2020-2021 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

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Practice has officially begun, the first preseason game is Saturday!


Howl Wolves!!
 


per STrib:

As they opened group workouts at training camp Sunday, the Timberwolves announced a list of staff changes, with one name standing out: Rudy Tomjanovich.

The former Rockets player and coach, who was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020, joined the Wolves staff as a player personnel consultant.

Coach Ryan Saunders said the Wolves have been consulting with Tomjanovich since before last month's draft.

"It's been fantastic … He has a lot of unique perspectives," Saunders said. "That's what we appreciate and we value here. Even though he coached a while back, he was doing a lot of modern things offensively and defensively during his coaching tenure that we're ahead of the times."

www.startribune.com

Hall of Famer Rudy Tomjanovich to join Timberwolves staff as consultant

Former Rockets coach will serve as a player personnel consultant.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 


Is Harden going the Chuck Knoblauch, Kevin Love and Jimmy Butler route? "Trade me because I'm not gonna show-up"?

Head coach Stephen Silas said after the group practice that he expected Harden to participate in an individual workout on Sunday night, but the former MVP didn’t return for that workout, either, per MacMahon. However, Harden did tell Rockets management that he’ll report soon, a source informed ESPN.

Harden’s situation is worth keeping an eye on, since he reportedly sought a trade during the offseason. Silas told reporters last Thursday that he was giving the superstar guard “space,” as reports on that same day indicated that Harden wasn’t in Houston while the team took part in individual workouts. TMZ later reported that he had been in Atlanta for rapper Lil Baby’s birthday party..

 


Iceland12 said:
Is Harden going the Chuck Knoblauch, Kevin Love and Jimmy Butler route? "Trade me because I'm not gonna show-up"?

Head coach Stephen Silas said after the group practice that he expected Harden to participate in an individual workout on Sunday night, but the former MVP didn’t return for that workout, either, per MacMahon. However, Harden did tell Rockets management that he’ll report soon, a source informed ESPN.

Harden’s situation is worth keeping an eye on, since he reportedly sought a trade during the offseason. Silas told reporters last Thursday that he was giving the superstar guard “space,” as reports on that same day indicated that Harden wasn’t in Houston while the team took part in individual workouts. TMZ later reported that he had been in Atlanta for rapper Lil Baby’s birthday party..

Click to expand...
Ah snap, I missed Lil’ Baby’s birthday?!? I’ll never forgive myself!
 


I definitely do feel a little old, it’s weird,” Okogie, 22, said Monday. “Physically, I’m not old. I feel as young as ever with this long break that we’ve been given, but just mentally, I feel like I know what’s going on, I know what the coaches expect, I know what the fans expect.”

For Okogie, that boils down to defense.

His defensive tenacity is what helped him become a first-round pick and likely will keep him getting minutes as he develops an inconsistent shot (27% from three-point range for his career).

With a team full of wing players, coach Ryan Saunders said defense will play a large role in how he allocates minutes after doling out the heavy slices of playing time to D’Angelo Russell, Ricky Rubio, Karl-Anthony Towns and Malik Beasley.

“Defense is going to help get you on the court,” Saunders said..

www.startribune.com

'Veteran' Josh Okogie knows defense will get him minutes with Wolves

Josh Okogie is only entering his third season as an NBA player, but on the landscape of the Timberwolves' roster, Okogie counts as one of the more veteran statesmen
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 

Jon Krawczynski says that the Wolves and Scott Layden have reached an agreement for him to leave. He would have been his 5th year with the team.

Honestly surprised he's lasted this long.
 



Iceland12 said:
Jon Krawczynski says that the Wolves and Scott Layden have reached an agreement for him to leave. He would have been his 5th year with the team.

Honestly surprised he's lasted this long.
Click to expand...
The last front office remnant of Thibs. See ya.
 

Iceland12 said:
Jon Krawczynski says that the Wolves and Scott Layden have reached an agreement for him to leave. He would have been his 5th year with the team.

Honestly surprised he's lasted this long.
Click to expand...
They owed him $2M per year and he wasn't a jerk, so it made sense to make use of him for a while.
 


Pandemic logistics drive Timberwolves and GM Scott Layden to part ways

The NBA’s COVID-related travel restrictions made it untenable for Layden, who is based in New York.

Scott Layden is currently based in New York but continued to serve as Timberwolves’ general manager last season while bouncing between the Big Apple and Minneapolis. That wasn’t going to be feasible in a season so drastically impacted by COVID-19.

The NBA has taken strict measures to limit the amount of contact between members of an organization, and those coming in from out of state will likely need to quarantine each time they travel. That wouldn’t have worked for Layden, who was consistently in and out of the Twin Cities last season.

