Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 19 – NBA Blog

Timberwolves coaching staff additions and promotions

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced additions to the team’s coaching staff for the upcoming season, naming Malik Allen and Larry Greer as Assistant Coaches, Pat Zipfel as Advance Scout, and Brian Randle as Assistant Video Coordinator.

The team also announced it has promoted Daisuke Yoshimoto to Special Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations/Player Development Coach, Steve Molina to Video Coordinator and Kwadzo Ahelegbe to Assistant Video Coordinator.

Allen joins the Timberwolves after spending the last four seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Detroit Pistons. He finished a 10-year playing career in 2011, having played in 478 career games with Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Milwaukee, New Jersey and Orlando. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game during his playing career. A native of Willingboro, N.J., Allen played four years at Villanova University.

Greer moves to the Timberwolves bench after spending last season as the team’s Advance Scout. His NBA career has included stops in Houston (2005-07), Portland (2007-12) and Oklahoma City (2015-17). Greer’s background also includes 17 seasons as an Assistant Coach in the college ranks with stops at Arizona State University (2012-15), Boston University (1994-2003), Brandeis University (1989-92) and Wright State University (2003-05). His brother, Andy, is also an assistant on Coach Thibodeau’s staff.

Zipfel rejoins the Timberwolves after spending the last three seasons as the Head Coach at Mansfield University. Zipfel’s career has included stints as Advance Scout under Coach Thibodeau with the Chicago Bulls from 2013-15. Prior to joining Thibodeau’s staff with the Bulls, Zipfel was an Advance Scout on Rick Adelman’s staff with the Timberwolves. His NBA career has also included stops with the Houston Rockets (2007-11), Portland Trail Blazers (2004-07) and L.A. Clippers (2000-03).

Randle joins the Timberwolves’ video department after spending the last 10 seasons overseas playing professionally in Germany, Israel and Italy, including reaching the Eurocup Final Four with Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem in Israel last season. Randle was a student-athlete at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, being named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team in 2006.

Yoshimoto has spent the last two seasons as Special Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations. He joined the Timberwolves in 2016 after working in the video departments in Chicago, Denver and New Jersey.

Molina started with the Timberwolves prior to last season after working as an intern with the Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers. A graduate from Marquette University, Molina was a student manager during his four years in Milwaukee.

Ahelegbe joined the Timberwolves prior to last season after playing professionally overseas after college. A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Ahelegbe was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2011.

Timberwolves center Justin Patton out after foot injury

Minnesota Timberwolves center Justin Patton will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering an injury to his right foot during a recent workout. Surgery will be scheduled for the near future. Further updates to his progress will be issued when appropriate.

Patton, 6-11, played in one game for Minnesota in 2017-18, totaling two points and one steal in just under four minutes of action on April 1, 2018 vs. Utah. Patton appeared in 38 games for the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate, starting 28 of those and averaging 12.7 points on 47.5% shooting from the field. He also averaged 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 23.1 minutes a game.

The Wolves acquired the draft rights to Patton (selected 16th overall in the 2017 NBA Draft), along with Jimmy Butler, on June 22, 2017 from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the draft rights to Lauri Markkanen, the 7th overall selection in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Jimmy Butler and Tom Thibodeau to reportedly meet, seek clarity

The Timberwolves are a fascinating team right now. They won a solid but unspectacular 47 games last season, squeezing into the playoffs for a quick stint in the postseason. On paper, they should certainly keep improving. They boast a quality starting lineup, and several of their best players are young and presumably still improving. But Jimmy Butler’s future with the team will be a looming story throughout the next year — or until something happens to put an end to the speculation. Here’s the St Paul Pioneer Press reporting:

Timberwolves all-star guard Jimmy Butler and coach Tom Thibodeau will meet early this week to discuss the upcoming season and thoughts on the team, a source confirmed Saturday.

The Athletic was the first to report the meeting.

But there’s no reason to believe this is some type of make-or-break moment that will determine Butler’s future in Minnesota. While nothing can ever be ruled out, this meeting isn’t expected to deliver anything of major consequence.

There’s been a lot of drama surrounding the Timberwolves this offseason — some of which should subside once training camp starts in nine days. Much of it has involved Butler.

Full article

Timberwolves center Justin Patton reportedly injured again

Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune with a Timberwolves injury report that will presumably be confirmed by the team soon:

After two surgeries on his left foot cost him two summer-league and one training camp experiences, Timberwolves center Justin Patton now has broken his right foot in pre-camp workouts.

Patton will undergo surgery to repair that right foot in the coming days, a source with knowledge of the injury said.

Training camp begins Sept. 25, and Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau had been hopeful that Patton would be cleared for contact practice by then.

Full article

Timberwolves sign Luol Deng

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday signed forward Luol Deng.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Deng “will get a one-year, $2.4 million deal — the veteran’s minimum — from the Wolves. Deng recently reached a contract settlement with the Los Angeles Lakers on the final two remaining years of a massive $72 million contract he signed in summer 2016. That made him an unrestricted free agent and he chose to reunite with his former coach from Chicago. The Wolves tried to sign him in 2016, but offered a two-year deal compared to the Lakers’ four.”

