Wolves' Anthony Edwards Making Progress But Ruled Out vs. Pistons

Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards is making progress in his recovery from a knee injury, but his return won't happen in Saturday afternoon's primetime showdown against the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.

It's been ten days since the Wolves announced that Edwards would be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks with right knee inflammation. The official diagnosis has since been changed to patellofemoral pain syndrome, a common ache around the kneecap sometimes known as "runner's knee."

The latest update is that Edwards has been cleared for basketball activities. However, he's been ruled out for Saturday's home game against the Pistons, which will be his sixth consecutive absence.

"Edwards, who has missed the last five games with right knee patellofemoral pain syndrome, has been cleared for on-court basketball practice activities and further updates of his progress will be provided when available," the Wolves announced in a press release on Friday afternoon.

Anthony Edwards | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The earliest Edwards could return is Monday night in Dallas. A more realistic target date might be next Thursday in Detroit, which would give Edwards a couple extra days of recovery and preparation.

Even with the Timberwolves battling for playoff positioning in the Western Conference — they could still mathematically finish anywhere from third to seventh — they aren't going to rush Edwards back before he's ready. The most important thing is making sure he's at full health before the postseason begins in a few weeks.

If Edwards doesn't play on Monday night, he'll officially be ineligible to make an All-NBA team due to the 65-game rule. He's played in 58 games this season, with only 57 of them qualifying (he left the third game of the year after just three minutes due to a hamstring injury). That means he would need to play in each of the Wolves' final eight contests to be eligible, starting in Dallas. That seems pretty unlikely at this point, especially considering he'd have to play in both ends of two back-to-backs.

If Edwards qualified, he'd likely earn second team All-NBA honors for the third straight year. Even if he doesn't reach 65 games, he'll be eligible to win Clutch Player of the Year, which is not subject to any games minimum. However, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the heavy favorite to win that award.

The Wolves have gone 4-1 in the last five games without Edwards, including impressive wins over the Celtics and Rockets.

McDaniels out, Dosunmu questionable

Minnesota will also be without Jaden McDaniels for Saturday's game against the Pistons. He's been ruled out with right knee soreness. McDaniels left Wednesday's thriller against Houston late in the fourth quarter after scoring a game-high 25 points. He said following the game that he was just dealing with cramps, but he'll now miss only his third game all season.

It'll be interesting to see who starts in McDaniels' place. Naz Reid? Kyle Anderson?

Ayo Dosunmu, who started the first four of the recent games without Edwards, missed Wednesday's game due to calf soreness. He's listed as questionable to play on Saturday. Mike Conley entered the starting lineup in Dosunmu's absence.

This will be the first of two matchups in six days between the Wolves (45-28) and Pistons (53-20). Saturday's game starts at around 4:30 p.m. CT on ABC.