Despite being contained to one seat adjacent from the Wolves bench, following patellar tendon surgery, Chris Finch worked with assistant coach Micah Nori to construct a gameplan that left the Nuggets utterly baffled.

Superstar Nikola Jokic was flustered and depleted, as Karl Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid kept him in a constant state of motion. Anthony Edwards went off for 43 points, and the Timberwolves had officially put the NBA, along with Stephen A. Smith, on notice.

Stephen A. Smith believes Minnesota Timberwolves are now favorites vs Denver Nuggets

Speaking on ESPN’s First Take Monday morning prior to game 2, Stephen A. Smith disagreed with his co-host Shannon Sharpe, who wasn’t ready to count the Nuggets out quite yet. Stephen A., on the other hand, had already seen enough. Series over, he claims.

“I’m just of the mindset that Minnesota is going to win this series, I got to be honest with you. I’m not going to go so far as to say they are going to The Finals, even though I think there’s a pretty good chance they’re doing it, I want to see the Dallas, Oklahoma City series unfold before I’m willing to make that proclamation. Denver, the reigning NBA champions, are something to get through before we’re going to go that route.”

.@stephenasmith has the Timberwolves winning the series vs. the Nuggets 😯 pic.twitter.com/yB5LRcrCcG

— First Take (@FirstTake) May 6, 2024

Rather than just simply go off of momentum that Minnesota positively generated during a dominating game one performance against the Nuggets, Smith came with plenty of ammo and information to back up his stance.

“Here’s where I will tell you why I think Minnesota needs to be favored. Everything is not always about the numbers, but I’ll give you numbers. Did you know in six playoff games Anthony Edwards is averaging 33.5 against Denver…That’s number one. Number two, you see the big bodies they’re able to throw at Jokic, nobody else can do that in the league. The Minnesota Timberwolves can. I thought it was a brilliant move of their coaching staff to insert Karl Anthony Towns on Jokic, because even though he doesn’t have the girth, the mass, he has the height and quickness to stay in front of Jokic and make sure there’s some level of resistance, and you’ve got Rudy Gobert helping on the back end in case Jokic gets closer and closer to the basket.”

Timberwolves are healthy, Nuggets… not so much

Beyond just looking at what Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns did in game one, Smith sees the Nuggets roster as problematic when considering what they are dealing with. Jamal Murray isn’t 100% for this series, and they are without a veteran like Jeff Green to help fill gaps.

A defender like that could be big for Denver, and Smith suggests that a presence in that ilk would have saved Kentavious Caldwell Pope from the embarrassment that Edwards displayed against him.

Related: Nikola Jokic Already Sounds Exhausted by Timberwolves’ Defense, Depth

Smith also notes that Murray isn’t a defender capable of handling Edwards, and that’s what makes the Minnesota star such a difficult matchup. While he’s not a traditional point guard, he works with the ball exceptionally well, and his combination of size and quickness present matchup problems for the opposition.

Throwing in a slight jab at Aaron Gordon, Smith said “I don’t think Gordon wants that smoke on a night in and night out basis” after Edwards crossed him up in game one.

When Anthony Edwards did this last night, Nugs fan in front of mean at game:
1. Takes off his shoe
2. Holds it up to his ear like a phone
3. Starts screaming “Call the National Guard, we need double teams” pic.twitter.com/sZbEuXesm7

— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) May 5, 2024

Anthony Edwards the Timberwolves Closer

It’s hard to overstate just how good Anthony Edwards has been throughout the playoffs this year, but he’s turned it up a notch when the game is on the line. In the 4th quarter alone he has averaged 10.8 points to lead the league.

His 69% field goal percentage in the quarter leads the NBA and his 57% three point rate leads the NBA as well. Going 14-of-14 at the charity stripe, he hasn’t missed in the final quarter either.

