Nuggets Notes: Jokic, Gordon, Watson, Adelman, More
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is the only untouchable player on the Nuggets‘ roster entering the offseason, according to team president Josh Kroenke (story via Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette).
As Benedetto observes, with Jokic off the table, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon will be monitored closely as potential trade candidates. Kroenke discussed Gordon’s status specifically during Friday’s end-of-season press conference.
“I love Aaron Gordon. I know that I think the world of him, just like the entire Nuggets nation does, but there are some things that we’re going to have to look at,” Kroenke said. “This team looks a lot different when Aaron Gordon is healthy. I think everybody can acknowledge that. We need a healthy Aaron Gordon, so we need to figure out how to make the most of him and get the most out of his body for the benefit of the team, that’s for sure.”
The Nuggets theoretically could bring back most of the same roster that won 54 games but was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs in 2025/26. That would almost certainly push the team over the second tax apron, Benedetto notes, but Kroenke said multiple times that it was an option that would be explored.
“Everything is on the table. … if we deem running it back the most competitive thing that we can do for the roster, that’s probably what we’re going to be doing,” Kroenke said. “The smartest teams can figure out how to stay competitive while having to make some of those cutthroat moves at different points in time.”
Here’s more from Friday’s press conference, which also featured top front office executives Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace as well as head coach David Adelman:
- The reason Denver could be deep into the tax if the team decides to run it back is because restricted free agent Peyton Watson is expected to command a significant payday this summer. Tenzer and Wallace stopped short of saying the Nuggets would match any offer sheet for Watson, tweets Benedetto, though they said they “hope” the 23-year-old stays in Denver long term.
- Kroenke said he has “full faith” in Adelman and credited the Nuggets’ coaching staff and front office for helping the team have a good deal of regular season success amid multiple injuries to key players in ’25/26, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. “While we’re very proud that we won 54 games, I’m most proud of that stretch (in January), the way that the coaching staff was without Nikola,” Kroenke said. “I think when Nikola is on your roster, you should be winning 50 games probably. So that’s a great accomplishment in most NBA circles, but for us, I think that’s where we expect to be. And we expect to be even higher. I thought that if this group was healthy, that this could be a 60-, 65-win team.”
- For his part, Adelman said the Nuggets could use more ball-handling and athleticism after those two facets of the game were exposed as weaknesses during the past two playoff runs, per Benedetto (Twitter link).
Brandon Ingram Undergoes Right Heel Surgery
Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has undergone surgery to address ongoing pain in his right heel, the team announced today in a press release. Dr. Martin O’Malley, who performed the procedure in New York, removed a heel spur during the surgery.
According to the Raptors, Ingram is expected to make a full recovery and to be ready for the start of training camp in September.
That right heel was an issue for Ingram late in the season. He missed three regular season games in late March and early April due to what the club referred to as heel inflammation, then aggravated the injury in the playoffs. The All-Star forward had to sit out Games 6 and 7 of Toronto’s first-round series vs. Cleveland as a result of the injury, with head coach Darko Rajakovic telling reporters after the Raptors were eliminated that Ingram was visiting a specialist to determine a treatment plan.
Although Ingram’s season ended on a sour note, it was a successful bounce-back year overall for the 28-year-old. After being limited to just 18 games in 2024/25 due to an ankle injury, he made 77 appearances (all starts) in ’25/26, which was his highest single-season total since his rookie year in ’16/17. He led the Raptors with 21.5 points per game on .477/.382/.820 shooting while also contributing 5.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest.
As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.com notes (via Twitter), while Ingram figures to require a few weeks of rest and light rehab before he can ramp up his training, he should still get close to a full offseason of work in. That’s important, Lewenberg explains, since Rajakovic has spoken about a desire for Ingram to prioritize skill development this summer
Mavericks Hire Mike Schmitz As General Manager
Trail Blazers assistant general manager Mike Schmitz has left Portland for Dallas, according to the Mavericks, who announced today in a press release that they’ve hired Schmitz as their general manager under new president Masai Ujiri.
After working for ESPN as one of the network’s top draft analysts for five years beginning in 2017, Schmitz was hired by the Trail Blazers in 2022 to work under GM Joe Cronin. According to the Mavs, he was involved in player evaluation, scouting, roster strategy, and organizational planning during his time in Portland.
