2020-2021 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread

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1. Should have kept ryan to keep tanking.

2. Ryan had to go but this roster is awful. Rosas buys himself more time with a new HC bit he should have already been on hot seat
 

A. I think the firing was deserved as Ryan just did not have it. He had some tough breaks with injuries and Covid stuff.

B. I think it was in poor timing given you just lost to Portland at home and could have fired him then during an off day. Plus the all star break is 2 weeks away so what is really being gained. Heck they just played Toronto so you could have fired him after that game and the coach could have just stayed in town.

C.The way the firing was handled one must assume that if they win the game he is not fired, which I think is ridiculous. It was an away game against a better team. They made him coach the team, do the post game press conference and then fire him in the hotel after the game. I just think that in poor taste especially when his mother is still a par to al owner of the team.

D. In my opinion you could have waited to fire him over the All star break and nothing would have changed.

E. When Rosas was hired there was a lot of talk about improving the culture and changing the dynamic of the front office, which not sure has happened. I am very interested in all the people that are ready to bail on DLO in favor of McDaniels after a few games. Not that they are wrong but unfortunately with that contract you ain’t getting rid of DLO without attaching another pick, which you can’t do if you’re the twolves.
 

My initial thought was that it was a classless way to handle Saunders, but the more I consider it, Rosas may have spent enough time with Grinnin' Glen to realize that if he didn't move last night, the opportunity might be rescinded. And while I have concerns that Finch is going to improve the squad just enough to get them out of the top 3, I understand not wanting the culture to head into the toilet with young players (hopefully building blocks) like Edwards and McDaniels and also not wanting to throw another season of KAT's prime away with no hope/plan for the future.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
1. Should have kept ryan to keep tanking.

2. Ryan had to go but this roster is awful. Rosas buys himself more time with a new HC bit he should have already been on hot seat
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1. That might be rational, but it could have been really cruel too. With Russell not going back until the end of March maybe? The chance that they could end the season with only 10-11 wins would give anybody thinking of hiring Ryan some pause.

2. True. If it's also true that Finch was Rosas's choice in the first place and Taylor wanted Ryan. Glen might figure that Gerrshon deserves to sink or swim with his guy.

Listening to the radio, newspapers and reading online seems as if the only things that will bring out Wolves "Fans" is a chance to rip the hell out of all the players, Taylor, Saunders, Rosas; anything to do with the team.

Can't see any chance of the team staying here long term.
 

The roster is constructed poorly, with the team almost always playing four on five or three on five offensively. Defensively, they probably have five or six players who can or will play defense (McDaniels, Vando, Okogie, Culver, maybe KAT, maybe Ricky). They have no size--NBA teams are reverting back a little bit to size. They have little speed (Ricky, DLo and KAT are slow).

They do have players you want to watch who just maybe could turn this team into a team you want to watch. If they can turn Ant into a great NBA player instead of a great basketball player, that will be a huge first step. McDaniels looks like he's a year and 20lbs away from being the kind of athletic, assertive player that other teams unleash on us. While DLo is out J-Mac should be playing thirty minutes/night and Ricky eighteen. He's not close to a star, but he's quick and competent and this team needs speed. The wolves need to get rid of the salary based pecking order. I hope they finally turn this team over to KAT.

I'm going to be optimistic that they will figure out a way to get something reasonable for DLo, get back into the first round (somewhere) and, most importantly, the team will be sold to a buyer who actually will keep them here.
 


The Athletic takes a swing at evaluating the Wolves' young talent, young star potential. Their definition of that: " Any player on a first-round rookie-scale deal, and any player on his first contract after being selected in the second round. Draft-and-stash players who are still prospects were also listed. The rules got a bit fuzzier when it came to undrafted players. Basically, anyone who is within his first couple of years after draft eligibility but has yet to establish himself in the league as being worth a roster spot is included.