Related: Timberwolves Ownership War Rages On After Unproductive Mediation Session

For a player that is as dominant as Ant Man has been for the Timberwolves, there doesn’t appear to be any stage to great for him. That’s an incredible reality at any age, but considering he is just 22 years old and is making his presence felt like this, the league has been put on notice.

There aren’t a ton of times that national voices like Stephen A. Smith are going to be all over a Minnesota team, but it’s become way too hard to ignore just how good this Timberwolves squad looks.

Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother has been battling COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus that has been taking over the world in recent weeks.

She is currently in the hospital and the doctors have induced her into a coma, as she battles. His father is under quarantine, but seems to be recovering. Towns told everyone about his family’s battle, in an Instagram post last night/early morning. It’s gut wrenching. Stay the fuck home, people. Do your part.

“I think it’s important that everyone understands the severity of what‘s happening in the world right now, with this coronavirus and I think… where my life is right now, could help…

I was told early last week, my parents weren’t feeling well. My first reaction to her was to go seek medical attention immediately. There’s no reason to wait.

After a couple days of not showing any signs of improvement, I was very adamant on the first day, to go to the hospital and uh, seek further evaluation… specifically me and my sister told her that she needs to get checked for corona. I don’t think anyone really understood what it was… you know, with the deteriorating condition.

She kept getting worse, she kept getting worse…”

Karl-Anthony Towns on Instagram above

KAT is telling you something straight from our worst fucking nightmare, as we watch everything around the world fall apart, in front of us. Yes, we’ve seen what is happening in Europe and China… but, now it is hitting home.

Unfortunately, this isn’t going to be the only story we hear, that is much like this one. I took this brief pause in quoting Karl, to remind everyone again… this is serious. Please do what you can. To most, that is staying home. To others (lawmakers, doctors, nurses, other essential employers/employees), do what you can to help.

Now, KAT is about to get personal and share the story of how his mom’s condition deteriorated at the hospital.

“The hospital was doing everything they can… I was doing everything I could… still am. She just wasn’t getting better.

Her fever was never cutting from 103… maybe go down to 101.9, with the meds, and then immediately spike back up during night. She was very uncomfortable. Uh, her lungs were getting worse. Her cough was getting worse.

She was deteriorating…. she was deteriorating.

We always felt that.. the next medicine would help, the next one would help, this is the one that was gonna get it done, this mixture is gonna get it done… um… sorry… um.”

Karl-Anthony Towns Instagram Post Above

KAT’s dad is also battling COVID-19, but is doing much better than Mrs. Towns. He is under mandatory quarantine at home, as he recovers and prays for his wife to join him again soon.

I can’t imagine feeling that powerless. Your wife is fighting the battle of her life and you can’t be there to help in any way. This is as scary as it gets. Karl goes on to give us more information about his dad and tell us about some of the last conversations he had with his mom, before she was medically-induced into a coma.

They released my dad with quarantine… mandatory quarantine… but my mom was not allowed to leave. Both of them got tests. Both didn’t get the results… you know, for a long time. We all assumed my mom had COVID-19, due to just the symptoms she was exhibiting and… she was deteriorating daily.

The day that she was feeling great, umm.. we talked and she felt she turned a corner… I felt she was turning the corner. I knew there were more days to come but, you know, I felt that we were heading in the right direction.

Then, they said that… you know, she went sideways… and things went sideways quick… and her lungs were extremely getting worse and she was having trouble breathing…

They were just explaining to me, that she had to be put on a ventilator. She was getting worse… and she was confused by everything and I’m trying to talk to her about everything. You know, courage and stay positive and… you know, just talking through everything with her.

I talked to her before she went there and told her I loved her. Everyday, I always told her how much I love her. She was… telling me things that I didn’t want to hear so… I dismissed some things she was saying because it wasn’t something I wanted to hear.

It came to a point where, you know… it’s difficult… very difficult for me and my family, to say the least. She’s the head of our household. She’s the boss.

