Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors | Hoops Rumors

D’Angelo Russell, Three Blazers Enter Protocols

December 25th, 2021 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell has joined the growing list of Minnesota players in the health and safety protocols, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Timberwolves now have eight players affected, including stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards. They’ve already signed a pair of replacement players – Chris Silva and Rayjon Tucker – using hardship exceptions, but will likely make at least one more roster addition before their next game on Monday.

Here are more COVID-19 protocol updates from around the NBA:

Three Trail Blazers players – Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, and Keljin Blevins – have entered the health and safety protocols, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). That brings Portland’s total count to five affected players, all of whom have been placed in the protocols in the last two days.
Kevin Knox has exited the protocols, but Jericho Sims has entered, so the Knicks still have three players affected, according to the team (Twitter links). RJ Barrett is back in the starting lineup for New York today and Quentin Grimes is also expected to play, but Immanuel Quickley and Knox will need a little more time to ramp up their conditioning, says Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link).
Mavericks wing Josh Green has tested out of the protocols, but didn’t travel with the team to Utah and won’t play tonight, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

COVID-19 Updates: Marshall, Cooper, Hampton, Towns, Brown

December 23rd, 2021 at 9:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans’ Naji Marshall has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. Earlier in the day, Nickeil Alexander-Walker became the first New Orleans player to enter protocols this season. Marshall, a second-year forward, has appeared in 19 games off the bench this season.

We have more COVID-19 related updates:

Hawks rookie point guard Sharife Cooper has entered the health and safety protocols, Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Cooper joins six other Atlanta players currently on the list. The second-round pick has appeared in eight games off the bench this season.
Magic guard R.J. Hampton exited the protocols on Thursday, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. He didn’t play on Thursday in order to work on his conditioning. Hampton was placed in the protocols on December 17, which means he produced two negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Karl-Anthony Towns is asymptomatic, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). “He is in the best spirits possible,” Finch said, adding Towns was very disappointed he couldn’t play on Thursday. Towns was placed in the protocols on Thursday, joining six other Minnesota players.
Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown has entered the protocols, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

Karl-Anthony Towns Enters League Protocols

December 23rd, 2021 at 5:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Timberwolves star center Karl-Anthony Towns has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, the team’s PR department tweets. McKinley Wright IV has also been placed in the protocols.

They join a long list of Minnesota players currently in league protocols. Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt will also miss the team’s game against Utah on Thursday.

Towns and Wright will be sidelined at least 10 days, unless they can register two consecutive negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart during that span.

Towns was the Western Conference Player of the Week as the Timberwolves went 3-0 during the week of December 13-19, with victories over the Nuggets, Lakers, and Mavericks. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 28.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, and 1.3 BPG on .547/.375/.870 shooting in those three games (33.9 MPG). Wright, a rookie, has appeared in just one game.

Towns and his family have been affected greatly by the virus. Multiple family members, including his mother, died from COVID-19. Towns had his own battle after contracting the virus last winter, as he lost 50 pounds.

Timberwolves Sign Chris Silva To 10-Day Contract

December 21st, 2021 at 2:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 21: Silva’s 10-day contract with the Wolves is now official, according to NBA.com’s transactions log. It’ll run through December 30.

DECEMBER 20: The Timberwolves are re-signing power forward Chris Silva using the hardship exemption, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Silva was waived by the club during training camp. Silva has played in 59 NBA games with career averages of 2.8 PPG and 2.6 RPG (7.4 MPG) over the past two seasons with the Heat and Kings.

He has averaged 15.1 PPG and 9,8 RPG in 12 starts this season with Minnesota’s G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.

Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt are all currently in the league’s health and safety protocols and won’t play in Minnesota’s game against Dallas on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets.

The team is likely to sign one more replacement player soon, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.

Timberwolves Sign Rayjon Tucker To 10-Day Deal

December 21st, 2021 at 2:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

DECEMBER 21: The Timberwolves have officially signed Tucker to a 10-day deal in advance of their game on Tuesday, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

DECEMBER 20: The Timberwolves are signing swingman Rayjon Tucker via the hardship exemption, according to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Tucker was signed and waived by the Bucks this offseason on an Exhibit 10 contract.

Tucker spent most of the 2019/20 season with the Jazz, then signed a two-way contract with the Sixers in January 2021. He has appeared in a total of 34 regular season games in his first two NBA seasons, averaging a modest 2.8 PPG and 0.9 RPG in 6.7 minutes per contest.

He has averaged 17.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.1 APG in 32.2 MPG while appearing in 13 games this season for the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s affiliate.

Minnesota has five players — Anthony Edwards, Patrick Beverley, Josh Okogie, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt — currently in the league’s health and safety protocols. The Timberwolves are also reportedly signing forward Chris Silva under the hardship exemption.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Jayson Tatum Named Players Of The Week

December 20th, 2021 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week for the Western Conference and Eastern Conference, respectively, the league announced today (via Twitter).