The Wolves came in ranked #16

>>"Edwards is obviously the big addition. He’ll be discussed more in the top-50 rankings. But it’s worth noting that his athleticism has clearly translated to the NBA level when he decides to use it. His first step is elite, and his vertical pop mixed with his power allows him to power through players at the rim. However, just like in college, Edwards has been far too happy to settle away from the basket for jumpers he can’t make yet. The jumper’s efficiency remains his swing skill. Culver had a terrible rookie season offensively; there isn’t really anything else you can say. He was a total non-shooter. Unfortunately, that has not gotten better in his second season, and it’s really something that could be a value-crippler for his career even as he takes strides in other avenues. He’s been a really useful defensive player for a team that really needs it. He takes on tough assignments, is finishing better and has been a presence on the glass. But at some point, he’s going to need to be someone teams pay attention to offensively. He fell out of the top-50 prospects.

Beyond them, there is a ton of interesting depth. Okogie has dealt with hamstring issues early this year, but he’s still a tough on-ball defender whose long-term value as a rotation player will be determined by how well he shoots it. The Wolves need him to improve as a shooter so they can keep him on the floor for his defense. I liked the Wolves swinging for the fences with Bolmaro and McDaniels. They’re both high-upside players with size who can handle the ball and create plays. Bolmaro is more of a passer and playmaker, whereas McDaniels is more of a natural scorer. Both will need to improve as shooters to fulfill those roles and have wide ranges of outcomes. Reid and Vanderbilt have carved out bench roles for different reasons. Reid is a terrific floor-spacer who can put the ball on the deck a bit as a five-man but needs to keep working through defensive issues. Vanderbilt is the opposite, as he’s a terrific, energetic rebounder and defender who still is trying to establish what he can be offensively. Vanderbilt is one of the more interesting targets league-wide for contenders to take a look at, in my view. Don’t look now, but Nowell has scored in double-figures a lot in 2021. I think Vanderbilt, Reid and Nowell stick in the NBA, giving the Wolves an actual deep stable of interesting bench players if they can keep them all. McLaughlin is a prototypical third point guard who is steady at running a team. Hagans has a chance to be a defense-first lead guard off the bench who can bring energy.<<<

Soooooo, immense hope for the future, right?... Maybe?...
 

Also from The Athletic, a review of the NBA's Top-50 Young Talent (similar criteria as above I think). A couple of the Wolves mentioned:

Jarrett Culver, W, Timberwolves (previous: 48): It takes a lot for me to drop a top-six pick on whom I had a solid draft grade this far out of the rankings — especially one who is a rotation player due to his defensive acumen. Unfortunately, Culver’s offense so far has not been to NBA standard. His shooting potential has completely departed and made him a liability on that end of the floor. Hopefully, he turns that around.

They only have numbers 21-50 listed so far, and Ant Edwards is in the top 20 so that will be coming shortly
 

Iceland12 said:
Zach Lavine:
38 pts. - 15 for 20 -5 of 5FT - 3 for 6 3s - 4RB - 3AST - 3ST- 3TO Bulls 122 Kings 114

Markkanen
Out with strained RT shoulder

Butler
24 pts- 8 for 20- 10 of 12FT - No 3s taken -8RB- 5AST - 2ST - 5TO Heat 96 - Lakers 94

LaMelo Ball
7pts - 3 for 10- No FT - 1 for 5 3s - 3RB - 7AST - 2ST - 5TO Hornets 102 - GS 100

Wiseman
DNP-SPRAINED LEFT WRIST
Click to expand...

2/22/2021

LeMelo Ball
21 pts- 8 for 20- 3 for 3 FT - 2 of 7 3s - 7RB - 4AST - 3ST - 3TO - Jazz 130 Hornets 110

Zach LaVine

21pts - 7for 14 - 3 for 3FT - 4 for 6 3s - 5RB - 6AST - 0ST - 2TO - Bulls 120 Rockets 100
 

More on the timing. I flat out do not believe what Rosas is saying.

If he's telling the truth, then he's an idiot.

Rosas said he did not make up his mind to fire Saunders until Sunday. that is why Saunders was coaching to start the road trip.

