Minnesota Timberwolves Roundup: Staff changes, training camp notes

The Minnesota Timberwolves are completing another week of training camp practices prior to Friday night’s preseason game in Denver.

There were a few notable nuggets from head coach Chris Finch after practice on Thursday. Plus, a couple of additions to the Wolves’ front office.

Minnesota Timberwolves training camp notes

Following Thursday’s practice, Finch seemed to suggest that Malik Beasley may continue to come off the bench as he did in Monday’s preseason opener.

Finch went on to note that playing Beasley with D’Angelo Russell will be important, as D’Lo can help get Beasley easy shots.

Indeed, Beasley is the rare player with 20-point-per-game talent that doesn’t need the ball in his hands to get to that number; he averaged 19.6 points per game last year on almost entirely catch-and-shoot attempts with transition buckets and possessions as a cutter sprinkled in.

The thought here had been that Beasley and Anthony Edwards would start on the wing with Jarred Vanderbilt at the 4. That would allow Jaden McDaniels to come off the bench at the 3 or the 4, with Patrick Beverley seeing minutes both behind Russell and alongside him in crunchtime lineups.

It’s still early, of course, and it’ll be fascinating to see how it all shakes out.

The other item of note is that Finch confirmed that this year’s Wolves would not rely heavily on pick-and-roll actions, instead taking advantage of Karl-Anthony Towns’ versatility and the ability to play in virtually every spot on the floor.

Minnesota Timberwolves make two front office additions

One of the reasons cited for some of the initial strife within the Gersson Rosas-led front office was the unceremonious departure of longtime scout Zarko Durisic. Durisic had been with the team for over 20 years and, under Rosas, the decision was made earlier this year to not bring him back.

Now, according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski, Durisic is back with the organization.

Additionally, the Wolves have reportedly added a new Director of Player Programs, bringing former Indiana Pacers coach Moses Ehambe to the fold.

It’s fascinating to see so many of these things changing quickly after Rosas’s dismissal, even with training camp and the preseason schedule underway. After all, we’re now less than two weeks away from the start of the regular season.

In other words, don’t expect too many additional personnel moves at this stage.

Then again, it’s certainly never dull around 600 N. 1st Avenue.