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Timberwolves Notes: Reid, Beverley, Ryan, Anderson

December 17th, 2022 at 9:45am CST by Luke Adams

With Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert unavailable on Friday night, Timberwolves center Naz Reid got his first start of the season in Oklahoma City and delivered in a big way. The big man’s 28 points were easily a season high, and he also chipped in nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals. The Wolves outscored the Thunder by 21 points with Reid on the floor in a game they won by just two points.

The performance was a reminder of why the Wolves have been trying to lock up Reid to a contract extension for several months, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter links), who says the 23-year-old’s best play might be to wait for unrestricted free agency.

As we noted when news of Reid’s extension negotiations with the team first broke, Minnesota could offer up to about $58MM over four years, and I’m skeptical he’ll do better than that as a free agent. But perhaps it makes sense for him to see what else is available on the open market, especially if the Wolves’ offers have been modest.

Although Reid is in a contract year, Wolfson doesn’t expect Minnesota to seriously consider trading him before the February deadline, arguing that it would be hard to get fair value for him and noting that the Wolves still have “lofty” goals for this season that Reid can help them achieve (Twitter links).

Here are a few more Timberwolves notes:

Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic discusses a bevy of Timberwolves-related topics in his latest mailbag, addressing the team’s apparent leadership void, D’Angelo Russell‘s trade value, and Anthony Edwards‘ development, among many other topics. Krawczynski also responds to the recent report that said Patrick Beverley would welcome a return to Minnesota if he’s traded and then bought out, suggesting a reunion this season looks like a “long shot.”
New Timberwolves sharpshooter Matt Ryan, who signed a two-way contract with the team last Thursday, said earlier this week that everyone in Minnesota has made him feel welcome and that he’s hoping to get more of an opportunity to play than he did with the Lakers. “I thought that I was one of the better shooters on the (Lakers), but the opportunity wasn’t there for whatever reasons,” Ryan said, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. “Now coming here, from the feedback I’ve gotten, their three-point shooting is struggling and it’s just, ‘Be ready.'”
Britt Robson of MinnPost.com takes a look at the “near-comprehensive competence” of forward Kyle Anderson and explores what he has brought to the Timberwolves. Minnesota used most of its mid-level exception to bring in Anderson over the summer.

Beverley Wants To Rejoin Wolves If He's Traded And Bought Out

December 14th, 2022 at 11:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The first-round pick the Lakers offered the Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic was “heavily protected,” according to Fischer, who hears from sources that Patrick Beverley hopes to rejoin the Timberwolves if he’s dealt to a rebuilding club like Detroit and reaches a buyout agreement. Beverley and Kendrick Nunn were included in L.A.’s offer for salary-matching purposes.

Northwest Notes: Gobert, Conley, Russell, Thunder

December 10th, 2022 at 9:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Rudy Gobert got a warm reception in his return to Utah Friday night, but things turned hostile after he dropped in a late layup with the game already decided, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. The Timberwolves held an eight-point lead with 12 seconds left to play as the Jazz decided to trap on defense. Minnesota passed the ball to Gobert, who scored with 2.4 seconds left.

After the final buzzer, Malik Beasley, who was sent to Utah in the Gobert trade, began yelling at Gobert and accused him of violating “one of the unwritten rules of basketball,” according to Walden. Jarred Vanderbilt, who was also in the deal, walked up to Gobert and shoved him.

Gobert was upset that the skirmish marred his night, which included a tribute video commemorating his nine seasons with the Jazz.

“I don’t know what it was. But I’ve been taught to play basketball until the last second,” Gobert told reporters. “For me, there was never any intent to disrespect anybody. So these guys that stepped in front of me — you’re not going to do anything anyway. I didn’t get to shake hands with my guys, so it kind of killed my moment a little bit. But it is what it is — some guys just want attention.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Jazz guard Mike Conley can understand what Gobert was feeling heading into Friday’s game because he went through the same experience when he returned to Memphis, Walden adds. “You just gotta try your best to do your job, but at the same time enjoy this moment,” Conley said, “because you only get to do this situation one time, where you get to come back and play against your team that you did so much for.”
A hot-shooting night in Cleveland about a month ago helped Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell turn his season around, per Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Russell said that before that game, in which he made 11-of-13 shots from the field, he was taking “the wrong approach” to his duties with the team. “I was trying to be too focused on being a point guard instead of a basketball player,” he said. “… I kind of just play basketball freely and have fun. I pass the ball, so I’m labeled as a point guard. But just being a full, all-around basketball player, [I was] switching my approach to that.”
Asked about Darius Bazley possibly re-entering the rotation, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault responded with a general answer, tweets Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “We’re trying to help every guy understand their individual style of play that maximizes their strength and maximizes their ability to impact the team,” Daigneault said. “I would say that’s basically the template, the blueprint for every guy.”