A 14-year NBA veteran, Deng has appeared in 880 career games (826 starts) over 14 seasons with Chicago, Miami, Cleveland and L.A. Lakers. Over his career he owns averages of 15.0 points on 45.5% shooting, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Deng played under Head Coach Tom Thibodeau for three-plus seasons (234 games) in Chicago from 2010-14, averaging 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds during the stretch. Under Thibodeau’s tutelage, Deng was named to the NBA All-Star Game in 2012 and 2013, as well as earning a spot on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012.

More from the Star Tribune: “He joins former Bulls teammates Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose and gives the Wolves another two-way player who can guard multiple positions, including both forward spots. ”

Deng has appeared in seven different postseasons between Chicago and Miami, including reaching the Eastern Conference Finals with Thibodeau and the Bulls in 2010-11. Deng has averaged 14.6 points on 45.5% shooting in 62 postseason contests (56 starts) over those seven seasons.

Timberwolves sign James Nunnally

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed forward James Nunnally today.

Nunnally, 6-7, has spent the last two years playing in Turkey with Fenerbahçe, making back-to-back EuroLeague Final Four appearances, including winning a championship in 2017. Over 29 EuroLeague games in 2017-18, he averaged 9.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 54.0% overall from the field, including a 55.4% mark from beyond the arc.

Undrafted in 2012 out of UC Santa Barbara, Nunnally spent parts of the 2013-14 NBA season with Atlanta and Philadelphia, totaling averages of 3.4 points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game in 13 contests. He has also played in the G League with Bakersfield and Texas, as well as overseas in Greece, Puerto Rico, Spain, Israel and Italy. Nunnally earned Italian League MVP honors in 2016 after averaging 18.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 40 games.

Timberwolves sign C.J. Williams to two-way contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard C.J. Williams to a two-way contract.

Williams appeared in 38 games (17 starts) as a rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, averaging 5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 18.6 minutes per game. He appeared in 16 games with the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League, averaging 16.5 points in 29.5 minutes per game. He was named the recipient of the 2017-18 NBA G League Jason Collier Sportsmanship Award on Apr. 11, which is given to the player who best represents the ideals of character and conduct on and off the court.

The Fayetteville, N.C. native played four years at North Carolina State, leading the Wolfpack to the NCAA Sweet 16 as a senior in 2012. Since turning pro, he has spent parts of three seasons in the NBA G League, averaging 14.0 points on 46.3% shooting (40.2% from three-point range) over 115 G League games.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “The 6-foot-5 guard can spend up to 45 days with the Timberwolves next season, and will spend the rest of his time with the Iowa Wolves. Rookie guard Jared Terrell is the Timberwolves’ other two-way signing.”

Two-way contracts allow teams to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular-season roster. Players signed to a two-way contract can accrue no more than 45 days of service with their respective NBA club during the regular season and will spend the remainder of their time with the team’s NBA G League affiliate.

Jimmy Butler undergoes procedure on hand

Minnesota Timberwolves guard/forward Jimmy Butler underwent an elective right hand procedure on Tuesday, July 24.

The team says that Butler has already returned to offseason activities.

It’s unknown if those offseason activities include playing basketball at regular intensity right away, but the team is clearly suggesting that it was a minor procedure.

Timberwolves sign Anthony Tolliver

The Timberwolves have signed forward Anthony Tolliver.

Looking at the roster as it stands now, Tolliver will likely back up Taj Gibson at power forward, and could see some backup small forward.

The 6-foot-8 forward spent the 2017-18 season on the Pistons, where he averaged 8.9 points per game, his highest single-season scoring average since the 2009-10 season. Tolliver shot an NBA career-best 43.6 percent from three-point range, hitting a career-high 2.0 threes per outing, on 4.6 attempts on average. The 43.6 percent ranked seventh in the NBA and third among players 6-8 or taller. Tolliver’s 46.4 percent from the floor also was a single-season career-best mark.

During his career, Tolliver has played in 599 regular season games, averaging 6.5 points on 42.1 percent shooting, and 36.7 percent three-point shooting.

Tolliver played for the Timberwolves during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

He has also played with San Antonio, Portland, Golden State, Atlanta, Charlotte, Phoenix, Detroit and Sacramento.

Timberwolves sign rookie Keita Bates-Diop

The Timberwolves yesterday signed rookie forward Keita Bates-Diop, who the team selected with the 48th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft on June 21.

Bates-Diop was named the 2017-18 Big Ten Player of the Year after averaging 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks over his redshirt junior season at Ohio State. A 2017-18 consensus Second Team All-American, Bates-Diop raised his scoring average 10.1 points per game from his redshirt sophomore (9.7 ppg) to his redshirt junior year (19.8 ppg). This season, Bates-Diop paced the Big 10 in scoring, finished second in rebounds (8.7 per contest) and fifth in blocked shots (1.6 blocks per game). He shot 47.2 percent from the floor, including a 35.9 percent mark (66-for-184) from deep.

The Bloomington, Ill. native was a top-five finalist for the 2017-18 Julius Erving Award, honoring the top small forward in the nation. He was also a finalist for the Wooden Award and a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year.