Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Towns, plus Thorpe on Wolves

As we inch closer to free agency, let’s take a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves in the news, including Darren Wolfson’s most recent podcast with David Thorpe.

We’re only days away from the insanity that NBA free agency always brings. There’s plenty of coverage here at Dunking With Wolves to get you ready, including Trey Flynn’s look at a potential DeAndre Jordan trade, and Andrew Neururer’s take on five free agent centers the Timberwolves could consider.

In non-free agency news and rumors, there’s Wolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns baring all for ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue.

The article that accompanies the images is apparently an online exclusive, and can be found here. In terms of interesting excerpts, well, there are plenty, as the piece features Towns in his own words. Including this:

"I love working out. I love the grind of my job. And I love the grind of the everyday challenge. I played all 82-plus games each year, including preseason. Never missed a practice. I’m always looking for ways to get better, and I think the biggest thing my body has a challenge with is keeping up with how much I really want to do in a day or in a month or in a week — just having to always be on top of its game.Being a versatile player takes a large amount of training, and I’m more than glad to do it every day so I can be the most complete player I can be for my teammates. I’ve worked on my craft tremendously to have a great 3-point shot. And then I also have the quickness to blow by a lot of centers, and I have the athleticism to finish at the rim."

It’s a fun read, and it sparked the following tweets from KAT and his girlfriend.

Elsewhere, ESPN contributor and coach David Thorpe joined Darren Wolfson on The Scoop podcast. As always, it’s a great listen, and the duo covered a ton of topics, starting with free agency but including thoughts on Andrew Wiggins, among other items.

Thorpe’s thoughts on the Timberwolves as a whole: 1) they must play faster, 2) they must shoot more 3-pointers, and 3) Andrew Wiggins has been developed horribly.

When asked if Avery Bradley would be a good free agent addition, Thorpe astutely  noted that it’s’ unclear if adding good or great defensive players would make a huge difference in the event the system is broken, although he also admitted that it’s hard to tell.

Thorpe also confirmed the worst fears of many Wolves fans: Tom Thibodeau does not have a good reputation around the league at this point, and it may hurt when it comes to free agency. Here’s an exact quote:

"I just don’t think anyone but Jimmy Butler would ever say to anyone, ‘hey, it’s great to play here’. I just don’t think that’s going to be the case…if money isn’t a factor, they’re going to struggle to find anyone…"

Thorpe also says that he’s never heard anything bad from players about playing in Minneapolis, outside of a lack of innovation and, more recently, the head coach.

Please listen the podcast in it’s entirety, as Thorpe and Wolfson run through a laundry list of pending wing free agents, rapid-fire style. Also, Wolfson has some fun free agent nuggets at the end of the podcast that are certainly worth a listen.

We’ll be back soon with our top 10 free agent options at forward as we continue to get you ready for July 1…