Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog

Timberwolves blog – Minnesota Timberwolves blog

On the leadership skills of Anthony Edwards

Per the Pioneer Press:

This Timberwolves roster is different than the one from a year ago. That much is obvious in games, as Karl-Anthony Towns’ consistent scoring and general size is missed, as is the playmaking and ball security of guys like Kyle Anderson and Jordan McLaughlin.

But their absences have been felt in the locker room, as well. Towns was a consistent source of positivity for the team. Anderson was one of the loudest vocal leaders. The latter can be especially difficult to replace, especially because it can be uncomfortable to speak up when things are going poorly and something needs to change.

That was the position Anthony Edwards has found himself in early this season. Edwards has been praised for his leadership through his first four years on Minnesota’s roster. Mostly, that all came via positivity and example. Edwards can be coached hard, which gave the greenlight for the coaches to treat everyone else the same way.

Timberwolves sign Trevor Keels, Jaedon LeDee, Skylar Mays and Eugene Omoruyi

The Minnesota Timberwolves recently signed guard Trevor Keels, forward Jaedon LeDee, guard Skylar Mays and forward Eugene Omoruyi.

Keels, 6-3, spent the 2023-24 regular season with the Iowa Wolves, the NBA G League affiliate of the Timberwolves, appearing in 39 games (31 starts), averaging 14.1 points on 44.1% shooting, 3.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.7 minutes of action per contest. The Clinton, Md. native has appeared in three career games, all with the New York Knicks, tallying three points and two rebounds. Keels was originally drafted by the Knicks with the 42nd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

LeDee, 6-7, was a member of the Timberwolves entry in the NBA 2K25 Summer League 2024 where he appeared in five games and averaged 2.6 points on 50.0% shooting and 2.0 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game. The Houston, Texas native played in 154 games (43 starts) during his collegiate career, with stops at Ohio State, Texas Christian University and San Diego State, owning collegiate career averages of 8.9 points on 52.8% shooting and 4.7 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per contest. LeDee was named the Mountain West Player of the Year and awarded the Karl Malone Award following his 2024 season at San Diego State.

Mays, 6-3, appeared in 38 games (five starts) for the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers during the 2023-24 season, averaging 4.1 points on 39.6% shooting, 1.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 17.0 minutes per contest. Since being selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 50th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Baton Rouge, La. native has appeared in 105 NBA games (16 starts) with career averages of 4.3 points on 44.5% shooting, 1.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 10.6 minutes per game. Mays also appeared in nine games during the 2021 and 2022 NBA Playoffs, all with the Hawks.

Omoruyi, 6-6, spent last season with the Washington Wizards, appearing in 43 games, averaging 4.8 points on 48.5% shooting and 2.0 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game. The Toronto native has appeared in 87 career games (six starts), splitting time with the Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons and Wizards, owning averages of 5.7 points on 46.0% shooting and 2.3 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per contest.

Timberwolves announce coaching staff updates

The Minnesota Timberwolves recently announced the following coaching staff updates:

Max Lefevre (Luh-Fev) has been promoted to Assistant Coach. Lefevre has been with the Timberwolves since the 2019-20 season, holding positions of Video Coordinator/Player Development Associate and Player Development Coach. Prior to his time with the Timberwolves, Lefevre spent four seasons at Texas Tech as the Director of Player Development, helping the Red Raiders to the 2019 NCAA National Championship game and the Big 12 Conference regular-season championship. He also worked as Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Arkansas Little Rock in 2015-16 and as a graduate assistant at Angelo State from 2013-15. Born in France, Lefevre played college basketball at Avila University also located in Kansas City. He earned his Bachelor of Science in International Business from Avila in 2012 before earning his Master of Education in Sports Administration from Angelo State in 2015.

Jeff Newton has been promoted to Assistant Coach. Newton enters his sixth season with the organization after serving as Quality Control Coach last season and previously as Player Development/Offensive Associate with the Timberwolves. Newton was the Head Coach of the Iowa Wolves, the Timberwolves G League affiliate for two seasons. Prior to his time with the Timberwolves organization, he was with the Houston Rockets for three seasons, spending one year each as a personnel scout, assistant video coordinator and basketball operations intern. Newton got his start in the NBA as a basketball operations intern with the then Charlotte Bobcats. A native of Barrington, Rhode Island, Newton graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a degree in Sports Management.

Chris Hines has been named Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development. Hines enters his first season as the Director of Player Development after spending the last two seasons as a Player Development Coach and two seasons as a Player Development Associate. Prior to joining the Timberwolves coaching staff, Hines was hired as Assistant Head Coach for Minnesota’s G League Affiliate the Iowa Wolves in 2019. He spent three seasons with the Guangdong Southern Tigers as a Director of Player Development beginning in 2016. Prior to that, he was with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers as Director of Basketball Operations and Player Development. Hines played briefly for the Iowa Energy during the 2014-15 season and played one season collegiately at Drake University after playing for three years at the University of Utah, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 2012. Hines was recently Head Coach of the Timberwolves’ entry to NBA 2K25 Summer League 2024, where the Wolves went 4-1 this summer.