Then, apparently Rosas makes up his mind to fire Saunders, and hires Finch based on their time together in the G-League, and the interview with Finch that took place two years ago - before Saunders was hired.

The fact that no minority candidates were interviewed or considered this time around has a lot of people raising eyebrows. Lot of people felt that if they were going to fire Saunders, then they should have let Vanterpool take over as the interim coach and wait till the end of the season to make a permanent hire.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
More on the timing. I flat out do not believe what Rosas is saying.

If he's telling the truth, then he's an idiot.

Rosas said he did not make up his mind to fire Saunders until Sunday. that is why Saunders was coaching to start the road trip.

Then, apparently Rosas makes up his mind to fire Saunders, and hires Finch based on their time together in the G-League, and the interview with Finch that took place two years ago - before Saunders was hired.

The fact that no minority candidates were interviewed or considered this time around has a lot of people raising eyebrows. Lot of people felt that if they were going to fire Saunders, then they should have let Vanterpool take over as the interim coach and wait till the end of the season to make a permanent hire.
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Don't think Rosas was telling the truth either. Not the whole truth at least.

- Yes, Finch was interviewed when Flip was given the job. Gotta believe that was Taylor's call not Rosas's.

- The team and Saunders have been horrible. Not hard to believe that Gersson has been working on Taylor to replace Saunders for awhile now. Guessing that Taylor finally agreed sometime after the loss to Toronto.

- Why was Saunders sent to NY and fired right after the game Sunday? Either Glen didn't fully agree until Sunday and/or Saturday.

- Agreed that they did it right after the game Sunday so that they didn't have to interview anybody about the job. If David Vanterpool got the interim job and looked good doing it, Rosas couldn't give the job to his guy Finch. His job is probably on the line also.

- Vanterpool is getting a lot of support. Mainly from players he worked with in Portland, who say he should get credit for how well they did when he was out there. Problem is, by the same token, since he was the Associate Head Coach here during Saunders' tenure, he get's credit for how awful they've been the last two seasons.

Also refuse to feel sorry for Saunders. Some things were out of his control, but his team still was awful. Not gonna forget that he signed a multi-year, multi million dollar contract in May of 2019. He'll be fine.
 

Karl-Anthony Towns happy with new Timberwolves coach Chris Finch but ...

Franchise centerpiece Karl-Anthony Towns made a few things clear Tuesday morning after Timberwolves shoot around.

He's committed long-term to winning with the Wolves and is "extremely happy" to be playing under new coach Chris Finch.

He also said he would like to see more Black and minority coaches get opportunities to be head coaches in the NBA, specifically Wolves associate head coach David Vanterpool, whom President Gersson Rosas passed over as a potential interim or replacement for Ryan Saunders to hire Finch.

"We're gonna for sure support Coach Finch and everything he stands for and try to be the best players we can be for him," Towns said.

"But I think at the same time … I want to take the time to recognize the amazing work these assistant coaches have done, especially David Vanterpool. Men of color deserve to have a chance to get their opportunity to be a head coach in this league and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the amazing work he's done and what he's meant to this organization."

www.startribune.com

Karl-Anthony Towns happy with new Timberwolves coach Chris Finch but ...

The team's franchise center would like to see Black and minority coaches get more chances.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Howl Wolves!!
 





Timberwolves don’t need a power forward. I mean they got 8 points out of that spot tonight from 3 different guys. I don’t know if they have room to add someone, but if they do it seems stupid not to. If they don’t have room may I suggest buying out Ed Davis it’s not like they gave away anything to sign him. Oh wait they traded away two players and a second round pick for him.
 

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Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Also from The Athletic, a review of the NBA's Top-50 Young Talent (similar criteria as above I think). A couple of the Wolves mentioned:

Jarrett Culver, W, Timberwolves (previous: 48): It takes a lot for me to drop a top-six pick on whom I had a solid draft grade this far out of the rankings — especially one who is a rotation player due to his defensive acumen. Unfortunately, Culver’s offense so far has not been to NBA standard. His shooting potential has completely departed and made him a liability on that end of the floor. Hopefully, he turns that around.

