Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rudy Gobert Receives One-Game Suspension, Out Vs. Lakers

April 10th, 2023 at 1:23pm CST by Rory Maher

1:23pm: The Wolves officially confirmed Gobert’s one-game suspension in a press release.

12:36pm: Rudy Gobert isn’t traveling with the Timberwolves and will not compete in the play-in game against the Lakers on Tuesday after receiving a one-game suspension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

Gobert is expected to return for the following game(s), whether that’s another play-in contest or a first-round playoff series, Wojnarowski adds.

According to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Wolves decided to suspend Gobert after reviewing his altercation with Kyle Anderson on Sunday, when Gobert took a swing at his frontcourt teammate. The two players continued to argue at halftime, with Gobert ultimately getting sent home by the team.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was experiencing back spasms that hindered his mobility, but was pushed to play yesterday due to the importance of the game. Reports indicated that Anderson profanely told Gobert to play better defense, which evidently caused Gobert to punch Anderson in the left shoulder/chest area. The veteran center subsequently privately and publicly apologized, but obviously the team didn’t take his actions lightly.

The Wolves will also be without Jaden McDaniels for the rest of the season after he broke his hand punching a wall. The third-year forward was frustrated after picking up two early fouls. Backup center Naz Reid is expected to miss several weeks as well following wrist surgery to repair a fracture.

Despite being down two starters for the majority of the game, Minnesota wound up defeating New Orleans in a close, back-and-forth game. The victory clinched the No. 8 seed entering the play-in tournament for the Wolves, while the Pelicans fell to No. 9.

The winner of the Lakers/Wolves matchup will advance as the No. 7 seed and play Memphis in the first round. The loser will play the winner of Wednesday’s Pelicans/Thunder matchup on Friday for a chance at the No. 8 seed.

Northwest Notes: Gobert, McDaniels, Grant, Giddey

April 10th, 2023 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves haven’t determined if Rudy Gobert will accompany the team for Tuesday’s play-in game against the Lakers, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Gobert was sent home during Sunday’s contest after a fight on the bench with teammate Kyle Anderson that reignited at halftime. Head coach Chris Finch told reporters that he will talk with president of basketball operations Tim Connelly before making a final decision on Gobert’s status.

Krawczynski sheds a little more light on the incident, revealing that Gobert was experiencing back spasms Sunday and Anderson pushed him to play because the Wolves needed a win to avoid falling into the 9-10 play-in matchup. Gobert started the game, but his movement was limited by the back condition. During a timeout, Anderson snapped at him to improve his defense and Gobert responded with a punch that hit Anderson in the left shoulder before they were quickly separated.

Gobert was escorted to the locker room with 4:37 left in the first half, but he and Anderson confronted each other again during halftime. Connelly and assistant GM Dell Demps had to calm down the situation and made the decision to have Gobert leave the arena.

Gobert issued a public apology on Twitter Sunday night, admitting that “emotions got the best of me today.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Jaden McDaniels‘ broken right hand was a result of frustration after being whistled for two early fouls on Sunday, Krawczynski adds. McDaniels walked down the tunnel to try to calm down and wound up punching a wall, leaving the Timberwolves to prepare for the Lakers without their best perimeter defender. “Certainly immaturity has been one of our issues all season,” Finch said.
Jerami Grant is pondering a four-year, $112MM extension offer from the Trail Blazers, but even if he opts for free agency it sounds like there’s a good chance he’ll stay in Portland, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. “I definitely like it here,” Grant said. “I’m looking forward to the talks and trying to figure something out. I definitely feel comfortable here.”
With a play-in spot already wrapped up, the Thunder had the luxury of resting their rotation players on Sunday, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. There’s plenty of optimism in Oklahoma City after a top-10 finish in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season. “From where we were last year to this year, it speaks volumes to what we’ve been able to do and how much we’ve been able to improve,” Josh Giddey said. “As long as we stay on this right path, I think this team and this organization is gonna be in good hands for a long time.”

