Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 20 – NBA Blog

Karl-Anthony Towns eligible for massive contract extension

These days, every good NBA player is up for a huge payday once they’re past their rookie contract and have proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with. As for the specific case of young Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, here’s the St Paul Pioneer Press reporting:

Karl-Anthony Towns’ potential pay day just got a little bigger.

Towns, who’s eligible to sign an extension this summer, can now earn up to $188 million on a five-year extension after earning All-NBA honors on Thursday, per ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks.

The extension would come into effect at the start of the 2019-20 season. Minnesota signed Andrew Wiggins to a five-year, $146 million max extension last offseason. The All-NBA honors mean Towns can make up to 30 percent of the Wolves’ salary cap, which is higher than the extension for which Wiggins was eligible.

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Timberwolves announce staff changes

Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and General Manager Scott Layden announced today the following people have been released from their duties: Player Development Coach Vince Legarza, Shooting Coach Peter Patton and Assistant Video Coordinator Wes Bohn.

The Timberwolves in their statement said they “would like to thank all of these individuals for their contributions to our organization and wish them well in their future endeavors.”

Andrew Wiggins says he mostly avoids social media

It’s smart for most pro athletes to avoid social media during the playoffs. But some have little use for it altogether. Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting on Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins:

Criticized much of the season on Twitter and elsewhere for his inner flame burning too low, Wolves young star Andrew Wiggins’ cool now maybe is serving him well with the heat turned up in the playoffs.

Wiggins has been the Wolves’ most consistent player in this best-of-seven series with Houston so far and he said at Monday’s shoot before Game 4 that he hasn’t — and won’t — pay attention to the words of those who want more from a guy who last fall signed a max contracts that begins next season.

“I don’t really go on social media too much,” Wiggins said. “I just watch movies, play video games and play with my dog. That’s it. Everything else I don’t see.”

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In Game 3, Timberwolves put up great assist-turnover ratio

The assist to turnover radio tells a lot about what a team is doing with the ball. If it’s high — if a team has way more assists than turnovers — the night probably belongs to them. As for the Timberwolves, who lost games 1 and 2 to the Rockets but secured a Game 3 victory, here’s the St Paul Pioneer Press reporting:

Against a Rockets team that has been creative in the way it switches on defense and brings extra defensive help, the Wolves struggled a bit while losing the first two games. In a Game 2 blowout loss in Houston on Wednesday night, the Wolves had only 15 assists and 16 turnovers while being held to 82 points.

What a difference a game makes.

In Saturday night’s 121-105 victory over the Rockets at Target Center, the Wolves had 29 assists and seven turnovers. Those 29 assists are tied for the second-most in the playoffs by a Wolves team. Four starters had three or more assists seven players had multiple assists. It is no coincidence the Wolves set all kinds of franchise playoff scoring records; their 35 points in the third and 34 in the fourth are their top two quarters. Their 121 points was a franchise record, too.

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Key point about the Nuggets vs Timberwolves game tonight

The Nuggets and Timberwolves play in Minnesota tonight. The winner makes the NBA playoffs. The loser has to go home and stare at a wall. Or they can watch TV. Maybe eat something. Or hop on a plane and fly to an exotic overseas beach destination. Which sounds cool. But making the playoffs is better. Beaches can wait.

The Western conference playoff seeding situation is complicated. Regarding these two teams, here are the possibilities:

If the Nuggets win tonight, they will either be the 6 or 7 West seed.

If the Timberwolves win, they’ll be the 6, 7 or 8 West seed.

Why? Because a big stack of West playoff teams have almost identical records, and therefore tiebreaker rules come into effect.

Here’s what’s set in the West through Tuesday:
Rockets are the 1-seed.
Warriors are the 2-seed.
Blazers or Jazz are the 3-seed.
The rest will be determined tonight.

InsideHoops.com will turn things things up for the 2018 playoffs. Roll with us daily.

Timberwolves lose 3rd straight game

The Timberwolves, playing without Jimmy Butler, are struggling lately. Here’s the St Paul Pioneer Press reporting on what went down Thursday:

With five off days to prepare for a pivotal March contest played in front of their home crowd at Target Center and in front of the country on national television, the Timberwolves managed to come out flat.

