All Things Minnesota Timberwolves 2022-2023 In-Season Thread

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Chris Finch is gonna be very angry when he finds out he's the Head Coach of that team..
 

The Athletic: Timberwolves hit rock bottom with demoralizing loss to Detroit Pistons

Now sitting at 16-21, losers of six straight games after getting run off their homecourt by the Detroit Pistons bench — yes, the bench of a 10-29 team, not the starters — it is time to start asking if this team even has a fuse to be lit. For most of this season, their eyes have told us that they do not. There was no sign of it on Saturday night, in a must-win game against one of the worst teams in the NBA. No matter how hard you look, wanting to see some pride, some heart, some understanding of the hole they are digging and the laughter they are eliciting from the rest of the league, it just hasn’t been there nearly often enough.

The struggles the Timberwolves are facing this season go far deeper than schemes or talent or fit, though all three of those things have been problems at one time or another. The biggest issue this team faces is that when they have to dig deep to find some reservoir of gumption, guts and heart in an effort to overcome an obstacle in front of them, they not only have trouble locating any of it, but they also seemingly don’t want to do the digging in the first place.

We will get to all of the basketball issues in a moment, from Rudy Gobert’s ineffectiveness to D’Angelo Russell’s casualness to Chris Finch’s apparent inability to get this team to address the same exact weaknesses that hammer them over and over again. The problems this team has are far more existential.

theathletic.com

Timberwolves hit rock bottom with demoralizing loss to Detroit Pistons

Losers of six straight games after getting run off their homecourt by the Pistons, it's time to ask if this team even has a fuse to be lit.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

Howl Wolves!!
 

BleedGopher said:
The Athletic: Timberwolves hit rock bottom with demoralizing loss to Detroit Pistons

Now sitting at 16-21, losers of six straight games after getting run off their homecourt by the Detroit Pistons bench — yes, the bench of a 10-29 team, not the starters — it is time to start asking if this team even has a fuse to be lit. For most of this season, their eyes have told us that they do not. There was no sign of it on Saturday night, in a must-win game against one of the worst teams in the NBA. No matter how hard you look, wanting to see some pride, some heart, some understanding of the hole they are digging and the laughter they are eliciting from the rest of the league, it just hasn’t been there nearly often enough..
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"Maybe this whole thing is beyond saving. Maybe losing Karl-Anthony Towns, Jordan McLaughlin and Taurean Prince for as long as they have is too much to overcome. Maybe the Gobert trade was a colossal mistake. Even if all of that is true, this team wouldn’t be as derided as it has been if they just looked like they cared.

Or maybe, as Gobert said afterward, there is still time to turn it around. Maybe in four months we will be looking back at this game and the reaction to it as the thing that got the Timberwolves going. If that does happen, the team will have summoned some inner strength and care factor that to this point has been undetectable."
 


Shama: Wolves Owner Taylor Unhappy with Team

Timberwolves majority owner Glen Taylor is disappointed and frustrated with his team’s performance so far this season. In a phone interview with Sports Headliners several days ago Taylor expressed discouragement and befuddlement with the club’s poor play, while expressing expectation there is enough time remaining in the season to qualify for the playoffs in April.

The Wolves record, after a sixth consecutive loss last night, is a distressful 16-21. Demoralizing was losing last evening at home to the lowly Pistons who are 10 and 29.

Last season Minnesota finished the regular season with a 46-36 record and lost its opening playoff series to the Grizzlies. Expectations by Taylor before the season was the Wolves would be improved and could secure home court advantage for the opening round of the postseason (they didn’t have it last spring).

“That’s my expectation (to get beyond the first round),” Taylor told Sports Headliners in October. “I think with the guys that we have, if other than injuries, they should deliver that. I am confident in our coaching. I think they’ll get the most out of these guys. That’ll make a difference.”

