Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wolves’ Anthony Edwards Fined $50K By NBA

January 13th, 2025 at 1:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $50K for “making obscene gestures toward a game official” late in the third quarter of Saturday’s two-point loss to Memphis, the NBA announced (via Twitter).

As Field Level Media notes, this is already the fifth time Edwards has been fined this season. He was docked another time for an obscene gesture, plus hit with three different fines for profanity. The former No. 1 overall pick has now been fined a total of $285K.

Edwards signed a maximum-salary rookie scale extension in 2023 featuring Rose Rule language, and after making the All-NBA Second Team in 2023/24, he’s earning 30 percent of the ’24/25 salary cap instead of 25 percent. That works out to $42,176,400 this season — $285K isn’t even one percent of that figure, so it’s still a relatively modest total compared to Edwards’ salary.

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter links), Edwards’ latest fine was a result of a gesture he made after receiving a technical foul — which he believed was unwarranted — for celebrating an alley-oop dunk by Rudy Gobert while on the bench. Veteran forward Joe Ingles tried to calm him down, but didn’t in time, Krawczynski adds.

The broadcast video (YouTube link) of the technical itself certainly doesn’t show much, with Edwards simply appearing to flex on the sideline. The video isn’t on Edwards the whole time, to be fair, but what it does show is innocuous.

Saturday’s loss dropped Minnesota’s record to 20-18. The Wolves are currently the No. 8 seed in the jam-packed Western Conference playoff race — only three games separate the No. 5 seed (Dallas, which is 22-17) from the No. 12 (San Antonio, 18-19).

Northwest Notes: Finch, DiVincenzo, Wolves, Clingan, Jazz

January 7th, 2025 at 10:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After Saturday’s loss to the Pistons, the Timberwolves‘ third consecutive defeat, head coach Chris Finch insisted that he was not going to make any changes to his starting lineup, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

“You guys ask me this question all the time,” Finch said. “If I felt that the magic bullet was changing the starting lineup, I would’ve done that already. I don’t think I’m being particularly stubborn. There’s a chain reaction to everything you do. There are other combinations and things that go on on the floor that are just as important if not more so than the starting lineup.”

Finch’s starting five for most of the season was made up of guards Mike Conley and Anthony Edwards, forwards Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle, and center Rudy Gobert. As Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic details, Finch defended the group’s struggles in the opening frame against the Pistons. In the eventual 119-105 Minnesota loss, the Pistons managed to overcome a 53-point effort out of Edwards.

“In fact, our starters didn’t get us off to a poor start tonight, except they had some low energy,” Finch said. “I didn’t like their defense, particularly… But I thought that, offensively, they looked OK.”

Apparently they didn’t look OK enough, as Finch opted to swap in combo guard Donte DiVincenzo for Conley ahead of a 108-106 victory over the Clippers on Monday, Krawczynski writes in a separate story for The Athletic. Minnesota used the new-look starting lineup again on Tuesday in New Orleans.

“I just read all the papers, and what everybody was telling me and said, ‘You know what, s–t, I should change the starting lineup,’” Finch joked on Monday.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

The 2024/25 iteration of the Timberwolves are still seeking an identity, contends Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “Every game matters, especially in the West,” Gobert said. “We have confidence in who we are and who we can be as a team, but it has to show on the court. We have to focus on the things we can control, and everything else will follow.” Goodwill writes that the club’s on-court dynamic ahead of the Clippers clash was looking remarkably shaky, adding that the team has struggled to mesh with new additions Randle and DiVincenzo. Although Randle’s shooting from long range has improved significantly from his last season with New York, Goodwill notes that he has been a defensive liability.
Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan has impressed defensively, but remains very raw on the other end, notes Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report in a reader mailbag (Substack link). Highkin projects that Clingan will be a long-term pro thanks to his already high-level defense, but notes he has a ways to go as a scorer. Highkin also predicts a long-term futures for general manager Joe Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups and unpacks the upside of his squad’s young core.
As the Jazz‘s youth movement begins to find its footing, Utah has started winning occasional games — entering Tuesday’s action, the team was 4-5 in its last nine games after starting the season 5-20. Those on-court improvements could prove detrimental to the club’s clear goal of maximizing its draft position this summer, observes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Utah currently has only the fifth-best lottery odds. “The messaging doesn’t change,” head coach Will Hardy told Jones. “The players deserve all of the credit. They have dug in, and they have bought into the little things that it takes to win. This has become a cohesive group that’s committed to helping each other.

