Sixers Notes: Tax, Nurse, Front Office, No. 22 Pick
The Sixers have repeatedly made trade deadline deals to duck below the luxury tax line in recent years, an approach that has rubbed star center Joel Embiid the wrong way. However, Sixers managing partner Josh Harris insisted to reporters on Thursday that the ownership group has no aversion to paying the tax to fortify a contending roster, as Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com relays.
“The front office absolutely has the green light to go into luxury tax,” Harris said. “In fact, we’ve been in and out of luxury tax. And so it’s not an issue. I mean, it’s just not an issue. We’re building an arena here. I can tell you that the amount of dollars you spend on that versus the luxury tax, it’s magnitudes more. We built this facility. We’ve signed a number of max deals. So there’s no issue with the luxury tax. And so I’m glad that you asked.”
Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, followed up to say that he has received those same assurances from Harris and fully trusts the Sixers’ owners to back them up.
“I just can’t imagine a day where if I said to Josh or leadership said to Josh, ‘This deal makes us a contender, but you have to go into the tax,’ if he says no, which he won’t, I wouldn’t work for somebody like that,” Myers said. “Because look, to be honest, if you look at the history of teams that have won a championship – I was one of them – we were in the tax. It’d be great if you can win a championship by not being in the tax. Very hard to do. But it has to make sense. Again, I’m not worried about that part of the job, because if that comes up, I know what the answer will be.”
We have more on the 76ers:
- Myers and Harris told reporters on Thursday that Nick Nurse isn’t expected to be involved in the search for a new head of basketball operations, since he’s “got enough on his plate” already, per Aaronson. Still, Myers said he wants to hire an executive who will be a “great partner” for Nurse, while Harris praised the veteran head coach for the job he has done through three seasons in Philadelphia while dealing with the inconsistent availability of his star players. “Nick’s a championship coach,” Harris said. “He’s won an NBA title. So I think he’s earned the right to be here. He’s our coach moving forward into next season.”
- Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) identifies the five biggest challenges that Daryl Morey‘s successor in the Sixers’ front office will face, starting with how to handle Joel Embiid‘s and Paul George‘s maximum-salary contracts and what to do with unrestricted free agents like Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Andre Drummond.
- In a story examining the Sixers’ decision to part ways with Morey, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports considers how significantly limitations from ownership factored into some of the team’s missteps in recent years and wonders whether the next head of basketball operations will be working under those same restrictions.
- Who will the 76ers land with the No. 22 overall pick in next month’s draft? In a story for PhillyVoice, Aaronson rounds up several recent mock drafts, noting that a wide variety of prospects are projected to land in Philadelphia in that slot, including wings like Alabama’s Amari Allen and Santa Clara’s Allen Graves and bigs such as Houston’s Chris Cenac and UNC’s Henri Veesaar.
Wolves Add Terrence Shannon Jr. To Injury Report
Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has been added to the injury report for Game 6 on Friday. According to the team (Twitter link), Shannon is considered questionable to suit up in Minnesota tonight due to a head contusion.
It’s unclear when Shannon sustained the injury, but it rarely bodes well for a player’s availability when he’s a late addition to the injury report just hours before tip-off, as Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets.
Shannon played a modest role for Minnesota during the regular season, averaging 12.5 minutes per game across 43 appearances, and received multiple DNP-CDs to open the playoffs. But he has emerged as a key part of Chris Finch‘s rotation since scoring 24 points in nearly 35 minutes of action in the team’s close-out game vs. Denver in the first round.
In five games (two starts) against San Antonio in the conference semifinals, Shannon has averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 25.0 minutes per contest. He has struggled with his shot against the league’s third-best defense, making just 14-of-48 shots from the floor (29.2%), including 3-of-17 from three-point range (17.6%).
If Shannon doesn’t play on Friday, it would likely result in increased minutes for guards Ayo Dosunmu and Mike Conley, with Bones Hyland perhaps getting a chance to return to the rotation.
The Timberwolves trail the Spurs 3-2 in the series and will have to win at home on Friday in order to force a Game 7 on Sunday.
Sixers’ Bob Myers Talks Front Office Search, Roster, More
Speaking to reporters on Thursday less than 48 hours after dismissing president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, Sixers managing partner Josh Harris made it clear he shares fans’ frustrations about the fact that the team hasn’t advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs during his time owning the franchise.