She’s been in a medically-induced coma… um… since that day. I haven’t talked to her… haven’t been able to, obviously, communicate with her… just getting updates on her condition… it’s rough.

Karl-Anthony Towns Instagram Post Above

Karl goes on to talk about how he is trying to remain positive and that he is keeping his family positive. He says, he only made the video for awareness purposes. He wants everyone to know how serious this virus is and the deteriorating disease it can cause.

Don’t take this shit lightly. Pray for, and keep the Towns family in your thoughts.

The severity of this disease is real. This disease needs to not be taken lightly. Please protect your families, your loved ones, your friends, yourself…

Practice social distancing. Please don’t be in places with a lot of people. It just highers your chances of getting this disease and this disease is not….

…. it’s deadly. It’s deadly. We’re gonna keep fighting. Me and my family are gonna keep fighting this. We’re gonna beat it. We’re gonna win.

Karl-Anthony Towns Instagram Post Above

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Minnesota’s Karl Anthony-Towns has a fractured left wrist and will be out at least two weeks.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 21, 2020

In a not-shocking-at-all development, Karl-Anthony Towns has been ruled out for the next two weeks due to a wrist injury that only started costing him games, just before the All-Star break.

Back then, we were told that MRI’s and whatever other tests they ran on this same wrist, all came back negative, but they needed a second opinion. Now, it’s fractured. I’m not a doctor, but I don’t know that many people that need a second doctor to find a wrist fracture…

When the two weeks is up, I’m fully expecting the Timberwolves to find another reason to sit him out OR that they will announce a plan to sit him the rest of the season to recover from that wrist and other lingering issues he’s dealt with this season.

via GIPHY

We’ll never find out if the Timberwolves are low-key tanking, but I’ll continue to say they are because it’s the smart thing to do and I believe this is a very smart front office.

It was very important for the Timberwolves to keep their 2020 draft picks when they were wheeling and dealing at the trade deadline. It just makes sense, that they’d want that pick to be as high up the board as possible.

Let the tanking continue!

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

I love this new front office. They fucking get it. #TWolves

Every
Loss
Matters https://t.co/e4O2hJxW62

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) February 12, 2020

Wow…. apparently Karl-Anthony Towns has a pretty serious wrist injury that needed an MRI today (came back negative) and he will be evaluated again over All-Star Weekend.

I’m not saying that the Timberwolves are sitting Karl so they can have a better chance to lose this game…. but I’m not saying they aren’t either…

There is one thing we know for sure… Rosas & Co. seem willing to do just about whatever it takes to turn this franchise around. There is a reason they were adamant about hanging onto that 2020 1st round pick while they were wheeling and dealing last week.

Whether they hold onto that pick or trade it away for more established talent to three-way with KAT and D-Lo, you can bet they are well aware of what a few extra games in the loss column can mean for draft position…

We’ll see how long this new wrist injury lasts or whether it “flares up” at all during the 2nd half of the season…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The NBA has a new studio personality and he should stop being…. himself. He should change into something that isn’t the absolute worst. Or he should think about watching an NBA basketball game that takes place outside of NY, BOS, or Cali….

That wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Kendrick Perkins played in the NBA for 14 seasons and won a title with Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics back in 07-08. He thinks Karl-Anthony Towns is a little bitch who is highly overrated and he believes Andrew Wiggins is a superstar in hiding who is highly undervalued…

I’m serious… keep reading/scrolling. I brought proof. I know, I know, don’t laugh….

via GIPHY

Perkins has been talking shit about KAT for awhile now and that has only picked up since the blockbuster deals that completely transformed the Wolves and sent Wiggins to Golden State.

He didn’t slow down tonight, while the Timberwolves were losing in Toronto. The Raptors haven’t lost now, since January 12.

If you take Kendrick Perkins by his tweets, which is the only real way to judge anyone in 2020… then he’s kind of an idiot. At least, when it comes to analyzing NBA basketball… but he’s made some of the same uneducated claims with the TV cameras rolling too.

