As crazy as it still may sound to long-time fans, the Minnesota Timberwolves are truly top dogs in the Western Conference. After years of struggle, Anthony Edwards has brought about a new era of prosperity in the Twin Cities. With a loaded roster from top to bottom, Minnesota has as good a chance of taking home a championship of any team in the West.

Of course, a few teams still stand as the Timberwolves’ rivals. The Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets barely edged out Minnesota for the top two playoff seeds last season, but the final standings were determined on the very last day of the NBA regular season. Clearly, the Wolves are neck-and-neck with these squads.

So with that in mind, Timberwolves fans will always be keeping an eye on OKC and Denver’s moves, knowing that the slightest upgrade or downgrade in those teams’ rosters could be the difference between winning or losing a future playoff matchup. Earlier this week, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported some surprising news that could have massive implications for Minnesota.

According to Lowe, there is talk that the Denver Nuggets have had disagreements between Michael Malone and members of the front office. “There are rumblings,” Lowe said. “Rumblings! That the coaching staff and front office, or at least the head coach and the front office, aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye in Denver. To a degree even unusual for the NBA.”

The implications of these rumors have the potential to be incredibly significant. Of course, they are just initial reports at this time, but the ripple effects could lead to a total shift of power in the Western Conference.

Just a few months ago, we saw the Nuggets as a near-unstoppable force. They were the reigning champions and showing little signs of slowing down. In a way, Minnesota did what many deemed impossible in taking them down in the Western Conference semifinals.

But if there are internal problems in Denver, there is the chance things change for them in a hurry. They already lost a crucial piece in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and differences in opinions among team leadership may cause other unwanted results in the future as well.

The best-case scenario here is that egos get in the way of business for the Nuggets. If that trend continues to progress, it is entirely possible it knocks Denver out of the top tier of contenders in the West and gives the Timberwolves an even clearer shot at a championship.