All Things 2019-2020 Minnesota Timberwolves In-Season Thread


Yeah, you're right.
I go to games and follow the team through thick and thin. This is the worst situation I can remember the team being in. Every move they make backfires. Towns is as good as gone after next season as he will demand a trade.
 

Well this is about two years earlier than I expected:

CBS: Karl-Anthony Towns trade rumors: Warriors monitoring situation as Wolves star reportedly unhappy in Minnesota

Heading into the new year, the Minnesota Timberwolves sit at 11-20 with only two games separating them and the last-place Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference. To say that the Timberwolves have been an overwhelming disappointment to start the season is a massive understatement. Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging a career high in points (26.5) and assists (4.4), and has added more to his offensive game, while Andrew Wiggins is inching closer to living up to his No. 1 overall draft selection, showing an improved shot selection and ball-handling ability.

Still, the Wolves continue to fail at putting a competitive roster around Towns worthy of his superstar talents. Before the season started, they attempted to get their star center some help when they were reportedly one of the teams that were interested in trading for D'Angelo Russell. Towns and Russell are close friends and the pairing of the two seemed like a dream scenario for both sides. Unfortunately, the Warriors put the kibosh on that dream. Now, they are apparently looking to try prying Towns out of Minnesota.

Golden State has been "monitoring Towns' situation in Minnesota," and multiple team executives note that the young star is currently unhappy, as reported by The Athletic's Ethan Strauss. Given that Towns is only in first year of his five-year, $190 million contract extension he signed prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, the Timberwolves have no incentive to trade the big man just yet. This season hasn't gone the way Minnesota had hoped, but if it has sold Towns on getting him help over the next couple years, then it can be patient. However, as Strauss reports, the Warriors have a wealth of assets at their disposal that could be packaged together to potentially bring Towns to the Bay Area.


Howl Wolves!!
 


Towns was a loser when the badgers beat him in the final four. !st overall picks win that game.
 


Well this is about two years earlier than I expected:

CBS: Karl-Anthony Towns trade rumors: Warriors monitoring situation as Wolves star reportedly unhappy in Minnesota

Heading into the new year, the Minnesota Timberwolves sit at 11-20 with only two games separating them and the last-place Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference. To say that the Timberwolves have been an overwhelming disappointment to start the season is a massive understatement. Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging a career high in points (26.5) and assists (4.4), and has added more to his offensive game, while Andrew Wiggins is inching closer to living up to his No. 1 overall draft selection, showing an improved shot selection and ball-handling ability.

Still, the Wolves continue to fail at putting a competitive roster around Towns worthy of his superstar talents. Before the season started, they attempted to get their star center some help when they were reportedly one of the teams that were interested in trading for D'Angelo Russell. Towns and Russell are close friends and the pairing of the two seemed like a dream scenario for both sides. Unfortunately, the Warriors put the kibosh on that dream. Now, they are apparently looking to try prying Towns out of Minnesota.

Golden State has been "monitoring Towns' situation in Minnesota," and multiple team executives note that the young star is currently unhappy, as reported by The Athletic's Ethan Strauss. Given that Towns is only in first year of his five-year, $190 million contract extension he signed prior to the start of the 2018-19 season, the Timberwolves have no incentive to trade the big man just yet. This season hasn't gone the way Minnesota had hoped, but if it has sold Towns on getting him help over the next couple years, then it can be patient. However, as Strauss reports, the Warriors have a wealth of assets at their disposal that could be packaged together to potentially bring Towns to the Bay Area.


Howl Wolves!!

Towns is so good that you would have to trade another top 10 player for him or an unbelievable package, which no team currently has. How about Rosas actually get some talent around him. Wiggins has been playing good enough. But the rest of the team is steaming garbage. They really need Culver to step up, but hes an immature rookie.

Hopefully by the end of the year a team grows impatient with a player on a long term contract and wolves can use teagues expiring to get that player. Also covington should fetch something good. Cov is an awesome player as a role player, and a team competing for a title could really use him.
 

Have we decided yet that going from the biggest dickwad coach of all time to everybody's pal, but no real experience was maybe a bad move? Not paying much attention, honestly, so this is a legit question for those who are.
My favorite narrative is, "We hired Saunders because Towns is his buddy and will stay here," and now less than halfway into his first full season, articles are already being written about how Towns is unhappy and will request a trade soon.
 

MINNEAPOLIS – The Portland Trail Blazers outplayed the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter Thursday night to take an early six-point lead.

It was all downhill from there for Portland.

