Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Wolves, Dillingham, Murray, Westbrook, Simons

January 18th, 2025 at 8:32am CST by Tristan Tucker

For the second time in three seasons, the Timberwolves have struggled to develop chemistry following a massive offseason trade, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes.

“It’s an adjustment, but we want to be winning games while we’re figuring it out,” Julius Randle said. “We show phases of being able to do that.”

MacMahon explores the various reasons for Minnesota’s troubles, including defensive slippage from last season, a lack of ball movement, and statistical regressions from top players.

After a career year for the Knicks last season, guard Donte DiVincenzo in particular hasn’t adapted as quickly to Minnesota. However, it seems as though DiVincenzo has turned a corner since mid-December, averaging 15.5 points per game on 43.7% shooting from deep in his last 15 games.

“It’s a mental game of just being aggressive and just going out there and being myself,” DiVincenzo said, who is now out with a toe injury. “There’s no secret behind that for me. When I’m passive, I’m not my best self.”

Despite DiVincenzo and others turning around their individual games, the Wolves continue to have an up-and-down season. They’re fresh off a 17-point win against the Knicks, but are 2-2 in their last four, 5-5 in their last 10, and 8-8 in their last 16.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Wolves rookie guard Rob Dillingham returned from an ankle injury on Friday. After not appearing in a game since Dec. 23, Dillingham played over 13 minutes in the win over New York, making four of his six field goal attempts and notching nine points and three assists. “He fire. Everybody know it. The world know it. It just takes time,” teammate Anthony Edwards said, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link). “It’s going to happen. … We been missing him the last couple weeks. He just got back out there and showed why he should be playing.”
The Nuggets‘ season hinges on Jamal Murray continuing to find high-level success, Troy Renck of The Denver Post opines. It seems as though Murray is hitting a stride, racking up 45 points in a 19-point win over Dallas on Tuesday and scoring 30 in a 20-point victory against Miami on Friday.
Denver is 9-4 in its last 13 games, with Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup as Aaron Gordon recovered from a calf injury and dealt with a minutes restriction upon returning to action. Bennett Durando of The Denver Post explores whether Westbrook will remain a starter once Gordon’s restriction is lifted and, if so, whose spot he’ll take. Westbrook has had his most productive stretch of the season during this stretch, averaging 15.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists while shooting 51.3% from the field and 38.3% from three.
Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons went scoreless for the first time since 2021 in a loss to the Clippers on Thursday, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes. Simons is averaging 18.2 points per game on 42.0% shooting this season after putting up 21.7 PPG on 43.9% shooting across the previous two seasons.

Northwest Notes: Wolves, DiVincenzo, Henderson, Camara, Murray

January 16th, 2025 at 11:06pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Timberwolves are out of excuses after losing to the shorthanded Warriors on Wednesday, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. Nearly everything went wrong for Minnesota, including a slow start to open the game that saw the Wolves fall behind 13-0.

“They came out how we should’ve come out,” said Donte DiVincenzo, who scored 28 points to go along with nine assists and six rebounds. “There’s no excuses. I think we just have to be better to start the game. We got it together. We fought and clawed our way back, but we start the game differently, this is a different story.”

Gui Santos made his first career start for Golden State and was effective, while Rudy Gobert was out-rebounded by Trayce Jackson-Davis. The Wolves rank 22nd in defensive rebounding after finishing ninth last year, which Krawczynski writes is a direct result of Gobert’s regression.

Anthony Edwards was critical of the lineup – himself included – that surrendered that early 13-0 deficit, Krawczynski writes in the same story.

“The starting five, we are terrible,” Edwards said. “Every game we come out low energy and the second group comes in and gives us energy. I would say the starting group has gotta come out with more energy like we want to play the game of basketball, like we love the game.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Things won’t get any easier for the Timberwolves as they embark on a difficult stretch that includes tilts against the Knicks, Cavaliers and Grizzlies. DiVincenzo is out with a toe sprain, according to team PR (Twitter link). It’s not clear exactly how much DiVincenzo will miss, but toe sprain absences are often measured in weeks and not days.
The Trail Blazers saw a glimpse of a brighter future in a Tuesday loss to the Nets, Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report writes. Second-year players Scoot Henderson and Toumani Camara both recorded career games, with Henderson scoring a career-high 39 points while making eight three-pointers and Camara finishing the night with 24 points.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone expressed confidence last month that Jamal Murray would begin to silence his critics with his play and, after a season-high 45 points from the Kentucky product on Tuesday, Malone defended his guard again. “I think the microscope on Jamal is a little intense,” Malone said, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “Everybody’s just got to kind let the kid breathe a little bit. He’s not perfect. And if you look, I think his overall stats as of recently, he’s been very good for us.“

Northwest Notes: Edwards, Caruso, Timberwolves, Cancar

January 13th, 2025 at 8:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was fined again by the league, this time for making obscene gestures toward an official. It’s the fifth time Edwards has been docked by the league this season. He’s also tied for the league lead with nine technicals. Head coach Chris Finch says he has spoken with Edwards about both issues.