Unable to find a better solution, the Wolves and Layden parted ways in the final year of the general manager’s contract, a source confirmed Thursday to the Pioneer Press. The Athletic was the first to report the decision.

Layden, an NBA lifer who had worked with the Jazz, Knicks and Spurs, signed a five-year deal to enter the organization alongside Tom Thibodeau back in 2016. The two were meant to work in lockstep, coming together to make collaborative decisions to chart the franchise’s part forward..

His early departure had little to do with performance or relationships, but instead is another side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

www.twincities.com

Pandemic logistics drive Timberwolves and GM Scott Layden to part ways

Scott Layden is currently based in New York but continued to serve as Timberwolves’ general manager last season while bouncing between the Big Apple and Minneapolis. That wasn’t going t…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
 



Iceland12 said:
Pandemic logistics drive Timberwolves and GM Scott Layden to part ways

The NBA’s COVID-related travel restrictions made it untenable for Layden, who is based in New York.

Scott Layden is currently based in New York but continued to serve as Timberwolves’ general manager last season while bouncing between the Big Apple and Minneapolis. That wasn’t going to be feasible in a season so drastically impacted by COVID-19.

The NBA has taken strict measures to limit the amount of contact between members of an organization, and those coming in from out of state will likely need to quarantine each time they travel. That wouldn’t have worked for Layden, who was consistently in and out of the Twin Cities last season.

Unable to find a better solution, the Wolves and Layden parted ways in the final year of the general manager’s contract, a source confirmed Thursday to the Pioneer Press. The Athletic was the first to report the decision.

Layden, an NBA lifer who had worked with the Jazz, Knicks and Spurs, signed a five-year deal to enter the organization alongside Tom Thibodeau back in 2016. The two were meant to work in lockstep, coming together to make collaborative decisions to chart the franchise’s part forward..

His early departure had little to do with performance or relationships, but instead is another side-effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

www.twincities.com

Pandemic logistics drive Timberwolves and GM Scott Layden to part ways

Scott Layden is currently based in New York but continued to serve as Timberwolves’ general manager last season while bouncing between the Big Apple and Minneapolis. That wasn’t going t…
www.twincities.com www.twincities.com
Click to expand...

Wow that was a friendly departure article. Layden must have cashed in a favor or two from scoops he likely gave during his time when he ran the club.

Layden was a dead man walking when Grosas came in. Last year was a "well, we have him on two years of contract, let's see if he'll scout some Big East games while he's living half a country away from where the decisions are being made" type of year.

Howl Wolves!!
 

Wolves' Malik Beasley connecting with teammates on the court

Beasley, who signed a four-year, $60 million deal in the offseason, did talk about basketball — specifically how he is connecting with D'Angelo Russell and Ricky Rubio on the floor.

"Every day I ask D-Lo and Ricky what I can do to be a better playmaker," Beasley said. "It's just crazy because Ricky has played since he was 14. I try to pick his brain every day. He's probably tired of it already. They've been a great help to the team, helping the young guys out, helping myself."

Beasley also said his relationship with Karl-Anthony Towns has grown on and off the court.

"I can go to his house whenever or vice-a-versa," Beasley said. "We've built a relationship to be able to talk to each other and hold each other accountable. So I think this year is going to be a great year for KAT and the whole unit."

www.startribune.com

Wolves' Malik Beasley connecting with teammates on the court

The Wolves guard, who signed a four-year, $60 million deal in the offseason, has been picking his teammates' brains.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

It will be interesting to watch how the rotations and substitution patterns work themselves out.

Does Rubio come off the bench? How many minutes does he get? Or do they put Rubio and Russell out there together and let Russell play a small SG role?

Also, how do they sort out the options at SF and PF? Big or small lineups?

they may not be great, but they might at least be interesting.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
It will be interesting to watch how the rotations and substitution patterns work themselves out.

Does Rubio come off the bench? How many minutes does he get? Or do they put Rubio and Russell out there together and let Russell play a small SG role?

Also, how do they sort out the options at SF and PF? Big or small lineups?

they may not be great, but they might at least be interesting.
Click to expand...
My hope:
Starters:
Rubio
Russell
Edwards
Hollis Jefferson
Towns

Bench:
Beasley
Hernangomez
Okogie
Culver
Davis

I think...Okogie will start at the 4 and they will go small to start.
 

Have zero to base it on but I wonder if they're gonna use Rubio like a McHale type 6th man. They won't start him but he'll spend a lot of time on the court. Including running with Russell in the 4th Quarter.
 

