The Minnesota Timberwolves will be creating their own bubble in the Twin Cities.
Finally, we have an answer as to how and when the Minnesota Timberwolves will be returning to the court.
The NBA and NBPA have reportedly reached an agreement and while it hasn’t been officially announced as of yet, Shams Charania of The Athletic seems to have all of the pertinent detail.s
The Minnesota Timberwolves will get their own bubble
Here’s what Charania reported on Twitter late Tuesday.
The NBA and NBPA have reached agreement for the eight franchises who were not part of Orlando restart to conduct voluntary group workouts while residing in campus settings, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2020
NBA and NBPA essentially forming in-market bubbles for the eight non-restart teams, Sept. 14 to Oct. 6, sources say.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2020
Phase 1: Sept. 14-20: Testing begins, individual workouts
Phase 2: Sept. 21-Oct. 6: Group training in campus setting; private living accommodations for all. https://t.co/774ZkM0xVz
The eight non-restart teams are able to bring in up to five G League affiliate players into the program. Limit on 5-on-5 scrimmaging for Phase 2 had been discussed at one hour per day. https://t.co/ErzAnYOD3h
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2020
There we have it. When Shams says it, it happens.
Other ideas previously tossed out there include a second bubble in Chicago, regional sites with up to two teams present together, and, most recently, the possibility of placing the eight teams who were not part of the 22-team restart in Orlando, into Orlando as non-playoff teams and those knocked out in the first round of postseason play exit Walt Disney World.
Those ideas all went by the wayside for one reason or another, and understandably so.
Of late, however, the “Delete Eight” teams, as The Athletic’s John Hollinger lovingly coined them a few weeks ago, were starting to make more noise towards the league office related to the competitive disadvantage that they’re in, not having played in over five months and with no training camp taking place until at least November.
This appears to be the best of all worlds. Teams get to stay in their home markets, where they can control everything that they want to control. There’s no massive undertaking in one location, and there is no travel.
Consider Golden State, which is the only non-Orlando bubble team that is west of Minnesota. The Warriors would have needed to travel a long way just to be involved in a non-competitive, glorified training camp. Now, they can stay at home and conduct their business how they choose.
As noted by Charania, Wolves players would report to Mayo Clinic Square on Sep. 14. There will be six days for individual workouts and COVID-19 testing.
Then, the entire squad can come together for a couple of weeks that will include full team workouts and up to an hour per day of five-on-five scrimmaging.
The other important note is that the Wolves can invite up to five G League players to their bubble, presumably to give each team something close to 20 players and enough depth to run scrimmages with plenty of substitutions.
What we do know, is that having this bubble is going to be a ton of fun. This is pure speculation, but don’t be surprised if the organization finds a way to at least live-stream a scrimmage or two, if not host a full-on production on Fox Sports North.
No Minnesota Timberwolves basketball — and very little tangible, Wolves-related news — for five months has been rough for everyone, and now we’re going to get a taste of the new-look roster in a month that usually doesn’t have much action at all.
Of course, it’s going to be extremely weird to have the draft around the same time that the regular season is supposed to get underway, but that’s a discussion for another day.