“It’s been addressed for sure,” said Finch, per Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link). “It’s been addressed organizationally, individually. I think he’s aware. We’re all aware.”

Finch believes Edwards will do a better job of controlling his emotions, Hine adds in another tweet.

“He’s extremely self-aware. I think he has emotional control for sure,” Finch said. “I think he’s frustrated on many levels. I think some of that frustration is certainly in & around the whistle no doubt, but he’s just got to figure it out, play through it and he’ll be fine.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Alex Caruso is no longer listed on the Thunder injury report, signaling that he’ll suit up for Tuesday’s game against Philadelphia, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets. Caruso, who signed a four-year extension last month, has missed the past 10 games with a left hip strain.
The parties involved in the Timberwolves’ ownership battle met for a final time on Jan. 10, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. Arbitration hearings were held in early November and it was expected to take a few months for a ruling. The decision will likely be handed down within the next 30 days. The dispute over control of the franchise between minority owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez and principal owner Glen Taylor moved to arbitration in July.
Vlatko Cancar traveled with the Nuggets to Dallas over the weekend and went through a full pregame workout, Grant Afseth of the Dallas Sports Journal tweets. Cancar underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Dec. 4. At that time, the team indicated that Cancar would be reexamined in eight weeks. The forward/center is currently inked to a one-year, $2.1MM veteran’s minimum deal.

Northwest Notes: Shannon, Dillingham, Murray, Gordon, J. Williams

January 13th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Rookie guard Terrence Shannon has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 right mid-foot sprain, the Timberwolves announced in a press release.

Shannon, who sustained the injury on Saturday while on a G League assignment with the Iowa Wolves, will be out at least two weeks, which is when he’ll be reevaluated. His return timeline is expected to be two-to-four weeks, per the Timberwolves.

The 27th overall pick of the 2024 draft, Shannon hasn’t played much for Minnesota during his debut campaign in the NBA, averaging just 4.5 minutes per contest in 10 appearances. The former Texas Tech and Illinois star has been dominant in the NBAGL though, averaging 36.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steal on .540/.364/.963 shooting in four total games with Iowa (36.3 MPG).

Here’s more from the Northwest:

The Timberwolves‘ other first-round pick, Rob Dillingham, is on the mend from a right ankle sprain. On Sunday, Minnesota announced (via Twitter) that the former Kentucky guard was cleared for full contact 5-on-5 work. He was subsequently sent to Iowa for a rehab assignment.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been playing through left knee soreness, which caused him to be pulled at halftime from Friday’s victory over Brooklyn, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Head coach Michael Malone admitted that he almost repeated that on Sunday in Dallas, when Murray struggled mightily in the first half vs. Dallas, only to help lead the team to a turnaround victory in the second half. “I’m just gonna defend him for a second. Because he’s not 100% healthy,” Malone said after the win. “I thought about shutting him down at halftime. Because I’m watching him out there, and I know that’s not the Jamal Murray that (I watch) when he’s playing healthy. That wasn’t him, if that makes sense.”
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon had an “outstanding” showing in his return to action on Sunday, Durando writes in another story for The Denver Post. “I think we’ll probably stay right around 20 (minutes) for a while, and then probably go to about 25,” said Gordon, who had 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting), six rebounds, two assists and a block, with Denver outscoring Dallas by 23 points in his 18 minutes. “And then I don’t know. We’ll probably stay around there for a little while. … I don’t care whether I start or come off the bench. It does not matter to me. As long as I can contribute to winning the game for us and help us win, I don’t care.” Gordon has missed a total of 19 games this season due to right calf issues.
Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman makes the case for Jalen Williams to be selected to his first All-Star game, noting that the third-year forward is putting up career-best counting stats for the Thunder, who hold the best record in the Western Conference (32-6). Mussatto points out that Williams’ efficiency has dipped as his usage rate has increased, but ultimately thinks the 23-year-old will be one of the final wild card selections, as he’s been the second-best player on the second-best team in the league.

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.