a lot of people trying to get used to that.

It took me some time. It took anybody whoever changed teams some time to get acclimated with that new squad. No different here. Julius has played great. Donte has played great. He’s playing better as of late, especially. So just finding a rhythm for those guys is all we’re trying to do.”

How has Rudy made that adjustment as well?

Conley: “Rudy is the ultimate teammate as far as giving up himself for everybody around him. He screens for everybody. He runs for everybody. He’s willing to sacrifice a lot for different people’s games. And so for Julius, it’s no different. For Donte, it’s no different. He’s trying to talk to him as much as he can and get to understand what his strengths are and how he can be effective alongside him. He just wants things to work. That’s the most important thing.”

Recently you were essentially quoted as saying there’s been a challenge with guys accepting being called out. How do you all address that?

Conley: “Really, it was not as much accepting being called out. But it was about being able to communicate. When somebody says something to you, just listen. Let them say their piece, and then you can come back. I think we got a lot of guys who want to do the right things and say the right things. They’re very prideful and confident at what they do that it’s easy to get lost in that. A simple, ‘I need you to do this’ or ‘I need you to do that’ turns into a longer conversation when it doesn’t need to be. It’s about being able to lead and be led. For a lot of us, it’s a thing. But we’ve been able to do that.”

Do you think you’ve all turned a corner with that, or still a work in progress?

Conley: “Nah, I think it’s something that we’re very, very aware of as a team. It’s one of those things where we’re turning that corner. Now when adversity hits us in different ways, which will continue to hit us, you find guys trying to work things out right on the spot and not hold onto it, not being quiet about it and really approaching guys that ‘I need this’ and ‘I need that.’ So taking that leadership, not just from my leadership role, but other guys being able to do that is good.”

It appears ANT has been one of those guys following the KAT trade. How do you think he’s handling the bigger responsibility?

Conley: “He’s really taking the team and making it his. He’s really locked in on being a leader, what that means and what it entails. He’s animated. He’s loud. He’s not afraid to fail. He’s not afraid to make mistakes. He’s going out there and being himself. That has been really good for our team.”

Talking to him in past seasons, he seemed aware about wanting to thread the needle with showing his confidence, but he wanted to respect team dynamics and not be the young know-it-all. How do you see that?

Conley: “He’s still young and trying to soak up a lot. But at the same time, he knows this is his team and he has to take the reins. It can’t be me all the time saying stuff or approaching Rudy when you need to talk to him. It has to be him and his voice getting heard in a thoughtful way. He’s done a great job in being able to thread that line.”

This development is a testament to your value. But I’m also sure it’s something you wished wasn’t a trend. You all have been 10-6 when you’re playing and 0-4 when you’re not playing [entering Tuesday’s game against the Clippers]. How do you view that?

Conley: “It’s tough for me to view it because I’m not out there averaging 30 [points] or anything. So for most folks, they may be like, ‘That doesn’t matter at all.’ I think there’s something about the way I play the game of basketball. It gets guys confident and comfortable. I play a winning brand. I don’t try to do too much. I don’t try to step on other people’s shoes. I try to win the game. I try to get guys involved and make them their best selves. I think they all feel that when I’m on the court.”

Deeper into that, the team’s’ 3-point shooting as a whole is better when you are on the floor. How would you dissect your facilitating?

Conley: “Being able to read the game and read the floor. I’m very good at giving up myself for another shot. I might cut out of the way just to get Jaden [McDaniels] a shot where other guys might not be necessarily thinking on that level. They might be spacing, waiting for the ball or swinging it twice where I’ll cut and set a screen and get a guy an easy look that way. Also, being able to stretch the floor, shoot and make shots when we need them helps our 3-point percentage as well. So I’m trying to make it work a little more for us on offense. I do a lot without having the ball. I’m telling people to move here, move there and getting guys in corners, in spaces and spots. That gives us better flow offensively.”

You’ve been showing you can play effective for a while now. But specifically this season, what has been the push-pull so far this season with the coaching and training staff managing your injuries and how they’re managing your minutes?

Conley: “It was a rocky start. I was coming off a summer where I didn’t have a great summer with being healthy because I had a little wrist issue. I hadn’t really touched the ball for a long time. So I was trying to get in shape that way. I got into the season, and we’re going. But I’m not playing the minutes I normally play. So I’m in and out, while trying to catch a rhythm. So trying to balance that was tough. But as the season has gone on, though, being banged up and the injuries are slowly starting to wither away. I’m catching up to the game speed and conditioning speed. My minutes are being consistent, and what I’m being asked to do for the team. I know my job and what I’m supposed to do. So I feel more confident doing that every night.”

Do you feel the wrist and toe injuries are behind you?

Conley: “I do. Wrist seems great. That’s one thing. You expect to feel pain in places, but then you don’t. Some shots I take, I think, “It’s about to hurt; it’s about to hurt.’ But then it doesn’t. So I’m like, ‘Oh okay, I’m good.’ So it was just about getting over that hump. It took a little while. Same thing with the toe. The toe needed a rest for the games I was out. We got that right. Hopefully I don’t bang it on the floor again.”

One silver lining when you were out was this gave Rob Dillingham some more opportunity. What growth have you seen?

Conley: “I think it’s been great for him to get that time when I was out. Even when I was playing, he was starting to get more minutes. He’s getting more comfortable with the game speed. Knowing you’re going to play a little bit here and there in the games gives him a little bit more of an edge for each opportunity to go out there and learn. He’s done a really good job of being prepared for it. We talk to him all the time about staying ready and staying locked in and learning from every aspect of the game, whether you’re on the bench or in the game. He’s soaking it up as a point guard and a scorer. He’s done a real good job.”

I see you often sit next to him on the bench…

Conley: (interrupts) “Oh, I sit next to him as much as I can. One, to try to keep him sane. He wants to be out there and play 50 minutes. But you just try to put it in perspective for him and say, ‘You’re going to be awesome in this league. Keep grinding and stay ready. You’re going to be good.’”

I know it’s early in the season. But looking at the big picture with the team’s title aspirations. Beyond what you’ve already discussed, what else will it take to get there?

Conley: “Consistency right now. Just being consistent on both ends of the floor. If we do that and get our groove back and our confidence back, we’ll be all right.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.