Minnesota Timberwolves: What to watch for at Las Vegas Summer League
By Ben Beecken
The Las Vegas Summer League version of the Minnesota Timberwolves kicks off their schedule with a 6 p.m. CT tip-off against the San Antonio Spurs.
There are several members of the Summer Wolves who we can expect to see in training camp this fall, and at least a handful who will spend time with the big club.
What should we keep an eye out for over the next week in Las Vegas?
Minnesota Timberwolves Summer League: Watch Jaylen Nowell initiate the offense
Jaylen Nowell was the PAC-12 Player of the Year in 2018-19 and the Wolves’ second-round draft selection in June of 2019. He didn’t play much with the Timberwolves in his rookie year, logging only 151 total minutes over 15 games.
In the G League, however, Nowell was fantastic. He started 26 games and averaged 21.1 points per contest while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 43.6 percent from outside the arc on seven attempts per game.
Nowell didn’t join the Timberwolves rotation until late January of 2021, but once he did, he showed the ability to score at all three levels. From the time he started receiving regular minutes until he suffered a leg injury on April 3, Nowell averaged 10.4 points in 20.1 minutes per game with shooting splits of 43.9 percent from the field, 35.9 percent on threes, and 83 percent from the free throw line.
The second-year guard was asked to initiate offense at times due to injuries to D’Angelo Russell and a COVID-19-related absence for Jordan McLaughlin. Nowell showed the ability to orchestrate the offense and make sound decisions in pick-and-roll and dribble-hand-off actions.
It’s fair to expect the Wolves to ask Nowell to run the show at times during Las Vegas Summer League; he is the player on the roster with the most NBA games under his belt. While the roster also includes a pair of intriguing point guards in two-way player McKinley Wright IV and Exhibit 10 contract signee Isaiah Miller, expect Nowell to use plenty of possessions as the primary ball-handler.
According to Jack Borman of Canis Hoopus, there was a glimpse of Nowell running the offense at Friday night’s Summer League preview event at Target Center.
Tons of DHO action with hand-off man rolling as a way to get Nowell opportunities to make quick decisions.
— Jack Borman (@jrborman13) August 7, 2021
Nowell's squad has run the action 4 of 5 times. Jaylen has shot a curl 3 once, hit Knight on the roll twice, and received two opposite-side hammer screens for 3s twice.
Of course, the biggest question when it comes to Nowell is probably his showing on the defensive side of the ball, where he’s consistently struggled over the first couple of seasons of his career.
Expect to see plenty of minutes for Nowell over the course of Las Vegas Summer League, and keep an eye on the development of his on-ball abilities on both ends of the floor.