“To our fans, I want you to know: no one’s more frustrated than me that we haven’t achieved our goals,” Harris said during his opening remarks, per Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com. “I care deeply for the city and the team. I acknowledge how disappointing it is that we’ve not made it past the second round of the playoffs. We owe it to you and the city to be better.”
Harris and Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, focused primarily during Thursday’s media session about the 76ers’ impending search for a new head of basketball operations. Asked what sort of characteristics he’s looking for as he seeks Morey’s replacement, Myers said the team wants to hire a high-character individual who is willing to collaborate with the rest of the front office.
“I’m a big believer in character and leadership, and I’m looking for a person that embodies those things,” Myers said. “But there’s many characteristics under that, that I believe kind of qualify in making a modern GM a success. There’s front-facing responsibilities. There’s responsibilities of managing star players. There’s responsibilities of managing up to ownership. There’s contract negotiations. There’s draft process. There’s evaluating analytics. There’s medical staff.
“You go down the line, and these jobs have an enormity to them, so I’m looking to find someone that can check as many of those boxes as possible but also raise their hand and say, ‘You know what? I’m actually not good in this space. I’m going to need some support.'”
Myers, who previously led Golden State’s front office, intends hire someone to run the Sixers’ basketball operations department on a day-to-day basis and wants that executive to have “a lot of authority.” However, the former Warriors general manager indicated that he expects to be involved in major personnel and roster decisions going forward.
“What (the new head of basketball operations is) going to get, and our fans are going to get, is them plus me,” Myers said. “I won’t be on a day-to-day level, but on the high-level decision making, which is being here at the draft, being here leading up to the trade deadline, being available for free agency discussions, free agency meetings, things like that, I’m going to be involved at that level.
“And I can tell you that I imagine – and this isn’t, I’m not saying this lightly – I’ll be communicating with that person daily, if not five out of seven days a week. … I want to hire somebody that I can work with. I want to hire somebody that Josh can work with. And most importantly, I want to win. And I think that I have had some experience in this space, and if I have something to say, it’s harder for me not to say it than say it. But that’ll be my role, and obviously continuing to work with Josh on all this very high-level stuff.”
Here are a few more of Myers’ most notable comments from the Sixers’ Thursday press conference, via Aaronson:
On whether the Sixers will hire a new head of basketball operations before next month’s draft:
“I’d like to have someone. I hope to have someone. But if it hasn’t happened, that’s OK too. But the goal would be to have someone in place for the draft to get acclimated with the new group. By the way, the group is working now. And whoever we hire, not sure who that will be, will likely, possibly already be evaluating the draft from where they’re coming from. So that’s a benefit in some ways. But yeah, I’d like to, and I hope to, but it’ll be as much time as required to get the best person. Because again, sure, have someone by the draft, but the goal would be to have someone that’s the right person for a long amount of time after that.”
On whether a team can win a title under the current CBA with three players on maximum-salary contracts:
“Well, we didn’t get it done this year with three guys, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. I think it’s a smart question in that, what’s the modern roster supposed to look like with the second apron, really, which oftentimes operates as kind of a hard cap? The truth is, depth may be more important than it’s ever been. Maybe that’s the pace of play. Maybe that’s what we require of our players more. Not to say that this model doesn’t work, but we have to look at what happened this year and be honest about it and see if – we’ve got to be honest about, can this model work? And that’s really the question, and also understanding that depth is key, and you only have a certain amount of resources to spend.”
On whether the Sixers will prioritize Tyrese Maxey‘s and VJ Edgecombe‘s timelines or continue trying to win with Joel Embiid and Paul George:
“If I had the answer to that question, I’d actually just do it. I don’t know if I need to tell you. I’d just do it. I look forward to partnering with leadership to get that answer, but you’re asking the right question. That’s a question I think everybody’s asking. And it’s not to criticize an older player or praise a younger player. It’s about: how do we get past the second round? How do we get further? But that’s what makes the job hard. That’s what makes it gratifying, is figuring — if it was easy, it wouldn’t be worth it. It’s very hard to build these things and build them in the right way.”