Taurean Prince Still At Least One Week Away

December 10th, 2022 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Having already missed seven games due to a right shoulder subluxation, Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince is expected to be out for at least one more week, head coach Chris Finch said on Friday. As Dane Moore of Blue Wire Pods tweets, Prince is doing on-court work and making progress, but still has a ways to go.

Would Wolves Make Gobert Trade Again? Rand Says "Probably"

December 9th, 2022 at 10:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Prior to the Timberwolves‘ matchup with the Jazz on Friday, which the Wolves won 118-108 to move to 13-12, Michael Rand of The Star Tribune wrote an article about whether Minnesota would still make the Rudy Gobert deal right now, with the knowledge that the start to the season would be uneven. He believes the answer is “probably,” because while there have definitely been bumps along the way, Gobert has played better of late and he’s starting to develop some chemistry with teammates.

Timberwolves Notes: Reid, Garza, Gobert

December 8th, 2022 at 9:22pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Timberwolves center Naz Reid is adjusting to life backing up Minnesota’s All-NBA frontcourt of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. That has meant playing power forward in addition to center.

“Guarding different players and position,” Reid said of the change. “It’s very different actually.”

With Towns sidelined indefinitely due to a right calf injury, the 6’9″ Reid will get additional rotation minutes as a reserve. He should see more time at the five rather than the four until Towns is back.

“I wouldn’t say I can’t play the four… it’s a big role I’m going to be in within the next couple weeks,” Reid said. “I’m excited to be in that role and excited to help our team.”

The fourth-year big man out of LSU is averaging 7.8 PPG on 52.8% shooting from the floor, along with 3.7 RPG and 0.9 BPG, across just 14.3 MPG.

There’s more out of Minnesota:

Two-way Timberwolves big man Luka Garza has recently shown out in his play for the team’s NBAGL affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. Hines wonders in another piece if the 6’11” center/forward can become a part of Minnesota’s future. Garza’s 29.8 PPG, on 62.8% shooting, leads the entire NBA G League, and he has also put up 9.2 RPG and 3.2 APG. “I love this system that we play with here,” Garza said of the coordinated approach of both the Iowa and Minnesota franchises. “We play a lot through the bigs, Karl and Rudy. It’s very evident and it’s kind of the same thing with me down there. We’re not only put in positions to score but make decisions and get guys involved.” Hine notes that Garza could get additional time at the NBA level with Towns unavailable.
Rudy Gobert‘s new teammates continue to learn about how best to fit in with his game, Hines writes in another Star Tribune story. That extends to how Gobert feels about help coverage around the basket — he is not a fan. “When someone drives on me, unless I fall down, which doesn’t happen, just let me make a play,” Gobert said. “Then if they score, I’ll take the blame.”
Following a largely successful nine-season run with the Jazz, Gobert was flipped to Minnesota in the offseason. Now, he’s gearing up for his first game in Utah as an opposing player on Friday, Hine writes. “I just want to enjoy the moment,” Gobert said. “There’s a lot of people that I have a lot of love for over there. There’s a lot of great memories. … I just want to enjoy the moment and, of course, get a win.” Gobert won three Defensive Player of the Year awards and made three All-Star teams during his time with the Jazz, though his teams failed to advance beyond the second round of the playoffs.

Timberwolves Sign Matt Ryan To Two-Way Deal, Waive Lawson

December 8th, 2022 at 12:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 8: The Timberwolves have put out a press release officially announcing that they’ve signed Ryan to a two-way contract and waived Lawson.