They only have numbers 21-50 listed so far, and Ant Edwards is in the top 20 so that will be coming shortly
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Culver was a career 34% three point and 68% free throw shooter in college as a SG. I thought the pick was terrible when they made it. Why do you pick a shooting guard/wing player that can’t shoot at number 6 overall?
 

short ornery norwegian said:
More on the timing. I flat out do not believe what Rosas is saying.

If he's telling the truth, then he's an idiot.

Rosas said he did not make up his mind to fire Saunders until Sunday. that is why Saunders was coaching to start the road trip.

Then, apparently Rosas makes up his mind to fire Saunders, and hires Finch based on their time together in the G-League, and the interview with Finch that took place two years ago - before Saunders was hired.
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How about this:

Rosas concludes that things aren't turning around and he needs to make a decision on whether and when to make a change. He ends up landing on Finch, whom he already knows, likes, has interviewed for this job and maybe even wanted to hire in the first place, as the top choice to replace Saunders. But at that point, Rosas doesn't know whether he can get Finch mid-season. Finch is under contract with Toronto, so Rosas needs to determine whether he will be allowed to talk to Finch and whether Finch will take the job. On Saturday, he reaches out to Toronto and gets permission to talk to Finch. They speak, presumably about the job, general contract expectations, etc. Don't know if Finch has an agent, but assuming that he does, the agent would be involved in this as well. By Sunday afternoon, Rosas confirms that Finch is available now. At that point, he decides to fire Saunders. If Finch wasn't available, Saunders might have survived, maybe to the All-Star break, maybe longer.
 

2nd Degree Gopher said:
How about this:

Rosas concludes that things aren't turning around and he needs to make a decision on whether and when to make a change. He ends up landing on Finch, whom he already knows, likes, has interviewed for this job and maybe even wanted to hire in the first place, as the top choice to replace Saunders. But at that point, Rosas doesn't know whether he can get Finch mid-season. Finch is under contract with Toronto, so Rosas needs to determine whether he will be allowed to talk to Finch and whether Finch will take the job. On Saturday, he reaches out to Toronto and gets permission to talk to Finch. They speak, presumably about the job, general contract expectations, etc. Don't know if Finch has an agent, but assuming that he does, the agent would be involved in this as well. By Sunday afternoon, Rosas confirms that Finch is available now. At that point, he decides to fire Saunders. If Finch wasn't available, Saunders might have survived, maybe to the All-Star break, maybe longer.
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Very good points and post.

Would only say that getting Taylor to agree to fire Saunders was a major obstacle for Rosas too.
 

Zach LaVine made the All-Star as a Eastern Conference Reserve
 



From the Star Tribune:

Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley has been suspended 12 games stemming from a guilty plea he entered for threats of violence after he pointed a rifle at a pregnant woman, her husband and their teenage daughter in an SUV outside his Plymouth home last fall.

Beasley was ordered to serve 120 days in a workhouse, or home monitoring, and will serve that sentence following the season.

But now he will miss games over the next month, starting with Saturday's game against Washington. Assuming there are no COVID-related postponements, Beasley will be eligible to return March 27. He will be allowed to practice with the team, an NBA source confirmed.

"As an organization, we fully support today's decision by the NBA," Wolves President Gersson Rosas said in a team release. "As we work together with Malik to advance his development as a player and a person, we look forward to seeing his growth."

Beasley is in the midst of his best season on the court and is averaging 20.5 points while shooting 41% from three-point range. Even after the September incident, the Wolves re-signed Beasley, who was a restricted free agent, to a four-year contract worth up to $60 million. The fourth year is a team option..
 