Gobert Sends Apology To Teammates

April 9th, 2023 at 7:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The confrontation between the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson got physical when Anderson profanely told Gobert to shut up during a timeout, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The argument began with Anderson telling Gobert to block some shots and Gobert replying that Anderson should grab some rebounds.

The duo also had a heated verbal exchange in the locker room at halftime, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Timberwolves guard Mike Conley played a crucial role in calming things down and getting the team refocused.

After being told to leave the building, Gobert sent an apologetic text message to his Timberwolves teammates in a group chat, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez tweets. Anderson said he’ll talk things over with Gobert. “We’ll speak about it and move on. We’re grown men,” Anderson said.

Rudy Gobert Punches Kyle Anderson; McDaniels Fractures Hand

April 9th, 2023 at 5:23pm CST by Dana Gauruder

5:23pm: McDaniels has a fractured hand, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Minnesota’s President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly, addressing the Gobert situation, didn’t specify whether he would take further action against Gobert, Wojnarowski tweets: “We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter. His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue handling the situation internally.”

4:23pm: Rudy Gobert was sent home by the Timberwolves after he punched teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout on Sunday afternoon, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

In a video posted by Backcourt Alerts (Twitter link), Gobert and Anderson could be seen standing up and arguing with each other. Gobert lurched forward and took a swing at Anderson, hitting him in the chest. Anderson then had to be restrained from retaliating.

Minnesota is in the midst of a pivotal game against New Orleans. The Timberwolves could be seeded anywhere from seventh to ninth in the Western Conference play-in tournament, depending on the outcome of that game and the Lakers’ game against Utah.

Interestingly and somewhat ironically, Gobert commented about Anderson’s leadership skills to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Twitter link) on Saturday.

“Kyle wants to win and sometimes he’s a little aggressive in the way he talks, but I don’t take it personally,” Gobert said a day ago. “I receive it in a positive way because it comes from a place of wanting me to be the best Rudy I can be and wanting us to win. I love his competitiveness, love the way he plays the game.”

In a separate development, forward Jaden McDaniels left the game with a right hand injury, the team’s PR department tweets. McDaniels apparently suffered the injury when he punched a wall while exiting the court, Pelicans Film Room tweets.

It’s obviously an ominous way for Minnesota to enter the play-in tournament for the second straight season. It remains to be seen whether Gobert will draw a team suspension for his actions, which would put it at a disadvantage up front. Minnesota’s key frontcourt reserve, Naz Reid, underwent wrist surgery on Wednesday.

Anthony Edwards Getting Past Illness and Ankle Injury

April 8th, 2023 at 9:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards feels like he’s getting back to normal after dealing with a sprained right ankle and an illness that affected most of the team, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Edwards scored 33 points in Saturday’s win over the Spurs, and he hopes it will lead to better things in the postseason. “I feel like I’m back to myself, the young guy in the locker room who bring all the energy,” Edwards said. “… I mean, it was a little frustrating, for real, because I couldn’t play how I wanted to play. I wasn’t having the best games. I wasn’t feeling like myself out there. It was just something I had to go through.”

Conversation Between KAT, Finch Pays Dividends

April 6th, 2023 at 2:48pm CST by Rory Maher

After attempting just three shots in the Timberwolves‘ worst loss of the season on Sunday against the tanking Trail Blazers, Karl-Anthony Towns spoke to head coach Chris Finch to ensure they would be on the same page going forward, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “We had a conversation,” Towns told reporters after scoring 22 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in an essential victory over the Nets. “We have a great relationship, so that conversation obviously paid dividends tonight. We had a good conversation about philosophies. We got it done today.”

Naz Reid Undergoes Surgery, Expected To Miss Six Weeks

April 5th, 2023 at 2:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

APRIL 5: Reid has undergone surgery to repair his left scaphoid fracture, the Timberwolves announced today in a press release. The team didn’t confirm or dispute the recovery timeline reported by Wojnarowski (noted below), simply reiterating that the big man will be sidelined indefinitely.