In Dallas, Schmitz will report to Ujiri and will “oversee the day-to-day management and strategic alignment” of the team’s basketball operations department.
“Mike is one of the most respected evaluators and basketball minds in the NBA,” Ujiri said in a statement. “He brings intelligence, discipline, humility and a relentless work ethic to everything he does. Just as importantly, he understands how to build an aligned, collaborative culture across every part of a basketball organization. We are building something special in Dallas, and Mike will be a major part of that vision.”
Schmitz has also been an assistant coach for the Ugandan national team since 2018 and was a video coordinator for the Bakersfield Jam in the G League in 2012/13 before he began doing scouting work for DraftExpress.
The Trail Blazers drafted Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan, and Yang Hansen, among others, during Schmitz’s tenure with the team. Schmitz and fellow assistant GM Sergi Oliva were suspended for two weeks without pay last month after the NBA determined that the Blazers had illegally contacted Yang in 2023, well before he was draft-eligible.
Blazers Interview Jared Dudley, Ben Sullivan
Nuggets assistant Jared Dudley and Rockets assistant Ben Sullivan are among the candidates who have interviewed for the Trail Blazers‘ head coaching job, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter links).
A former NBA wing who spent 14 seasons in the league from 2007-21, Dudley transitioned into coaching after retiring, spending four seasons as an assistant coach in Dallas from 2021-25. He made the move to Denver to work under David Adelman last offseason.
Dudley has been linked to the Portland head coaching job by Bill Oram of The Oregonian and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line in recent weeks, though this is the first confirmation we’ve gotten that the team has formally interviewed him.
Sullivan, meanwhile, began his NBA coaching career on Mike Budenholzer‘s staffs in Atlanta (2014-18) and Milwaukee (2018-21) before spending two years with the Celtics from 2021-23. Having originally been hired under Ime Udoka in Boston, he joined Udoka in Houston in 2023 and has been with the Rockets for the past three seasons.
As Scotto points out, Sullivan has some local ties, having attended the University of Portland from 2004-07.
The Trail Blazers are casting a wide net as they seek a new permanent head coach following the arrest of Chauncey Billups last fall. Tiago Splitter did an admirable job stepping in and guiding the team to the playoffs, but he’s reportedly considered unlikely to the full-time role under new Blazers owner Tom Dundon.
Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, Lakers assistant Greg St. Jean, Rockets assistant Royal Ivey, St. Louis University head coach Josh Schertz, and Iowa head coach Ben McCollum are among the potential candidates that have been linked to Portland during the club’s search. Fischer also confirmed that the Blazers reached out to Tom Thibodeau and Michael Malone (before he was hired by UNC) but said they both declined to speak to the team while Splitter was still the coach.
There have been rumors suggesting that Dundon is looking to pay his next head coach a salary in the range of $1-1.5MM per year, which is believed to be below any coach’s current salary. However, sources connected to Dundon and the team have pushed back on those reports.
Atlantic Notes: Thomas, Sixers, Celtics, Hart
Speaking on the Road Trippin’ Show podcast (YouTube link), Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. suggested that Cam Thomas‘ time in Brooklyn came to an end due to his attitude rather than his talent, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays.
A restricted free agent in 2025, Thomas eventually signed his qualifying offer in September after being unable to negotiate a favorable multiyear deal with the Nets. He was waived in February and joined the Bucks before being cut again in March.
“There’s a lot more to the NBA and sticking around than just (scoring),” Porter said. “For Cam, I think it was a mixture of he was frustrated with a lot of things, and also his personality … he doesn’t really socialize. He’ll come to the gym sometimes and he’ll say like two words all day, all practice. He doesn’t really talk to anybody.
“I don’t think he does it in a way where he’s trying to be a bad teammate; I just think that’s him. But when it comes to a team being willing to pay you and come off that money and you’re a number one option, it comes with so much more. I don’t know if he was willing to break out of his personality and be talkative and try to be a leader and bring guys together. I think that’s kind of what happened here in Brooklyn.”
Thomas has flashed impressive scoring ability since entering the league, averaging 22.9 points per game in 91 outings during his third and fourth seasons (2023-25). However, he hasn’t consistently contributed in other ways and hasn’t always shot the ball efficiently, having registered career averages of 43.5% from the floor and 34.0% from beyond the arc.
