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Community Shootaround: Minnesota Timberwolves

November 19th, 2021 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves had the NBA’s third-worst record in 2019/20 and the sixth-worst record in ’20/21. However, there was an internal belief entering the season that the team was capable of taking a step forward with all its key players finally healthy and available.

Through 15 games, five of Minnesota’s seven most-used players – including Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards – have yet to miss a game, and the other two – D’Angelo Russell and Patrick Beverley – have been sidelined for just two games apiece.

But the team’s good health luck hasn’t translated into a better start. Even after wins against Sacramento and San Antonio this week, the Wolves are just 6-9, despite playing 10 of their first 15 games at home. Their home record includes losses to New Orleans and Orlando.

It’s too early in the season to draw any sweeping conclusions about the state of the Timberwolves, but this is a big year for the team, which has playoff aspirations. If the core that Gersson Rosas spent two years building, including Towns, Edwards, Russell, and Malik Beasley, isn’t good enough to enter the playoff mix, new head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta will be under pressure to make additional roster moves.

Minnesota has been repeatedly cited as a potential suitor for Sixers star Ben Simmons, though it’s unclear if the Wolves have the assets necessary to bring Philadelphia to the table without including Towns or Edwards in their offer.

In his latest The Scoop w/Doogie podcast, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North mentioned a pair of shot-blocking big men that could be fits for the Wolves: Myles Turner and Chris Boucher.

There’s no indication that Turner is available at this point, but Wolfson says there are those in the Wolves’ front office who are fans of the Pacers center (hat tip to HoopsHype). Boucher, who is on an expiring deal with the Raptors, may be a more realistic target at this point, though he wouldn’t be the same sort of difference-maker as Turner.

With the Wolves looking to fight their way back to .500, we want to get your thoughts on the team. Do you believe in a core led by Towns and Edwards? Are Russell or Beasley long-term keepers? Does the roster need another impact player to become a legit playoff team, or is the current group capable of making it? If a trade is necessary, which players are the most desirable – and the most realistic – targets?

Head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts!

Rand: Wolves Need To Take Advantage Of Soft Part Of Schedule

November 18th, 2021 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves need to take advantage of a soft part of their schedule, according to Michael Rand of The Star Tribune, who suggests the front office might have to start thinking about “major roster moves” if Minnesota doesn’t win at least two or three times in its current four-game stretch. The Wolves got off to a good start with a win over Sacramento on Wednesday. Matchups with San Antonio, Memphis, and New Orleans are on tap.

Timberwolves Fined $250K For Violating NBA Rules On Offseason Workouts

November 15th, 2021 at 3:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves have been hit with a $250K fine by the NBA, the league announced on Monday (Twitter link).

According to the NBA, the Wolves violated league rules prohibiting teams from arranging or paying for offseason practices or group workout sessions outside the team’s home market.

New incoming Timberwolves owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez reportedly hosted the club’s players for scrimmages and practices in Miami for a week in early September, culminating in a dinner at Rodriguez’s house. Those team activities came in the final days of Gersson Rosas‘ tenure as president of basketball operations.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), the NBA’s rule prohibiting teams from arranging and/or financing out-of-market offseason workouts is actually the very first one listed in the NBA’s 786-page operations manual.

Given that Lore and Rodriguez are reportedly paying $1.5 billion to take over the Timberwolves from Glen Taylor, a $250K fine will be a drop in the bucket for them.

Still, the penalty may compel the duo to pay closer attention to the NBA’s rule book going forward, or at least to be more discreet about arranging offseason workouts — Minnesota probably isn’t the only team to violate that rule in recent years, but the fact that management and ownership were in attendance and photos were all over social media meant the NBA couldn’t ignore it, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Lakers Notes: Caruso, THT, LeBron, Bazemore, Jordan

November 15th, 2021 at 9:54am CST by Luke Adams

After Alex Caruso shared some details on his free agency during a recent appearance on J.J. Redick’s podcast, Bill Oram of The Athletic touched base with the Bulls guard to discuss the subject further, providing some additional specifics on Caruso’s options and what the Lakers were willing to offer him.

As Oram writes, the Bulls and Timberwolves were among the teams that topped the Lakers’ initial offer of $7MM per year. After he received a four-year, $37MM proposal from Chicago, Caruso went back to Los Angeles to see if the team would do $20MM for two years. However, the Lakers were unwilling to increase their offer from $21MM over three years, prompting the veteran guard to choose the Bulls.

