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Northwest Notes: Edwards, Wolves, Williams, Azubuike

March 12th, 2022 at 9:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Edwards returned this week after a four-game absence, but the tendinopathy in his left knee may force the Timberwolves guard to play with pain for the rest of the season, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Edwards, who sat out games for the first time in his NBA career, described the feeling as a “big knot just hurting, hurting, hurting.”

“It’s something that you can play through,” he said. “Certain people can play through it, but if you don’t have a certain tolerance for pain, you can’t play through that.”

Edwards is having a strong second season after finishing as the runner-up in Rookie of the Year balloting last year, but his numbers had been declining lately because of the sore knee. He said he usually felt fine at the beginning of games, but the pain would return quickly.

“It would start off good, then three to four minutes into the game, hurting, hurting, hurting for the rest of the game,” he said. “And I be in trouble because I can’t really do nothing, for real.”

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Timberwolves could be headed to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons and they may be aiming even higher next year, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN. Minnesota owns all its first-round picks moving forward, and sources tell Lowe that the Wolves are ready “to push some chips in” this summer. The team also faces an important decision on D’Angelo Russell, who will be eligible for a max extension in the offseason.
  • A depleted roster is a mixed blessing for several young Trail Blazers players, who are getting a chance to prove themselves at the NBA level but are also dealing with the embarrassment of frequent blowouts, notes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Portland has eight players who are 22 or younger, including two-way player Brandon Williams, who moved into the starting lineup this week after an injury to Anfernee Simons. “When times get low, even when times get high, you can’t be nonchalant in this league because you have another game around the corner,” Williams said.
  • Jazz center Udoka Azubuike has suffered his third ankle injury in the past 13 months, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Azubuike appeared to dislocate his right ankle in the closing seconds of a G League game Thursday night.
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Wolves Notes: Cauley-Stein, Edwards, Beverley, Ownership

March 8th, 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

In an appearance on Darren Wolfson’s The Scoop podcast at SKOR North, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said that Minnesota is considering adding a free agent who could help improve the team’s rebounding numbers.

Asked specifically if the Wolves could bring back veteran center Greg Monroe, who was on a 10-day deal with the club earlier this season, Taylor responded, “We’re looking at a number of possibilities.”

According to Wolfson, one possible target the Wolves have discussed internally is Willie Cauley-Stein, who recently spent time in Philadelphia on a 10-day deal. Cody Zeller, who was waived last month while recovering from a procedure on his knee, isn’t currently considered an option, Wolfson adds.

Here’s more out of Minnesota:

  • Anthony Edwards has missed the Timberwolves’ last four games due to knee soreness, but Taylor is confident the injury is not a major issue. “We’re dealing with some swelling and some pain,” Taylor told Wolfson. “We just want to buy a little time, but it’s nothing major or anything that will keep him from being out there soon.”
  • Taylor doesn’t anticipate a significant offseason roster shakeup in Minnesota. “Most players are already signed for next year, so there won’t be major changes,” he told Wolfson.
  • One player who had been on track for unrestricted free agency this summer was guard Patrick Beverley, but he signed a one-year, $13MM extension with the Wolves in February. Taylor said that was a fairly straightforward negotiation, since both sides had interest in continuing the relationship, and that the main issue was deciding on the length of the contract. Beverley “preferred to add something longer,” according to Taylor, who said the team wanted to maintain some flexibility beyond 2022/23.
  • Asked by Wolfson if the plan is still for Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore to assume majority control of the Timberwolves in December 2023, Taylor replied, “Probably.” Pressed on whether it could happen sooner than next December or later than that, Taylor said that both scenarios are possible, indicating that nothing is set in stone yet.
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Injury Notes: J. Brown, Edwards, Brooks, Iguodala

March 4th, 2022 at 7:18am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the Toucher & Rich radio show in Boston on Thursday, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens confirmed that Jaylen Brown‘s sprained ankle, which sidelined him for Thursday’s game vs. Memphis, doesn’t look like a significant injury.

“I think he’s doing better than I originally thought when I saw him go down,” Stevens said, per Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. “He’s going to be constantly reevaluated over the next couple days … but it doesn’t look like a long-term thing.”