Nathan Bubes has been promoted to Assistant Coach/Quality Control Coach. Bubes returns to the Timberwolves after spending the last season as an Assistant Coach with the Iowa Wolves. Prior to his time in Des Moines, he spent two seasons with the Timberwolves as Quality Control Coach. Before arriving in Minnesota, Bubes served as the assistant video coordinator for the New Orleans Pelicans from 2019-2021. Prior to his time with New Orleans, he was the coordinator of strategy and analytics for Brigham Young University men’s basketball program. Bubes had his start in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers when he served as the team’s video intern in 2018.

Moses Ehambe has been named Assistant Coach/Player Development. Ehambe begins his fifth season with the Timberwolves after serving previously as a Player Development Associate and the Director of Player Programs. Prior to his time with the Timberwolves, Ehambe spent one season with the Indiana Pacers as a Video/Player Development Assistant. He played collegiately at Oral Roberts University for four years and after going undrafted in 2008, Ehambe spent over a decade playing overseas and in the G League, including being part of the 2011 D League Champion Iowa Energy.

James White has been promoted to Player Development Coach. White finished his first season with the Timberwolves coaching staff after spending one season with the Iowa Wolves as an Assistant Coach. Prior to the Wolves, he served as a head coach for two seasons in The Basketball League. He entered coaching after a long and successful playing career with stints in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and New York Knicks, the NBA D League and international leagues in Italy, Russia and Turkey. White was selected 31st overall in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. A McDonald’s High School All-American, White played one season at the University of Florida before transferring to the University of Cincinnati.

Joey Dorsey has been added to Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch’s coaching staff as a Player Development Assistant. Dorsey joins Minnesota after recently serving as a volunteer coach for the University of Memphis Men’s Basketball team last season. Dorsey recently participated in the NBA Coaching Developmental Program led by former NBA Coach Butch Carter. After playing collegiately for four years at Memphis, Dorsey was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 33rd overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. He played four seasons in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors. In 130 career games (26 starts), he totaled 344 points, 513 rebounds and 55 assists. Dorsey played over a decade overseas, including winning the Greek League and EuroLeague championships with Olympiacos.

Cole Fisher has been promoted to Manager of Basketball Analytics. Fisher will be entering his seventh season with the Timberwolves after previously serving as a Senior Analyst and Basketball Operations & Coaching Analyst for the Wolves. He began his NBA career as a basketball operations intern for the Toronto Raptors in 2017 and was a basketball analytics intern for the Sacramento Kings in 2018. In addition, Fisher has created a web application to help accurately predict future NBA success for current G League players, as well as other web applications.

Timberwolves sign Joe Ingles

The Minnesota Timberwolves back in the first week of July signed forward Joe Ingles.

Last season with the Orlando Magic, Ingles, 6-9, appeared in 66 games and averaged 4.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 17.2 minutes per game. His top performance of the season came at the Miami Heat on Jan. 12 when he scored a season-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a season-best 4-of-8 from deep, six assists and a season-high three steals.

In 10 seasons in the NBA, with the Utah Jazz, Milwaukee Bucks and Magic, Ingles has totaled 5,707 points, 2,184 rebounds and 5,566 assists throughout 704 games (313 starts). He is a career 44.8% shooter from the field, including 41.0% from three.

The Adelaide, Australia native, has seen action in 57 postseason matchups (40 starts) during six trips to the playoffs. He holds playoff career averages of 8.5 points on 44.1% shooting, 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 27.4 minutes per game.

Ingles will wear #7 for the Timberwolves.

Timberwolves sign Head Coach Chris Finch to contract extension

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed Head Coach Chris Finch to a multi-year contract extension.

“I’d like to thank Glen, Becky, and the entire organization for their continued support and commitment to me and the team,” said Finch. “I’m proud of the way we’ve been able to establish a great culture here with the Timberwolves and I look forward to continuing to lead this organization and make our fans proud.”

“Chris is a wonderful coach, and an even better person,” said President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly. “We are thrilled that he is being rewarded with a well-earned extension. Under his guidance the team has improved every year, he’s the perfect leader for our organization.”

Finch guided the Timberwolves to a 56-26 record in 2023-24, the second-highest win total in franchise history. Minnesota secured the third seed in the Western Conference, marking the third consecutive year clinching a spot in the NBA Playoffs, the most consecutive seasons making the playoffs since eight straight appearances from 1996-2004.

Timberwolves win big, force a Game 7 with Nuggets

Per the Denver Post:

After an exchange of blowouts that has lasted six games, there’s no telling what could happen in the seventh.

Jamal Murray’s shooting efficiency reverted to Game 2 form, Michael Porter Jr. was held to single-digit scoring for a third consecutive game and the Nuggets were crushed, 115-70, by the Timberwolves in a potential close-out Game 6 on Thursday night. It set a new franchise low in playoff single-game scoring.

Anthony Edwards bounced back with 27 points and three steals. Jaden McDaniels supplied 21 points on 10 shots as Denver gave him the Aaron Gordon treatment, living with his shots. And the two Minnesota wings combined to quiet the Nuggets’ second and third options at the defensive end. Murray shot 4 for 18, totaling 10 points. Porter scored eight on 3-of-9 shooting.

