In a conversation with Sam Amick of The Athletic, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon spoke about how he impressed he has been with Nikola Jokic during his first few weeks in Denver, and said his team still has championship aspirations this season, even with Jamal Murray unavailable for the postseason.
Additionally, acknowledging rumors that the Celtics tried hard to acquire him at last month’s deadline, Gordon said he would’ve enjoyed playing in Boston, but stated that he views the Nuggets as an ideal fit for his skill set.
“Obviously Boston has those guys with (Jayson) Tatum and (Jaylen) Brown, and they would have been hell of fun to play with,” Gordon told Amick. “But I feel like Denver was just the best fit to showcase my well-roundedness as a ballplayer, the defensive aspect and the offensive (aspect) — basically just (the) glue that I can bring. The guy who can fill in, do a little bit of everything on the offensive end and then lock up the other team’s best player, or at least make their night hard, make it a frustrating night for them.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson is considered the frontrunner for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award, but he tells Mark Medina of USA Today that his “main goal” is trying to win games and to win a title — but he’d be honored to win the award. “If the Sixth Man of the Year award comes and I don’t get it, I don’t need the validation because my teammates, coaching staff and a lot of my peers gave me that,” Clarkson said. “They’re telling me, ‘I respect what you do’ and all of that. So, I know that goes a long way as well. But it’s definitely something I want to get accomplished one of these years. Hopefully it’s this year.”
- Thunder wing Luguentz Dort expressed interest in representing Team Canada in the Olympic qualifiers this summer, tweets Steven Loung of Sportsnet. While Dort said he was willing to “try out” for the team, it’s a safe bet that Team Canada would welcome him onto the roster if he wants a spot.
- As we wait for Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to work out a sale agreement with potential new owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore, Lee Schafter of The Star Tribune explains why he thinks Taylor’s pledge to keep the team in Minnesota should be successful, while Chris Hine of The Star Tribune looks at the roadblocks that would be in the way of the new ownership group attempted a move.
- While the plan is for Rodriguez and Lore to begin as limited partners before they eventually assume majority control of the Timberwolves, sources told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic last week that the new owners will still have a “significant influence” on the team’s basketball and business operations right away. Krawczynski also heard that the Wolves’ financial situation isn’t in bad shape, signaling that the NBA remains viable in the market.
Wolves need to hire the best scouts in nba, not the worst
You expect them to draft top players, they draft Edwards and Culver
Edwards stats is compared to rookie Wiggins
32% 3pt
Culver
25% 3 pt
Both will be reborn soon?
Not being able to shoot from the three and plays zero defense is dead sentence
The Edwards pick might not have been a scouting issue. The problem is they didn’t want to take Ball with Russell there. Teams drafting 1st overall shouldn’t draft for fit.
While I agree with teams drafting BPA vs Fit I think you are both wrong about Edwards. Yes he has some stats that look similar to Wiggins but Wiggins never had the confidence or desire to become the leader on the timberwolves. Edwards is very much in the ROY conversation and I don’t think the Wolves will ever regret drafting him over Ball. If you watch Edwards play, you can see he is something special and now that the wolves have a better coach and new ownership (finally) things are headed in the right direction. They do need defenders yet to become a winning team but Edwards was the right pick for the Wolves and as he develops (unlike Wiggins) he will show that he has just as high if not higher ceiling than Ball.
After last year Dort has become one of my favorite players to watch in basketball. I’m glad he is doing well and hope he gets paid me t contract.
I love watching Dort. He truly had grown so much from last year to this year. He would be perfect for the Bulls. Also, that contract is extremely team friendly, maybe give him a Deandre Melton type deal? 4/$32M?
Lol….he and SGA are the 2 untouchable players on the thunder. Dort isn’t going anywhere.