On whether Morey handled February’s Jared McCain trade properly:
“I like Daryl. I’m not going to disparage Daryl here today. I think he did a fine job, and I think he’s a good person. … Right now we have the 22nd pick. Our job is to get that right. We have three second-round picks from it. We should be graded on the ultimate result of transactions like that.
“But I understand. I made draft picks where we got an F right away, 10 minutes after the draft. F! And I was like, ‘How do they know it’s an F? I mean, the guy hasn’t even played.’ But your job and everybody’s job is to react. I totally understand that. Our job is to make a trade. There will be a reaction. It’ll be positive or negative, but that trade isn’t done, and our job is to make sure that on our end of the trade, we do a good job of drafting the best player at 22.”
Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Pistons, Giannis, Kawhi, More
After averaging 22.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game on 67.8% shooting following the All-Star break, Pistons center Jalen Duren has struggled to make an impact during the postseason. Duren is putting up just 10.1 PPG and 8.3 RPG through 12 playoff games and was benched in the fourth quarter and overtime of Detroit’s Game 5 loss on Wednesday in favor of Paul Reed.
Duren’s poor postseason play has the potential to complicate his contract negotiations with the Pistons when he reaches restricted free agency this summer, notes ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“He’s not a max player, but they’re probably going to have to give him the max,” one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “Because now teams (with cap room) like Chicago or Brooklyn might see him as someone they could get with a max offer sheet and Detroit will have to match. With the new apron rules, it might come back to bite (the Pistons), and it’s just another example of how the CBA crushes team building.”
The Pistons will also face a tricky negotiation this offseason with wing Ausar Thompson, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension ahead of his fourth NBA season. Thompson is a defensive dynamo but remains a very limited offensive player who made six three-pointers all season and converted just 57.1% of his free throws. Like Duren, he has been benched in some clutch-time situations during the postseason.
Still, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, some league insiders he spoke to about Thompson predicted the Defensive Player of the Year finalist could command an extension in the range of $25MM per year, the same average annual salary that Dyson Daniels (four years, $100MM) and Christian Braun (five years, $125MM) got on their rookie scale extensions last fall.
Here’s more league-wide chatter from Windhorst and Bontemps:
- While there have been a few false alarms on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade front, there’s a growing belief around the NBA that the Bucks will actually trade their two-time MVP this offseason, Bontemps reports. “It just feels like they’re done with the circus, more than anything,” an Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. “They seem to want a clean break and to move on.”
- Most sources who spoke to Bontemps at this week’s draft combine in Chicago about the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard believe the team should retain its star forward as he enters the final year of his current contract. However, not everyone agreed on whether or not to extend him — one scout pointed out that Leonard “clearly” wants to be in L.A. and argued the club should be no rush to lock him up, while another expressed that an extension is the right move as long as the terms “make sense for the team.” One Eastern Conference executive also suggested to Windhorst that Leonard could have significant trade value if the Clippers are willing to make him available: “Every day you hear about what’s going to happen with Giannis, but everyone ignores that Kawhi has been better and healthier over the last two seasons. If you had a chance to acquire one or the other, I might go Kawhi.”
- Despite the fact that the Sixers have a pair of pricey multiyear contracts on their books for injury-prone veterans Joel Embiid and Paul George, their head of basketball operations job is viewed as “enticing” due to the Tyrese Maxey/VJ Edgecombe backcourt duo, several executives told Windhorst at the combine.
- The general consensus at the combine was that returning to the Lakers is the most likely outcome for LeBron James this summer, since it’s “hard to fit him anywhere” else, as one Western Conference scout told Bontemps. An East executive who spoke to Windhorst indicated he’d be willing to pay James whatever he wanted on a one-year deal if he were running the Lakers. “Give him the no-trade clause,” the exec said. “Everything (Lakers owner Mark) Walter has done so far has been about good business. LeBron sells tickets. He keeps the (local) TV partner happy. Re-signing LeBron is good business.”
Western Notes: George, Kerr, Clippers, J. Williams
The Jazz are coming off 17- and 22-win seasons, but guard Keyonte George tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he’s confident about the team’s ability to make the playoffs in 2026/27. In addition to star forward Lauri Markkanen and an improving young core, George points to newcomer Jaren Jackson Jr. – who appeared in just three games after being traded from Memphis to Utah in February – and the No. 2 overall pick as reasons to be optimistic about Utah going forward.
