Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 9 – NBA Blog

Timberwolves sign Bryn Forbes

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed guard Bryn Forbes.

It’s reportedly a one-year deal for the league minimum.

Forbes, 6-2, split time last season with the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs where he averaged 8.8 points on 42.9% shooting, including 41.4% from three, 1.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 75 games (two starts). In eight seasons in the NBA with the Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks and Nuggets, Forbes has appeared in 406 career games (167 starts) while holding career averages of 9.1 points on 43.8% shooting, including 41.3% from deep, 1.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Per the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “Forbes, who turns 29 years old this month, adds needed shooting and guard play to Minnesota’s bench and fills one of the spots vacated by the Timberwolves’ trade that shipped so much bench depth to Utah.”

The Lansing, Mich. native has seen action in 42 postseason matchups (seven starts) during five trips to the playoffs, including winning the 2020-21 NBA Championship with the Bucks. He holds playoff career averages of 6.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game.

Timberwolves sign Kyle Anderson

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday signed forward Kyle Anderson.

Anderson, 6-8, spent the last four seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies where he averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 248 games (148 starts). During the 2020-21 season, he registered a career-high 12.4 points per game on 46.8% shooting, while leading the team in steals (84) and steals per game (1.2). In eight seasons in the NBA, Anderson has tallied 3,366 points, 2,220 rebounds, 1,167 assists and 510 steals throughout 505 games (248 starts).

The Fairview, N.J. native, has seen action in 47 postseason matchups (eight starts) during five trips to the playoffs. He holds playoff career averages of 5.3 points on 51.0% shooting, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals in 16.2 minutes per game. Anderson was originally selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the 30th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Timberwolves sign rookie Wendell Moore Jr.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed rookie guard Wendell Moore Jr.

Moore Jr., 6-5, was also acquired by Minnesota during the 2022 NBA Draft, averaged 13.4 points (ranking second on Duke), 5.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists (fourth in the ACC) and 1.3 assists per game in his junior season at Duke.

For his collegiate career, Moore Jr. averaged 10.7 points on 45.9% from the field and 35.8% from three, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He recorded the fifth triple-double in Duke history with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Army on Nov. 12, 2021.

Jazz trade Rudy Gobert to Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday acquired center Rudy Gobert in a trade with the Utah Jazz for guards Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley and forward Jarred Vanderbilt, along with guard Leandro Bolmaro, the draft rights to center Walker Kessler and Minnesota’s 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 first round picks and a 2026 first round pick swap.

Gobert, 30, has appeared in 611 regular season games (519 starts) in nine NBA seasons with the Jazz, averaging 12.4 points on 65.3% shooting, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. The 7-1 center played in 66 games (all starts) last season, averaging 15.6 points on a career-high 71.3% shooting, a career-best 14.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. His 71.3% (362-of-508) from the field led the NBA during the 2021-22 season and per the Elias Sports Bureau, he joined Wilt Chamberlain (1972-73) and DeAndre Jordan (3x, MR: 2016-17) as the only players in NBA history to shoot 70% or better from the field on 500+ shots. In addition to leading the NBA last season in rebounding and shooting percentage, Gobert ranked second in double-doubles (53) and third in blocks (2.1). He’s seen action in 49 career playoff games (all starts) with averages of 13.4 points on 66.2% shooting, 11.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

The Saint-Quentin, France native is a three-time All-NBA selection (Second Team in 2017, Third Team in 2019 and 2021), a three-time Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2018, 2019, 2021), a three-time NBA All-Star (2020, 2021, 2022) and a six-time All-Defensive First Team selection (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). Gobert has played in the last two Olympics for France, leading the French National Team to a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. During the 2020 Olympics, he averaged 12.2 points on 63.6% shooting and 9.3 rebounds, earning him a spot on the Men’s Basketball All-Star Five.

Gobert was originally drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 27th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Acquired via trade from the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 25, 2021, Beverley appeared in 58 games (54 starts) for the Wolves last season, averaging 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He holds career averages of 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 10 NBA seasons.

Acquired by the Timberwolves via a trade with the Nuggets on Feb. 5, 2020, Beasley appeared in 130 games (68 starts) for Minnesota over three seasons, averaging 15.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He holds career averages of 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in seven NBA seasons.

Acquired by the Timberwolves via a trade with the Nuggets on Feb. 5, 2020, Vanderbilt appeared in 140 games (97 starts) for Minnesota over three seasons, averaging 6.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He holds career averages of 5.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in five NBA seasons.

Bolmaro appeared in 35 games last season for Minnesota, averaging 1.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. He was originally acquired by the Timberwolves via a trade with the New York Knicks on Nov. 20, 2020.

Kessler averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game as a sophomore at Auburn University. His draft rights were originally acquired via trade during the 2022 NBA Draft from the Grizzlies.

Jazz will reportedly trade Rudy Gobert to Timberwolves

The Utah Jazz look like they’re taking a step forwards rebuilding, while the Minnesota Timberwolves are about to enjoy an incredibly talented combination at the power forward and center spots. Via ESPN.com:

The Utah Jazz agreed to trade center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal that will pair him with fellow All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Timberwolves will send Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, No. 22 overall pick Walker Kessler and four first-round picks to the Jazz, sources said. Utah will acquire unprotected picks in 2023, 2025 and 2027 and a top-five-protected pick in 2029, sources said, in Danny Ainge’s first franchise-altering deal since taking over as the Jazz’s CEO midseason.

A combo of Gobert and star Karl-Anthony Towns up front makes the Timberwolves a must-watch team going into next season.

