Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Select team, ESPN offseason preview
By Ben Beecken
The Minnesota Timberwolves officially have two players that will be part of the U.S. Select Team that will help Team USA prepare for the Tokyo Olympics.
Additionally, ESPN’s Bobby Marks has put together an offseason preview for the Wolves, which focuses on the team’s challenge to improve with a lack of cap space and draft picks.
Two Minnesota Timberwolves players named to U.S. Select Team
A little over a week ago, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Rookie of the Year runner-up and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards would be a member of the U.S. Select Team.
The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski added that Naz Reid would be joining Edwards in Las Vegas for the training camp.
The roster tweeted out by The Athletic’s Shams Charania includes 17 names, which are almost exclusively first and second-year players. It’s an interesting group, including big names such as Edwards, Sacramento’s Tyrese Haliburton (third in Rookie of the Year voting), Miami’s Tyler Herro, Charlotte’s P.J. Washington, plus New York Knicks Teammates Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley.
There are also a handful of players that are relatively unknown to a national audience, including Reid, Philadelphia’s Dakota Mathias, former Timberwolf and current Houston Rocket Cameron Reynolds, and a pair of older journeymen in John Jenkins and Josh Magette.
The training camp will include several scrimmages between the Select team and Team USA and will take place in Vegas beginning on July 6.
This opportunity is a valuable one for Edwards and Reid. The chance to be around other good young players and compete against some of the NBA’s best is about as beneficial as an offseason program could be. Additionally, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra will be in charge of the squad, which should also be a fantastic experience.
Here’s hoping that a scrimmage or two will be televised. If so, we’ll be sure to keep tabs on the performances of both Wolves’ representatives.
ESPN publishes offseason preview of the Minnesota Timberwolves
Former Brooklyn Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks published his offseason preview of the Timberwolves over at ESPN (subscription required).
Marks focuses on the million-dollar question: how can a 23-49 team improve with no cap space and no draft picks?
The answer, of course, is two-fold: improved health and internal growth/development.
Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell have both been hurt frequently since Russell’s acquisition in February 2020. Malik Beasley was hurt and suspended for a solid chunk of last season. And Anthony Edwards improved exponentially from December and January of last year to April and May.
The Wolves will be much, much better by simply being healthy and available. Under a solid head coach in Chris Finch and his hand-picked staff, there should be a great deal of growth and development year-over-year.
Marks’ preview goes through the entire salary cap situation as well as any pertinent notes relate to potential trade restrictions, contract extensions, and more. It’s a worthwhile read if you have an ESPN Plus subscription.
Ranking Wolves players by trade value and likelihood. dark. Next
No matter how you slice it, this is going to be an intriguing offseason for Gersson Rosas and the Timberwolves front office.