And-Ones: Randle, Ingram, EuroLeague, Non-Guaranteed Deals

January 7th, 2025 at 8:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Julius Randle and Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram each have All-Star berths under their belts, and Ingram is coming off a five-year, maximum-salary contract. Under the NBA’s old new Collective Bargaining Agreement, Randle and Ingram might have already secured lucrative new extensions. In the current CBA landscape, their uncertain futures reflect teams’ wariness to commit big money to second- or third-tier stars, according to William Guillory and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Guillory and Krawczynski take a closer look at potential next steps for the two standout forwards, pointing out that both players continue to perform well but also laying out reasons why their days with their current teams may be numbered. Ingram will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, while Randle holds a player option for 2025/26.

Guillory believes Ingram is more likely than not to be somewhere besides New Orleans next season. Krawczynski suggests Minnesota may look to trade Randle or let him walk as a free agent in the summer unless everything comes together for the Wolves during the second half of this season in a way that it hasn’t in the first half.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The EuroLeague and IMG, the league’s primary business partner, have reached an agreement to extend their relationship through the 2035/36 season. What does that mean for the NBA’s efforts to introduce a new professional league in Europe? Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic digs into the subject, writing that the EuroLeague’s 13 permanent members – including clubs like Real Madrid, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Anadolu Efes – now seem less likely to leave for an NBA-run European league, though the new contract does include opt-out clauses for teams.
Noting that it was a relatively quiet January 7 in terms of roster cuts, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron explores whether teams have become more inclined in recent years to hang onto players on non-guaranteed contracts through the annual league-wide salary guarantee deadline.
In an ESPN roundtable, Tim Bontemps, Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton, Michael Wright, and Jamal Collier discuss several topics related to the upcoming trade deadline, including which team most needs to make a splash, which team in each conference will improve the most at the deadline, and whether the Lakers will make another in-season deal.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Hartenstein, Clingan, Jokic

January 4th, 2025 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

With Karl-Anthony Towns no longer in Minnesota, rising Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is going through some growing pains this year, expressing frustration about receiving so much attention from opposing defenses, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Edwards admitted that he’s sometimes not sure how to handle traps and double-teams and admitted that it’s “not fun” to have his scoring opportunities limited and the ball taken out of his hands. As Krawczynski details, Edwards’ “trademark spirit” seems to be lacking as of late, and it didn’t help matters that fellow stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum has big games in wins over Minnesota this week.

“He’s doing a really good job. It’s tough,” teammate Julius Randle said. “I know it’s frustrating. But that’s just the player that he is. He’s that special that nobody is going to guard him straight up. We gotta continue to try to help him out.”

As Krawczynski points out, players like Gilgeous-Alexander and Tatum are a few years ahead of Edwards on the developmental curve, so there’s plenty of optimism that the Timberwolves guard will eventually figure out how best to attack defenses by balancing his scoring and play-making.

“I think everybody has been playing good on my team besides me,” Edwards said. “I got to figure it out, figure out ways to help them. They have been hitting shots lately. I got to figure out a way to get myself involved in the offense by not letting the double-team take me out. I’ll figure it out.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Knicks tried their best to retain Isaiah Hartenstein over the summer, but the veteran center believes the outcome of his free agency – he signed with the Thunder, while New York replaced him by trading for Towns – has been “perfect” for both sides, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I’m in a situation here (in OKC) where it’s going really good. They got a great center, one of the best centers in the league,” Hartenstein said before facing his old team on Friday. “So I think for both parties it was perfect. Knowing (Knicks president of basketball operations) Leon Rose, he’ll always find something. He’s been doing a great job, so he made the right adjustment.”
Besides helping to anchor the defense, Hartenstein has added a new dynamic to the Thunder‘s offense with his passing, as Rylan Stiles of SI.com outlines.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan admitted that he’s still adjusting to the speed of the NBA game and that he may have hit the rookie wall “a little bit” during the first few months of his professional career. Head coach Chauncey Billups said he’s got to “do a better job” of putting Clingan in the best possible position to succeed, but noted that the team anticipated it would take the big man some time to get comfortable going up against the best players in the world. “He’s playing against players that are better than players he’s ever seen every single night, to be honest with you,” Billups said. “So the mobility of some of these guys and the versatility of some of these guys have been tough for him.”
Entering the 2024/25 season, Nikola Jokic was a 35.0% three-point shooter across nine years in the NBA. This season, the Nuggets center is making a league-leading 47.9% of his triples. Tony Jones of The Athletic takes a closer look at how Jokic’s work in the offseason and preseason helped the three-time MVP become an even more dangerous offensive player.