Kendrick Perkins on KAT:

Perkins is hard on Karl-Anthony Towns and I have no problem with that. I actually chuckled a little bit when I first heard some of these comments. You can read me write some of the same things about our young superstar.

He gets downright nasty with some of these. KAT clearly rubs some people around the league the wrong way while nobody has any negative feelings for a beige wall, since that’s what Andrew Wiggins is.

Here is what Kendrick Perkins thinks of Karl:

Got damn Shame!!! Talking about people sleeping on the Timberwolves. Got damn right WE are. https://t.co/7cIXVM6Zk5

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 2, 2020

Should Karl Anthony Towns ask for a trade? @KendrickPerkins says it’s on KAT to be playing better, but it’s hard to compete when pieces are getting traded around him. Here’s where things stand with the Timberwolves: pic.twitter.com/6EIRNF9IVG

— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 5, 2020

Once Again KATS got want he wanted his long time friend Russell so he shouldn’t have anymore excuses right?!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 6, 2020

Congratulations to @Timberwolves for getting your first WIN in 2020. Proud of you guys!!! ?

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 9, 2020

Finally get to see the Besties in action tonight against the Toronto Raptors!!! I’m locked in and ready to see what all the hype is all about! ?

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 11, 2020

The Raptors are totally disrespecting KATS! They are switching everything and playing him straight on the Block with forwards and guards! He should be punishing them but he’s not!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 11, 2020

Kendrick Perkins on Andrew Wiggins

Here is where Kendrick Perkins goes from a hard-ass guy who really dislikes the Minnesota Timberwolves and their star Karl-Anthony Towns… to a guy who clearly has no fucking idea what he is talking about.

Either that or he has never watched a Minnesota Timberwolves game in his life. This option is definitely a real possibility. Say what you want about the softness of KAT or whether he brings his best night-in and night-out.

But whatever criticisms you hold against Karl on the court, especially when it comes to consistent energy and effort, they are trampled by what Wiggins has shown throughout his career.

Andrew Wiggins, or the ghost of what he should be, is the biggest waste of talent in NBA history. By the time it is all said and done, KAT will be able to take Andrew Wiggins’ career, and use it to wipe his dog’s ass.

Get ready to close your eyes… some of these Perkins takes on Andrew Wiggins are as cringeworthy as watching Michael Scott give wedding toasts on repeat…

I think it’s time for Wiggins and Minnesota to part ways!!! Wiggins need some real MFs around that’s going to hold him accountable. I honestly think he needs a Miami Heat Type Culture!??‍♂️

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 3, 2020

I’m actually Happy for Wiggins!!! Golden State is the environment that he needs to be in. It’s all about Culture and Accountability and I believe he will have one his best seasons next year with a healthy GS team!

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 6, 2020

This is what Wiggins needed! Love this by Steve Kerr!!! https://t.co/ajiaFnZR8Z

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 7, 2020

Unless GS plan on moving Wiggins this off season which I don’t think they will, I hope he kills next season. The hate and the slander on this kid is unreal to say that this man is a bad basketball and his career average is almost 20 points a game on 44 percent shooting.

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 9, 2020

Again this is Andrew Wiggins Stats over his 6 year career!!! I’m going to say this again this young man is NOT A BAD BASKETBALL PLAYER. pic.twitter.com/FZF6xAvm3S

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) February 9, 2020

To recap, Kendrick Perkins had a very successful playing career in the NBA. He is also a shining example of why some players are way better on the court, than they are at analyzing the game from afar.

Or, he could just try. Before he starts shitting on KAT while giving blumpkins to Andrew Wiggins, he might want to watch 5 minutes of a Timberwolves game, before Wiggins was gone.

If he really wants to have nightmares, he can watch any game from last season, when most of Minnesota finally gave up on Wig. He wants to look so hard at box scores, but doesn’t want to recognize Andrew Wiggins’ inability to get past the number 3, anywhere outside of the “PTS” category.