The Wolves fell 117-109 to Boston on Thursday, marking their first three-game losing streak of the season — which unsurprisingly has come without Jimmy Butler. That streak is in serious danger of running to four with the Warriors coming to town Sunday.

Something needs to change between now and then. And that change is going to have to revolve around the Wolves’ effort. They were outclassed in that department on Thursday by Boston. Boston had 18 second chance points to Minnesota’s nine. The Celtics (46-20) had 14 fast break points to Minnesota’s two.

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Timberwolves sign Derrick Rose

Derrick Rose isn’t done with basketball just yet.

The Minnesota Timberwolves signed Rose, a former league MVP, on Thursday.

Rose, a 6-3 guard, appeared in 16 games (seven starts) with Cleveland this season, averaging 9.8 points, 1.8 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game. He was traded to Utah in a three-team deal on Feb. 8 before being waived by the Jazz on Feb. 10. A three-time All-Star, Rose has averaged 19.2 points on 45.1% shooting and 5.8 assists in 486 games over nine seasons. His best season came in 2010-11, when under Tom Thibodeau he became the youngest player to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award after averaging 25.0 points and 7.7 assists, while leading the Chicago Bulls to the best record in the NBA and the Eastern Conference Finals.

Timberwolves waive Shabazz Muhammad (contract buyout)

The Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday waived forward Shabazz Muhammad.

Muhammad appeared in 32 games this season for the Wolves, averaging 3.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 9.4 minutes per game.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “by agreeing to the buyout, Muhammad forgoes a veteran’s minimum player option for next season. He re-signed with the Wolves to $1.6 million veteran’s minimum last fall after he turned down $40 million in October 2016, the same time teammate Gorgui Dieng signed a four-year, $64 million contract. The 14th player taken in the 2013 draft, Muhammad was one of the Wolves’ most active players during training camp in San Diego, but didn’t play well early in the regular season and played less and less as the Wolves played better and better.”

After the Muhammad move, Minnesota’s roster stands at 15 players.

Jimmy Butler suffers knee injury

According to the Minnesota Timberwolves, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) taken this afternoon on Wolves forward Jimmy Butler’s right knee revealed a meniscal injury. The evaluation and MRI was conducted by Team Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Diane Dahm at Mayo Clinic. Further updates as to Butler’s progress will be issued when more information becomes available.

The injury occurred during last night’s 120-102 loss to the Houston Rockets.

In 56 games this season, Butler averaged 22.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “the team has not yet announced what this prognosis means, in terms of whether Butler will require surgery or if his season is over. Still, it is a more optimistic prognosis than a torn anterior cruciate ligament would have been. What remains clear is that Butler, at the very least, will be out for an extended period. And that means the Wolves will have to survive – indeed thrive – without him in order to stay a factor in the NBA’s Western Conference playoff race.”

Timberwolves to host Flip Saunders Night on Feb. 15, 2018

The Minnesota Timberwolves will host “Flip Saunders Night” at home in Target Center on Thursday, February 15. The visiting team for that game is the Lakers.

That night, the Timberwolves will unveil a permanent banner in Target Center to honor the memory of Flip.

“Flip meant so much to our organization as a coach, but he meant so much more to all of us as a friend,” said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. “His impact on our organization and what he meant to the Minnesota basketball community is something that will always be with us. It is appropriate that we honor the man who meant so much to us with of a banner in our home arena that will forever fortify his memory.”

All fans in attendance will receive a Flip Saunders commemorative coin. The back story behind giving a coin is this: One of Flip’s trademarks during his tenure with the Wolves was to create a new team coin each season for players and front office staff, then randomly give them to people he would encounter as a way to include fans on that season’s journey.

“Minnesota has always been our family’s home”, said Debbie Saunders, widow of Flip Saunders. “Flip not only had a passion for the Timberwolves but for basketball in the State of Minnesota. We are incredibly grateful to the Timberwolves for memorializing Flip in such a moving way and having his memory live on inside Target Center forever.”

Saunders compiled an overall record of 427-392 (.521) in 12 seasons covering two different stints with the organization.