Iceland12 said:
Have zero to base it on but I wonder if they're gonna use Rubio like a McHale type 6th man. They won't start him but he'll spend a lot of time on the court. Including running with Russell in the 4th Quarter.
Click to expand...
I think it makes more sense with Beasley coming off the bench and Rubio start. Especially if he gets suspended. I like the idea of Beasley being the Lou Williams type of player. Who else can shoot off the bench anyways? It's pretty grim after Hernangomez.
 

tikited said:
I think it makes more sense with Beasley coming off the bench and Rubio start. Especially if he gets suspended. I like the idea of Beasley being the Lou Williams type of player. Who else can shoot off the bench anyways? It's pretty grim after Hernangomez.
Click to expand...

Would like to see that too. Though not sure what will happen. Afraid that Beasley won't be available to start the season because of the charges. After hearing Russell, Beasley, Mitchell and Booker all praising Rubio's ability to teach and make a scorers life a lot easier can't imagine getting a lot of backlash if he starts and finishes games.
 
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I watched most of the first half (hey, it's quarantine,options are limited) and my totally unfair first impression based on the completely meaningless first preseason game is that they look small and slow.

Secondly, Ja Morant is really, really, really good. Really. Good.
 

Its funny how the nba is full of 6'8 long athletic guys now and the wolves have none. Culver is the closest. Okogie is a good defender, but small.
 

jamiche said:
I watched most of the first half (hey, it's quarantine, options are limited) and my totally unfair first impression based on the completely meaningless first preseason game is that they look small and slow.
Click to expand...

I think you've written the same post seven straight years, and sadly, seven straight years you've been spot on.

Howl Wolves!!
 


JimmyJamesMD said:
Its funny how the nba is full of 6'8 long athletic guys now and the wolves have none. Culver is the closest. Okogie is a good defender, but small.
Click to expand...

Ironically that was Khan's plan. The guy who may have been the worst GM in history, brought in a lot of those guys. Khan being Khan, none of them could play.
 
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Not sure when, or if, Towns will be able to concentrate on basketball again. Here's an excerpt from a very long story by J. K. at The Athletic.

"The last to be introduced, just as it has been for most of the last six years in Minnesota, KAT sat in his seat, his head bowed so low it looked like it was between his knees. When his name was announced, he didn’t move. Even after coach Ryan Saunders put his arm around Towns’ shoulders and gave him some encouragement, Towns just stayed seated right there.

The Wolves had not played a game in 277 days before a 107-105 preseason loss to Memphis on Saturday night. But Towns had not played a game without his mother in his entire life. As he prepared to take the court for the first time since Jacqueline Cruz died of complications from COVID-19 in April, Towns was overcome with grief. His teammates surrounded him on the bench until he stood up, undid the clasp on a necklace that he was wearing and handed it to equipment manager Peter Warden and then took off his warmup gear to get ready for the opening tip.

“When you lose somebody like a parent or somebody like Karl lost, that meant that much to him, there’s a lot of firsts,” said Saunders, who knows the feeling all too well after losing his father Flip in 2015. “Playing a game here in a place that his mother loved to come watch and play, that was a first for him.”..

“It’s tough. Everybody goes through it different ways,” said Ricky Rubio, who lost his mother to cancer in 2016. “Of course, the first game after somebody you love and care about is gone, it’s super tough. You know their support and you know they are watching and they’re not here anymore.”..

theathletic.com

Karl-Anthony Towns returns: Thoughts from the Wolves' debut

Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves returned Saturday after a nine-month pause. Here are the big takeaways from the preseason opener.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
Its funny how the nba is full of 6'8 long athletic guys now and the wolves have none. Culver is the closest. Okogie is a good defender, but small.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the exact same thing when I was watching the game. There must be 150 guys in the NBA who fit that physical profile and we don't have any of them.

As I said, it was unfair of me to make a snap judgement of a team based on a half of preseason basketball when both teams were going at about 75% of max effort. It's just that the Grizzlies' (a middling team w/ one great player) 75% looked a lot taller and faster than our 75%.
 


- "The Timberwolves this season are paying point guards D’Angelo Russell and Ricky Rubio a combined $46 million.

“I assume I’ve got that covered,” owner Glen Taylor said with a laugh. “The money was going out anyway, and Ricky fills a void that we can use.”

- Good news: Jim Petersen is back as Timberwolves TV analyst. Petersen, 58, underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery on Sept. 2 at Mayo Clinic.

“I’m ready to go,” he said. “When we do our first regular season game on Dec. 23 (against Detroit), it’ll have been 277 days since our last broadcast. That’s a long time to be out of commission.”

https://www.twincities.com/2020/12/12/charley-walters-final-month-could-decide-kirk-cousins-future/
 


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