Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog

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Timberwolves sign Brian Bowen II and Javonte Cooke

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Brian Bowen II and guard Javonte Cooke.

Bowen II, 25, most recently played in all five games for the Timberwolves entry in the NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023, averaging 4.8 points on 47.4% shooting and 1.6 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game. The Saginaw, Mich. native played in 15 regular season games for the Iowa Wolves, the NBA G League affiliate of the Timberwolves, where he saw action in 15 games and averaged 13.8 points on 46.0% shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists. In two seasons with the Indiana Pacers from 2019-2021, he saw action in 12 total games.

Cooke, 24, appeared in 41 games (nine starts) last season with the Iowa Wolves where he averaged 7.5 points on 42.2% shooting, 2.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 19.5 minutes per game. The Columbia, S.C. native finished his collegiate career at Winston-Salem State in 2021-22 where he saw action in 23 games (17 starts), pulling down averages of 16.6 points on 46.6% from the field, including 39.2% from three, 3.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 29.2 minutes per game.

Timberwolves waive Trevor Keels, Tyrese Martin, DJ Carton and Matt Ryan

The Minnesota Timberwolves have waived guards D.J. Carton, Trevor Keels, Tyrese Martin and forward Matt Ryan.

Carton spent the 2022-23 season with the Iowa Wolves, the NBA G League affiliate of the Timberwolves, where he saw action in 41 games (23 starts). He averaged 14.5 points on 55.9% shooting from the field, including 34.0% from deep, 4.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.0 steal in 32.5 minutes per contest. The Bettendorf, Iowa native was a member of the Timberwolves entry in the NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023 where he appeared in five games (two starts) and averaged 9.0 points on 45.5% shooting and a team-high 6.8 assists.

Keels, 6-4, saw action in three games last season with the New York Knicks. Prior to joining New York, Keels played in 24 games (all starts), with the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League, posting averages of 14.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 31.4 minutes per contest. The Clinton, Md. native, was selected by the Knicks with the 12th pick in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2022 NBA Draft after one season at Duke.

Martin, 6-6, played in 16 games with the Atlanta Hawks during the 2022-23 season, averaging 1.3 points in 4.1 minutes per game. Additionally, the Allentown, Pa. native, saw action in 23 games (all starts) for the College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League, where he averaged 18.0 points on 50.3% shooting from the field, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 33.9 minutes per game, including a Skyhawks franchise-record 46-point performance against the Grand Rapid Gold on March 17, 2023. The 24-year-old was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 21st pick in the second round (51st overall) in the 2022 NBA Draft after being named to the 2022 Big East All-Tournament Team as a member of the University of Connecticut Huskies.

Ryan, 6-7, wrapped up his second NBA season by making 34 appearances (22 with Minnesota and 12 with the L.A. Lakers) averaging 3.6 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 9.1 minutes per game. He set a career-high with 22:25 minutes of action off the bench on Feb. 7 at Denver and tallied a career-high-tying 11 points on a career-high-tying 4-of-8 from the field, including a career-best-tying 3-of-7 from deep. Ryan also dished out a career-high four assists, besting his previous high of two (2x; MR: vs. Toronto on Jan. 19). The White Plains, N.Y. native has seen action in 35 career games with the Boston Celtics, Lakers and Timberwolves. He owns career averages of 3.6 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

The Timberwolves roster stands at 17 players.

Timberwolves sign DJ Carton, waive Vit Krejci

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard D.J. Carton.

In a subsequent move, the team announced it has waived guard Vít Krejčí.

Carton spent the 2022-23 season with the Iowa Wolves, the NBA G League affiliate of the Timberwolves, where he saw action in 41 games (23 starts). He averaged 14.5 points on 55.9% shooting from the field, including 34.0% from deep, 4.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.0 steal in 32.5 minutes per contest. The Pineville, NC native was a member of the Timberwolves entry in the NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023 where he appeared in five games (two starts) and averaged 9.0 points on 45.5% shooting and a team-high 6.8 assists.

Krejčí, 6-8, spent last season with the Atlanta Hawks where he totaled 36 points and 26 rebounds in 29 games. Prior to the Hawks, he played his rookie season with the Oklahoma City Thunder averaging 6.2 points on 40.7% shooting, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30 appearances (eight starts). He was originally signed by the Timberwolves on Sept. 14.

Timberwolves sign Vit Krejci

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard Vit Krejci.

Krejčí, 6-8, spent last season with the Atlanta Hawks where he totaled 36 points and 26 rebounds in 29 games. Prior to the Hawks, he played his rookie season with the Oklahoma City Thunder averaging 6.2 points on 40.7% shooting, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30 appearances (eight starts).

The Strakonice, Czech Republic native has played for the Czech Republic Men’s National Team since 2019. Most recently, he played three games in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2023 Poland-Estonia, where he averaged 14.0 points on 61.9% shooting, 5.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game.

Krejčí was originally selected by the Washington Wizards with the 37th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

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.