Timberwolves Rumors

Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, Gordon, George, Jazz

December 3rd, 2024 at 9:25am CST by Luke Adams

The legal battle that will determine who controls the Timberwolves won’t be resolved until January at the earliest, sources tell Eben Novy-Williams and Michael McCann of Sportico.

As Sportico’s duo explains, the legal representatives for current team owner Glen Taylor and prospective owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez will answer “final questions of clarification” from the three-person arbitration panel handling the case in early January. The panel isn’t expected to make its final ruling on the matter until sometime after those questions are answered.

Even when the arbitration process concludes, it likely won’t fully close the books on the Timberwolves’ ownership fight. Novy-Williams and McCann point out that the losing side could petition a federal judge to vacate the arbitration award. Additionally, if the arbitrators rule in favor of Lore and Rodriguez, the new ownership group would still need to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

It has been a challenging start to the season for the Timberwolves, but there was no bad body language and there were no concerning post-game quotes after a blowout victory over the Lakers on Monday night. Chris Hine of The Star Tribune has the story on the encouraging win and the good vibes it created.
In his first game back after missing 10 games due to a calf strain, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon came off the bench on a minutes limit on Sunday and served as Nikola Jokic‘s backup, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. While Gordon has been far more effective as the second-string center than Dario Saric, Zeke Nnaji, or DeAndre Jordan have – Denver was +3 with Jokic off the court vs. the Clippers – he’s the least sustainable option to continue as the backup five over a full 82-game season, given his typical role alongside Jokic, Durando notes.
Outside of his subpar shooting percentages (.375 FG%, .336 3PT%), turnovers and defense have also been issues for Keyonte George, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who suggests that the second-year Jazz guard hasn’t inspired confidence as a ball-handling point guard and doesn’t shoot well enough to be a full-time shooting guard. George is still just 21 years old and works hard, Larsen writes, but will have to make significant strides to become the player the Jazz hoped they were getting when he was drafted in 2023.
Jazz head coach Will Hardy conceded he made a mistake in calling a timeout on Sunday before Collin Sexton had a chance to attempt what would’ve been a go-ahead basket in the final seconds of Utah’s game vs. the Lakers (Twitter video link). After the game, Sexton said he understood why Hardy made the decision he did and didn’t blame him at all. As Tony Jones of The Athletic writes, while the one-point loss was a tough pill to swallow, the mature way the moment was handled showed there’s trust between the head coach and his players, an important sign in a challenging rebuilding year.

Northwest Notes: Hartenstein, Holmgren, Wolves, Nuggets

December 1st, 2024 at 8:15pm CST by Rory Maher

One of the prominent free agents of the 2024 offseason, Isaiah Hartenstein has been terrific for the Thunder since he returned from a left hand fracture, averaging 14.3 points, 14.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 blocks in his first four games with the team (32.0 minutes per contest).

Since he was injured to open 2024/25 and Chet Holmgren subsequently sustained a pelvic fracture that will keep him sidelined for at least a couple months, the two big men have yet to play alongside each other in the regular season.

In a lengthy interview with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Hartenstein expressed confidence that his game will complement Holmgren’s once he returns, noting that his injured teammate is in “good spirits” as he continues to recover.

“Offensively, he’s really good with handling the ball,” Hartenstein said of Holmgren. “He can play that four position. So having that versatility with two big guys, especially defensively, is the biggest thing. You have two great rim protectors. He knows how to play the game. He’s smart. I think things can be really good when he comes back. We have different games. I’m probably more physical and will probably try to get other guys more open. He’s probably playing more on the outside. It’s similar, but different in the same way.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards had some pointed words for his Timberwolves teammates after they lost their fourth straight game earlier this week (they snapped that skid with a one-point victory over the Clippers on Friday). Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid recently responded to Edwards’ comments, particularly about the team being thin-skinned, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes. Alexander-Walker said the team misses the leadership of veteran forward Kyle Anderson, who landed with Golden State in free agency. “It’s a different team and dynamic, when you look at the team a season ago,” Alexander-Walker said. “Different personalities. Lost Kyle, who was a very, very vocal person in the locker room. He was kind of the glue to a lot of that stuff. It put guys in a position where now Ant is more vocal than ever. This is his first year doing so.”
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has taken on an increased offensive role this season. Bennett Durando of The Denver Post takes a look at how Porter, who has undergone multiple major surgeries over the years, is still improving his game with the help of an unorthodox workout regimen.
Former first-round pick Peyton Watson will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next offseason. He recently discussed a number of topics with Sportskeeda contributor Grant Afseth, including his growing confidence as a member of the Nuggets‘ starting lineup — a role that will likely end soon, with Aaron Gordon officially ready to return to action on Sunday (Twitter link via the team).