Towns’ Timberwolves went 3-0 during the week of December 13-19, with victories over the Nuggets, Lakers, and Mavericks. The former No. 1 overall pick averaged 28.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.7 SPG, and 1.3 BPG on .547/.375/.870 shooting in those three games (33.9 MPG).

The Celtics’ quest for a perfect week was denied by the Warriors on Friday, but Boston went 2-1 and Tatum had a big three-game stretch. He put up 31.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 4.0 APG with a .500/.361/.867 shooting line in 38.8 minutes per contest.

Towns beat out fellow finalists Deandre Ayton, Dillon Brooks, Nikola Jokic, and Damian Lillard in the West, while the other Eastern finalists were Kevin Durant, Darius Garland, and Fred VanVleet (Twitter link).

Timberwolves’ Beverley, Vanderbilt Enter Protocols

December 20th, 2021 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves‘ COVID-19 outbreak appears to have affected a couple more players, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that guard Patrick Beverley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt have entered the health and safety protocols.

Beverley and Vanderbilt join Anthony Edwards, Josh Okogie, and Taurean Prince in the protocols, bringing the total number of Wolves players impacted to five.

If Beverley and Vanderbilt have tested positive for COVID-19, they’ll be out for 10 days or until they return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

The news may be of concern to the Mavericks, since both Beverley and Vanderbilt were in the starting lineup when Minnesota faced Dallas on Sunday night. Beverley played almost 31 minutes, while Vanderbilt logged over 38 minutes.

COVID Updates: Josh Green, Ziaire Williams, Okogie, Morant, Carlisle

December 19th, 2021 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Mavericks second-year wing Josh Green has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Green, the 18th overall pick of the 2020 draft, hasn’t seen much action so far this season, appearing in 17 games for a total of 125 minutes (7.4 MPG). He’s averaging 2.4 PPG and 1.5 RPG.

Rookie Ziaire Williams has entered the protocols for the Grizzlies, writes Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Williams, the 10th overall pick of the 2021 draft, has also been dealing with an ankle sprain that has sidelined him for the past six games. Through 19 games (17.8 MPG), the 20-year-old is averaging 4.7 PPG and 1.5 RPG.

Timberwolves wing Josh Okogie has entered the protocols as well, the team announced (via Twitter). In 20 contests this season (13.9 MPG), Okogie is averaging 2.6 PPG and 2.2 RPG.

If the three players tested positive, they will need to isolate for at least 10 days or until they return two consecutive negative PCR tests a minimum of 24 hours apart.

Here are a couple more COVID-19 related updates:

Grizzlies star Ja Morant has exited the health and safety protocols, Barnes writes in a separate piece. Memphis is taking a “wait and see” approach with its star point guard, as he’s still dealing with a knee sprain suffered in late November. However, Morant is back with the team and will likely be on the bench tonight against Portland, Barnes tweets. The Grizzlies have surprisingly gone 10-1 without Morant and currently hold the fourth seed in the West with a 19-11 record.
Head coach Rick Carlisle is back with the Pacers after exiting the health and safety protocols, according to James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter). Carlisle led Indiana’s practice Sunday and is expected to coach the team Tuesday at Miami, Boyd relays.

Wolves Could Use Myles Turner?

December 19th, 2021 at 2:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves need another big man next to Karl-Anthony Towns and should be aggressive about pursuing Pacers center Myles Turner, contends La Velle E. Neal III of The Star-Tribune.

Windhorst’s Latest: Pacers, LeVert, Blazers, Simmons, Fox

December 17th, 2021 at 2:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Based on the whispers he has heard around the league, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst views Caris LeVert and Myles Turner as more likely trade candidates for the Pacers than Domantas Sabonis, he said on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. Although Sabonis has frequently been mentioned alongside LeVert and Turner in reports on Indiana’s potential trade chips, Windhorst hasn’t heard much chatter about the All-Star center.

During Friday’s episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst spoke at length to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon about the report on the Mavericks that MacMahon published earlier this week, which included details on how the relationship between Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle became frayed. Interestingly, Windhorst suggested that LeVert could perhaps relate to Doncic, stating that the Pacers swingman and Carlisle have not had the “greatest partnership” so far this season.

Here are a few more interesting tidbits shared by Windhorst during his podcast:

Windhorst heard from one executive who said that the Trail Blazers, since their front office shakeup, have created the impression they’re willing to listen to inquiries on anyone except Damian Lillard.
According to Windhorst, there are multiple execs around the NBA who believe that when the Sixers eventually trade Ben Simmons, at least one of the Kings, Timberwolves, and/or Rockets will be involved, either as Simmons’ destination or as a third team in the deal. As Windhorst explains, those three teams’ front offices are run by executives who previously worked with Daryl Morey.
Although reports earlier this year suggested that De’Aaron Fox was expected to be off-limits in any Kings trade talks, MacMahon has gotten the sense that the point guard is no longer considered untouchable. According to Windhorst, Fox came to camp this fall 15 pounds heavier than he was when the season ended last spring.