Wolves Notes: Front Office, Beverley, Davison, Arena
The expected addition of Matt Lloyd as senior vice president of basketball operations raises some questions about the hierarchy in the Timberwolves‘ front office, but Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic believes that may not matter.
Lloyd, who is being hired away from the Magic, will join a team that already has Sachin Gupta as executive vice president of basketball operations. While it’s not clear who will be second in command, Krawczynski points out that new president of basketball operations Tim Connelly built a reputation for listening to everyone when he ran the Nuggets.
“I want to get to know who’s here. And I have a pretty good sense, but you don’t know until you’re in the same room as those people,” Connelly told reporters this week. “I don’t have all the answers. It’s going to be a collaborative effort. I believe in colleagues; I don’t believe in employees.”
Lloyd was attractive to the Wolves because of his experience running the scouting department in Orlando and Chicago. Minnesota owns the 19th pick in this month’s draft, along with three second-rounders, and Lloyd’s first priority will be to identify prospective talent.
There’s more on the Timberwolves:
- Miami could be a destination if Minnesota decides to part with Patrick Beverley this summer, an Eastern Conference general manager tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. The veteran guard was productive during his first season with the Wolves and seems unlikely to be moved, but it’s possible the new-look front office could try to maximize his value. “The Heat would love to get Patrick Beverley,” the unidentified GM said. “The Timberwolves, obviously, they love what he brought last year, but if they could sell high, they might be willing to give him up. They have a new regime there, so they can look at things a little more realistically.”
- Wisconsin guard Brad Davison will work out for Minnesota next week, tweets Darren Wolfson of Eyewitness 5 News. He has also conducted workouts for the Hawks and Nets.
- When Alex Rodriguez talked about being “first in class in every category” this week, it’s a sign that he and Marc Lore plan to push for a new arena when they officially become majority owners next year, according to La Velle E. Neal III of The Star-Tribune.
Draft Notes: Sochan, Combine, Withdrawals, Davison
The Pelicans and Nuggets are among the teams believed to have interest in Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan, while the Spurs are viewed as a “strong fit” for him, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes in his recap of last week’s draft combine.
According to Vorkunov, one team executive put Sochan’s floor at the No. 12 pick, which means the Nuggets – who control No. 21 – would have to trade up if they want a shot at him. He’s far more likely to be available for the Pelicans (No. 8) or Spurs (No. 9).
Vorkunov’s article includes several more tidbits on the combine, including a look at some of the more outside-the-box questions teams asked in their interviews with prospects. According to Vorkunov, one club challenged Christian Braun to repeated staring contests, while the Nuggets told players during their meetings that if they could name enough players on the club’s roster, one of their team officials would do push-ups.
Here’s more on the 2022 NBA draft:
- Jeremy Woo of SI.com shares his impressions of 15 prospects who attended the 2022 draft combine, focusing on probable lottery picks like Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, and Sochan as well as less heralded players such as Marcus Sasser, Darius Days, and John Butler. Like ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Woo believes Daniels in particular boosted his stock at the combine.
- Josiah-Jordan James (Tennessee), Tykei Greene (Stony Brook), Osayi Osifo (Jacksonville), and Eric Hunter Jr. (transferring from Purdue to Butler) are all withdrawing from the 2022 draft after declaring as early entrants, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (all links via Twitter). James is coming off his junior season, while the others are seniors who will use their extra year of NCAA eligibility in 2022/23.
- Wisconsin’s Brad Davison and Wake Forest’s Alondes Williams are taking part in a workout today with the Nets, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, who tweets that Davison previously worked out for the Hawks.