But, Kendrick clearly watches his fair share of Golden State Warriors games, so he will soon find out how idiotic his tweets and statements really are.

When STANDrew Wiggins puts up one of those — 4/17 FG | 13 PTS | 3 REB | 1 AST — games in a couple of weeks or when he starts costing the Warriors wins next season, when their games start mattering again, Perkins might realize how stupid he really was back in early February, 2020.

Until then, I’ll be here to see it for him.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

D’Angelo Russell will not play tonight with that quad injury, Wolves say. Missed GSW game Monday with it. Wanted to give it a go against Brooklyn, his former team, Wednesday, and it was still bothering him. Wolves want him right before he debuts

— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 8, 2020

When this happened last night, how many of you gave up on Saturday’s Timberwolves vs. Clippers game at Target Center? How many of you waited to buy tickets until you knew D-Lo would be playing, since they announced his status as “questionable” right after the trade?

I can’t say I’d blame you. Outside of a few guys with some talent and a little bit of promise, we weren’t supposed to be overly excited about the rest of the haul brought in this week, in a flurry of moves that completely flipped the Timberwolves roster.

Outside of D’Angelo Russell, we thought Gersson Rosas brought in a bunch of cheap young guys who can shoot a little bit and run the offense he dreams of, just a little bit better than what we had.

After just one game without D’Angelo Russell though, I’m now wondering whether or not Gersson Rosas just pulled the biggest robbery in NBA history…

Seriously, the Minnesota Timberwolves WENT OFF last night. Newly acquired Malik Beasley set Target Center on fire in the first half, when he hit (6) 3-pointers and helped the Wolves set a franchise record for points in a half, with 81.

Yes, that is not a typo… the Minnesota Timberwolves, who lost 13-straight games before last night, scored 81 points in the 1st half. Fuck, they had 100 points with 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.

They were absolutely unstoppable. KAT scored big, Beasley finished with 23 PTS and 10 REB… Jordan McGloughlin continues to blow my mind with his explosiveness. How did everyone miss him? He finished the night with 24 points and 11 assists.

James Johnson is apparently a 6-foot; 7-inch PF/SF/SG/PG, who will grab a defensive rebound, dribble the ball down the floor, cross you up, and drop a 3 in your face…. Then, he’ll beat the shit out of your toughest player, light up a blunt, and get a tattoo about the whole thing…

…so I need to hang out with James Johnson, clearly. He posted 12 PTS | 5 AST | 3 REB | 2 STL | 1 BLK …. off the bench.

It was a lot of fun to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves play basketball last night.

Alright…. I’m trying to come down off of this Timberwolves high because we all know they can’t play this well every night. They literally have, what was considered NBA recycling prior to last night, lining their entire roster.

They aren’t going to go off for (26) 3-pointers (franchise record) or 39 assists (most this season) every night. There will be growing pains… you’d think.

But this team does have one thing going for it, that can be replicated every night…. and actually might be.

Energy and Effort

All of these players feel like they have been shit on, since coming into the NBA. Whether they have been or not, is probably up for debate, but those players feel like they have the answer… and they certainly did last night.

It’s been a really long time since we watched that much effort out of a Timberwolves team, who shared the ball and played with movement, like what we saw last night.

Even if you pump the breaks on some of the shooting numbers, the Wolves still probably win. At worst, they are in a barn-burner with one of the top-3 teams in the NBA, with the LA Clippers.

If you play with energy and effort consistently, good things will happen in the NBA because a lot of teams don’t bring it consistently. These players are too good and the margin of error is too slim. If one team brings energy and effort and the other team doesn’t, that will probably be the deciding factor in that game.

That’s why playoff games look so much different… because when the energy and effort cranks up to 100% on both sides, NBA basketball becomes a man’s game where only the greats can stand out. Legends are made in the NBA Playoffs for that reason.