“We get a top-two talent in the draft and get to build on the changes we made with getting Jaren,” George said. “It’s just a lot of things going right for the group right now. On paper, we are definitely a playoff team. Honestly, there is just a different versatility that we have. You got guys who can play (point guard) to (shooting guard). You got guys who play (power forward) that can move to the (center position).
“And then we got (head coach) Will Hardy. I know people know about Will. But his X’s and O’s and the way he breaks down the game for us, that’s really what gives me the confidence, honestly. Having Will and our coaches, the talent is going to take care of itself.”
George himself represents another reason to believe in the Jazz. After two up-and-down seasons to begin his professional career, the former No. 16 overall pick had a breakout year in 2025/26, averaging a career-high 23.6 points and 6.1 assists per game on a solid shooting line of .456/.371/.892. The 22-year-old believes his ceiling is higher than what he showed last season.
“I got kind of hurt towards the end, but I think I got another gear,” George told Spears. “I tell myself all the time to get better towards the end. This summer is an even bigger summer for me because of the changes we made. I have to take my game to a whole other level.”
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Within a lengthy, in-depth feature on Steve Kerr, ESPN’s Wright Thompson notes that the Warriors head coach had essentially decided he was going to retire at the end of the 2025/26 season before rethinking that decision last month. Thompson takes a closer look at why Kerr ultimately opted to sign a new two-year contract with Golden State and how the team’s play-in win over the Clippers factored into that decision.
- The Clippers‘ good fortune on lottery night changes their outlook going forward, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. Rather than heading into the offseason without a first-round pick, L.A. will have a top-five selection for the first time since drafting Blake Griffin first overall in 2009. According to Murray, while the Clippers have been in win-now mode for Steve Ballmer‘s entire tenure as team owner, the club likes this draft class and is “eager” to use that No. 5 overall pick rather than trading it for a veteran.
- Jaylin Williams isn’t typically one of the first few players credited for the Thunder‘s success in recent years, but he’s a valued on-court contributor and is even more highly regarded as a “glue guy,” writes Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. “He’s a tremendous team guy,” head coach Mark Daigneault said of Williams, who will earn $7.77MM next season and has a team option worth the same amount for 2027/28. “The thing that’s always amazed me about him as a teammate is his relatability with everybody on the team. There’s literally no one that he doesn’t have a connection with, and that’s been true of every minute that he’s been here. He’s really got a gift for that, and I think it just comes down to how good of a person he is on that part.”
Jazz Have Touched Base With Wizards About No. 1 Pick
The Jazz, who hold the No. 2 pick in next month’s draft, have reached out to the Wizards about the possibility of acquiring the No. 1 overall selection, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
Spears suggests that if the Jazz were to move up, it would be for forward AJ Dybantsa. While there’s not necessarily a consensus top prospect in this year’s draft, Dybantsa shows up at the top of most experts’ big boards and is a local star, having played at Utah Prep before spending his first and only college season at BYU. Given that Utah typically isn’t a popular free agent destination, the Jazz may like the idea of landing a young star who has embraced the area.
Still, if the Wizards were to select Dybantsa first overall, the Jazz would have a handful of good alternatives at No. 2, starting with Kansas guard Darryn Peterson.
Peterson’s stock took a minor hit this season as he missed time due to health issues, including repeated cramping, but he entered the year as the favorite to be this year’s No. 1 pick and has All-NBA upside. The 6’6″ guard, who averaged 20.2 points per game and made 38.2% of his three-pointers as a Jayhawk, would be a strong fit alongside a loaded Jazz frontcourt led by Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr.
Duke forward Cameron Boozer and UNC forward Caleb Wilson also figure to receive consideration at No. 2, though there’s a widespread belief that they’ll come off the board after Dybantsa and Peterson.
If the Jazz and Wizards were to make a trade involving the No. 1 overall pick, recent history suggests it would probably cost Utah an unprotected or very lightly protected future first-round pick. The last team to move up to No. 1 – the 2017 Sixers – gave up that year’s No. 3 selection and a future first-rounder that became No. 14. Similarly, when the Mavericks moved up from No. 5 to No. 3 a year later for Luka Doncic, they sent Atlanta a future first-rounder that landed 10th overall.