The Blazers (16-23) looked absolutely exhausted as they were outscored 72-40 over the next two quarters. With the Timberwolves leading a 100-74 heading into the fourth quarter, Blazers coach Terry Stotts essentially threw in the towel, sending Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Carmelo Anthony and Hassan Whiteside to the bench...

The Timberwolves (15-22) went on to coast to a 116-102 win at the Target Center as the Blazers closed out their five-game road trip with a 2-3 record. Portland has lost seven of its last nine games.


“The first quarter, we scored the ball well,” Stotts said. “I think they had nine second chance points that kept them in the game in first quarter. Second quarter, our offense was pretty poor. We didn’t have an assist in the quarter, didn’t make shots, didn’t pass the ball, they were able to get out in transition and that made their offense that much better.”

Just when it seemed as if things couldn’t get worse, they did.

The Blazers shot just 34.6 percent from the field in the third quarter, while Minnesota shot 61.9 percent. A jump shot from Andrew Wiggins with 3:36 left in the third quarter gave the Timberwolves a 27-point lead, their largest of the night.

“They gained momentum right at the start of the third quarter and all of a sudden, it’s a 20-point game,” Stotts said. “It’s pretty deflating when that happens.”..

 

Culver is coming on, which is very promising.

Nice to see Naz Reid getting clock. Hes really big and really skilled. Just really young and still getting his sea legs under him. Needs to get stronger.

Wish Nowell would stay up and get clock. They could give him napier or JTs playing time

Nowell, not howell
 
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Wolves are only 1.5 games out of the 8th playoff spot. Granted, we're also only 2.5 games up on the second to last place Western Conference team.

Howl Wolves!!
 

Culver is coming on, which is very promising.

Nice to see Naz Reid getting clock. Hes really big and really skilled. Just really young and still getting his sea legs under him. Needs to get stronger.

Wish Howell would stay up and get clock. They could give him napier or JTs playing time
I'm still surprised by this. He has a terrible shot (mechanics), poor handle for a future PG, pretty poor passing skills (he showed that last night several times) and isn't as strong as he needs to be. Despite all of that...he is killing it right now. Kid has the want for sure.
 
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I'm still surprised by this. He has a terrible shot (mechanics), poor handle for a future PG, pretty poor passing skills (he showed that last night several times) and isn't as strong as he needs to be. Despite all of that...he is killing it right now. Kid has the want for sure.

Are you talking Culver?
 





You're right about the PG thing, I dont see it.

Here is a good summary from Zach Lowe.

9. Keep an eye on Jarrett Culver
It was hard to get a read on Culver early, but the picture became clearer as Culver got more minutes with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins out. Culver's shot comes and goes -- he's shooting 44% on free throws! -- but he has shown a nice feel attacking off the catch. He's patient, with some change of pace guile, and more explosive than you expect when he hits the gas in traffic.

Culver has scored in double digits in six straight games.

Culver's work on defense has been most interesting. (Minnesota has been feistier on that end without Towns.) He's long and smart, with a good understanding of personnel and what the offense wants to do. He plays on his toes, capable of changing direction in a snap.

Culver seems to like defense. He butts into passing lanes, arms extended, and denies swing passes:

Ryan Saunders has sometimes assigned Culver to the best opposing perimeter player, including Ja Morant on Tuesday in Memphis. Culver has not looked out of place in that job.

It's no secret the Wolves tried to move up from No. 6 in last season's draft. They liked Darius Garland, too. Garland has more star ballhandling potential and filled a more urgent positional need, but Culver might grow into a very nice two-way wing -- the most valuable type of support player.



 


Layman still dealing with a toe injury. He's played in 14 out of their 38 games. KAT has practiced the last few days. He's out tonight, not because of that knee sprain, but because of that "flu like illness going thru the locker room.

Somewhere Michael Williams, Walter Szczerbiak, Chauncey Billups, Nikola Peković etc.are all smirking thinking about that Timberwolves medical staff.

"Nerlens Noel is listed as out for the Thunder's game Monday night against the Timberwolves. Noel has missed the last four games with a left ankle sprain.

Noel is averaging 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as the Thunder's backup center.

Mike Muscala has averaged 16 minutes per game at center since Noel has been sidelined.

Minnesota will be without star center Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders told reporters Monday morning.

Towns has missed the last 13 games due to a left knee sprain. He is also dealing with an illness. Towns is averaging a career-high 26.5 points per game.


Minnesota forward Jake Layman is listed as out with a left toe sprain.

The Thunder and Timberwolves will tip-off at 7 p.m. Monday in Minneapolis"

 

Oh it was bad and as usual, the Wolves guards were abysmal on defense. Can't say Thibs was the worst GM that the Wolves ever had. Not with Khan arguably one of the worst all time. Though the moves made by Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr. will burden the franchise for years to come.