Northwest Notes: Williams, Nuggets, Thunder, McDaniels

November 28th, 2024 at 8:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Star Thunder forward Jalen Williams departed the first half of Oklahoma City’s 105-101 road win Wednesday over the Warriors with a right eye injury, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.

All-NBA Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled mightily without Williams. He shot just 5-for-16 from the floor in the second half.

Oklahoma City center Isaiah Hartenstein opined that the team’s general approach to the game should not have been greatly changed even with the absence of Williams late. Instead, with Gilgeous-Alexander’s shot not falling, the team struggled to close out Golden State, nearly squandering its entire 19-point lead.

“But that shouldn’t change the way we play,” Hartenstein said of Williams’ departure. “I think we didn’t execute the way we should have. … We shouldn’t have been in that situation.”

There’s more out of the Northwest:

The Nuggets have had difficulty scoring in the “middle eight” of their first halves — the final four minutes of the first quarter and first four minutes of the second, observes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “We were talking about that the other day, about how I think there’s only one time in the first 16 games this season that we’ve won the last four minutes of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second quarter,” head coach Michael Malone said. “Every other game, (we lose) that eight-minute stretch, which coincides usually with Nikola (Jokic) being out. So there are a lot of nights where I think we actually get off to good starts. That we’re actually playing well. And then we have that stretch, that four-, six-, eight-minute stretch where the bottom falls out. … And the second half for whatever reason has been better.” According to Durando, Denver ranked No. 2 overall in second-half net rating ahead of their most recent matchup, and No. 29 in first halves.
Beyond their offensive issues in the “middle eight” period of first halves, the Nuggets have also shown slippage on defense early on this season, thanks in part to Aaron Gordon‘s extended absence. During their 122-103 win Wednesday against the Jazz, at least, the Nuggets appeared much improved on that end of the floor too, Durando writes in another Denver Post story. Point guard Jamal Murray picked up opponents for all 94 feet. “Being more physical from the start of the possession,” Murray said of his better defensive effort. “Not (letting) them get to their spots easy or set their screens where they want to set it. Stuff like that. So I think as a group, not just one or two guys, but getting everybody to do that (is important). And we were doing a good job of talking — I’m talking about this game. We’ve been doing a terrible job. But we did a better job today, of switching and talking, and even if there is a mistake or a blow-by, having help behind it.”
After being named to the 2024 All-Defensive Second Team, Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels is looking to level up this season, aspiring to be named to the All-Defensive First Team in 2025, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape. He’s currently in the first season of a five-year, $131MM contract extension he inked with Minnesota in the 2023 offseason. “That is one of my goals, being [First Team],” McDaniels said. “I was [Second Team] last season. It’s a big goal. First Team, we take it first step by step. For me, I guard the best players. I’m not shutting them down, but I make it tough for them. I make their [shooting] percentages lower.

Edwards, Timberwolves Searching For Answers After Another Loss

November 28th, 2024 at 3:40pm CST by Rory Maher

The Timberwolves dropped their fourth straight game on Wednesday against Sacramento after leading by 12 points with seven-plus minutes remaining. They have now lost seven of their past nine games and are currently 8-10 after finishing last season 56-26 and making their second-ever trip to the Western Conference Finals.

All-Star guard Anthony Edwards took exception to the Wolves’ behavior during the game, calling them “frontrunners” for cheering when they were ahead and staying silent when they weren’t. While the former No. 1 overall pick took responsibility for his part in the latest loss, he said he’s frustrated by the team’s immaturity, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“We soft as hell as a team, internally,” Edwards said. “Not to the other team, but internally, we soft. We can’t talk to each other. Just a bunch of little kids. Just like we playing with a bunch of little kids. Everybody, the whole team. We just can’t talk to each other. And we’ve got to figure it out, because we can’t go down this road.”