Nikola Jokic’s 22 points weren’t enough to overcome the lack of supporting offense. He registered only two assists, matching a season low (at Minnesota in March).

FULL ARTICLE

Naz Reid wins 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award

Minnesota Timberwolves center-forward Naz Reid is the recipient of the John Havlicek Trophy as the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Reid has been named the NBA’s top reserve for the first time and becomes the first player to win the award with the Timberwolves. He is also the third player to earn the honor after not being selected in the NBA Draft, joining John Starks (1996-97) and Darrell Armstrong (1998-99).

In his fifth NBA season, Reid averaged career highs of 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 24.2 minutes in 81 games (14 starts). He made 169 three-pointers, exceeding his total from the previous two seasons combined (132). Reid also shot a career-high 41.4% from three-point range.

Reid helped the Timberwolves (56-26) finish with the second-best record in franchise history.

Karl-Anthony Towns injured, out at least four weeks

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday announced the following injury update on forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns.

An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) taken yesterday on Towns revealed a Left Knee Lateral Meniscus Tear. Towns will undergo surgery early next week on the torn meniscus and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. Further updates will be provided when available

Timberwolves sign Mike Conley to contract extension

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard Mike Conley to a contract extension.

Per the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the deal is “a two-year contract extension worth $20.75 million overall.”

Conley, 36, is in the midst of his 17th season in the NBA, second with the Timberwolves, seeing action in 50 games (all starts), averaging 10.6 points on 44.4% shooting, including a career-best 44.2% from deep, 2.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 28.9 minutes per game. Conley has a career-high 6.08 assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking second in the NBA. Since 1977-78 (min. 50 games played), no player 36 years of age or older has had an assist-to-turnover higher than Conley this season.

Per the St., Paul Pioneer Press, “Conley has been a lynchpin for Minnesota’s massive success. The point guard — with his ball movement generation, lethal outside shooting and capable defending — has proven to be the missing piece that tied the Timberwolves’ two-big experiment together and turned Minnesota from a laughingstock into a title contender.”

The Ohio State University product has tallied four point/assist double-doubles this season and has dished out 10+ assists on five occasions. In the 118-103 Jan. 18 victory vs. Memphis, Conley added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from deep and a season-high-tying 10 assists. His performance marked his second 15+ point/10+ assist game this season (52nd career), both coming against the Grizzlies, and his first such game doing so while shooting 63.0%+ from the field (fifth career). While dishing out 10 assists against Memphis, he did not commit a single turnover, the second time this season with 10 assists and zero turnovers (Jan. 12 vs. Portland) and the 16th in his career. In the Timberwolves 128-91 win at Portland on Feb. 15, Conley ended the game with seven points, four rebounds, six assists, two steals and a career-high-tying three blocks. It marked the second time over the last five seasons where Conley has had multiple blocks and multiple steals in the same game (also Oct. 24, 2022, Utah at Houston). At 36y-125d years old, he became the second-oldest player in Timberwolves history with 3+ blocks in a game.

For his career, the 6-1 guard has appeared in 1,075 career regular season games (1,038 starts) with the Grizzlies, Utah Jazz and Timberwolves, averaging 14.5 points on 43.9% shooting, 3.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. Conley has seen action in 78 career playoff games (all starts) and has averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

Conley is one of only seven active players and 19 in NBA history to total more than 15,000 points, 6,000 assists, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 steals (James Harden, Jrue Holiday, LeBron James, Kyle Lowry, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook).

Pistons trade Monte Morris to Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves have acquired guard Monte Morris in a trade with the Detroit Pistons for forward Troy Brown Jr., guard Shake Milton and a 2030 second round pick.

Morris, 28, has appeared in 348 regular season games (166 starts) in seven NBA seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards and Pistons, averaging 10.4 points on 47.9% shooting, including 38.9% from three, 2.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. In 62 games (61 starts) last season with Washington, the 6-2 guard averaged 10.3 points on 48.0% shooting, a career-high 3.4 rebounds and a career-best 5.3 assists. At the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, he ranked second in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.4).

The Flint, Mich. native has appeared in 48 playoff games (10 starts), averaging 9.5 points on 45.1% shooting and 3.5 assists. His best playoff performance came in Game 6 of the First Round of the 2021 Playoffs when in 32:58 minutes of action off the bench, Morris finished with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting and nine assists. He became the second player in Nuggets history to finish a playoff game with 20+ points and 9+ assists off the bench.

Morris was originally drafted out of Iowa State by the Nuggets with the 51st overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Signed as a free agent with the Wolves on July 8, 2023, Brown Jr. played in 37 games (three starts) for Minnesota where he averaged 4.2 points in 11.1 minutes of action per game. In 334 career games (87 starts) with the Wizards, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Timberwolves, he holds averages of 6.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

Signed as a free agent with the Timberwolves on July 8, 2023, Milton played in 38 games for Minnesota where he averaged 4.7 points in 12.9 minutes of action per game. In 292 career games (45 starts) with the Philadelphia 76ers and Timberwolves, he holds averages of 8.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.