Timberwolves’ Rob Dillingham Out 1-2 More Weeks With Ankle Sprain

January 3rd, 2025 at 7:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rookie Timberwolves guard Rob Dillingham, who has already been out for his team’s last three games with an ankle ailment, has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 right lateral ankle sprain, the team has announced in a press statement.

According to the Timberwolves, the lottery pick will be on the shelf for the an additional one-to-two weeks. He is set to be reassessed in one week.

Minnesota traded to acquire the draft rights to the 6’1″ guard, the No. 8 pick out of Kentucky, this summer.

Through 15 games with the Timberwolves, he has played relatively sparingly. The 20-year-old is averaging 8.5 minutes per night across 15 contests. In that time, he’s scoring 3.7 points per game on 45.1% shooting from the field and 42.9% shooting from long range. He’s also chipping in 1.7 assists per game.

At 17-16, Minnesota is currently the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed. Losing a deep-bench player like Dillingham shouldn’t impact the Timberwolves significantly in the short-term, but he still has exciting long-term upside.

Timberwolves Claim Tristen Newton, Waive Daishen Nix

January 3rd, 2025 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 3: The Timberwolves have officially confirmed the moves in a press release.

JANUARY 2: The Timberwolves have claimed shooting guard Tristen Newton off waivers, cutting guard Daishen Nix to create room on their roster for the newcomer, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype first reported (via Twitter) that Minnesota was claiming Newton, who was waived on Wednesday by the Pacers. At the time of Newton’s release, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files indicated that the rookie guard had asked Indiana to let him go.

The 49th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of UConn, Newton logged just eight total minutes across five appearances for the Pacers this season after signing a two-way contract with the club in July.

He has spent most of his rookie year to date with the Indiana Mad Ants, the Pacers’ G League affiliate, averaging 16.4 points, 6.7 assists, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 35.8 minutes per game across 14 total Tip-Off Tournament and regular season outings. His shooting line for the Mad Ants was .401/.396/.692.

Newton will remain on his two-way contract with the Timberwolves, who now control his NBA rights and could convert him to the 15-man roster or negotiate a longer-term standard deal with him later in the season, if they so choose. If he plays out the rest of the 2024/25 campaign on his two-way pact, he’ll be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer.

As for Nix, he’s in his final year of two-way eligibility after having spent four seasons with the Rockets and Timberwolves from 2021-25. He has appeared in just three games for Minnesota so far this season after making 96 total NBA appearances across his first three seasons.

Like Newton, Nix has seen more action in the G League, averaging 22.1 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.9 SPG in 10 games in the Tip-Off Tournament. He recently missed time due to an ankle sprain.

How DiVincenzo Rediscovered His "Joy And Love Of The Game"

January 2nd, 2025 at 12:31pm CST by Rory Maher

In an extensive interview with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo admitted he found himself thinking about how well he played for the Knicks last season and found it difficult to move on after being traded to Minnesota right before training camps opened. The 27-year-old credited an unlikely source for helping change his mentality and rediscover his “joy and love of the game” over the past couple weeks — Dennis Schröder reached out to DiVincenzo for tips on getting acclimated after being traded to Golden State (DiVincenzo’s former club). Then the veteran guard gave DiVincenzo some advice of his own. “He was just straightforward with his words,” DiVincenzo said. “He said that it’s hard. You just have to go out and do it. No matter where you’re at, just be you and just go do it. You look yourself in the mirror and be like, all right, the situation is the situation. Let last year go. This year is this year.”

Thunder Notes: Mitchell, Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren

January 1st, 2025 at 3:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Thunder two-way player Ajay Mitchell continues to see his role expand. The 6’5” rookie wing has scored in double digits in three of the last five games.

Mitchell was chosen with the No. 38 pick of the draft and acquired in a draft night deal with the Knicks. Oklahoma City heavily scouted Mitchell, who played collegiately for Santa Barbara.

“(GM Sam Presti) loved him from the jump,” coach Mark Daigneault told Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. “I can remember (Presti), all the way back into last season, he was on the road watching him, and I remember him telling me about him before I ever laid eyes on him.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said Mitchell was a revelation in training camp.

