Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: More NBA Draft, Summer League is coming

With the NBA Draft just a week away, there’s lots to talk about surrounding the Minnesota Timberwolves and the offseason.

Things are about to start getting crazy, Timberwolves fans.

The NBA Draft goes down in a week. Then, free agency commences. After that, it’s Las Vegas Summer League time.

Thankfully, the first and third items on that list matter at least a little bit less to the Timberwolves and their die-hard fans than they did even just a couple of years ago. But having the No. 20 pick in the draft matters, and we’ve spent plenty of times on the selection here at Dunking With Wolves.

Lately, various Wolves-centric writers have given their thoughts on Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans, a 6-foot-5 five wing who would check a lot of boxes for the Wolves.

A couple of weeks ago, our own Andrew Neururer wrote about Evans. He focused on the former Bearcats’ defensive intensity and spot-up shooting ability from long-range. Evans was a 37.7 percent 3-point shooter over three years at Cincinnati, including knocking down 41.8 percent of his attempts two years ago and 37 percent last year.

Then, Canis Hoopus broke down Evans’ game, including his above-average screen-setting ability as a wing and his general awareness on the offensive end of the floor. The biggest focus of the piece is on his stellar defense, however, which is certainly what will pique the interest of Tom Thibodeau.

Finally, Timberwolves.com’s Kyle Ratke wrote-up Evans as a prospect and included a money quote from Evans himself.

"I love Jimmy Butler, you know, just love the fact that he digs in and plays both sides of the ball,” Evans said at the Combine in Chicago. “He worked his butt off in the offseason to become a better offensive guy . . . He had to work on his shooting, but he prides himself on defense. You see him every night, he’s guarding James Harden or Kevin Durant or LeBron James, whoever the guy is on the other team, he takes pride in guarding him. That’s what I want to do also."

Not a bad guy to strive to be like. Remember, Jimmy Butler was the 30th-overall pick in the 2011 draft, and Evans is consistently mocked as a late first-round selection himself. Both are big, physical wings with solid offensive games coming out of college but defense is their calling card.

Of course, it would be unfair to allow the comparison to go any further; even picking an All-Star as a likely late first-round pick’s best-case comparison/ceiling is a bit much. But kudos to Evans for shooting for the sky.

There’s no rumors to this point that suggest that Thibodeau is interested in Evans, although the profile and the Wolves’ need certainly points to this being a possibility.

Elsewhere, the Timberwolves released their preliminary schedule for Las Vegas Summer League, which will kick-off on Monday, July 9 at 10 p.m. Central Time against Denver. There’s no telling who will be on that squad, of course, although you can bet that the No. 20 pick and a couple of players from last year’s team such as Marcus Georges-Hunt, Anthony Brown, and others should be candidates. (Remember, Justin Patton is recovering from his second foot surgery in 10 months.)

Next: FanSided NBA Mock Draft: Timberwolves select...

Only one week until the draft, folks. We can do it.