Here’s more on the Lakers:

In his first game since signing a three-year, $30MM+ deal and undergoing thumb surgery, Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker was terrific on Sunday vs. San Antonio, scoring 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting in 27 minutes as a starter. While head coach Frank Vogel wouldn’t commit to Horton-Tucker remaining in the starting lineup, he said the 20-year-old will be a “big part” of what the Lakers do. “We invested in him this summer for a reason,” Vogel said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “We have a strong belief in that young man and what he can do on both sides of the ball. Obviously when we get whole, we got a lot of good choices, but he’s going to be a big part of it.”
Vogel said on Sunday that LeBron James (abdominal strain) has yet to participate in contact drills or a full practice yet, but a source tells McMenamin that the star forward is “progressing great” and should be back in the lineup soon.
Offseason additions Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Jordan appear to have fallen out of the Lakers’ rotation at least temporarily, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who notes that both players were DNP-CDs on Sunday. Jordan had started 10 games at center before sitting the last two, while Bazemore had started all 13 games for Los Angeles until he was benched on Sunday.
The changes to the starting five reflect the Lakers’ preference for smaller lineups for the time being, per Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register, who adds that Vogel left the door open for a return to bigger lineups as the season progresses. Anthony Davis started at center alongside power forward Carmelo Anthony on Sunday.

Timberwolves Notes: Edwards-KAT, Wiggins Trade, Inconsistency

November 14th, 2021 at 3:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Timberwolves need to carve out offensive opportunities for both Karl-Anthony Towns and ascendant second-year wing Anthony Edwards, opines Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Towns and Edwards appear to be the current core for Minnesota going forward.

Towns has thrived as a jump shooter but has been somewhat up-and-down scoring from inside the paint this season.

“I think we’ve studied it and just not getting a lot of production out of it, and I think his finishing could be a little better,” Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch said of his post scoring. “I think we can get him to go maybe a little quicker, but by the same token, he’s not getting a lot of the benefit of the doubt down there.”

There’s more out of Minnesota:

The Timberwolves took a big swing with a 2020 trade that sent swingman Andrew Wiggins and a lightly-protected 2021 first-round draft pick to the Warriors in exchange for D’Angelo Russell, a longtime friend of Towns. Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic revisited the deal, executed by now-former team president Gersson Rosas, in the wake of a big night for Wiggins against Minnesota, noting that Golden State pretty definitively came out the winner. As Krawczynski writes, Wiggins has been a better fit for the Warriors than he was for the Timberwolves. In part because there is less pressure on him to be the 11-1 team’s main scorer, Wiggins can focus more on his improved perimeter defense. Russell, meanwhile, provides little help on defense and has been erratic offensively for the Timberwolves. The Warriors also used the first-rounder to select small forward Jonathan Kuminga with the seventh selection in this summer’s draft.
After a solid 107-83 victory over the Lakers on Friday night, the Timberwolves struggled to replicate their success against L.A.’s Staples Center neighbors, the Clippers, in a 129-102 loss on Saturday. Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic contends that this is who Minnesota really is: an inconsistent team with issues on both sides of the ball. Krawczynski says the Timberwolves grew complacent following one impressive showing against a Western Conference foe and let their guard down against another. “I feel like that’s really been the problem with us as a team is how do we not get tired of success,” said guard Josh Okogie. “I feel like after we have good performances, we have to be able to put that game behind us and focus on the next one and try to go 1-0 every night.”
In case you missed it, Luke Adams took a look at the Timberwolves’ offseason, which was focused primarily on retaining some young talent and adding veteran role players around the periphery of its roster.

Pacific Notes: Beverley, Kaminksy, Horton-Tucker, Wiseman

November 14th, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley received a warm welcome and a video tribute from the Clippers Saturday, but the rest of the night didn’t go as he hoped, writes Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points. Beverley managed just five points as Minnesota suffered its worst loss of the season, but he was happy to be back in front of the fans who cheered him for four years.

After being acquired in 2017 in the deal that sent Chris Paul to Houston, Beverley became the emotional core of a team that was a perennial contender in the Western Conference. He was traded twice over the summer, spending a few days with Memphis before winding up with the Wolves.

“Man, I got nothing but love,” he said. “Nothing but love for the city of L.A., obviously. You come here in the beginning, some kind of semblance to Minnesota. First-year eighth seed. You take that and try to build from it and did something special here. Came up short, didn’t win a championship, but went to the Western Conference Finals, something that the team never did so, man, it was great. It was really great. Was happy to see some old friends. Unfortunate loss obviously, but it was good. Really emotional, really good though.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

With Deandre Ayton sidelined by a right leg contusion, Frank Kaminsky has played so well that Suns coach Monty Williams wants to keep him in the rotation, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Kaminsky explained why he was happy to stay with Phoenix in free agency, even without a guarantee of regular playing time (video link).
Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker is listed as probable to make his season debut today, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Horton-Tucker underwent surgery on his right thumb during the preseason.
When the Warriors left on their current road trip, injured center James Wiseman stayed behind to work with a few coaches and participate in scrimmages, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Wiseman hasn’t played yet this season while recovering from knee surgery.