Hope Ross is as good as his record in Houston indicates he is. His moves last summer and Taylor's history of hiring, says otherwise

Josh Okogie, seated at his locker postgame, was asked if, in Monday’s 117-104 loss to Oklahoma City, the fact that Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had gotten 20 rebounds was an indication

“Say what?’’ Okogie interjected.

Yeah. 20 rebounds, 20 points, 10 assists.

He had 20 rebounds?’’ Okogie repeated. Then he turned to teammate Robert Covington. “He got 20 rebounds?’

“That’s impressive,’’ he said. “I don’t even know what to say to that, man.’’

Actually the Wolves didn’t have an answer for much of what the Thunder (23-17) did.

The three-guard penetrate and dish attack? It resulted in 50% shooting by Oklahoma City, 40% on threes, 26 trips to the free throw line and a 51-37 edge in rebounding.

And a loss, the Wolves’ second straight, breaking a three-game winning streak at home.

“Containing the ball hurt us tonight,’’ Wolves coach Ryan Saunders said.

The night began with Thunder guard Chris Paul walking onto the floor with his jersey untucked, shooting something of a smirk toward the Timberwolves bench. The reference, of course, was the delay-of-game call Paul lobbied for and got late in regulation in the Thunder’s overtime victory over the Wolves on Dec. 6.

First laugh, last laugh..


 

Oh it was bad and as usual, the Wolves guards were abysmal on defense. Can't say Thibs was the worst GM that the Wolves ever had. Not with Khan arguably one of the worst all time. Though the moves made by Thomas Joseph Thibodeau Jr. will burden the franchise for years to come.

Hope Ross is as good as his record in Houston indicates he is. His moves last summer and Taylor's history of hiring, says otherwise

Josh Okogie, seated at his locker postgame, was asked if, in Monday’s 117-104 loss to Oklahoma City, the fact that Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had gotten 20 rebounds was an indication

“Say what?’’ Okogie interjected.

Yeah. 20 rebounds, 20 points, 10 assists.

He had 20 rebounds?’’ Okogie repeated. Then he turned to teammate Robert Covington. “He got 20 rebounds?’

“That’s impressive,’’ he said. “I don’t even know what to say to that, man.’’

Actually the Wolves didn’t have an answer for much of what the Thunder (23-17) did.

The three-guard penetrate and dish attack? It resulted in 50% shooting by Oklahoma City, 40% on threes, 26 trips to the free throw line and a 51-37 edge in rebounding.

And a loss, the Wolves’ second straight, breaking a three-game winning streak at home.

“Containing the ball hurt us tonight,’’ Wolves coach Ryan Saunders said.

The night began with Thunder guard Chris Paul walking onto the floor with his jersey untucked, shooting something of a smirk toward the Timberwolves bench. The reference, of course, was the delay-of-game call Paul lobbied for and got late in regulation in the Thunder’s overtime victory over the Wolves on Dec. 6.

First laugh, last laugh..


Was at the game last night. Just a disaster of a game. I don't buy the Towns is sick thing a bit.
 

I was also at the game and it was depressing as hell. I don't think there were more than 5K people in the building. The wolves are five years away from being a fifth or sixth seed in the west (current OKC, I think) in talent, strategy, size, skill and desire. Culver looks like he's starting to come around, but he needs twenty more pounds of muscle to be a consistent factor. Reid has a nice touch but he's slow and soft at this point. Okogie has regressed. Wiggins is back to "I don't care" mode. Covington is a good player with a great contract but he's not a difference maker. The three or four guys on one year contracts are worth what they are being paid. I'm not sure what KAT is returning to.

As a huge NBA fan, my biggest concern is that somebody will come along in the next few years and pay Glen (or his heirs) $1B-1.5B in order to move the team to another market. Unless the Target Center lease is super, duper air tight a $700/hour lawyer will figure out a way to break it. Most leases are pretty easy to break if a tenant really wants out.

Many years ago I got a copy of the original Vikings Metrodome lease (public document). The only reason that document held the team in place was one paragraph that contained language that all of the other team owners were personally liable for damages. I'm quite sure the wolves' Target Center lease doesn't have language like that.
 

I was also at the game and it was depressing as hell. I don't think there were more than 5K people in the building. The wolves are five years away from being a fifth or sixth seed in the west (current OKC, I think) in talent, strategy, size, skill and desire. Culver looks like he's starting to come around, but he needs twenty more pounds of muscle to be a consistent factor. Reid has a nice touch but he's slow and soft at this point. Okogie has regressed. Wiggins is back to "I don't care" mode. Covington is a good player with a great contract but he's not a difference maker. The three or four guys on one year contracts are worth what they are being paid. I'm not sure what KAT is returning to.

