Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: NBA 2k18, Derrick Rose
By Ben Beecken
As we enter the truly dead portion of the NBA off-season, the Timberwolves are still making a bit of news in the 2k18 world and the lingering possibility of a Derrick Rose acquisition.
Late July is the first completely dead part of the off-season. The NBA Draft has long since passed, the heat of free agency has cooled considerably, and every last summer league trophy has been handed out.
That means that the slow trickle of bench and fringe-rotation players will continue over the next few weeks. And the Timberwolves, with a few roster spots remaining, are as likely to be as active as anyone over the next month or two.
Derrick Rose is a name that has been floated for the better part of five months, dating back to the potential trade that would have been headlined by Ricky Rubio prior to the trade deadline. The former league MVP played under Tom Thibodeau in Chicago, of course, and Thibs would apparently love to coach him once again.
He’s declined quite a bit, of course, as we’ve detailed here at Dunking With Wolves. And the Wolves reportedly inquired about Rose prior to landing Jeff Teague in free agency, although the Minnesota is said to maintain interest at the veteran minimum.
They've inquired more recently too. Sense is Thibs would absolutely take him if he'd come here for the minimum.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) July 20, 2017
A bit of news broke earlier on Thursday that Rose is still considering taking a chunk of money from the Los Angeles Lakers or signing for the minimum with the Cleveland Cavaliers to chase a championship.
In a breath of fresh air, the above-linked piece is about Rose and does not mention the Timberwolves a single time, but our friend Darren Wolfson cautioned us that Rose would still be of interest to Thibodeau if he decided he was willing to come at an affordable price, as noted above. Of course, with interest from teams with more cap space and teams much closer to winning a title, Rose landing in Minnesota seems relatively unlikely at this point.
Elsewhere, NBA 2k18 began their slow, weeks-long release of player ratings. ESPN compiled a few player reactions to their ratings. Below is Karl-Anthony Towns‘ message to Joel Embiid after KAT’s superior rating.
Yep, that’s what we have for Timberwolves news during the last couple of weeks of July. But that doesn’t mean we can’t start breaking down the roster and surmising about what Thibodeau may come up with in terms of a rotation this fall.
Next: Tom Thibodeau Will Lead The Wolves To The Promised Land
Stay tuned as we head into the weekend with a hefty dose of Wolves content…