Any chance Finch has called Nurse back and said he’s had a change of heart. I know you need to take these head coaching opportunities when they come, but you can’t tell me he couldn’t find a job next year.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
Any chance Finch has called Nurse back and said he’s had a change of heart. I know you need to take these head coaching opportunities when they come, but you can’t tell me he couldn’t find a job next year.
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I read a pretty good article that suggests this is why we did it mid season. It claimed Finch would have been the hottest coaching commodity.

it also noted Finch was the reason be Jokic’s rise (and some of Murray). Finch then went and apparently signifcantly improved lonzo Ball’s shot. Etc.
 

atsgopher said:
I read a pretty good article that suggests this is why we did it mid season. It claimed Finch would have been the hottest coaching commodity.

it also noted Finch was the reason be Jokic’s rise (and some of Murray). Finch then went and apparently signifcantly improved lonzo Ball’s shot. Etc.
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So far it looks like the same dispirited crap to me, maybe more so. At least under Saunders the players were cheering for each other on the court and on the bench. (I'm not saying Saunders should have been retained.) Usually under a new coach there's an initial burst of energy. Not our wolves. (Yes, there are injuries and a suspension. That's why I'm referencing energy and not execution.) The only change I'm seeing is Vando and Okogie are getting more run and McDaniels is getting less. McDaniels is as good defensively as Okogie and he can hit more than one three a month.

Finch looked tired the day they hired him. He looks miserable and exhausted now.

There's no way KAT sticks around for this nonsense.
 

Defense play some defense. Most of defense is simply trying to play defense. The fact that KAT is not a physical force in the lane is on him. Grow the bleep up and put some effort in on defense.
 

jamiche said:
So far it looks like the same dispirited crap to me, maybe more so. At least under Saunders the players were cheering for each other on the court and on the bench. (I'm not saying Saunders should have been retained.) Usually under a new coach there's an initial burst of energy. Not our wolves. (Yes, there are injuries and a suspension. That's why I'm referencing energy and not execution.) The only change I'm seeing is Vando and Okogie are getting more run and McDaniels is getting less. McDaniels is as good defensively as Okogie and he can hit more than one three a month.

Finch looked tired the day they hired him. He looks miserable and exhausted now.

There's no way KAT sticks around for this nonsense.
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And i dont want him to stay around. Trade him now, along with his no defense buddy DLO.
 

JimmyJamesMD said:
And i dont want him to stay around. Trade him now, along with his no defense buddy DLO.
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Russell and Beasley accounted for 40pts a game. They don't play Defense? Neither do their replacements. Last night it was actually 76-74 with 2:18 left in the 3rd.

Then over the next 2:36 Suns outscored them 13-2. That's why all the close game losses have become blowouts. They can't shoot and without Russell and Beasley, they can't score. Add the bizarre, hidden NBA rule that it you're not a shooter you don't get a could call at the basket 'cuz they "don't want to bail you out".

Stars sometimes excepted of course.

Don't worry. Towns and Russell won't be in town next year. Or the year after. Nobody with a billion dollars will spend it too keep these stiffs in town. They have only 2-3 thousand or so die-hard supporters left to be angry about it. All the other fans have become ambivalent to them at best.

Mentioned it before but the only excitement coming online for the Wolves is the glee people get for complaining about and or savaging the team and the organization.

Would you like to buy and keep them here?

Taylor, to his credit has been holding out for years now for a buyer that would keep them here. They can't be found. Even the Chinese national has bailed. A cynic would suggest that they are playing and/or being managed to make them so bad that people would scream "just get them OUT of here!"

Would rather have them stay but it doesn't matter. Don't have a billion+ dollars.
 
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Best hope for basketball fans in Minnesota? That someone can donate the money for Pitino's buyout and we get someone who at least has a chance of keeping talent here or recruiting them to come here. Very tough in one-and-done times.

At least that won't be a $billion+
 

jamiche said:
Finch looked tired the day they hired him. He looks miserable and exhausted now.
There's no way KAT sticks around for this nonsense.
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Kat is part of the nonsense unfortunately.
Finch does look defeated already.
 

This thread should be locked until they win a game.
🤣
 

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