The Celtics have two days off before facing Brooklyn on Sunday, and then another two days off before visiting Charlotte on Wednesday. It’s unclear at this point whether Brown will play in either of those games.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • Timberwolves wing Anthony Edwards missed Tuesday’s game due to a left knee issue and has been ruled out for Friday’s contest too. Head coach Chris Finch stated earlier in the week that the club was considering giving Edwards multiple games off to try to get him right for the stretch run, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Everything is on the table right now to try to get him where he needs to be,” Finch said.
  • Dillon Brooks (ankle) doesn’t yet have a specific return date lined up, but Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said the forward took a “huge step” in his recovery process this week, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “He’s been fully integrated,” Jenkins said. “We haven’t had a lot practices to get him out there. We’re not going live or contact. He’s doing contact in other settings, but he’s been fully involved in all of our team film sessions.”
  • Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala (back), who has played just once since January 20, is “making strides,” according to head coach Steve Kerr (Twitter link via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area). The team still wants to have Iguodala participate in more scrimmages before he’s cleared to return, so he’s considered day-to-day for now.
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Chris Finch Talks KAT, Edwards, Defensive Approach

February 27th, 2022 at 2:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

On the one-year anniversary of his tenure with the franchise, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Chris Hine of The Star Tribune to discuss his approach to the team.

Finch, 52, has guided Minnesota to a 32-28 record this season thus far, good for the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. Center Karl-Anthony Towns made his first All-Star team since 2019, and second-year shooting guard Anthony Edwards has continued his trajectory toward becoming an All-Star talent in his own right.

Finch was an assistant coach under Nick Nurse for the Raptors during the first half of the 2020/21 season before accepting the gig as the head man in Minnesota on February 22, 2021.

Finch discussed his expectations for the club’s roster upon arriving as head coach late into the 2020/21 NBA season. Under Finch’s abbreviated stewardship as a midseason replacement for Ryan Saunders last year, the Timberwolves ultimately finished 16-25. 

“I thought there was a lot of talent, particularly in [Towns] and [point guard D’Angelo Russell],” Finch said of his initial impressions of Minnesota’s roster. “Not just talent but skill. You can have talent, but skill is another thing altogether too.”

This season, the Timberwolves have been striving to strike a balance defensively between a proactive and reactive approach towards opposing offenses. Finch considers this tactic a good dress rehearsal for adjusting to playoff matchups.

“Now that you played teams multiple times, they have a good feel for who you are and what you’re trying to do,” Finch noted. “Our defense is pretty aggressive and aggressive defenses can be baited into a lot of things. Tempering some of that or using that at the right time is key. Two, as we whittle everything down towards what we hope is a playoff presence, it’s all about being able to adjust and execute different schemes in a playoff.”

Edwards, the No. 1 pick out of Georgia in 2020, has taken an offensive leap recently. Finch discussed how the 20-year-old is learning to adjust to different defenses. Through 55 games this season, Edwards is averaging 21.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, and 1.5 SPG. The 6’4″ wing has shooting splits this season of .431/.348/.765.

“He is definitely a smart and quick learner,” Finch said. “Obviously we’re walking him through it on video, pointing it out when we see it in a game as soon as it happens and communicating so he can start making some adjustments. … It’s not on autopilot for him to switch gears right away and do something different. Every night it might be different so he’s still in that phase where he’s struggling to get an offensive rhythm at times because of this.”

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2021/22 Rising Stars Team Rosters

February 4th, 2022 at 6:27pm CST by Rory Maher

As we previously relayed, the NBA announced a new format for its Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, which will take place on Friday, February 18. The event will feature four seven-player teams competing in a three-game tournament (two semifinals and a final).

The player pool is comprised of 12 NBA rookies, 12 sophomores, and four players from the G League Ignite, while the games will be played to a target score: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

The rosters were announced on February 1, but now the four honorary coaches (75th anniversary team members Rick Barry, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton and James Worthy) have selected their seven-man teams, per our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Here are the rosters:

Team Barry:

Team Isiah:

Team Payton:

Team Worthy:

James Ham of ESPN 1320 and The Kings Beat provides (via Twitter) the full draft results.

The top 10, in order, were: Edwards, Mobley, Ball, Anthony, Giddey, Barnes, Cunningham, Bey, Bane, and Wagner. It’s worth noting that Worthy and Anthony both went to the University of North Carolina, so Anthony’s selection at No. 4 is less surprising given that context.

What do you think of the teams? Who do you think will come out on top? Head to the comments section and let us know your thoughts!

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Northwest Notes: Ingles, Edwards, Beverley, Reed

February 3rd, 2022 at 12:46pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Jazz swingman Joe Ingles, recently ruled out for the season with an ACL tear, seems likely to either see his expiring $14MM contract traded or waived by Utah, writes Sarah Todd of the Deseret News.

Todd writes that wing Danuel House appears likely to ink a guaranteed deal with Utah, but that the team may need more help than that. The Jazz also have a $7.4MM trade exception they could use to their advantage. Until the team makes another addition to its roster, Todd projects Eric Paschall to see more run in the absence of Ingles.

