Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Rosas hiring official, Okogie on TV
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves have officially announced Gersson Rosas as their new president of basketball operations. Also, Josh Okogie taught some defense on NBA TV.
On Wednesday, multiple media reports reported that former Houston Rockets vice president Gersson Rosas would join the Minnesota Timberwolves as the president of basketball operations.
On Friday, the Timberwolves organization confirmed the hire and announced that the introductory press conference will be on Monday. They also posted a brief profile of Rosas on the team website.
The Timberwolves were commended on the hiring by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who, along with The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, broke the hiring earlier in the week.
We’ll have more on Rosas as we get through the weekend and into next week, and certainly following Monday’s press conference. What we know so far is that Rosas is an analytics-minded executive who also has a scouting background — likely the perfect blend necessary in today’s NBA.
He also has a preexisting relationship with interim head coach Ryan Saunders, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out moving forward.
Elsewhere, Josh Okogie took part in the NBA Career Crossover Job Shadow Program with Turner Sports, which allowed Okogie to get some facetime with the big wigs at Turner as well as the on-air talent.
Turner Sports had some special guests in the office today for the #NBACareerCrossover Job Shadow Program checking out all things @NBAonTNT and @NBATV. pic.twitter.com/VLhu3EysaL
— Warner Bros. Discovery Sports U.S. PR (@WBDSportsPR) May 1, 2019
Had a wonderful time with @TurnerSportsPR ! Learned a lot about the ins and outs of production and broadcasting and got a little tv time myself. @NBA #NBACareerCrossover pic.twitter.com/OZepAPPp0X
— Josh Okogie (@CallMe_NonStop) May 2, 2019
Okogie was a favorite of some of the national talking heads after a couple of strong performances in nationally-televised games, including his pre-All-Star break dominance of James Harden and a fun showing in the Rising Stars game during All-Star Weekend.
NBA TV even allowed Okogie to explain how he went about guarding Harden. It’s good stuff, and especially the part about anticipating Harden’s shot because of the end of the shot clock. It’s an incredibly heady answer for a 20-year-old rookie, and shows just how many steps ahead he’s thinking when he’s on the floor.
.@CallMe_NonStop of the @Timberwolves takes us into the mind of a defender whose task it is to stop James Harden's offensive moves. 📝@NBA | #NBACareerCrossover pic.twitter.com/jJYEpCNmGw
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 2, 2019
The Timberwolves have a good one in Okogie, and it will be interesting to see how much he’s able to improve his jump shot and his handle over the summer. If he can turn into a better slasher and a moderately effective outside shooter, he’ll be worthy of heavier minutes, even with a healthy Robert Covington in the fold.
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We’ll be back with more player reviews and discussion about Rosas throughout the weekend.