One negative to this whole thing, is tanking. This didn’t look like a team ready to tank last night. Even when they cool their jets… I don’t think this team will end up in the bottom 10 of this league.

I’m going to give it a few more games, but the tank could be over.

If they play like this though, especially when Russell returns to the lineup, then who the fuck cares. It’s about time we have some fun watching professional basketball in this market again.

Plus, we have another max deal ready and available, after all of the moves made last week…. so let’s just go and get the 3rd best friend and call it a franchise?

via GIPHY

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

With the deadline looming on Thursday, the Warriors and Timberwolves remain engaged in trade conversations centered around D’Angelo Russell, league sources told The Athletic. There remain obstacles to overcome, but if the teams were to pull off a deal, it could be the closest thing to the kind of blockbuster that often highlights the frantic final days before the deadline.

Alright, I posted a blog this morning on a Woj Bomb that had Robert Covington “confidently” leaving town before we hit Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. After seeing this latest report out of The Athletic, Golden State seems like a natural landing spot for a team that will absolutely need a 3 and D wing like Covington, who also has a great contract and top-level leadership qualities.

The Wolves also badly want to get their hands on D’Angelo Russell… so Robert Covington as the centerpiece to that deal, makes sense. How badly do the Timberwolves want D-Lo on their team?

Well, it’s getting to a weird level…

The Wolves are borderline stalking D’Angelo Russell at this point

— Zach Harper (@talkhoops) February 3, 2020

Since at least June should result in some sort of restraining order!

— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) February 3, 2020

Getting D’Angelo Russell to Minnesota is clearly something that Gersson Rosas feels is necessary, to keep Karl-Anthony Towns happy. It makes sense. Towns and D-Lo are best friends. Those two and Devin Booker have openly talked about wanting to play together in the future.

If you get two of those three here, under max contracts, then getting that 3-headed monster to settle down in Minnesota eventually… actually looks realistic.

But, here’s the problem:

So far in the Warriors-Timberwolves talks, Golden State would only consider a deal that has significant draft pick compensation as part of any Minnesota package, according to league sources. As a team currently in a rebuild, the Timberwolves are reluctant to sacrifice too much of their own draft capital in deals, including one for Russell.

The Athletic – 9 AM | 2/3/2020

Well that throws a wrench into things… since the LAST thing the Wolves want to be sending away in any trades, is “significant draft pick compensation”.. What the Warriors actually want, is our 2020 first rounder that we are currently tanking so hard for.

Luckily…. that’s where Gersson is drawing the line.

Minnesota is believed to have drawn a line in the sand in any Russell trade talks with the Warriors, that being an unwillingness to part with its unprotected 2020 first-round pick.

The Athletic – 9 AM | 2/3/2020

There are a couple of things that make me very nervous about this current situation. The Wolves are playing from behind. They seem desperate (see Zach Harper tweet above) to land D-Lo and the Warriors are in no hurry to move him until the offseason.

Don’t rush this. I know Karl is unhappy but Rosas needs to see the forest through the trees. KAT will be fine. Just don’t miss on your draft pick and find a way to get D-Lo here in the offseason.

Second, I don’t know if D’Angelo Russell will be a good fit on this team anyway. The guy plays less defense than KAT or Andrew Wiggins and is another young player who has done a lot of losing. Do we really want our Big 3 to be Towns, D-Lo, and Wiggins?

Does that sound like a team (who will be completely strapped financially by 3 max deals) that can make deep Western Conference Playoff runs?

via GIPHY

Third, there is NO FUCKING WAY I am gifting Golden State TWO top-5 picks in next year’s NBA draft. Right now, the Wolves and Warriors are the two worst teams in the Western Conference.

They are already getting a top pick to pair with Curry and Thompson when they return from injury. They don’t need another one…

I will concede this: the Wolves don’t have much choice but to pursue D’Angelo Russell and find a way to get him on this roster ASAP. It’s the only way you can guarantee KAT’s patience while you try and right this sinking ship…

Just don’t give up April’s 1st round pick to get it done.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

I came across this tweet late last night before running to the Woj Pod this morning. Luckily, Woj wastes no times getting into the Timberwolves likely plans for this week. He started with us because the Wolves apparently hold the keys to free agency… yes, he actually said that.