DECEMBER 6: The Timberwolves are signing forward Matt Ryan to a two-way contract, Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweet. Minnesota will waive A.J. Lawson to make room for Ryan, Krawczynski adds in another tweet.

Ryan was waived by the Lakers last week.

Minnesota ranks 28th in 3-point shooting at 32.6% and hopes that Ryan can help in that area. He joined the Lakers on a non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract in September and earned a spot on the regular season roster.

Ryan made 13-of-35 attempts 3-point attempts (37.1%) for L.A. this season but only converted 2-of-14 two-pointers. In total, he averaged 3.9 PPG in 12 appearances (10.8 MPG).

Ryan went undrafted out of Chattanooga in 2020 and eventually landed with the Grand Rapids Gold in the G League in 2021/22. He made his NBA debut with the Celtics this past spring.

Lawson appeared in just one game for the Timberwolves after signing a two-way contract in mid-November. He was playing for the Hawks’ G League affiliate prior to inking that contract.

It’s the second time Minnesota has waived Lawson. He was previously signed on a two-way deal in July. The Wolves initially waived him to add Luka Garza in mid-October.

Tim Connelly: Wolves Expected “Growing Pains” With Rudy Gobert Trade

December 7th, 2022 at 5:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

President of basketball operations Tim Connelly admits the Rudy Gobert trade hasn’t been an immediate success for the Timberwolves, but he never expected it to be, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Connelly explains that Minnesota made the deal with Utah with the understanding that it would take time to adjust to a unique player like Gobert.

“We didn’t have expectations it was initially going to hit the ground running. We kind of expected a lot of growing pains there,” Connelly said. “So I think, individually, Rudy’s been fantastic. When we’re fully healthy, we’ve got to figure out how to most effectively employ all those guys. It’s a win-loss league. If we had three or four more wins right now, it would be an emphatic positive.”

Instead, the Wolves are in 11th place in the West at 11-12 and have rarely looked like the energetic team that raised expectations in last season’s playoffs. Gobert is averaging 11.2 PPG, his lowest scoring numbers in seven years, and his rebounding is down to 11.4 per game after he led the league last season at 14.7. Most alarming is that he’s averaging just 1.3 blocks per night, about half of what he did in his best seasons in Utah, after being brought to Minnesota as a rim protector.

Connelly believes the statistical decline has a lot to do with getting used to a new set of teammates, and he expressed confidence that Gobert will eventually bounce back. He also stressed that the team’s perimeter players have to do a better job of clogging the lane and not relying so much on Gobert.

“There’s not a rim protector in the world who can just face live-ball dribbles all game,” Connelly said. “It’s not going to work. We have had moments of that where, ‘Hey Rudy’s back there so I can play olé defense.’”

Connelly paid a high price to acquire Gobert, so he understands why fans are impatient. The Wolves parted with three players who were instrumental to last season’s success — Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley — along with a collection of draft picks that stretch all the way to 2029.

One of the issues raised by those who questioned the trade was how Gobert would fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns and whether having two big men on the court at the same time could be effective in today’s NBA. Krawczynski notes that Towns was adapting to Gobert as well as anyone before being sidelined with a calf strain. Towns has more assists to Gobert than anybody else on the team does, and his enthusiasm for making the pairing work is one reason that Connelly remains optimistic.

“We’re not going to bury our head in the sand and pretend it’s been flawless,” Connelly said. “We never expected that. When we made the trade, it wasn’t done without a lot of conversation, a lot of watching of tape.”

Garza Recalled From G League

December 6th, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Second-year big man Luka Garza has been recalled from the Iowa Wolves by the Timberwolves, the team’s PR department tweets. Garza, who is on a two-way contract, leads the G League at 29.8 points per game. He racked up 44 points and 15 rebounds against the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Monday.

Finch: Timberwolves Lacking Leadership

December 6th, 2022 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Patrick Beverley is having a down year on the court in Los Angeles this season, but the Timberwolves have missed his locker room leadership, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Head coach Chris Finch said on Monday that the team is still seeking its identity and looking for leaders. “Everything about winning requires leadership. It’s something that we’ve not been great at,” Finch said. “We’re trying to find a voice collectively, trying to find a personality as a team. Those are things that we’ve got to keep working on, trying to cultivate as a team. That’s my job.”