Edwards also took exception to being booed by the home crowd during stretches of poor play, according to Krawczysnki, who says Minnesota has been plagued by “poor body language and low energy” for the majority of the 2024/25 season.

“However many of us it is, all 15, we go into our own shell and we’re just growing away from each other,” Edwards said. “It’s obvious. We can see it. I can see it, the team can see it, the coaches can see it. The fans f—–g booing us. That (stuff) is crazy, man. We’re getting booed in our home arena. That’s so f—–g disrespectful, it’s crazy.”

Although it might seem like Edwards was livid given some of his responses, and he was undoubtedly frustrated, he presented as calm and introspective, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. But that doesn’t mean he’s any closer to finding the answers he’s searching for.

“We’re just so negative right now. Last couple years, we was like this,” Edwards said, making a motion to indicate the team was close. “And I just feel like we’ve gradually grown away from each other, which is the craziest thing, because most of us have been together. We’ve got two new players, that’s about it. Everybody else has been together.”

Veteran point guard Mike Conley, who returned to action following a three-game absence due to a toe sprain, said he initiated a halftime conversation on Wednesday after seeing that players weren’t communicating well or listening to each other.

“Trust me, we’ve spoken through the last three losses as a team, as players,” Conley said, according to Hine. “And at the end of the day, man, it comes down to us believing, believing again, believing in what we do. It’s not about you in the big game. It’s not about if you’re making shots, missing shots, if you turn it over. We have to live with each other’s deficiencies. We have to live with each other’s mistakes and pick each other up. And that’s what the message is right now is you can’t be immature about this.”

The beginning of the four-game skid featured an ominous dispute between Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. While the team expressed confidence that it would move forward together at the time, the opposite seems to be the case at the moment.

“I’m trying to get better in that aspect, figure out what the hell to say to get everybody on the same agenda because everybody right now is on different agendas,” Edwards said, per Krawczynski. “I think that’s one of the main culprits of why we’re losing because everybody out there got their own agenda. I guess their imagination of what’s supposed to be going on, and what’s happening.”

Northwest Notes: DiVincenzo, Edwards, Grant, D. Jones

November 27th, 2024 at 11:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Donte DiVincenzo‘s rocky start with the Timberwolves reached a new low when he was benched Tuesday night for the end of an overtime loss to Houston, writes Jenna Lemoncelli of The New York Post. DiVincenzo was an important contributor for the Knicks in their run to the playoffs last season, but he hasn’t been able to settle into that same role since being traded to Minnesota shortly before the start of training camp.

DiVincenzo is averaging 9.2 PPG while shooting 35.1% from the field and 32.2% from beyond the arc, a significant drop-off from what he did in New York. His playing time has been inconsistent, and he’s already been the subject of trade rumors barely a month into the season. He left Tuesday’s game for good midway through the third quarter and wound up with just three points in 15 minutes.

However, in his latest Substack column, Marc Stein reported that the Wolves tried for more than a year to land DiVincenzo and have no interest in listening to trade offers for him now.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Frustrations in the Twin Cities continued to grow on Wednesday night as Sacramento staged a late rally and handed the Timberwolves their fourth consecutive loss. Anthony Edwards believes there’s a problem with the team’s attitude toward the game, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “We got up and everybody cheering and f—ing hype,” Edwards said. “We get down again and don’t nobody say nothing. That’s the definition of a frontrunner. We as a team, including myself, we all was frontrunners tonight.”
Jerami Grant is the Trail Blazers player most likely to be traded before the February deadline, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report states in a mailbag column. Highkin picks Grant because at 30 he’s too old to be part of the team’s long-term foundation, but he’s still productive enough to help a contender. Highkin adds that Grant is a “known quantity” around the league, and his contract will become more reasonable once money from the new television rights deal starts coming in and the salary cap rises.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault should stop using rookie swingman Dillon Jones as a small-ball center, argues Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. Stiles contends that Jones hasn’t displayed an ability to handle that role and advocates for those minutes going to Kenrich Williams.

Northwest Notes: Conley, Dillingham, Hartenstein, Sensabaugh, Blazers

November 27th, 2024 at 9:59am CST by Luke Adams

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.