We have more from around the Atlantic:
- As Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice and Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) detail, the Sixers rolled with a patchwork center rotation on Wednesday with usual starter Joel Embiid sidelined due to ankle and hip injuries. Adem Bona and Andre Drummond both got into foul trouble, prompting head coach Nick Nurse to turn to forward Dominick Barlow, who had played just 54 total minutes through the team’s first eight playoff games. Embiid is listed as questionable for Game 3, so it remains to be seen whether Philadelphia will have him back on Friday.
- Confirming that Celtics minority shareholders Aditya Mittal and Wyc Grousbeck are preparing a bid for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe says the expectation is that their roles with the NBA franchise would remain unchanged if they were to buy the Seahawks. According to Himmelsbach, Mittal would be the Seahawks’ controlling owner if the bid is successful, while Grousbeck would hold a smaller stake in the team.
- In case you missed it, we rounded up several Knicks notes earlier today. Since we published that article, Josh Hart (sprained thumb) has been upgraded from questionable to probable, signaling that he’s expected to suit up for Game 3.
2026 NBA Draft Lottery Primer
The 2026 NBA draft lottery will take place on Sunday afternoon prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Knicks and Sixers. The half-hour event will be broadcast on ABC beginning at 2:00 pm Central time.
Unlike last year, when Cooper Flagg was considered the crown jewel in the draft class, the No. 1 overall pick this year isn’t a foregone conclusion. But that’s a reflection of the strength and depth of the 2026 class, since there’s no shortage of legitimate candidates for that top spot.
While BYU forward AJ Dybantsa is atop most draft boards, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke big man Cameron Boozer, and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson are all considered high-level prospects who could have real cases to be drafted first overall.
In other words, it’s not necessarily “No. 1 or bust” this year. Any team that secures a top-four pick on May 10 should leave the lottery pretty happy.
Here’s what you need to know heading into Sunday’s lottery:
Pre-Lottery Draft Order
The top 14 picks in the 2026 NBA draft would look like this if Sunday’s lottery results don’t change the order:
- Washington Wizards
- Indiana Pacers
- Note: The Clippers will receive this pick if it falls out of the top four (47.9%).
- Brooklyn Nets
- Utah Jazz
- Sacramento Kings
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Atlanta Hawks (from Pelicans)
- Note: The Hawks will receive the most favorable of this pick and the Bucks’ pick.
- Dallas Mavericks
- Chicago Bulls
- Milwaukee Bucks
- The Bucks will receive the least favorable of this pick and the Pelicans’ pick.
- Golden State Warriors
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
- Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets
For the full pre-lottery draft order, click here.
Draft Lottery Odds
The Wizards, Pacers, and Nets have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick. Each of those three teams has a 14.0% chance to pick first overall.
From there, the Jazz (11.5%) and Kings (11.5%) have the next-best odds to receive the first overall selection, followed by the Hawks (9.8%), Grizzlies (9.0%), and Mavericks (6.7%).
When the NBA introduced its new lottery format in 2019, the selling point was that the new system flattened the odds, making it less likely that the league’s very worst teams would claim a top pick.
Before the NBA tweaked the lottery rules, there was a 60.5% chance that one of the league’s bottom three teams would secure the No. 1 pick and only a 27.6% chance that a team in the 5-14 range of the lottery standings would do so. Now, those odds are 42.0% and 45.5%, respectively.
Those flattened odds have made a significant impact in the past couple years. In 2024, the Hawks moved up from 10th in the pre-lottery order to grab the No. 1 pick, while the Mavericks one-upped them in 2025 by claiming the top pick from the No. 11 slot. We’ll see if that trend continues with another long-shot team winning the first overall selection in 2026.
For full details on the current lottery format, click here.
Trades Affecting The Draft Lottery
The Pacers traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Clippers, but will keep that selection if it lands within the top four. There’s a 52.1% chance that will happen and a 47.9% chance it will slip to No. 5 or No. 6 and be sent to Los Angeles. If Indiana retains its first-rounder this year, the club would instead owe its 2031 first-round pick (unprotected) to the Clippers.
The Hawks will exit the lottery with the most favorable pick between the Pelicans and Bucks first-rounders, while the Bucks will control the least favorable of the two.
That means the Hawks have a 40.2% chance of securing a top-four pick, including a 9.8% chance at No. 1 overall, while Milwaukee has just a 3.0% shot at a top-four pick and can’t draft higher than second overall. Atlanta also has a 90.1% chance to draft in the top eight, whereas the Bucks’ odds to draft at No. 10 or lower are 86.9%.
The Clippers‘ first-round pick will be sent to the Thunder, no matter where it lands. That pick has a 7.1% chance of moving into the top four, with 1.5% odds of becoming the first overall pick. It’s safe to assume the NBA’s other 29 teams will be rooting hard against either of those outcomes.
Draft Lottery Representatives
The representatives for each of this year’s lottery teams are as follows, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA:
- Washington Wizards
- On stage: John Wall (former Wizards player)
- Drawing room: Michael Winger (president)
- On stage: John Wall (former Wizards player)
- Indiana Pacers
- On stage: T.J. McConnell
- Drawing room: Ted Wu (executive VP of basketball operations / assistant GM)
- Brooklyn Nets
- On stage: Vince Carter (former Nets player)
- Drawing room: Joe Tsai (governor)
- Utah Jazz
- On stage: Keyonte George
- Drawing room: Austin Ainge (president of basketball operations)
- Sacramento Kings
- On stage: Scott Perry (general manager)
- Drawing room: John Kehriotis (minority owner)
- Memphis Grizzlies
- On stage: Tayshaun Prince (VP of player affairs)
- Drawing room: Zach Kleiman (president of basketball operations / GM)
- Atlanta Hawks
- On stage: Onsi Saleh (general manager)
- Drawing room: Daniel Starkman (VP of player personnel)
- Dallas Mavericks
- On stage: Rolando Blackman (former Mavericks player)
- Drawing room: Matt Riccardi (assistant GM)
- On stage: Rolando Blackman (former Mavericks player)
- Chicago Bulls
- On stage: Toni Kukoc (special advisor to the president and CEO)
- Drawing room: Chigozie Umeadi (executive director of basketball operations)
- Milwaukee Bucks
- On stage: Mallory Edens (ownership representative)
- Drawing room: Dave Dean (VP of basketball operations)
- Golden State Warriors
- On stage: Larry Harris (assistant GM / director of player personnel)
- Drawing room: Raymond Ridder (senior VP of communications)
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- On stage: Nick Collison (special assistant to the general manager)
- Drawing room: Sam Presti (executive VP of basketball operations / GM)
- Miami Heat
- On stage: Alonzo Mourning (VP of player programs)
- Drawing room: Adam Simon (assistant GM)
- Charlotte Hornets
- On stage: Kon Knueppel
- Drawing room: Jake Stone (assistant to the president of basketball operations)
Clippers executive director of basketball operations Rishabh Desai will also be present in the drawing room, but L.A. won’t have a representative on stage, since the team’s pick is headed to Oklahoma City regardless of where it lands (though the Clippers could end up with Indiana’s selection).
Notably, the Mavericks‘ duo of Blackman and Riccardi is the same pair that was in attendance a year ago when Dallas won the lottery and the right to draft Flagg. The Mavs, of course, are hoping that Blackman and Riccardi bring the same sort of luck they did in 2025.
A total of 16 media members will also be present in the drawing room, per the NBA. That group is made up of a combination of national reporters, like Jake Fischer and Brian Windhorst, and local beat writers, including Dustin Dopirak and Jim Owczarksi. It can be viewed here.
Draft Notes: Peterson, Boozer, G League Combine, Lottery
Kansas guard and top prospect Darryn Peterson finally has an answer for the mysterious cramping he repeatedly experienced during his first and only college season, telling ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that high doses of creatine created the condition. Doctors reached that conclusion after Peterson underwent additional testing and bloodwork after the season ended.
“I’d never taken it before (going to college),” Peterson explained. “But after the season I took two weeks off and they did tests which showed my baseline level was already high. So, they said when I dosed (a process of increasing a dose over time to create maximum benefit at the beginning of taking a supplement), it must’ve made the levels unsafe.”
Peterson was hospitalized in September after experiencing an intense full-body cramp, and that experience stuck with him throughout the season. Speaking to Shelburne, he admitted that he was worried all year about the possibility of it happening again.
“Whenever I felt anything like that come on, my initial thought was that it might get to that again,” Peterson said. “And I can’t let that happen and be embarrassed and have that on TV and all that. It kind of put me in a tizzy because I didn’t know what was causing it. Nothing has ever been wrong with me before. Basketball is my life. What I love to do. But something was going on and I couldn’t figure it out.”