Of course, the Wizards’ willingness to make a deal will depend in large part on which prospect they prefer and whether or not the Jazz are eyeing the same player. If Washington is locked in on a specific prospect and believes Utah wants the same player, the Wizards would likely be resistant to moving down — or at least would seek a Godfather offer to do so. For what it’s worth, Wizards president Michael Winger told Jake Fischer of The Stein Line after Sunday’s lottery that the team is open to listening to offers for the No. 1 pick.
Suns Notes: Goodwin, Williams, Trade Speculation
Although he has always been a tenacious defender and rebounder for a guard, Jordan Goodwin struggled offensively for most of his first three NBA seasons, connecting on just 45.8% of his two-point attempts and 30.2% of his three-pointers over that span.
However, as Gerald Bourguet details for Sports360AZ.com, Goodwin flashed improvement with his outside shot as a Laker last season and then had a career year with the Suns in 2025/26 ahead of unrestricted free agency. The 27-year-old combo guard knocked down 37.1% of 4.3 three-point tries per contest this season en route to averaging 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals in 22.5 minutes per game across 70 appearances.
Goodwin, who embodies Phoenix’s new hustle-and-defense ethos, still struggles to convert non-threes, Bourguet writes, but the fact that he was able to be a threat from long distance is the main reason he should be in line for a raise this summer. The question is, how much of a pay increase will Goodwin command?
Bourguet considers that question, noting that Goodwin was an integral part of the Suns’ identity and they want to retain him, but he may be a secondary priority behind Collin Gillespie. Bourguets projects a floor for Goodwin starting at the bi-annual exception ($11.23MM over two years) and a ceiling in the range of $7-9MM over three or four years.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- There have been rumblings that starting center Mark Williams, who will be a restricted free agent if he’s given a qualifying offer, may not be a lock to return in 2026/27. The former first-round pick had an uneven first season with the Suns after they traded for him last June, and they’re going to be over the luxury tax line if they re-sign Gillespie and Goodwin to market-value deals. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link), Phoenix is considering three options with Williams: Re-signing him if it’s a team-friendly deal; pursuing a sign-and-trade if he wants too much money; or letting him walk in free agency.
- Gambadoro previously reported that Phoenix isn’t interested in trying to pursue a trade for Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon. Appearing on Bourguet’s Suns After Dark podcast, Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron says he likes the idea of Gordon’s fit with the Suns, but says a deal would likely be too costly for them given what it might take to acquire him (Twitter video link).
- Bourguet shot down any suggestion that the Suns might be involved in trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo or Ja Morant, writing that a source called any speculation on that front “complete nonsense” (Twitter link).
Stotts, Stackhouse Won’t Return As Warriors Assistants
Steve Kerr has officially returned to the Warriors on a new two-year deal, but the longtime head coach won’t have his top assistants back next season, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN, who reports that Terry Stotts and Jerry Stackhouse won’t return to the organization.
Stotts was the top assistant under Kerr and was Golden State’s offensive coordinator, Slater writes, while Stackhouse was the No. 2 assistant and in charge of the defense.
To be clear, neither Stotts nor Stackhouse were dismissed — Slater hears both coaches were on expiring contracts. Stotts, the longtime former Blazers head coach, informed Kerr of his decision late in the regular season and said he’s open to NBA head coaching opportunities.
“I enjoyed my time with Steve, the staff and players,” Stotts told ESPN. “My two years there were fulfilling. Nothing but well wishes.”
As for Stackhouse, league sources tell ESPN the former NBA shooting guard is “actively” pursuing head coaching jobs. The 51-year-old spent five years as Vanderbilt’s top coach before joining the Warriors in 2024, Slater notes.
According to Slater, former Pelicans head coach Willie Green, who got his start as an assistant under Kerr, is a candidate to fill one of the vacancies left by Stotts and Stackhouse.
Veteran assistant Kris Weems, who was promoted to a front-of-the-bench role when Chris Demarco accepted the head coaching job with the WNBA’s New York Liberty, is expected to remain with the Warriors, Slater reports.