“His situation coming into the season, you might not have expected this — I certainly didn’t. But after being with him for the first couple weeks of training camp and preseason, you can see where he’s going with it,” the All-Star guard.

We have more on the Thunder:

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has already endorsed SGA as the league’s MVP in an interview with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. The Thunder star scored 40 points in an eight-point victory over Minnesota on Tuesday. “I don’t know if they could give it to [Nikola Jokic] again,” Edwards said. “Yeah, I would say Shai. Yeah, he’s looking like the MVP, man. He was incredible once again tonight. He’s consistent every night. His team gonna give him the ball and just let him rock out every night. It’s nothing to think about. ‘Hey, get Shai the ball and he going to get busy, and then we’re going to figure it out after that.’ I love watching that. It’s incredible, man. If he is keeping him like that, I hope they give [MVP] to him this year for sure. I feel like he should have won it last year, but he’s playing out his mind right now.”
Chet Holmgren is itching to get back on the court, Gilgeous-Alexander told Lorenzi (Twitter link). “(Tuesday) he came in the locker room and said that he’s ready to go through shootaround with us. Typical Chet Holmgren. … I can’t imagine the game being taken from me like that. … for him to be on his way back, can only imagine how it feels. To see that smile on his face again, it’s very exciting.” Holmgren is recovering from a pelvic fracture suffered in November. On Nov. 11, he was given a timeline of eight-to-10 weeks for a reevaluation.
In case you missed it, Gilgeous-Alexander is the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week. Get the details here.

Multiple Playoff Hopefuls Eyeing Lonnie Walker

December 29th, 2024 at 6:24pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Veteran guard Lonnie Walker IV is drawing NBA interest, with the Sixers, Timberwolves, Heat, Nuggets and Celtics all viewed as potential suitors, reports Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Walker played on Boston’s training camp roster in the fall on an Exhibit 10 deal, but was cut ahead of the 2024/25 regular season.

The 6’4″ wing isn’t quite a free agent. He is currently playing for Lithuanian EuroLeague club Zalgiris Kaunas, having passed on an opportunity to suit up for Boston’s NBAGL squad, the Maine Celtics. Other EuroLeague squads, including Real Madrid and Maccabi Tel Aviv, were also reportedly interested in adding Walker, but he ultimately sided with Zalgiris.

However, Walker has a $450K buyout option in his current deal with Zalgiris, should any NBA squad be interested in bringing him back to the league prior to February 18.

Beyond the loaded Celtics, all the aforementioned squads could use a scoring spark off the bench, which Walker would provide in abundance.

The Miami product has spent six seasons in the league, playing for the Spurs, Lakers and – most recently – the Nets. Across 58 healthy games for Brooklyn off the bench last year, Walker posted averages of 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals per night, with a shooting line of .423/.384/.763.

Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards Fined $100K

December 29th, 2024 at 4:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has announced (Twitter link) that it has fined All-NBA Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards $100K after he used profane language during a postgame live television conversation on December 27.

Minnesota trailed Houston by 16 points with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, but stormed all the way back to eke out a one-point win, 113-112. Edwards hit the game-winning three-pointer after the club’s intended play, designed for All-Star forward Julius Randle, fell apart.

“We made it happen,” Edwards said of his team’s comeback, per Timberwolves Rally (Twitter video link). “We got some stops. We made some big shots, and we made a big shot at the end right there. All I knew was, the play was for [Randle] to go… big-small pick-and-roll, once he picked it up, I mean, who else? I got to go get it, s–t.”

“And [Nickeil Alexander-Walker] found me,” Edwards said. “I’m like, ‘S–t, I’m going for the win.’ Like Gilbert Arenas said, ‘I don’t do overtime,’ so f–k it.”

Edwards finished the game with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 shooting from the foul line, along with five rebounds, three assists and a block.

The 6’4″ wing was fined $75K less than a week ago for cursing in a post-game interview and criticizing the officiating. Two weeks prior to that, the league penalized him to the tune of $25K for swearing during a post-game media session after another contest. In November, the NBA also saw fit to fine Edwards $35K for flipping off a Sacramento fan.

It appears the league is hoping to send a message to the Timberwolves star with these escalating fines in the hopes that he’ll be more careful with his language in media interviews.

Across 30 contests so far, the two-time All-Star is submitting typically solid numbers for a middling 16-14 Timberwolves squad. Edwards is averaging 25.3 points on .447/.420/.803 shooting splits, 5.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists a night.