Wow.@wojespn is “very confident” that Robert Covington gets traded this week.

Per his new podcast.

— Timberwolves News (@NotDWolfson) February 3, 2020

I think one place to start in the Western Conference, is in Minnesota, because they’ve got… I think there’s multiple possible deals for them, with more than one player. And so, I think they hold a little bit of the key to what this next week might look like.

Adrian Wojnarowski – Woj Pod – 2/2/20

Alright, now we are talking! I’ve been waiting a long time to be excited about the Timberwolves again. This week is that week! When your team is bad like the Wolves are, then all you have to get excited about is offseason and trade deadline topics.

Woj has Bobby Marks on this episode, a former NBA GM and one of the most respected insiders in the league, and this is how they started the show.

But really, this conversation is about Robert Covington. Woj and Bobby mention other trade-able assets, including Gorgui Dieng and Andrew Wiggins. He says that Wiggins is the asset holding the Wolves back from making any huge statement moves… which isn’t surprising.

However, he does mention that Wiggins is only in his mid-twenties, with just 3 years left on this disgusting max-deal, after 2019-20. At least it’s being talked about now, right?

We could definitely see Gorgui Dieng go. He had a bad contract but has played well this year and only has one year left on the deal, making him a desirably commodity at this year’s deadline.

But let’s get to Robert Covington:

Robert Covington is a player I’m very confident they are going to trade, at some point this week and they’ve got to figure out what that deal looks like for them.

I think any number of contenders would like Covington. The question always is, ‘what price?’, and what does it look like? They need a point guard and that’s been a big part of their struggles this year.

Adrian Wojnarowski – Woj Pod – 2/2/20

Woj would go on to talk about how hard the Wolves worked to get D’Angelo Russell on their team last offseason, before the sign/trade with Golden State that landed him a max deal.

Marks and Woj definitely leave the door wide open, on Russell being the asset we get back for dealing RoCo this week… but also says the Warriors aren’t in any hurry to move him.

So, for the Russell addicts out there, you have hope… but don’t get too excited. Either way, both Marks and Woj seem to agree that the Wolves could be one of the most active teams on the market this week and that franchise-altering moves will be made.

And I’m all for some excitement around pro basketball in Minnesota

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

In fact, some might argue the opposite, given his numbers. If you’ve read anything on the Wolves today, you know they’ve lost 11-straight games. Karl-Anthony Towns’ losing streak, however, actually sits at 18 games. Yup, he hasn’t seen the Winner’s Circle since November 27, due to games he missed throughout December/January, with injury/illness.

The Wolves went 5-10 while Towns was out and actually played defense, which was rather shocking to see. Maybe that’s why Towns felt so disrespected when he didn’t make the all-star roster…. because they don’t play any defense in that game either.

via GIPHY

Alright, alright… this is NOT a blog calling for the trade of Karl-Anthony Towns. He’s the only bright spot the Wolves have, so let’s not send him off quite yet.

No, this is a blog about what Karl-Anthony Towns SHOULD be, if he and his ego could get out of the way. KAT feeling this slighted by an All-Star snub says everything about what is wrong with his attitude.

Much like Andrew Wiggins, he is a basketball-entitled brat who doesn’t know how to win NBA games.

What does that mean?

If you really want to win in the NBA, every detail matters. You are playing with the best basketballers in the entire world… the margin for error is tiny. Focus, energy, and effort have to come every night.

Scratch that… focus and energy have to be there for every single practice shot, every single film session, and every single weight room rep… You need to eat, breathe, and sleep WINNING.

Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are perfect examples of this. Both guys had immense talent, that can’t be denied, but both players were driven by the talent around them. Both guys knew that someone else was ready to take their place atop the hierarchy, if they lost focus for even a moment.