The Wolves will have to go 30-15 in their remaining games just to equal last season’s record. They could miss the playoffs, although that’s not the message from Taylor now. “I know they can do it. We have the manpower (talent and depth) to do it. …”

What’s gone wrong consists of a long list of issues including injuries that have sidelined multiple key players starting with All-Star forward Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) who might not play again until late January or February. Reality, though, is the team struggled even with a healthy lineup and blew an opportunity to start the season fast against a succession of mediocre opposition.

The performance has been inconsistent and resulted in a record around .500 all season. Taylor talked about lack of focused play for four quarters and inability to get defensive stops toward the end of games. Rebounding, turnovers, lack of cohesive team play, and technical fouls have been problematic, too. “Little things we just shouldn’t have, and we lose those games to teams we can compete against,” Taylor said.

Chris Finch was hired as Wolves head coach in February of 2021 and has won praise in the past. Based on the team’s performance since October, is there a coaching issue now tied to the failed record?

“I am not sure what it is,” Taylor said. “I really like our coach. I think he’s got a good staff. I do mention that I don’t think we should be having technicals and I think somebody is responsible for that. I think you gotta get the respect of the players to say that they can’t be thinking of themselves individually. They gotta be thinking of what’s in the best interest of the team and if that requires keeping their mouths shut, then keep their mouth shut.”

Taylor’s frustration is evident, and the team’s record prompts the question of whether Finch’s job is safe? The coach and his staff are in a classic situation of being blamed for a team going in the wrong direction.

“Well, they certainly are (safe) now,” Taylor said. “We’re going into the (new) year and we certainly can turn it around. There’s time to do that. That’s my expectation when Kat gets back, and the (other) guys get back. That they still have every reason to think that they could get into the playoffs and that’s …our expectations.”

New president of basketball operations Tim Connelly made a mega deal last summer sending five draft choices, plus five Wolves players, to the Jazz in exchange for center and defensive titan Rudy Gobert. Only the most Polly Anna observer will describe the deal as a success so far.


Howl Wolves!!
 


gophersfan said:
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I've been out of town and not paying much attention to the wolves (for the better). It looks like our new "owners" aren't making much progress towards owning a controlling interest in anything. IIRC, they were supposed to come up with the actual second payment in December. Now they are dialing for dollars. It looks like Uncle Glen is extending our fellas.

In a perfect world Glen would tell them to take a hike. However, this is our wolves. If they can screw something up, they can screw something up. Glen is probably at the point with this asset where he feels like it owns him, which happens. So he rides with these bullshitters. Two guys who don't own the team hire a POBO who trades eight years of draft capital for a thirty year old center who does two things well and is easily exploited in every other way. Connelly couldn't even wait a month to show us how smart he is.

What a complete mess.
 






Solid win after a completely pathetic effort against the Pistons. Garza is gonna find a way to stick in this league.
 


What a phony. There is no way he shoveled that entire driveway by hand. Unless he’s on some PED’s.
 
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PhiloVance said:
Someone pointed out the label is still on the shovel...either he didn't use it or he plans on returning it for a refund.
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I mean the label could stay in a shovel for a while. All the tire tracks and large piles of snow make me think he didn’t shovel much if at all.
 




Wolves win by 7

Would have been by 15 but the flipping calls that Lillaird gets are beyond hilarious.
 

Another unexpected solid win for the timber pups..glad to see Aroid managed to make the game after shoveling his driveway today.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
I mean the label could stay in a shovel for a while. All the tire tracks and large piles of snow make me think he didn’t shovel much if at all.
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You are correct that the label could stay on for a while. It might also be the kind of shovel that leaves something that looks remarkably like snow plow tire tracks around the circle. Also, for a guy who is now at least 40lbs overweight, he looks remarkably put together considering that he shoveled out an enormous driveway.

Does he really think that people who actually live here can't tell the photo was posed?
 

How much should the wolves play DLo now? They are trying to maximize a trade return but his playing time hinders the teams performance at this point. I'd imagine that he doesn't want to be here any more than the team wants him here.

A challenging conundrum.
 

jamiche said:
How much should the wolves play DLo now? They are trying to maximize a trade return but his playing time hinders the teams performance at this point. I'd imagine that he doesn't want to be here any more than the team wants him here.

A challenging conundrum.
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How can one go from "no trade value" to "less than no trade value"?
 

I wonder if they just don’t buy out DLo. He’s not playing well. He is not going to be a part of the team next year. I have no idea if his teammates like him of not. You might as well see what the other guys, even two way guys, can provide in the PG spot.

I am not a NBA salary cap expert, but are you hurt in future years if you buy out a player on the last year of his contract.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
I wonder if they just don’t buy out DLo. He’s not playing well. He is not going to be a part of the team next year. I have no idea if his teammates like him of not. You might as well see what the other guys, even two way guys, can provide in the PG spot.

I am not a NBA salary cap expert, but are you hurt in future years if you buy out a player on the last year of his contract.
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no, youre not hurt in future years. NBA contracts do not include signing bonuses, roster bonuses, or any other upfront money that affects the amortization schedule if you get rid of them.

I think they will keep him until trade deadline. Expirings can be valuable assets depending upon the team or year. If he still on Wolves when the trade deadline has passed, then he will get bought out
 



tikited said:
Insane!

More insanity... D-Lo will probably be resigned on a one-year deal.
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I was going to say he will get the mid level for 1 year, but i dont think teams usually want to use their mid level exemption on a 1 year deal. He might only end up getting vets minimum
 

tikited said:
Insane!

More insanity... D-Lo will probably be resigned on a one-year deal.
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They will unload him by the trade deadline.

I will be stunned if they don't.

He sucks
 


kg21 said:
They will unload him by the trade deadline.

I will be stunned if they don't.

He sucks
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If they just let him walk they will have all sorts of salary issues. They absolutely have to trade him. Good luck with that.
 

tikited said:
If they just let him walk they will have all sorts of salary issues. They absolutely have to trade him. Good luck with that.
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they may be happy with the salary coming off of the books since they have to pay Ant.
 


JimmyJamesMD said:
they may be happy with the salary coming off of the books since they have to pay Ant.
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It's been covered earlier in this thread that they can't just let him go and use the money on other players. They almost have to sign him if they can't find a trade partner.

This is from a Canishoopus article:
The Wolves own D’Angelo Russell’s bird rights, with allows the team to re-sign him and go over the salary cap while doing so. They do not have the ability to sign other players and go over the cap unless they are using the Mid-Level Exception or the Bi-Annual Exception, which project to be around $11 million and $4.3 million respectively for the 2023-24 NBA season. With Russell’s bird rights, the Wolves can sign him to any amount and go over the salary cap.

One argument for doing this is to ensure that you have some talent at the point guard spot. We already went over the alternatives that could be signed this summer, which were underwhelming, to say the least.

Another argument can be made for extending Russell as well. This argument centers around a trade. If the Wolves re-sign Russell, they keep the possibility open of trading for another high paid player down the line. You can’t trade a player that you signed for $10 million on the Mid-Level Exception for a player making $30 million, but you could trade D’Angelo Russell on a $25 million contract for that theoretical player.

I don’t know who that player could be, or when that move would potentially come, but I do know that a move like that would be impossible to make if Russell isn’t re-signed, unless you’re wanting to trade away one of Gobert or Towns.

The last argument for extending DLo is that he might just be a really good player for this team. Like I brought up earlier, Russell is a very good pick and roll playmaker. He also had one of the best seasons of his career last year despite some poor shooting numbers. We can expect that those numbers should go up this year. He might also have the best playmaking season of his career. Not to mention, his defensive woes might matter less than they ever have. Early returns thus far this season also show Russell’s ability to get to the rim seems to be elevated, which is something that wasn’t a huge part of his game. Everything is shaping up for him to have the most impactful and successful year of his career thus far.
 

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