Star center Karl-Anthony Towns is with the Timberwolves on their current road trip and is a good bet to return to action at some point this week, team owner Glen Taylor told David Shama of Sports Headliners.
Towns, 25, has been limited to just four games so far this season due first to a wrist injury and then to a positive COVID-19 test. He has been in the NBA’s health and safety protocols for more than two weeks and hasn’t played since January 13.
Minnesota won its first two games of the 2020/21 season with Towns in the lineup, but has bottomed out since then, losing 15 of its last 18. Still, Taylor is hopeful that the club can make a push for a playoff spot this season, especially with a health Towns.
“I recognize that it’s going to be difficult, but on the other hand, there’s other teams that aren’t performing up to their expectations, too, and I guess we just gotta catch them,” he told Shama.
Here’s more on the Wolves:
- When the Wolves selected Jaden McDaniels with the 28th pick in November’s draft, he was viewed as a long-term project who was unlikely to contribute much right away. However, as Chris Hine of The Star Tribune writes, the rookie forward has emerged as part of Minnesota’s regular rotation and has acquitted himself well, blocking three shots on Sunday and scoring 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting on Monday.
- Wolves guard Jaylen Nowell has also recently entered the rotation and has scored double-digit points in four straight games. The 21-year-old remains a work in progress though, according to Hine, who notes that Nowell hasn’t been able to translate his G League scoring efficiency to the NBA, where he has made just 9-of-48 career three-pointers (18.8%). Nowell is on a non-guaranteed contract.
- Now that the Wolves are a full 82 games into Gersson Rosas‘ tenure as president of basketball operations, Britt Robson of The Athletic‘s evaluates Rosas’ performance to date. Robson likes what Rosas has done to fill out the front office and to identify low-cost, low-risk players with upside, but identifies the team’s hole at power forward and its mismatched point guard duo as problems, and says the jury is still out on both of Rosas’ lottery picks (Jarrett Culver and Anthony Edwards).
Wolves may have the fastest pace in the nba
My favorite player is Reid
Rubio stats per game
5.9 points and 2.1 turnovers
Trade his $35 million contract right away
Salary dump trade if possible
4 players with overrated value needs to be traded ASAP
Rubio
Culver
Redick
Lonzo
Value goes down daily
Rubio is playing like a joke idk who that guy is anymore! Wolves need to play JMac more than him
Jaden McDaniels flashed plenty of talent in college. Then he kind of disappeared. His D needed a lot of work. Then he fell out of lottery. It was a good chance to take on him. He’s got great size for his skill level. You just never know someone’s head and commitment. I wish him well. TWolves need good news.
If Towns return brings up Beasley, Russell, & the rest of the team because opposing defenses are loading up on the perimeter players, then Rosas won’t looks so bad. Right now its one the worst fitting other than the Pelicans in the league.
How many shooting guards do the Wolves have? 13?
Being part of Minn’s regular rotation right now (particularly up front) only means he’s rostered and not hurt. Minn’s entire team looks like a project, and not one that was thought through before commencing it. It was this look (a hot mess) that made me believe that Edwards was a worse fit at #1 than either Ball or Wiseman.
I’ve been critical of Towns in the past due to his failure to impact (or own) his team’s results. But if he can lift this roster of misfit toys back to a competitive level, he’ll deserve some kudos.
If they’re following the models in Houston & Denver, they have a couple years still to get sorted. But I don’t think their city itself is in a good place… lots of recriminations.
Nowell should be more efficient. He wasn’t drafted but looked like he would be a better pro at the college level.
Nowell was drafted by the Wolves in the second round of the 2019 draft. Regarding efficiency, it’s hard to be efficient when you don’t get time on the court. Up until recently, he had never received any playing time outside of garbage minutes. The three-point shot will come as he has a solidified role.
I agree, I was advocating he go higher and get more minutes, and used “inefficient” from the article… But Bas.Ref says he’s shooting 37% from 3 and is heating up! He has a season of PER 16, and on/off of +20… I must see the Wolves now.
The KAT is gonna be back… Finally!