“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:

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.

Wolves Respond To Rudy Gobert-Julius Randle Dispute

November 23rd, 2024 at 7:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves were disappointed by Thursday’s loss at Toronto, but an in-game dispute involving their players was even more troubling, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune.

Tensions began to rise in the fourth quarter when Rudy Gobert posted up Scottie Barnes deep under the basket, but Julius Randle failed to throw him the ball to take advantage of the mismatch. According to Hine, Gobert was upset about not getting a chance to score and took too long to leave the lane, which resulted in a three-second violation.

On the next defensive possession, Gobert committed an unnecessary foul on Barnes, Anthony Edwards yelled at Gobert in frustration and a close game began to slip away as the Wolves lost focus.

The team had a “frank discussion” about the incident following the game, Hine adds, and both Gobert and Randle accepted responsibility while talking to the media before Saturday’s practice.

“Like I told the guys, as someone who really is big on leading by example, my reaction was a bad example,” Gobert admitted. “I let my emotions, my frustration get the best of me and that’s not who I am. I was sorry for that. I know these guys know me, know who I am, they know everything I do is for my teammates, everything I do is to win, so when I have one of those moments, we know that it’s just a moment.”

Hine points out that Gobert has been involved in other clashes with teammates since coming to Minnesota, most notably when he threw a punch at Kyle Anderson in the final game of the 2022/23 season. The team responded by suspending Gobert for the first game of the play-in tournament.

When Randle was acquired from New York last month, there were questions about whether he and Gobert could mesh their games together. Although Thursday’s incident might be interpreted as a red flag, Randle insists there’s no “beef” between them.

“Rudy’s been great. I’ve had no problem with Rudy,” Randle said. “He’s been great communicating. I feel like Rudy is a great teammate and he brings a lot to our team and we need Rudy. I’ve been to Rudy’s house, there is no beef or any animosity. It’s basketball. Things happen. Name a perfect family. I have never seen one. There’s always gonna be something. Things happen. You move forward with it. Me and Rudy are great. I’ve got no issue with him.”

Sources tell Hine that Edwards played a large role in Thursday’s post-game discussion. Randle didn’t disclose any details, but he said Edwards isn’t afraid to “speak his mind” and has earned that privilege by consistently being a positive leader.

The team needs to regain its “spirit,” according to coach Chris Finch, who viewed the openness at today’s media session as a step in that direction. The Wolves have stumbled out of the gate after reaching the Western Conference Finals last season, and Finch believes too many players are being affected by their individual performances.

“I don’t think it’s a selfish thing in that regard,” he said. “… I think it’s more they’ve been a little disappointed and had a hard time hiding their emotions, and there’s a maturity and a toughness that comes with that. Mistakes are going to be made, people are going to miss you, coverages are going to be blown, shots are not going to go in, decisions might be right, might be wrong, it’s the reaction to all that stuff that you can control and we have to be better at.”

And-Ones: Playoff Format, Trade Market, All-Star Game, More

November 22nd, 2024 at 8:33pm CST by Luke Adams

If the NBA expands to 32 teams in the coming years, executives for Western Conference teams are hopeful it will provide the league an opportunity to revisit the idea of seeding the playoff teams one through 16, regardless of conference, according to Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link).

Assuming Seattle and Las Vegas, the presumed frontrunners, get teams in the next round of expansion, a current Western Conference team – likely one of the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, or Pelicans – would have to move East to balance out the two conferences. Given the relative strength of the East vs. the West, those three clubs may push hard to be the one chosen, but that battle could potentially be avoided by revamping the postseason seeds, Windhorst suggests.

“It would be the right thing to do for the health of the league,” one West general manager told ESPN. “It’s not just about fairness, it’s about giving the fans the best playoff product.”

A change along those lines would require the approval of at least three-quarters of the NBA’s teams (23 of 30), as Bontemps observes, which means at least eight Eastern Conference teams would have to get on board with the idea, potentially voting against their own interests.