As a huge NBA fan, my biggest concern is that somebody will come along in the next few years and pay Glen (or his heirs) $1B-1.5B in order to move the team to another market. Unless the Target Center lease is super, duper air tight a $700/hour lawyer will figure out a way to break it. Most leases are pretty easy to break if a tenant really wants out.

Many years ago I got a copy of the original Vikings Metrodome lease (public document). The only reason that document held the team in place was one paragraph that contained language that all of the other team owners were personally liable for damages. I'm quite sure the wolves' Target Center lease doesn't have language like that.

For such a bad team, tickets are expensive. I was thinking about bringing the kiddos down there. They are awful to watch but tickets are still expensive.
 

Was at the game last night. Just a disaster of a game. I don't buy the Towns is sick thing a bit.
I'd trade him if you could get equal value for him. But its going to be impossible. Id rather let him walk in 5 years
 

Q&A with Gersson Rosas: Wolves trying to build sustainable success

Q: Where does your record this season (15-24) fit in the puzzle when it comes to evaluating where you’re at?

A: I think it’s fair and I think you have to take record into consideration. Part of it is the execution of the vision, but it’s the reality of where you’re at. To be fair to our coaches and our players, we’re not ready-made or plug-and-play to just win. That’s going to come over time. For me and our leadership staff it’s not just when you lose, it’s how you win. ... Wins and losses are important. We look at it very closely, but what’s even more important is who we are and what our philosophy is. I’m more concerned about, and Coach [Ryan Saunders] has a good way of phrasing this, but winning the day. Before we can have playoff seasons and championships seasons and all that fun stuff, we have to be able to do all the little things right. ... For us, we’re living and breathing it every day, not just when we have a win or a loss. Our progress is not dictated by, ‘Hey, did we win today or lose today?’ Even when you win, what can we learn from it?

Q: You came in here and the salary cap situation was tight. How much of that, and freeing up the flexibility in the future, can help with bringing in personnel you deem a fit for what you want to do?

A: For us, it’s understanding what’s wrong and how can we improve it. It’s not putting a Band-Aid on it. The changes that have to be made have to be fundamental changes that are going to help us not only tonight and tomorrow but next year and the following year. ... Because of that, when you’re dealing with limited flexibility and limited resources you’ve got to get those things right. So the ability to address needs, to address upgrades, to help the system to be more effective and more optimal, those take long-term decisions and they can’t be a short-term view of it. For example, we have this debate internally that’s held externally: “Why do you guys keep shooting the threes, because you guys are a below-average shooting team?” It’s a constant battle of system vs. personnel. I tell our guys internally as well, as well as anybody externally, when you’re really good, you have both things. You have the right system, the right players. As you’re building an organization like we’re building now, a big reality is you have to have the system in place. We’re trying to get everything we can out of our personnel. But we’re building the system so as we improve, as we develop our talent, the system is in place.

Q: This is a fan base that has seen different leadership come in here and they haven’t had much success. What do you say to fans who haven’t tasted the playoffs but once since 2004, who might be skeptical that this is all going to eventually work out?

A: I love the passion, good or bad, that comes with the territory. And I invite it. I want the fans to know that we feel their pain, and it’s why we’re doing what we’re doing. We’re not going to do the short-term fix. We’re not going to cut corners to get a win here, a win there. Or to just make it to the playoffs one year to say we’ve arrived. That’s already been tried here. What we want to build is a sustainable model that’s going to allow us to consistently be successful to build a contending team and have success at the highest level. The reality is that’s hard. It’s hard to develop players. It’s hard to develop a philosophy. It’s hard to develop a system. I know fans are going to be skeptical. We hear the plans, the ideas, the thoughts, and some of those fans until the results come are not going to be satisfied. But I’m confident in the fans who are here with us from the beginning, who are passionate and know what it takes to bring a winner into this town, because this is a great sports town.

Q: Another thing that fans get concerned about is they see these couple of reports pop up about Karl’s perceived unhappiness here in Minnesota. You’ve made no bones about him being the main building block here. How do you view those reports?