MARCH 31: Timberwolves center Naz Reid will undergo surgery on his fractured left wrist, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

He’ll be sidelined for six weeks, likely ending his season unless Minnesota makes a significant playoff run. It’s a huge blow for the Timberwolves, as Reid filled in admirably during Karl-Anthony Towns‘ extended absence and had just moved to a significant bench role.

The center suffered the injury during the second half of a 107-100 loss to the Suns on Wednesday, in a fall after a dunk attempt.

In 68 games this season, the 6’9″ big man had been averaging 11.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, and 0.8 BPG across 18.4 MPG for the Timberwolves.

He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer after earning the vet minimum this season.

Nathan Knight figures to play a more prominent role and it’s possible the Timberwolves might try to clear a roster spot for two-way big man Luka Garza.

Mike Conley Among Finalists For Sportsmanship Award

April 4th, 2023 at 9:36am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced six finalists – one from each division – for its 2022/23 Sportsmanship Award (Twitter link). Those players are Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, and Rockets big man Boban Marjanovic.

Leftover Details On Lakers/Jazz/Wolves Blockbuster

April 4th, 2023 at 8:00am CST by Luke Adams

Within a larger story about the Timberwolves‘ duo of Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports looks back at how the trade deadline blockbuster involving the Wolves, Lakers, and Jazz came together, noting that Utah significantly dropped its asking price for taking back Russell Westbrook as the deadline neared. While those negotiations initially involved just the Jazz and Lakers, they expanded to include Minnesota in part because “some factions” of the Lakers’ front office preferred to acquire a point guard younger than Conley and zeroed in on D’Angelo Russell, Fischer writes.

Western Notes: Kessler, Watson, Morant, KAT

April 3rd, 2023 at 5:33pm CST by Rory Maher

Jazz center Walker Kessler will likely miss the rest of the regular season after entering the league’s concussion protocol, a source tells ESPN’s Tim MacMahon (Twitter link).

The 21-year-old sustained the injury when he was inadvertently elbowed by teammate Talen Horton-Tucker as Horton-Tucker drove to the basket, causing Kessler to fall backward. The play occurred during the third quarter of Utah’s loss at Brooklyn on Sunday.

Kessler, the No. 22 overall pick of the 2022 draft, has been one of the league’s best rookies in 2022/23. He leads the NBA in field goal percentage (72.0%), is second in block percentage (8.5%), fourth in blocks per game (2.3), and is second among rookies in rebounds per game (8.4) while also chipping in 9.2 points per game in 74 contests (23.0 minutes).

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports doesn’t expect Peyton Watson to be in the Nuggets‘ playoff rotation, but the young wing has shown in the last two games that he’s a terrific athlete with plenty of defensive upside, compiling 13 rebounds and five blocks over 47 minutes against Phoenix and Golden State. Watson, the No. 30 overall pick last year, has spent most of the season with Denver’s G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, but Wind writes that people within the organization believe the rookie could make All-Defensive teams in the future.
For his part, Watson says he’s not taking his opportunity for granted and believes he’s ready to contribute, according to Parker Gabriel of The Denver Post. “This is a big responsibility that coach is trusting me with,” the Nuggets rookie said. “I’m grateful for it all and I’m going to continue to work. I’m not satisfied.”
Due to the Rose Rule language included in his rookie scale extension, Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant would earn a projected $233,160,000 if he makes an All-NBA team again this season, compared to $194,300,000 if he doesn’t. Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commericial Appeal takes a look at Morant’s chances of making one of the three All-NBA teams, writing that the star’s eight-game suspension shouldn’t be held against him from a merit standpoint, as he has already appeared in more games than last season. However, Morant faces stiffer competition with so many guards having strong seasons, and if he does make it, which is far from a lock, he might be the sixth and final guard selected, according to Giannotto.
Timberwolves power forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns has seen his status downgraded to questionable ahead of Minnesota’s next contest, Tuesday against the Nets, the team announced (Twitter link). Towns just recently returned to the club’s lineup after a four-month absence due to a Grade 3 calf strain.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this report.