Don’t believe me? Well maybe you should ask Karl-Anthony Towns, himself….

“I was having a conversation with someone the other day … fans think it’s so easy to win in the NBA and it’s very difficult,” Towns said. “It’s the most difficult thing you can think of. No offense, this is not Life Time Fitness, this is not LA Fitness, this is the real thing. This is the best of the best playing, on one court, at one time, trying to figure out how to beat each other in a game of basketball. The margin of error is very slim.

One thing I always try and tell our guys is that, ‘It’s cool to go out there and do 98 great things and we come in here and we talk about all the 98 great things out of 100 that we did, but those two bad things are going to be the reason we lose.’ The margin of error in the NBA is that slim and tonight was one of those nights.”

Karl-Anthony Towns – via ESPN (1/23/20)

This is exactly the shit I’m talking about…

How dense do you have to be, to utter these words, when you haven’t brought consistent focus since November? Do you remember pre-December KAT?

He was averaging nearly 13 RPG and showing the league that he knew there was a defensive end of the floor. He had his steals and blocks up over 1 per game… He looked engaged and, with an improved and more focused Andrew Wiggins playing Robin, the future looked…. not so dark for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Since then, offensive numbers have remained impressive (surprise surprise) but the “try-hard” stats have all fallen. He’s now under 9 RPG and both blocks and assists have dropped below 1.

In other words, he lost focus.

Entering November 28, the Wolves were 10-8 and looking like a playoff team. The “I told you so’s” coming from Karl were as regular as my grandma on Miralax… and now seem just as vomit-worthy.

So, my advice to KAT would be this:

Stop focusing on All-Star games and start focusing on what it takes to be a winner. Maybe, play some defense and bring consistent effort? You might run into a win or two.

At this point though, the season is way too far gone… so I don’t even want to see good-KAT anymore. All good-KAT will do if he returns, is help win enough games to keep the Wolves out of a top-3 draft pick.

So KAT, if you’re reading this…. feel free to take the rest of this season off, brooding about why you aren’t an All-Star. Invite Devin Booker over, stay up late, play video games, and drink Code Red Mountain Dew for the next couple months.

Then, take the offseason to grow up… because grown-ups don’t make excuses for not getting the job done. They don’t complain when things don’t go their way or life isn’t fair.

They push the microphones out of their face, and they get to work. Because, winning fixes everything, including All-Star snubs and fan-written hit pieces.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas tells ESPN’s @E_Woodyard: “Karl-Anthony Towns is as untouchable as they come….He’s the guy we’re building around.” https://t.co/nvegedjjCA

“Karl-Anthony Towns is as untouchable as they come,” Rosas told ESPN. “He’s the best player on our team and he’s the guy we’re building around. Everything we do is to help him become the best player and to help us become the best team we can be. He’s a special talent that we’re going to do anything possible to help him achieve his highest potential.”

– Gersson Rosas (via ESPN)

Thank you, Gersson Rosas! Get these blasphemous trade rumor notifications off of my phone. Anyone writing these things should be grounded from the internet, indefinitely.

People were actually out here trying to get Karl-Anthony Towns to Miami for Kendrick Nunn and a late-1st-round pick… GTFO. Apparently, we are just going to forget that KAT hates Jimmy Butler (just like most decent humans)… and that Kendrick Nunn is an undrafted miracle that nobody fully trusts yet?

It’s not just Miami, though. Bloggers and journalists from all over the country have been trying to find ways to get Karl on their team. But, every single rumor is unfounded and they all fall incredibly short, of what it’d actually take to land him.

Karl is going nowhere, at least not for another year or two, at the earliest. Losing games this season isn’t going to change that. In fact, losing games now will make a brighter future. If KAT really wants to win games in Minnesota, he will lose them now while Rosas finds a trade partner for STAndrew Wiggins.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan