Timberwolves coach Chris Finch cited internal development as the team’s biggest path for growth at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season. And then Minnesota made a seismic trade for 7-foot-4 center Rudy Gobert roughly two months later.

Perhaps Finch wasn’t being entirely truthful in the moment, but what’s more likely is that NBA teams frankly don’t know what opportunities for roster change will present themselves once free agency and the draft hit and trade talks heat up and take unexpected turns.

Which is why though Finch and Timberwolves basketball boss Tim Connelly sounded largely committed to Minnesota’s current roster construction during exit interviews with the media last week, that provides no guarantee the Timberwolves will indeed “run it back” next season.

Minds change, as do circumstances and opportunities.

Anthony Edwards will be a member of the Timberwolves next fall — that’s all but guaranteed. Everything else beyond that is up in the air.

In the midst of uncertainty, here’s one suggestion as to how the Wolves should approach the upcoming offseason:

Extend Edwards and McDaniels

The Edwards contract extension is simple. It will be a max rookie extension in the neighborhood of five years and more than $200 million. Sometimes, those rookie extensions are leaps of faith that improvement will take place. See: Andrew Wiggins.

But Edwards is already worth that kind of coin. Connelly made it known everything the Wolves do moving forward centers around the young guard. He is the face of the franchise, and it’s time he’s paid like it.

McDaniels’ extension is trickier. While he’s one of the NBA’s best defenders and has demonstrated a growing offensive game, he’s not a max player at this point in his career. Where his number falls will likely be a delicate dance between the Timberwolves and the wing’s representation.

Last year, Tyler Herro signed a four-year, $120 million base deal with the Heat. Jordan Poole inked a four-year, $123 million base deal with Golden State. RJ Barrett agreed to a four-year, $107 million base extension with the Knicks.

You can argue whether McDaniels is potentially better than all of those players, but he also is coming off a season that ended too soon after he punched a concrete wall in frustration. Herro and Poole have been contributors on teams that reached the NBA Finals.

Something in the four-year, $110 million base range plus added incentives seems fitting for both who McDaniels is now and who he projects to be in time.

Re-sign Reid and Alexander-Walker

Naz Reid has been discussed by Finch as a member of team’s young core, right alongside McDaniels and Edwards. McDaniels and Edwards seem to feel the same way. Reid has demonstrated his ability to shine in any role and was excellent whenever he appeared in the starting lineup last season.

The 23-year-old backup center has greatly improved every season and has a firm grasp of the way Finch wants his teams to play. That’s not the type of player you want to let slip away.

The reality is, unless Minnesota moves Karl-Anthony Towns or Rudy Gobert, it will be tough to offer the same type of minutes opportunity other suitors will certainly present to Reid. So the Timberwolves’ best chance of retaining the young center is to open their checkbook. Reid will likely be offered the mid-level exception by interested teams. The Timberwolves will have to go higher than that, likely in the neighborhood of $15 million per season, to keep him.

The best-case scenario for both parties could be something in the neighborhood of two years, $30 million. That would allow Reid to cash in now and then hit free agency again when he’s 25.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s playoff performance suggested he’s the type of two-way wing player — with an emphasis on defense — that teams around the league are searching for to fill out their rotations around their stars. Alexander-Walker, McDaniels and Edwards are a nice trio of defensive wings around which Minnesota can build its defense.

Alexander-Walker is a restricted free agent, meaning Minnesota can match any offer another team presents. It makes the most sense for the Wolves to let other teams determine Alexander-Walker’s market, given the 24-year-old hasn’t had a consistent role throughout his NBA career to date.

If the Timberwolves can lock in Alexander-Walker to something in the neighborhood of three years, $24 million, that makes sense for both parties. Otherwise, the Timberwolves should be comfortable letting Alexander-Walker bet on himself by playing in Minnesota next season on his qualifying offer deal of one year, $7 million.

Acquire backup guards

Teams always aim to “draft the best available player.” But with the No. 53 pick in the upcoming draft in tow, the Timberwolves should aim to identify a guard who can contribute right away to the level of pushing Jordan McLaughlin for backup point guard minutes and potentially take the floor general torch from Mike Conley when the veteran’s contract expires at the end of next season.

Minnesota has enough upside baked into its current roster that it doesn’t need to chase it in the second round. Solid, NBA-ready contributors would be welcomed to round out this roster.

In free agency, Minnesota will again have its mid-level exception, which it used to sign Kyle Anderson a year ago.

The best fit would be Nuggets reserve guard Bruce Brown, but he’ll likely be a highly sought-after candidate. Boston’s Grant Williams likely falls into the same basket. Apple Valley product Tre Jones is another potential point guard candidate that the Wolves could use at least part of their mid-level on.

Explore trading a big

This has to at least be discussed this offseason. The two-center approach delivered mixed results this season, with the peak coming at the end of the Denver series, but plenty of valleys occurring before that.

There are also questions about whether this roster construction is the right one to maximize Edwards. And if Reid is truly a part of the team’s long-term core as Minnesota describes him, a trade of Gobert or Towns would open up the necessary opportunities to allow for Reid’s continued development at both the center and power forward positions at a higher workload than, say, 22 minutes a game.

The big-ball experiment is certainly not dead. There were enough extenuating circumstances over the past season to justify giving it another year to play out. But should the Wolves do that and experience the same pitfalls, trading away a big next summer would likely prove even more difficult.

Minnesota needs to gauge the market and see what the options are out there for Towns and Gobert, and determine if potential trade returns set the franchise, and Edwards, up better for success now and in the future than simply continuing to move forward with the status quo.