Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: COVID response, re-aired games

Let’s take a look at the Minnesota Timberwolves’ proactive response to the coronavirus pandemic and what they’ve been doing as an organization since the season was postponed indefinitely.

Far before coronavirus, or COVID-19, impacted our daily lives and changed the world, the Minnesota Timberwolves were preparing for what they considered to be a potential season-changer.

Back in June, the Wolves hired Robby Sikka to be their Vice President of Basketball Performance and Technology. At the time, we acknowledged some industry praise for the hiring, due to Sikka’s experience consulting with the four major sports leagues in the United States and yet another clear signal that Gersson Rosas and the Wolves’ new regime was going to be exceedingly forward-thinking in every aspect of the franchise.

Now, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic is out with a piece that details just how early Sikka raised a red flag related to the coronavirus (subscription required).

Most shocking: two weeks prior to the Rudy Gobert positive test in Oklahoma City, the Timberwolves had already pulled their “high risk” personnel from around the globe. The Wolves were also preparing players for a potential outbreak before leaving for what was supposed to be a six-game road trip but ended after the opener in Houston.

If you have a subscription to The Athletic it’s a fascinating read. Of course, the Wolves are in the same boat as everyone else, now: just watching and waiting.

This weekend, the Wolves announced a plan to “resume [their] slated broadcast schedule” on Fox Sports North. It begins on Sunday evening, with a re-air of the first post-trade deadline Wolves game, showing in the place of the originally scheduled game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The game re-airing is the blowout home win over the LA Clippers with Rosas live-tweeting, answering questions and adding commentary to the game.

Next up, Fox Sports North will replay the Feb. 26 win over the Miami Heat this coming Tuesday at 7 p.m., when the Wolves were originally supposed to play host to the Philadelphia 76ers at Target Center.

This is a cool thing for the Wolves and FSN to roll out. Unfortunately, there are only a select few re-watchable Timberwolves game from the 2019-20 season to watch. Perhaps they’ll dip into the archives and pull out some Kevin Garnett-era games…