Draft Notes: Combine, Peterson, Stojakovic, Momcilovic
Baylor wing Cameron Carr, North Carolina State guard Matt Able and UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. are among the prospects who boosted their stocks at this week’s draft combine, per Jeremy Woo and Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
The stocks of Arizona’s Koa Peat and Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner may be trending in the opposite direction after their time in Chicago, Woo writes. Peat struggled during shooting drills, while diminutive but explosive point guard Tanner didn’t play very well in the scrimmages on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Texas wing Dailyn Swain is leaning toward keeping his name in the draft, according to Borzello, but two other early entrants — Florida center Rueben Chinyelu and Louisville commit Flory Bidunga — seem more likely to return to college for their respective senior and junior seasons.
Here’s more on the 2026 NBA draft:
- Projected top-four pick Darryn Peterson expected to receive questions about his health during interviews at the combine, but he said that hasn’t necessarily been the case, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “Actually, surprisingly, not a lot,” Peterson said when asked if teams were interested in the topic. “I think what I did with ESPN kind of gave people some answers. I haven’t got a lot of questions about it all.” As Todd details, NBA evaluators are certainly keen to learn more about Peterson’s health, but they’ll receive his medical evaluations this week and have spent the interviews learning more about who he is as a person. The Kansas star also clarified that he’s open to playing on or off the ball after saying Sunday that he views himself as a point guard, and said he looks up to NBA stars like Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell, Todd adds.
- While junior wing Andrej Stojakovic said this week that he has “both feet in” the draft process, that doesn’t mean he has ruled out a possible return to Illinois, according to Colleen Kane of The Chicago Tribune. The son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic said he has worked out for the Grizzlies and Celtics so far and plans to use the next couple weeks leading up to the May 27 withdrawal deadline to continue gathering information. “The more I move forward, the more we go closer to that deadline, I’ll know more,” the younger Stojakovic said. “The group around me has done a really good job of evaluating and staying level-headed no matter what kind of feedback we hear. I’m very thankful for the situation I’m in because going back to school is also a really, really good option for me.”
- Iowa State sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic says he’s “still focused on the draft” rather than returning to college, as James Madden of ZagsBlog.com relays. Momcilovic, who plans to transfer if he does return to for a senior college season, suggested a guaranteed contract might be the deciding factor on whether he remains in the draft or withdraws. “If there’s guaranteed contracts, that’ll be good,” Momcilovic said (Twitter video link via Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports). “If it’s the later second round, those are usually two-way contracts, so then I’ll probably go back (to college). I want to go to the NBA, that’s the goal. I want to go this year.”
Timberwolves Notes: Edwards, McDaniels, Lineup, Dillon
Star guard Anthony Edwards didn’t sound concerned after the Timberwolves were blown out in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup against the Spurs, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN.com. Minnesota briefly tied the game in the third quarter before San Antonio reeled off a massive run in the third quarter.
“I don’t see nobody in our locker room that’s too worried,” Edwards said. “There’s another basketball game. Come out, put your boots on and get ready to go to war.”
Here’s more on the Timberwolves, who are on the brink of elimination heading into Friday’s Game 6:
- Foul trouble has plagued Jaden McDaniels throughout the series, Slater notes, and Edwards acknowledged that needs to change for the Wolves to be successful. The 2023/24 All-Defensive second-teamer picked up five fouls and played just under 30 minutes in Tuesday’s lopsided loss. “Everything starts with Jaden McDaniels, trying to keep him out of foul trouble,” Edwards said. “He’s so important to the team. It hurts everybody when he gets in foul trouble. Some tough calls being made out there against him. Not too much we can say.”
- Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert have struggled in the second-round series, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic, who wonders if head coach Chris Finch might insert Naz Reid into the starting lineup in place of one of those veterans for the do-or-die Game 6. While a lineup change is a possibility, Minnesota’s primary issue has been committing too many game-plan mistakes against a sharp San Antonio team that has taken full advantage of those miscues, Krawczynski writes. “It’s a little bit everything — not knowing the game plan, executing on offense,” Edwards said. “We know they’re gonna come out to be physical defensively. We know how to go against that. And then us defensively, we know our coverage, what we’re supposed to be doing when they’re in pick-and-roll, and I think we’re just not doing it enough.”
- The Timberwolves have hired Michael Dillon to be their new chief financial officer and chief operating officer, per a team press release. Dillon, who was most recently CFO of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, also spend eight years with MLB’s Houston Astros.