Tony Jones of The Athletic concurs that it seems probable House will get a guaranteed deal in the wake of the Ingles injury. Jones opines that Ingles will be tough to replace as a reliable wing shooter and ball-handler, particularly in the pick-and-roll. Jones notes that the Jazz, hopeful to make a championship push this season, will most likely look to shore up their roster beyond just keeping House around.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • Timberwolves second-year swingman Anthony Edwards is confident he can reach All-Star levels, possibly even this season, writes Marc Spears of the Undefeated. “My main goal is to get into the All-Star Game,” Edwards said ahead of the NBA revealing coaches’ picks tonight for the 2022 game in Cleveland next month. “I know I am going to get in the Rising Stars Game [this season]. I want to be in [the] All-Star Game.” The 20-year-old is averaging 22.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.7 APG, with shooting splits of .443/.363/.807 across 40 games for the 26-25 Timberwolves this year. Responding to a question about his ceiling as a player, Edwards was optimistic. “I don’t think I got one,” he said. “I think I can be as good as anyone.”
  • When asked about the possibility of being dealt at or before the impending trade deadline this season, Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley indicated that he hopes to stick around in Minnesota, both for the rest of this season and perhaps past it, per Chris Hine of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). “It’s been great here,” Beverley said of his tenure in Minnesota. “Especially trying to establish a culture, a winning culture here … They allowed me to be myself here. Allowed me to do my thing, and that’s affected on and off the court on the team.”
  • Nuggets shooting guard Davon Reed expressed confidence that he has shown he can be more than a “fringe” player in the league, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post. “I can defend multiple positions, I can make open shots and, given the opportunity, I can make plays for my team as well,” Reed said. He has certainly earned rave reviews from head coach Michael Malone. “Every time that kid gets a chance to play, he goes out there and plays at a high level,” Malone said. Reed’s shooting numbers, albeit across a fairly modest 14.4 MPG while taking just 3.4 field goal attempts and 0.2 free throw looks a night, have been encouraging: .500/.476/.800.
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NBA Announces 2021/22 Rising Stars Rosters

February 1st, 2022 at 6:34pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA has revealed the 28 players (12 rookies, 12 sophomores, and four G League Ignite players) who will suit up for the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars Game in Cleveland this year, per its official PR account (Twitter links). There are a few intriguing surprises among the first-year NBA players.

Here are the players who made the cut:

Rookies:

Sophomores:

Additionally, four players from the G League Ignite will participate in the Rising Stars Game based on voting from NBA G League head coaches. The NBAGL has announced (Twitter link) that MarJon Beauchamp, Dyson Daniels, Jaden Hardy and Scoot Henderson will partake in the action. Players will be separated into four teams, and each G League player will be drafted to join one of the teams later this week.

Among the rookie NBA players, the additions who would be most surprising ahead of the 2021/22 season would be Dosunmu and Jones, both of whom were second-round draft selections. 2021 lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga, Ziaire Williams, James Bouknight, Joshua Primo and Moses Moody were all omitted from inclusion this year.

Among the second-year players, Ball could be appearing on multiple nights during All-Star Weekend this season, as he appears to be a very possible first-time All-Star this year thanks to his outstanding work with the upstart Hornets.

The lottery-bound Magic, Pistons, and Rockets can boast having the most inclusions here, with three players apiece.

As we detailed last week, this year’s Rising Stars event will look a little different, with the four teams taking part in a mini-tournament and playing to a target score in each game: 50 points in the semifinals and 25 points in the final, in honor of the league’s 75th anniversary season.

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Trade Rumors: Simmons, T. Harris, Magic, Wolves, Cavs

January 11th, 2022 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

After reporting last week that the Sixers‘ preferred outcome would be to have Ben Simmons play for the team this season and then revisit his trade market in the offseason, Marc Stein said in his latest Substack article that teams around the NBA are skeptical about that stance. As Stein notes, it could be a negotiating ploy to try to get potential trade partners to improve their offers, since the odds of Simmons acquiescing to Philadelphia’s wishes and reporting to the team this season still appear extremely slim.

Stein also reported last week that the Hawks are a team to watch in the Simmons sweepstakes, a subject that ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Marc J. Spears discussed in the latest episode of Windhorst’s Hoop Collective podcast.

As RealGM relays, Windhorst and Spears have both heard the Sixers are exploring the concept of attaching Tobias Harris to Simmons in any deal. Theoretically, those two players could produce a greater trade return than Simmons on his own, but Harris’ shooting numbers are down this year and his contract isn’t exactly team-friendly — he and Simmons are earning a combined $69MM this season, which would create salary-matching complications.

According to Spears, the Hawks were more interested in discussing just Simmons than trying to construct a deal that also included Harris.

