Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog

Timberwolves blog – Minnesota Timberwolves blog

Timberwolves name Ernest Scott as head coach of Iowa Wolves G League team

The Minnesota Timberwolves today named Ernest Scott as Head Coach of the Iowa Wolves, the team’s G League affiliate.

Minnesota also announced the promotion of Nathan Bubes to Assistant Coach and Michael DiBenedetto to Assistant Coach/Director of Operations for the Wolves.

“I couldn’t be happier for Ernest, Nathan, and Michael to take on these new roles with our team in Iowa and continue to develop our young players,” said Timberwolves Director of Player Personnel /Iowa Wolves General Manager Jonathan Wallace. “Ernest has worked hard to earn this role and has developed great relationships with players, staff and the community in Iowa. We look forward to Nathan and Michael joining him in Des Moines as we prepare for the upcoming season.”

“I am proud of the professional development of Ernest, Nathan and Michael to lead them to their new positions with the Iowa Wolves,” said Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch. “We are excited for the future of our G League team and know that these three will do a phenomenal job leading our program in Iowa.”

“I am grateful to be named the Head Coach of the Iowa Wolves and represent the Timberwolves organization in the best light possible,” Scott said. “I’m excited to continue being a part of the community in Des Moines and execute the vision and goals of Coach Finch and the Timberwolves in everything we do on and off the court.”

Minnesota Timberwolves 2023-24 preseason schedule

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team’s 2023-24 preseason schedule. The Wolves will play five exhibition contests, including one game at Target Center.

The fans first chance to see the 2023-24 Wolves at Target Center will be when the team takes on Maccabi Ra’anana of the Israeli National League. This will mark the third time the Wolves have played a team from Israel in the preseason after previously defeating Maccabi Haifa twice before, including a 114-81 win at Target Center on Oct. 16, 2012, then most recently a 131-101 victory on Oct. 13, 2019.

Minnesota will begin its 2023 preseason by playing its first two games against the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 on Thursday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 7 at Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Minnesota’s trip to Abu Dhabi will mark the 15th and 16th time (preseason and regular season) the Wolves have played in an international game. Most recently, the Timberwolves played the Golden State Warriors as part of the NBA Global Games China 2017.

The Wolves will then complete their preseason schedule with a pair of road games. First, with a matchup with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Oct. 14. Minnesota will wrap up their exhibition games by traveling to Chicago to face the Bulls at the United Center on Thursday, Oct. 19.

Timberwolves re-sign Nickeil Alexander-Walker

The Minnesota Timberwolves have re-signed guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

The 6-5 guard completed his fourth season in the NBA where he appeared in 59 total games (three starts), including 36 games with the Utah Jazz and 23 with the Wolves. This season, Alexander-Walker averaged 6.2 points on 44.4% shooting, 1.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists.

Acquired by the Wolves during the 2023 Trade Deadline from the Jazz, Alexander-Walker owns career averages of 8.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 217 games (38 starts).

The Toronto native made his Canadian Senior National Team debut in the Olympic qualifiers in 2021 where in three games, he averaged 16.7 points on 45.0% shooting, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Alexander-Walker was originally drafted out of Virginia Tech by the Brooklyn Nets with the 17th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

Mike Conley wins 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley is the recipient of the Joe Dumars Trophy for winning the 2022-23 NBA Sportsmanship Award. The annual award is designed to honor a player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship on the court. Each NBA team nominated one of its players for the NBA Sportsmanship Award. From the list of 30 team nominees, a panel of league executives selected one finalist from each of the NBA’s six divisions. Current NBA players selected the winner from the list of six finalists, with nearly 300 players submitting their votes through confidential balloting conducted by the league office.

This is the fourth such honor of Conley’s career, the most in league history, after winning the award as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies in 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2018-19. He becomes the first player in Timberwolves history to win the award.

In his 16th NBA season, Conley appeared in 67 games (66 starts) for the Timberwolves and Utah Jazz, averaging 11.9 points and a 42.8% shooting along with 6.7 assists per game. On Apr. 8 at San Antonio (Austin), Conley finished with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 shooting and five assists. It marked Conley’s fifth game this season with 5+ triples, his most such games with five or more threes in a single season is eight during the 2016-17 season. With his basket at the 7:17 mark of the fourth quarter on Apr. 8, Conley reached 15,000 career points, becoming the 149th player in NBA history to surpass 15,000 career points.

The NBA Sportsmanship Award trophy is named in honor of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Joe Dumars, a six-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion. Dumars played 14 NBA seasons and won the inaugural Sportsmanship Award in the 1995-96 season.

Timberwolves sign rookie Leonard Miller

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed rookie forward Leonard Miller.

Miller, 6-10, averaged 16.9 points and led the NBA G League Ignite with 10.1 rebounds per game last season. In his NBA Summer League debut on July 7 against the New Orleans Pelicans, Miller notched a double-double with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Miller scored a season-high 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds on March 9 vs. the College Park Skyhawks. Miller set an Ignite team-record with 21 rebounds to go along with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting on March 12 vs. the Texas Legends. He tallied 17 double-doubles and improved his averages to 20.7 points and 12.9 rebounds per game following the 2023 All-Star break.

The Toronto native’s draft rights were originally acquired by the Wolves from San Antonio Spurs on June 23.