Examining What's Gone Wrong For The Wolves

November 6th, 2021 at 9:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic examines the issues that have caused the Timberwolves to go into a four-game tailspin after a 3-1 start. Krawczynski notes that teams have discovered Minnesota doesn’t have enough shooters to make them pay for doubling Karl-Anthony Towns, while Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels have hit rough spots after strong rookie seasons.

Towns “Very Happy” In Minnesota, Says Twitter Account Was Hacked

November 5th, 2021 at 8:38am CST by Luke Adams

After the Timberwolves dropped a third straight game on Wednesday, falling 126-115 to the Clippers, Karl-Anthony Towns‘ Twitter account liked a tweet that included the #FreeKAT hashtag. However, Towns said on Thursday that he wasn’t responsible for that “like,” which happened when he was asleep.

“Honestly, I woke up this morning, my agent hit me up and was like, ‘Karl, what is this?'” Towns said on Thursday, per Dane Moore of Blue Wire (Twitter link). “I was like, ‘What the f— are you talking about?’ I hadn’t woke up yet for the whole day.”

Towns went on to explain that only three people – him, his agent Jessica Holtz, and his close friend Chucky Anthony – have access to his Twitter account, and he didn’t believe any of them liked the #FreeKAT tweet.

“I know Chucky didn’t do it because he was in the hospital with his father. I know he didn’t have time to do that,” Towns said. “Jess never has used it. So, got hacked, easy thing, fixed the password.

“Sorry to the Wolves fans. I ain’t want to cause no hysteria or anything like that. But just know I’m very happy. I know we’re on a skid so it came at the worst possible time, that little hacking. I’m excited to hopefully build more years here, not just this year.”

It’s hard to believe a hacker would’ve gained access to Towns’ account simply to like a single tweet. However, as Jon Krawczynski writes for The Athletic, there’s also little reason to think that Towns wants to leave Minnesota, even if the hacking story strains credulity.

Towns has repeatedly stated that he wants to win with the Timberwolves, and spoke at the end of last season about wanting to have a long career with one team, like Tim Duncan with the Spurs or Kobe Bryant with the Lakers. The Wolves also aren’t off to a terrible start this season. Despite the current three-game losing streak, Minnesota has a 3-4 overall record, putting the team in the play-in mix in the early going.

Still, as Krawczynski notes, there are plenty of teams around the league that will continue to closely monitor Towns’ situation in case anything changes. His current maximum-salary contract runs through the 2023/24 season.

Wolves Haven't Spoken To Sixers About Simmons For Weeks

November 4th, 2021 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

On a recent episode of his The Scoop podcast, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North stated that it has been a little while since Timberwolves head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta talked to the Sixers about Ben Simmons. “About three-and-a-half, four weeks ago, he did plant the seed with the Philadelphia front office that, ‘Yeah, I’m interested in Ben Simmons,'” Wolfson said, per HoopsHype. “But I’m now told he hasn’t had any dialogue about Ben Simmons with Philadelphia for a couple weeks.”

Northwest Notes: Giddey, Jokic, Hyland, Vanderbilt

October 30th, 2021 at 7:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors were planning to take Josh Giddey with the seventh pick in this year’s draft if the Thunder hadn’t scooped him up at No. 6, Giddey’s father tells Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. Warrick Giddey says the Warriors told his son’s agent, Daniel Moldovan, that Josh would be their target if he was still on the board.

The Thunder and the Warriors were the only teams to hold private pre-draft workouts with the Australian guard, and both came away impressed. Giddey is averaging 10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists through his first five NBA games and appears ready for the league at age 19.

“We’re not overly surprised by what we’ve seen,” coach Mark Daigneault said, “but obviously there’s a lot of work to do and we’re excited to continue to work with him. He’s gotta get a lot better as well.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic didn’t consider sitting out Friday’s game after suffering a bruised knee earlier in the week, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Jokic underwent an MRI that showed no structural damage and said he plans to keep going as long as the knee doesn’t feel weak. “They’ve been making him go through the protocols, the testing, different drills and they felt that he was more than capable of getting out there and playing,” coach Michael Malone said.
The Nuggets have one of the lowest-scoring benches in the league and may turn to rookie guard Bones Hyland for a spark, Singer adds in a separate story. Hyland saw his first game action this week and scored seven points in 10 minutes. “I keep on saying it, but Bones Hyland,” Malone said. “That second unit’s struggling to score, make shots. Well Bones has shown he can do that.”
His Timberwolves teammates love playing alongside Jarred Vanderbilt, who got his first start of the season this week so he could guard Giannis Antetokounmpo, per Megan Ryan of The Star Tribune. The fourth-year power forward is known for an aggressive, unselfish approach to the game. “He’s a contagious person,” Anthony Edwards said. “Anytime he’s on the floor, we’re playing better, we’re playing harder. We’re making the extra pass, making the extra closeout. We’re one step faster.”