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

Bontemps and Windhorst suggest in the same ESPN story that many scouts and executives around the NBA believe the 2024/25 in-season trade market will take a while to get going. Trades this early in the season are somewhat rare anyway, and new CBA-related restrictions related to aprons and hard caps have only made deals more challenging. “We were looking at a trade concept the other day and there were three reasons the other team wouldn’t be allowed to do it,” one general manager told Windhorst. “One of the rules I didn’t even know about.”
In another Insider-only story for ESPN, Bontemps ranks all 30 NBA teams’ cores, listing each club’s top three building blocks based on both present and future value. The Celtics (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White) top the list, while the Nets (Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, Cam Thomas) come in at No. 30.
Joe Vardon and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic provide some additional details on the proposed changes to the NBA’s All-Star format, noting that since the league is expected to split its All-Stars into four teams, the head coaches for the top two teams in each conference (four in total) will likely be invited to All-Star weekend to coach a squad. As Vardon and Vorkunov detail, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement calls for the players on the winning All-Star team to earn $100K, while the players on the losing team earns $25K. The NBA and NBPA need to renegotiate those figures before formally implementing the new format, which would result in three losing teams instead of just one.
In a memo sent to team officials, the NBA urged its players to take extra precautions to secure their homes in the wake of a string of burglaries affecting Bucks big man Bobby Portis and Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, among others. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press has the story.

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Thunder, Hartenstein, Ayton

November 17th, 2024 at 5:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards racked up 36 points in an overtime win over the Kings on Friday. He also racked up a fine, according to the NBA (Twitter link).

Edwards was docked $35K by the league for making an obscene gesture on the playing court. The incident, which saw Edwards give a Sacramento fan the middle finger (Twitter link), occurred during the first quarter.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Chet Holmgren‘s pelvic injury has forced the Thunder to use smaller lineups. They got out-rebounded by 55 boards in the two-game span that followed Holmgren’s injury, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman notes, but also forced 48 turnovers in those contests. “A little bit is just the mentality of trying to get our best players on the court, regardless of position,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “That’s been something we’ve prioritized for a period of time now, and that’s often been perimeter players at different times, as it is now.”
It may not be long before the Thunder are able to use more traditional lineups. Key free agent pickup Isaiah Hartenstein was spotted working out and dunking during the pregame against Phoenix on Friday, Lorenzi tweets. Hartenstein, the former Knicks center, fractured his left hand last month.
Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton underwent imaging on his injured right index finger which revealed a deep contusion of the proximal phalanx, according to a team press release. Ayton sat out Sunday’s game against Atlanta and the team said additional updates will be provided as appropriate. The big man is averaging 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season.

Northwest Notes: Clingan, Sharpe, Avdija, Gobert, Kessler

November 14th, 2024 at 10:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

With Robert Williams sitting out and Deandre Ayton sidelined by a finger injury, Trail Blazers lottery pick Donovan Clingan had his best outing of the season in a win over Minnesota on Wednesday. In 31 minutes, Clingan racked up 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks.

“I love defense,” Clingan told Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. “It brings energy to the team. That’s how you win ballgames.”

Shaedon Sharpe also had a big night with 33 points in 36 minutes. Coach Chauncey Billups was thrilled with Sharpe’s assertiveness.

“Shae is such a teammate and he doesn’t want to step on anybody’s toes and wants to just kind of fit in,” Billups said. “And I’m telling him, ‘No, you need to go.’ I’ve got to force him. But he’ll get used to it. He loves that we depend on him to do some of those things. The more that happens, the more he’ll get used to it.”

Sharpe will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Deni Avdija, who is now coming off the bench for the Trail Blazers, had a notable outing against Minnesota on Tuesday. He accumulated 17 points, four rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes. In Wednesday’s win, Avdija added seven points and six rebounds in 18 minutes. Billups believes Avdija is well suited for a bench role, according to Aaron Fentress of Oregonlive.com. “Deni is tough,” Billups said. “He plays with a lot of fire. And we need that. We got a lot of kind of easy-going chill guys out there, and his mentality, we need it.”
The Timberwolves have a 6-6 record after those back-to-back losses to Portland. Rudy Gobert told Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he blames himself for the latest defeats. “Those two games are mostly on me defensively,” Gobert said. “I need to set the tone for the team, and I haven’t done it these last two games.”
Jazz center Walker Kessler hasn’t played since Saturday and he’ll miss Thursday’s game against the Mavericks, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. The team is labeling the ailment as right hip bursitis. Kessler is averaging 9.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest.

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