Karl-Anthony Towns to sign huge Timberwolves contract extension

Via ESPN.com:

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns has agreed on a four-year, $224 million supermax extension, his agent, Jessica Holtz of CAA Basketball told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The deal begins with the 2024-25 season and delivers Towns’ total contract value to six years and $295 million.

Towns, 26, the No. 1 overall pick by Minnesota in 2015, has become one of the league’s most dominant offensive big men during his eight years in Minnesota. He averaged 24.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this past season while shooting over 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 80% from the foul line.

Timberwolves sign Taurean Prince to contract extension

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Taurean Prince to a contract extension.

Prince, 28, wrapped up his sixth season in the NBA, first with the Timberwolves, seeing action in 69 games (eight starts), averaging 7.3 points on a career-high 45.4% shooting, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 17.1 minutes per game.

The Baylor product saw one of his best games of the 2021-22 season in Minnesota’s 130-115 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 1 when in 24:01 of action off the bench, Prince scored a season-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a season-high 6-of-9 from three, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals. The game marked his eighth career game with 6+ threes and became the ninth player in Wolves history to connect on 6+ triples off the bench.

For his career, the 6-7 forward has appeared in 370 regular season games (218 starts) with the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Timberwolves, averaging 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Prince has seen action in 11 career playoff games (six starts) and has averaged 8.8 points on 49.4% shooting, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

The San Marcos, Texas native was originally drafted by the Utah Jazz in the first round (12th overall) of the 2016 NBA Draft. He was acquired by the Wolves in a trade with the Cavaliers on Aug. 3, 2021.

Timberwolves exercise contract options on Jaylen Nowell and Naz Reid

The Minnesota Timberwolves have exercised team options on guard Jaylen Nowell and center Naz Reid.

Nowell, 22, enters his fourth season in the NBA after appearing in a career-high 62 games (one start) in 2021-22, averaging 8.5 points on a career-best 47.5% shooting from the field, 2.0 rebounds and a career-high 2.1 assists per game. In the Dec. 27 victory over the Boston Celtics, Nowell played a career-high 34:41 minutes off the bench, scoring a career-high 29 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including a career-high-tying 6-of-9 from three and grabbed a career-high-tying six rebounds. The Seattle native has appeared in 119 career games with the Timberwolves (one start), holding averages of 8.1 points on 44.6% shooting, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Reid, 22, wrapped up his third season in the NBA last year, appearing in a career-high 77 games (six starts) with averages of 8.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. During the 2021-22 season, Reid recorded four double-doubles, including tallying his first career 20+ point/10+ rebound game on Jan. 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers, leading the way for the Wolves, scoring a season-high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting while grabbing a season-high 11 rebounds, including a career-high-tying five offensive boards. The Asbury Park, N,J. native saw action in his first career playoff games last season, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in five contests against the Memphis Grizzlies. Reid has played in 177 career games (32 starts), while averaging 9.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

Rockets and Timberwolves complete trade of late 2022 draft first round selections

The Minnesota Timberwolves have acquired the draft rights to the 26th pick forward Wendell Moore Jr. from the Houston Rockets in exchange for the draft rights to the 29th pick guard TyTy Washington Jr. and future second round picks in 2025 and 2027.

Moore Jr., 6-5, averaged 13.4 points (ranking second on Duke), 5.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists (fourth in the ACC) and 1.3 assists per game in his junior season at Duke. In his career, Moore Jr. averaged 45.9% from the field and 35.8% from beyond the arc. He recorded the fifth triple-double in Duke history with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Army on Nov. 12, 2021. Moore Jr. nearly tallied a second triple-double on Nov. 22, 2021 where he registered 22 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes of action against The Citadel and was named ACC Player of the Week following the performance.
In 2020-21, Moore Jr. was named to the All-ACC Academic Team for the second straight season, playing all 24 games for the Blue Devils. Over the final 19 games, Moore Jr. started in 15 and averaged 11.2 points per game to close out the season. He notched his first double-double of the season on Feb. 9, 2021 against Notre Dame, where he finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting and added 10 boards.
Prior to the 2020-21 season, Moore Jr. was named one of 11 players nationally to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Player Development Coalition, a diverse collection of Division I men’s basketball student-athletes that provide valuable prospective and feedback on college basketball issues.
As a freshman, Moore Jr. played in 25 games (11 starts) and averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Moore Jr. erupted for a career-high 25 points on Feb. 25, 2020 at Wake Forest, connecting on 15-of-16 from the line, a Duke freshman single-game record and becoming the first freshman to reach the feat since Grayson Allen on March 17, 2016. In the same game, he set a Duke record for fewest field goal attempts (eight) in a 20+ point scoring game.
Washington Jr. averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game in his one season at the University of Kentucky. The 21-year-old freshman led the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.35-to-1) and ranked ninth in the SEC in assists. On Jan. 8, 2022, Washington Jr. dished out a league-high 17 assists against the University of Georgia, breaking John Wall’s single-game assist record at Kentucky. The five-time SEC Player of the Week was named to the 2021-2022 All-SEC Second Team and All-Freshman Team.

Timberwolves reportedly adding Matt Lloyd to front office

Via the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Tim Connelly has his first major hire since taking over the Timberwolves’ basketball operations department in place.

Minnesota is set to hire Matt Lloyd as senior vice president of basketball operations, a move first reported by ESPN.

Lloyd has worked for the Orlando Magic since 2012.

Prior to last season, Lloyd was promoted to vice president of basketball operations in Orlando.

The Timberwolves finished last season with a 46-36 record, good for 7th best in the Western conference. They qualified for the playoffs via the league’s play-in tournament, and fell in six games to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.