Peterson, who didn’t speak to the media often during the season about the health issues he was experiencing, has fallen behind BYU’s AJ Dybantsa on most draft boards since the fall and is no longer considered the favorite to be drafted first overall.
However, teams with one of the top two or three picks in next month’s draft will likely feel more comfortable about the prospect of drafting him now that the cause of his cramping has been identified. Peterson tells Shelburne that he has started feeling more comfortable since getting an explanation and hasn’t experienced any problems since he stopped taking a creatine supplement.
Here are a few more notes related to the 2026 NBA draft:
- Duke’s Cameron Boozer is the No. 1 prospect on the top-15 list compiled by John Hollinger of The Athletic, who says Boozer’s offensive upside outweighs his limitations as a defender and rim protector. Hollinger views a “Kevin Love-type impact” as a median outcome for Boozer and believes there’s upside for more than that.
- The NBA has announced the four 11-man rosters for this weekend’s G League combine, as Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress relays (via Twitter). After initially announcing 44 participants, the league made three changes to that list earlier this week and has since made two more, Chepkevich notes (via Twitter), with Vanderbilt’s Duke Miles and Cal’s Chris Bell replacing Arkansas’ Malique Ewin and NC State’s Darrion Williams. Williams has COVID-19, per Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link), who confirms that Isiah Harwell and Paulius Murauskas – having previously pulled out of the G League combine – are withdrawing from the draft.
- ESPN’s Brian Windhorst considers the enormous stakes of this Sunday’s draft lottery, starting with the Pacers and Clippers having their short-term outlooks altered significantly by the outcome of what is essentially a coin flip.
Knicks Notes: Anunoby, Shamet, McBride, Hart, Robinson
Given that even mild hamstring strains often require a recovery period of a week or two, there was some skepticism on Thursday when OG Anunoby was dubbed day-to-day and listed as questionable for Friday’s game after being diagnosed with a strain. However, league sources tell Stefan Bondy and Jared Schwartz of The New York Post (subscription required) that imaging revealed a “very minor” strain and that the Knicks forward is truly considered day-to-day.
Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter video link) conveyed a similar sentiment in the latest episode of The Putback.
“This is not something that’s going to (take) weeks (to come back from) unless there’s some kind of setback,” Begley said. “If he misses games, it’s going to be a handful of games. He will be back, assuming the Knicks get through Philadelphia. He will be back in this series if the Sixers take a game or two. (There’s) optimism in the locker room — there’s a chance he could be back Friday or Sunday.”
While Anunoby hasn’t been ruled out yet for Game 3 on Friday, it would be surprising if he suited up just two days after suffering the injury, especially with the Knicks holding a 2-0 lead in the series. However, all indications are that he won’t miss as much time as he has when he sustained similar injuries in the past. As Bondy and Schwartz write, two previous hamstring strains cost Anunoby nine games and four games, respectively, but this one is considered milder than either of those.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- In separate stories for the Post, Schwartz breaks down the ripple effect of Anunoby’s injury, noting that Landry Shamet could return to the rotation and the Knicks could deploy more double-big looks, while Bondy says the team should play it safe with Anunoby, arguing that Miles McBride is more than capable of taking his spot in the starting lineup for at least the next game or two.
- Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post breaks down why Josh Hart is the best bet to step up if Anunoby misses time, noting that the versatile swingman saw his production spike when Anunoby was injured early in the regular season.
- Of course, it’s not a lock that Hart will be available for Game 3 — he’s listed as questionable after spraining his left thumb in Game 2. Still, there have been no indications to this point that Hart’s availability is in serious jeopardy. Mitchell Robinson is also on the injury report after missing Game 2 with an illness, but he’s considered probable to return to action.
Redick, Lakers Gripe About Officiating After Game 2 Loss
After the Lakers lost Game 2 to the Thunder on Thursday by a score of 125-107, Austin Reaves and several of his teammates spoke to the game’s referees on the court before heading to the locker room, seemingly expressing their frustration with how the game was called (Twitter video link). As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, head coach JJ Redick voiced those frustrations during his post-game press conference.
“I sarcastically said the other day, (the Thunder are) the most disruptive team without fouling,” Redick said. “I mean, they have a few guys that foul on every possession. … They’re hard enough to play. They’re hard enough to play, you’ve got to be able to just call them if they foul, and they do foul.”
