Wolves Notes: Finch, Conley, Edwards, Taylor

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has been fined $35K by the NBA for “directing inappropriate language toward game officials and failing to leave the court in a timely manner” following his ejection in Friday’s game against Oklahoma City, the league announced (via Twitter). Finch was thrown out of the contest midway through the first quarter for expressing his displeasure over a lack of foul calls, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (subscription required).

According to Hine, it took several assistant coaches and security personnel to keep Finch away from the referees after he was tossed. Finch was irate that the Thunder weren’t whistled for a foul during a possession where he claims Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle were both grabbed and hit.

Finch didn’t address reporters following the game, but he explained the incident at Saturday’s practice, saying he “wanted to make my point” with the outburst.

“I thought early on, the tone was being set in the wrong direction, and I wanted to set about trying to change things,” Finch said. “All credit to the guys. They really responded, picked up the pieces. The staff did an incredible job navigating that game. The most important thing is we got the win and that our guys responded and played well over the last three and a half quarters.”

It was only the second career ejection for Finch, and his players were impressed by the tirade, with Randle calling it “top tier.”

“I don’t know what image he’s projected to y’all. I don’t know what they’re seeing, but Finchy is a hell of a competitor,” Randle added.

There’s more from Minnesota:

• The Timberwolves have upgraded Mike Conley to available for Sunday’s game with Milwaukee (Twitter link). The veteran guard has missed the past four games with right Achilles tendinopathy.
• In an interview with Shams Charania of ESPN (YouTube link), Edwards talks about the benefits of playing for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics. Edwards says it was inspiring to experience Stephen Curry‘s work ethic up close, and he learned how to be a better leader by watching his veteran teammates. “I think probably being with the USA team,” Edwards responded when asked about his leadership skills. “Just seeing like everybody got their own way of leading. You gotta learn how to talk to everybody. Some guys you can be super hard on and some guys you’ve got to pull to the side and talk to them one on one.”
• Former owner Glen Taylor is glad to see that Kevin Garnett will rejoin the organization as a team ambassador, even though he and Garnett never resolved the dispute that drove him away, Hine adds in a separate story. “I always thought he should be there,” Taylor said. “That he wanted to wait until now is fine. It’s his decision. Overall, I like the guy, respect the guy, and I’m happy for him.”