Here are a few more trade rumors and notes from across the league:

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Northwest Notes: Whiteside, Finch, Edwards, Bol

January 4th, 2022 at 8:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

With Jazz reserve center Hassan Whiteside unavailable while recovering from a concussion, Utah struggled to find much success in its small-ball lineups when All-Star center Rudy Gobert went to the bench, writes Eric Walden of the Salt Lake City Tribune. Walden notes that lineups with 6’8″ reserve forward Rudy Gay playing the five were minus-19 across 19:52 of action.

“It’s different without having a traditional big in Hassan or Rudy [Gobert] back there, because we base our defense solely on forcing everybody to our big,” All-Star point guard Mike Conley said. “Everybody’s kind of activated into more of a help-the-helper situation, as opposed to trying to make it a two-on-two situation with the big and the guard like we’re accustomed to doing.” Gay signed a two-year, $12.1MM contract with the team this summer.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

  • Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch has earned rave reviews for the way he handled Minnesota’s rotations as the team was impacted by several coronavirus-related absences, writes Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. Win or lose, the Wolves have always been prepared and kept contests close. “His [after-timeout plays], his mindset, how he conducts practice, very detailed man,” point guard Patrick Beverley said. “His professionalism, I preach to these guys every day that they’re fortunate to have a coach like that, for sure.”
  • After Finch had a quick hook for Timberwolves wing Anthony Edwards due to what the head coach perceived as lackluster defense in the first quarter of an eventual 122-104 Minnesota victory over the Clippers, Edwards responded with renewed effort, writes Chris Hine of the Star Tribune. Finch inserted Jaylen Nowell in Edwards’s stead early in the first quarter. “I wasn’t a big fan of his approach defensively to start the game, which is why I went that direction early,” Finch said. “He responded to that and was a lot more dialed in.” Edwards conceded that Finch had a point: “I get mad, but he right. At the end of the day I can’t do nothing but take the constructive criticism and come back and show him that I can do it.”
  • 7’2″ Nuggets power forward Bol Bol showed promise in scoring a career-best 11 points across 20 minutes against the Rockets in a 124-111 win this weekend. He has support in high places as a prospect with upside, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post. One big name in his corner is Denver head coach Michael Malone, who sent Bol a congratulatory text after his big night.
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COVID-19 Roundup: Nets, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Knicks, Wizards, Thunder

December 28th, 2021 at 12:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The NBA’s new guidelines regarding its health and safety protocols have resulted in several players being released from protocols this morning. The league and its players union agreed Monday to shorten the minimum required quarantine period for a vaccinated COVID-positive players and coaches from 10 days to six.

Here is the latest news on who has entered and cleared protocols today:

  • Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are out of protocols, as is LaMarcus Aldridge, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. While Durant and Aldridge may be ready for Thursday’s game, Irving is still working his way back into game condition and remains ineligible to play in home games because he hasn’t met New York City’s vaccine requirement.
  • Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince has cleared protocols and will rejoin the team, but won’t play tonight against the Knicks, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Minnesota also gets back Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid (Twitter link).
  • Cavaliers power forward Evan Mobley has cleared protocols and is set to reunite with the club today, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com tweets that the Cavaliers hope to have Mobley play in tonight’s game against the Pelicans, but will put him through his pregame paces first to gauge his conditioning level.
  • Unfortunately, just as one of Cleveland’s best players recovers, another will be absent. Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, enjoying a nearly All-Star-level season with Cleveland, has entered the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, tweets Kelsey Russo of The Athletic.
  • Knicks rookie point guard guard Miles McBride has cleared protocols, the team has announced (via Twitter). New York adds that he has rejoined the team ahead of its game tonight against the Timberwolves.
  • Veteran Heat power forward Udonis Haslem has entered the league’s coronavirus protocols, writes Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Heat point guard Kyle Lowry is also in protocols. Miami assistant coach Chris Quinn will return to the sidelines, Chiang adds.
  • Wizards forwards Rui Hachimura and Montrezl Harrell have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocols, joining six other Washington players, the team has announced (Twitter link). Hachimura has missed the Wizards’ entire season thus far due to personal reasons. Among the others, unvaccinated All-Star guard Bradley Beal is still in protocols and Wallace reports that his status is “questionable” prior to the Wizards’ upcoming contest against the Heat tonight. Center Thomas Bryant, wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and guards Anthony Gill, Aaron Holiday and Raul Neto are still in protocols.
  • Thunder rookie guard Josh Giddey has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Head coach Mark Daigneault has also entered the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, and will be replaced by assistant coach Mike Wilks starting with this evening’s contest against the Kings, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). Wilks, a former journeyman NBA guard, suited up for four games with the Thunder during the 2009/10 season, Joe Mussatto of the Oklahoman adds (Twitter link). Players Darius Bazley, Tre Mann, Aleksej Pokusevski, and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl remain in the protocols for Oklahoma City.
  • Keep track of all the players currently in COVID-19 protocols through out our daily tracker.

Arthur Hill contributed to this report.

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