The Minnesota Timberwolves look as though they will be making the switch to the Eastern Conference. The NBA formally voted to explore bids for new expansion teams in both Seattle and Las Vegas earlier this year, with a reported blended expansion fee of $16 billion (two teams at $8 billion each).The Timberwolves could be heading to the Eastern ConferenceGettyThese two markets were explicitly named by NBA commissioner Adam Silver as potential avenues for expansion back at the end of 2025 amid plans to grow the league from 30 to 32 teams.Ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, Silver issued an update on the progress. “Discussions are ongoing,” Silver said. “I think everyone knows at this point we’re focused on Las Vegas and Seattle. There are multiple groups interested in both cities. We are in discussions with them. “The timeline, as I’ve said before, it’s not a foregone conclusion that we will expand either in one city or both cities. But what we’ve told all interested parties is our anticipation our board will make a decision by the end of this calendar year.”According to NBA insider Brett Siegel, to balance out the teams in both the Eastern and Western Conferences – both Seattle and Vegas would enter the West if approved – the Timberwolves look the most likely franchise to vacate the conference. “Although Adam Silver did not specify anything about a team moving from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference amid potential expansion to Las Vegas and Seattle, the conversation I’ve had with multiple league personnel is that the Minnesota Timberwolves are the likeliest,” he posted to X on Wednesday. Minnesota aren’t geographically the closest team to the other 15 teams currently in the East, with both the New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies also in the conversation, the latter of which is closest by distance. But what they do have is existing sports rivalries with Eastern Conference outfits that extend past the NBA. For example, their NFL counterpart Minnesota Vikings hold a futile relationship with the Green Bay Packers, with the state of Wisconsin’s NBA team being that of Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s Milwaukee Bucks. In the NFC North alongside the Vikings and Packers is also the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears, with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls – who have had a particularly tethered history with the Timberwolves in the past – also both situated in the East. Silver states that a formal decision will be made before the end of 2026GettyEdwards could welcome a move to the EastGettyAnthony Edwards and Timberwolves could fare better in the EastThere is no understating that the Timberwolves are a very good team. You only have to look at their win record where they won 49 games for a 59.8 percent win percentage with $245 million superstar Anthony Edwards fronting the team that also boasts a strong – and young – core of Jayden McDaniels, Naz Reid and Ayo Dosunmu, as well as 31-year-old former lottery pick Julius Randle. The problem is, though, that they are stuck in a Western Conference stacked with MVP-caliber talent, such as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2025 NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder, and Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets.They also have to contend with the rise of generational talent Victor Wembanyama in the rebirth of the historically successful San Antonio Spurs organization, who look a surefire contender for the next decade at a minimum. Despite dispatching the No. 3 Nuggets in six games in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 6 seed, Edwards and co were drawn to the No. 2 Spurs in the second-round, where this time they were on the losing side of a 4-2 series, though they were fairly competitive throughout. The Timberwolves have a roadblock to the NBA Finals in the form of Victor WembanyamaGettyHad they been in the East in the 2025-26 season, though, they would have finished fifth in the conference standings, and set up a first-round postseason series with the Cleveland Cavaliers who eventually wound up getting swept 4-0 by conference champions New York Knicks. Should Minnesota be the team to move East side of the NBA, where competition is considered weaker, who is to say that they wouldn’t become top contenders year-in year-out?Edwards would certainly be up for having a greater chance to win a title, that’s for sure. Stay up to date on all things NBA across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.