The Minnesota Timberwolves would be included in a proposed second bubble site.
While the Minnesota Timberwolves won’t be included in the league’s Orlando re-start, they’ll apparently be involved in some sort of “bubble” get-together.
For as much as we’ve talked about what the Wolves could potentially do with their extended offseason, another bubble is kind of a blending of a few ideas.
We talked about the possibility of individual team workouts and mini-camps with regional gatherings for scrimmages and maybe even tournaments. I’m not sure that anyone anticipated a full-on bubble including all eight teams, but that’s where we appear to be headed.
Minnesota Timberwolves: The possibility of a Chicago bubble
ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan says that the NBA in in “deep discussions” regarding an eight-team bubble. It sounds like the driving force behind protocol that will apparently mirror the Orlando re-start is players association executive director Michele Roberts.
The risk-reward of a secondary bubble seems to be a dicey proposition at best. Surely, the logic from Roberts is that the league and NBAPA (National Basketball Players Association) would rather control as many factors as possible in one central location as opposed to each team hosting their own local camp.
For instance, if the Golden State Warriors held their own event in the Bay Area, the Detroit Pistons held theirs in Motown, the Wolves had theirs in the Twin Cities and so on, each of the eight teams would have to follow the same protocols in order to uphold the same safety measures as the 22 teams in Orlando. This way, the NBA and NBPA can control everything.
The counterpoint, of course, is that there’s virtually no upside to such an event. There will be no official games, and if there is any television revenue for scrimmages it would pale in comparison to the 22-team re-start and the ensuing playoffs.
The Wolves and teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons may be on board with a more organized event like this, simply because it’s an opportunity to get their respective young cores together in person after months apart.
Already, it sounds like the New York Knicks are iffy on participating, given their absence on a call during which the other seven teams were represented, according to MacMullan. The Warriors have always been known to prefer putting on their own local mini-camp of sorts, so they’re likely on the fence with the Chicago plan, to put it lightly.
There’s plenty more that needs to be hashed out and agreed upon if this event is to happen in September, but it certainly appears to be on the path to taking place.
Of course, if we have actual Minnesota Timberwolves basketball to discuss here at Dunking With Wolves, you won’t find us complaining.