Through two games, the free throw disparity between the two teams isn’t significant — the Thunder have gone to the line 38 times, while the Lakers have attempted 34 free throws. However, Los Angeles’ leading scorer and play-maker LeBron James only has five of those free throw attempts, prompting Redick to specifically address the way the four-time MVP is being officiated.
“LeBron has the worst whistle of any star player I’ve ever seen,” Redick said. “I mean, I’ve been with him two years now. The smaller guys, because they can be theatric, they typically draw more fouls, and the bigger players that are built like LeBron, it’s hard for them. He gets clobbered. He got clobbered again tonight a bunch.
“And that’s not like a new thing. That’s not specific to this crew or this series. He gets fouled a lot and it doesn’t (get called). The guy gets hit on the head more than any player I’ve seen on drives, and it rarely gets called.”
As McMenamin observes, James appeared to express his displeasure with a number of calls over the course of the game, but he declined to speak about the officiating after the game. Reaves was more willing to discuss the subject, explaining that he took particular exception to a moment when crew chief John Goble “yelled in my face” as the Lakers guard was attempting to get in position for a jump ball (Twitter video link).
“At the end of the day, we’re grown men. And I just didn’t feel like he needed to yell in my face like that,” Reaves said. “I told him that. I wasn’t disrespectful. I told him if I did that to him first, I would have got a tech. I feel like the only reason I didn’t get a tech is because he knew he was in the wrong. So, yeah, I just felt disrespected.”
Regardless of whether or not the Lakers have legitimate gripes about the officiating, neither of the first two games in the series has been close, with the Thunder winning each one by 18 points. A more favorable whistle wouldn’t solve Los Angeles’ real problems in the matchup, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic. Redick acknowledged as much during his post-game remarks.
“We didn’t lose because of the refs,” the Lakers’ coach said, per Law Murray of The Athletic. “That’s never the case. You don’t lose because of the officials. You lose because the other team outplayed you. They obviously outplayed us. … So we just got to be better, and we’ll look at how we can be better at both ends.”
Wolves Notes: Dosunmu, Edwards, Game 2, McDaniels, Clark
Timberwolves guard Ayo Dosunmu returned to action on Wednesday at San Antonio after missing the previous two contests (Game 6 vs. Denver and Game 1 vs. the Spurs) due to right calf soreness. However, the former second-round pick exited the lopsided loss in the second quarter due to right heel pain and did not return (Twitter link via the Wolves).
Dosunmu is considered questionable to suit up for Friday’s Game 3 due to the heel injury, according to the team (Twitter link), as is star guard Anthony Edwards, who continues to battle a left knee bone bruise he sustained on April 25. Edwards has been on a minutes restriction and has come off the bench in the first two games of the second-round series vs. the Spurs.
Here’s more on the Timberwolves:
- After upsetting the Spurs on the road in Game 1, the Wolves “got punked” by a desperate San Antonio team in Game 2, head coach Chris Finch told reporters, including Anthony Slater of ESPN. Finch was critical of Minnesota’s offensive execution, and didn’t like how Edwards and the rest of the team responded to the Spurs’ ball pressure and selective double-teams on the former No. 1 overall pick. “Got to get off of it,” Finch said. “Got to use it as a catalyst for ball movement, what it should be. I thought we dribbled to tough spots. I thought we were late getting off it. I thought our spacing around it wasn’t really good.”
- Foul trouble limited Jaden McDaniels to under 20 minutes of playing time on Wednesday, and the Wolves know they need the versatile forward to stay on the court to have a chance in the series, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The Spurs went on a huge run when McDaniels picked up his third foul in the second quarter and the game was out of reach by the time he returned in the third, Hine notes. “Him being off the court is going to hurt us every time,” Edwards said. “He knows it, we know it. The whole gym knows it. Their team knows it. When he gets in foul trouble, they get happy. We need him on the floor. He gonna be better next game. He know he can’t really foul. We’re not gonna win if he’s not on the floor.”
- Second-year guard Jaylen Clark has received rotation minutes against the Spurs after only appearing in two of the six games against Denver. The 24-year-old talked about his role in the offense on Wednesday, per Dane Moore (Twitter video link). “Nobody is guarding me right now, so hitting the open shot. Those two, three buckets is enough to keep me out there right now,” Clark said.