A: You know, the reality of it is I know in terms of what we control and that’s in this organization and this building. Everything that we’ve done is to help Karl be the best player he can be, the best person he can be. I know he really appreciates that. You look at the facts: He’s had his best season. We’re fully optimizing who he is, what he’s about. We’re challenging him as a player and as a leader to be the best that he can, and we have the potential to do something here that’s built around him to allow him to be the best player he can be. That will allow us to be the best organization and the best team we can be on the floor. We have an ownership group and a leadership group here that’s given us every resource to be successful. We’ve been aggressive at every step of the way during my short tenure here, whether it’s the draft or free agency, to bring in high-level talent. There’s going to be challenges along that path, but I’m extremely confident we’re on the same page and there’s full commitment from every level here to make this successful. There’s always noise in whatever pursuit you have. Unfortunately even though that noise is unwarranted or unconfirmed, we don’t allow that to distract us from our goal of building a championship organization here.

Q: One of the first moves you made was drafting Jarrett Culver. How would evaluate his progress?

A: No. 1, I think these are the ebb and flows, peak and valleys of being a rookie in the league. Greatness is ahead of him. Again, everybody wants to win now, wants to see finished products now. It doesn’t happen like that. I study our league, study development and study how things work out and you have to be very careful. A guy like Jarrett and his development, his growth is going to come over time. He’s a young player with a lot of potential and a lot of talent. … I get confident every day because there’s nobody that works harder than him, nobody that’s more committed and there are growing pains. You can’t ignore that. Do we wish he was a better shooter? Absolutely. Do we wish he was more consistent? Absolutely. But you can’t just focus on the negatives. For a rookie, his ability to guard and defend is special. His ability to playmake and create offense and get to the rim is very unique. What he’s doing in a semi-point guard role this year, for a guy at his age, with his skill set, is very exciting. History shows you that guys will improve their shooting. … We’re very excited about what he means for this organization now and in the future.


Howl Wolves!!
 

For such a bad team, tickets are expensive. I was thinking about bringing the kiddos down there. They are awful to watch but tickets are still expensive.
They need to go back to the deals they had when they traded Love. I had season tickets for two consecutive years at $3 and $4 dollars a seat. As soon as they showed some promise the seats rose to $15 and then $20. Those are the worst seats in the house. They need to beg fans to come back with deals like that. I'm probably done after this season if the roster looks anything like this season.
 

I'm not sure what signing players to cheap one year deals accomplished. Even when they leave after this season we are up against the salary cap and I'm not sure that "roster flexibility" matters when no one wants to come here. I don't know what KAT's reputation is among the other players in the league but it wasn't a good sign when one of his best friends chose to sign with a team trending down rather than play with him in a cold, small, white market.
 

I'm not sure what signing players to cheap one year deals accomplished. Even when they leave after this season we are up against the salary cap and I'm not sure that "roster flexibility" matters when no one wants to come here. I don't know what KAT's reputation is among the other players in the league but it wasn't a good sign when one of his best friends chose to sign with a team trending down rather than play with him in a cold, small, white market.
They need to get something good for JTs expiring. A distressed asset that can turn it around here. Otherwise, yes, the cap is going to kill them
 

They need to get something good for JTs expiring. A distressed asset that can turn it around here. Otherwise, yes, the cap is going to kill them

The Wolves will have approximately $20 million to spend after JT and others are off the books according to https://hoopshype.com/salaries/minnesota_timberwolves/. That isn't much when you consider there will be 7-8 roster spots open. They need to hit a home run with the draft pick and hope they can get more out of the current underachievers.
 



Do you think something is going on?

Just saw this. Got the Wolves on one channel and the Gophers on another. Both are 2 point games.

No. I think he and the others got the flu. It's just that after the Wolves history of refusing to give the public accurate information and always stringing us along with "he''s almost ready..any day now...it'll be a game time decision" etc. they've turned fans on the players. Figuring they're slackers.

More power to any Wolves fan who doesn't hate the front office. I'm not in that camp.
 

Timberwolves trade Jeff Teague, Treveon Graham to Hawks for Allen Crabbe

The Timberwolves, mired in last place in the Northwest Division, sent point guard Jeff Teague and backup Treveon Graham to the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday in exchange for guard Allen Crabbe.

The trade, first reported by ESPN, was confirmed by an NBA source. Teague will be a backup to Trae Young, one of the NBA’s leading scorers at 29.1 points per game. The Hawks (9-32) are one of the league’s worst teams.

Crabbe, a seven-year veteran, is averaging 18.6 minutes and 5.1 points per game this season. The 27-year-old has also played for Portland and Brooklyn.

Teague, 31, is in the final season of a three-year, $57 million contract. He’s averaging 13.2 points and 6.1 assists per game.

Graham, a fourth-year pro, has played in 33 games, with 20 starts, and averages 4.3 points per game.


Howl Wolves!!
 




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