Timberwolves sign Shake Milton

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard Shake Milton.

Last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, Milton, 6-5, appeared in 76 games (11 starts) and averaged 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and a career-high 3.2 assists in 20.6 minutes per game. He scored 20+ points in six of his 11 starts last season, led by a 29-point effort against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 27. In five seasons in the NBA, all with the 76ers, Milton has tallied 2,368 points, 604 rebounds and 694 assists throughout 254 games (45 starts).

The Owasso, Okla. native, has seen action in 34 postseason (four starts) matchups during four trips to the playoffs. He holds playoff career averages of 5.2 points on 42.5% shooting, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 12.5 minutes per game. The 76ers originally acquired Milton’s draft rights as the 54th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft from the Dallas Mavericks.

Timberwolves sign Troy Brown Jr.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Troy Brown Jr.

Brown Jr., 6-6, spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers where he averaged 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in a career-high 76 games, including a career-best 45 starts. His 7.1 ppg last season marked his most since averaging a career-best 10.4 ppg during the 2019-20 season. In five NBA seasons with the Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, Brown Jr. has tallied 1,949 points, 1,144 rebounds, 448 assists and 211 steals throughout 297 games (84 starts).

The Las Vegas native, has seen action in 15 postseason matchups during two playoff appearances, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals this past season. He holds playoff career averages of 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game. Brown Jr. was originally selected by the Wizards with the 15th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Timberwolves sign rookie Jaylen Clark to two-way contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed rookie guard Jaylen Clark to a two-way contract.

Clark was selected by the Wolves with the 53rd overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Clark, 6-5, was named the 2022-23 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, 2022-23 NABC Defensive Player of the Year and 2022-23 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, UCLA’s first defensive player of the year winner since Russell Westbrook in 2007-08. He averaged 13.0 points, 1.9 assists and a Pac-12 leading 2.6 steals per game (tied for fourth-best in the nation).

Additionally, Clark was named to the 2022-23 All-Pac-12 Second Team and was a two-time Pac 12 All-Defensive Team honoree (2021-22 and 2022-23).

The Riverside, Calif., native played on an AAU team with current NBA players Evan and Isaiah Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu. Clark attended the same high school (Etiwanda High School) as current Timberwolves guard Jordan McLaughlin.

Timberwolves re-sign Luka Garza to two-way contract

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday re-signed forward Luka Garza to a two-way contract.

The 6-10 forward completed his second season in the NBA, first in Minnesota where he appeared in 28 games, averaging 6.5 points on 54.3% shooting from the field, and 35.9% from three and 2.3 rebounds. Garza shined in back-to-back games for the Wolves this season, scoring a career-high 25 points in Utah on Feb. 8 and grabbing a season-high nine rebounds the previous night, Feb. 7, in Denver.

Garza appeared in 15 games (all starts) for the Iowa Wolves this season, averaging 30.7 points, on 63.3% shooting from the floor and 47.1 from deep, 10.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists game. After being selected as a captain for the NBA G League Next Up Game, Garza led Team Luka to a 178-162 win over Team Scoot in Salt Lake City on Feb. 19 as part of the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend. He was named MVP after scoring 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting along with eight rebounds in 21:15 minutes of action.

The Washington D.C. native spent four seasons at the University of Iowa, where he ended his college career as Iowa’s all-time leading scorer (2,306 points), marking the seventh-highest scoring total in Big Ten history. Garza earned unanimous 2020-21 National Player of the Year honors after averaging 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 31.6 minutes per game in 31 games during his final season. Additionally, he was named a two-time unanimous All-America First Team selection (2020-21 and 2019-20) and two-time Big Ten Player of the Year (2020-21 and 2019-20).

Garza was originally selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 52nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Timberwolves hire Corliss Williamson as an assistant coach

The Minnesota Timberwolves today named Corliss Williamson Assistant Coach.

Williamson comes to the Wolves after previous coaching stops with the Sacramento Kings (2013-16), Orlando Magic (2016-18) and Phoenix Suns (2018-19).

“Corliss is a fantastic addition to our staff,” said Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch. “He brings a wealth of experience, both in the NBA and on the collegiate level. He will make a significant impact in a variety of areas of the team. We look forward to welcoming him and his family to our Timberwolves family.”

Prior to his coaching career, Williamson enjoyed a 12-year NBA playing career from 1995-2007 that featured stops with Detroit, Philadelphia and Sacramento, highlighted by being a member of the 2004 Pistons Championship team. Regarded as one of the best role players during his career, “Big Nasty” was named 2001-02 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. In 822 career games (293 starts), he averaged 11.2 points on 49.0% shooting and 3.9 rebounds. From 1995-96 through 2006-07, no player in the NBA totaled more bench points (5,192) than Williamson.

“I can’t wait to join the Minnesota Timberwolves staff and be a part of what Tim and Chris are building here in Minnesota,” Williamson said. “We have a lot of talent on this roster and I’m excited to get to work with our guys to help them be the best players on and off the court.”

Prior to coaching in the NBA, the Russellville, Ark. native served as an assistant coach for Arkansas Baptist College from 2007-2009 before being named the school’s head coach in 2009. Williamson also served as the head coach at the University of Central Arkansas from 2010-2013.