Minnesota Timberwolves: The start of summer basketball

The Minnesota Timberwolves held their first practice in preparation for Las Vegas Summer League, which kicks off for the Wolves on Friday evening.

While the Minnesota Timberwolves front office continues to look for additional ways to improve the roster as we head towards the third day of free agency, the coaching staff was hard at work preparing for the first organized basketball of the summer.

On Monday, the Wolves announced their summer league roster, which once again will compete in Las Vegas.

On Tuesday, the first practice was held, led by new assistant coach Pablo Prigioni, who came over from the Brooklyn Nets coaching staff and is familiar with Gersson Rosas from their days together in Houston.

Highlights from the roster include last year’s rookies, Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop, as well as Jared Terrell, who was on a two-way contract last year and appeared in 14 games, and Mitch Creek, who signed a 10-day contract at the end of the season and appeared in just the final game.

This year’s second-round pick, Jaylen Nowell, will be on the team, along with new Wolves two-way player Naz Reid, an undrafted 6-foot-10 center from LSU.

Also on the summer league entry is Jordan Murphy, the four-year big man from the University of Minnesota who finished his collegiate career as the leading rebounder in Golden Gopher history and with the second-most rebounds of any Big Ten player in conference history.

The rest of the roster will be filled with undrafted rookie free agents, so expect all of the above to see significant run for the team when they begin play at 5 p.m. CT on Friday. The Wolves opener will be televised on NBA TV.

Timberwolves.com did a great job covering the first practice of the summer, including the presence of Jeff Teague and Robert Covington. Teague will apparently travel with the team and sit on the bench during Las Vegas Summer League.

It’s a good opportunity for Prigioni, a former NBA point guard and expected to be the offensive coordinator for the Wolves, to get to know Teague a bit better and for Teague to continue growing closer to the Wolves’ young players.

We’ll be back with a few notes on Day Two soon as we get geared up for Friday night’s kickoff to summer play for the Wolves.