“He’s been working extremely hard all year,” teammate Julius Randle said of the No. 8 overall pick. “And these past few games he’s got his number called and been ready for his moment.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
The Timberwolves, who fell to 8-9 on the season on Tuesday with a loss to Houston, have a Mike Conley problem, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.
As Katz outlines, Conley was an extremely valuable role player for Minnesota last season, organizing the offense and knocking down a carer-high 44.2% of his three-point attempts. So far this season, the veteran point guard has battled injuries and has seen his shooting percentages drop off to 31.9% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc.
Conley’s teammates still perform better on offense when he’s on the court to set them up, per Katz. The club has a +5.5 net rating during the 37-year-old’s 325 minutes this fall, compared to a -0.8 mark in the 501 minutes he hasn’t played. Minnesota has also lost all four games he has missed, so getting him healthy will help. But if the Timberwolves want to make another deep playoff run in 2025, they’ll likely need Conley to serve as a more reliable offensive threat than he has been so far.
As for the Wolves’ options when Conley is unavailable, they’ve tried using Donte DiVincenzo and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the point guard role, but both players are better fits off the ball, notes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. As Hine writes, the team’s best alternative to Conley at the point may be rookie Rob Dillingham, who enjoyed his best game as a pro on Tuesday, racking up 12 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in 24 minutes of action. Minnesota was a +26 in those minutes.
- Isaiah Hartenstein has been an ideal fit in his first two games with the Thunder (both wins), earning praise from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who called Hartenstein a “dream big man for a marquee guy,” according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Gilgeous-Alexander said he watched Hartenstein with the Knicks in the 2024 playoffs and knew he might be available in the offseason, but didn’t actively recruit him or encourage general manager Sam Presti to pursue him. “I leave the front office stuff to Sam,” he said. “Trust him really well. Obviously he reads minds. So I didn’t have to say anything. … We knew as a group and the world kinda knew there was a hole in us as a team last year. I think Isaiah fills that hole very well. Sam did a good job filling it. We are better because of it.”
- The Jazz‘s decision to assign rookie Cody Williams to the G League for a stint with the Salt Lake City Stars should open up regular rotation minutes for second-year forward Brice Sensabaugh, as Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune details. Sensabaugh has had his two best scoring games of the season within the last week vs. the Spurs (18 points last Thursday and 16 points on Tuesday), but Utah still needs more from him on defense and as a rebounder, Larsen writes.
- In a pair of mailbags for his Substack subscribers, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tackles several Trail Blazers-related questions, discussing Deni Avdija‘s role, Anfernee Simons‘s trade candidacy, and Shaedon Sharpe‘s ceiling, among other topics. Noting that both Simons and Scoot Henderson are off to slow starts this season, Highkin suggests the conditions aren’t ideal right now for a Simons trade — not only has Simons’ slump limited his trade value, but Henderson’s struggles mean Portland won’t feel comfortable handing the former No. 3 overall pick the keys to the offense.
Is Coach Finch on the hot seat? The expectations have never been this high for the franchise, got within one round of the first ever NBA finals, traded your “franchise” player and still starting slow.
I’m giving it until Jan 1st for his leash.
That’s the part of being a coach that kinda sucks. Tim Connelly the one that traded KAT and didn’t have the foresight to sign a dependable backup for a 37 year old Conley who’s had nagging injuries since his last couple seasons in Memphis.
I completely agree with you. I thought PG was their issue last year in the WCF. Conley didn’t look like he belonged out there. I am surprised they didn’t really address that in FA. Also, is it me or has Naz Reid taken a step back this year with the arrival of Randle?
They need a real PG, someone like Brogdon, make it happen cuz is too much of a preasure for a rookie like Dillingham, he should be the next PG in franchise but has of right now they need to make a trade soon”
As far as PGs go Conley is as real as they get. There would be some spacing issues but Fultz is just sitting there waiting to be signed to a minimum. He’s more than capable of spelling Conley and starting when the matchup calls for a quicker guard.
I forgot he hasn’t signed yet. Lol
Someone like Malachi Flynn or Jordan Goodwin would be a real improvement if you’re concerned about spacing, even. NAW is a good player, but he’s more useful to the Wolves in an off-ball role as mentioned above. DDV is not a PG. I wouldn’t pick Dennis Smith Jr. because he’s more of a guard defender who can pass (zero scoring gravity to create mismatches or openings), but he’d also be a net positive. Hell, sign Ryan Arcidiacono, he can shoot and run plays. Or even Jacob Gilyard, he showed some flashes with Memphis last year.
Point is, there’s no excuse to just keep trotting out Conely when he looks like he’s slowly dying on the court.
They need a real PG, Conley is already 37, guys like Brogdon,McConnell, should be available make it happen cuz is to much preasure for a rookie like Rob he’s next in line but too soon.”
Those guys aren’t that attainable. The Pacers love TJ McConnell and it would take a decent package to pry him away, even moreso with Haliburton’s early season struggles. Brogdon is signed for $22 million and the Wolves are over the 2nd apron. They would’ve had to trade key guys like McDaniels or Reid to make it worth Portland’s time. Brogdon is just sitting on the bench in Washington for the most part waiting for a trade but he still has a $22.5 million contract. Their only hope of getting Brogdon is if he gets bought out and decides to sign with the Wolves.