March 2021 Minnesota Timberwolves Wiretap

Malik Beasley Suspended 12 Games After Guilty Plea

Feb 25, 2021 10:06 PM

Malik Beasley has been suspended 12 games without pay for pleading guilty to a felony charge of threatening to commit a crime of violence for the purpose of terrorizing another person, in violation of the law of the State of Minnesota, the NBA announced.

The incident occurred on Sept. 26, 2020.

Beasley will begin serving his suspension on Saturday, Feb. 27 when the Timberwolves visit the Washington Wizards.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Malik Beasley, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Suspension

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NBA Rejected Glen Taylor's Bid To Sell Wolves To Private Equity Firm Arctos

Feb 25, 2021 10:01 PM

The NBA shot down a pitch from Glen Taylor to sell the Minnesota Timberwolves to Arctos, a private equity firm formed in 2019.

Arctos was initially formed to buy small stakes in teams.

The idea was shot down because the NBA has not approved Arctos to date.

Arctos recently filed to raise money via a blank check company that will be used to buy stakes in teams that need capital to cover losses. 

Josh Kosman, Thornton McEnery/New York Post

Tags: Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA CBA

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RealGM Radio: Jon Krawczynski On The Timberwolves

Feb 25, 2021 1:50 PM

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (@JonKrawczynski) break down the Minnesota Timberwolves.

They discuss Gersson Rosas firing Ryan Saunders to immediately hire Chris Finch, how Karl-Anthony Towns can improve, their shooting guard situation and much more.

Subscribe to RealGM Radio on iTunes or via the RSS feed.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, RealGM Radio

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Wolves Hire Chris Finch As Head Coach

Feb 25, 2021 10:24 PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves have hired Chris Finch as head coach.

“I am excited to announce Chris Finch as our next head coach,” said Rosas. “Chris brings a wealth of basketball experience from his time in the NBA, G League and Internationally. He is one of the most creative basketball minds in the NBA, has success maximizing players, and I am excited to see him bring our team to the next level and beyond.”

“I would like to thank Glen Taylor and Gersson Rosas for this incredible opportunity to be the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves,” said Finch. “I look forward to working hand and hand with Gersson to build and lead a team that Timberwolves fans will be proud of. We have excellent pieces in place and I can’t wait to get to work.”

Known as one of the best offensive coaching minds in the NBA, Finch has coached the likes of Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins, James Harden, Nikola Jokić, Zion Williamson and Kyle Lowry.

Finch, 51, has over 24 years of NBA and G League experience, serving most recently as an assistant coach under Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors this season. Prior to that, he made coaching stops with the New Orleans Pelicans as associate head coach from 2017-20, the Denver Nuggets as an assistant coach from 2016-17 and the Houston Rockets as an assistant coach from 2011-16. Finch was named the head coach of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rocket’s G League affiliate in 2009. He led the Vipers to back-to-back G League Finals appearances, compiling a 67-33 (.670) record in his two seasons. After leading Rio Grande Valley to the 2010 G League Championship, Finch received the Dennis Johnson Trophy as the league’s best head coach.

NBA.com

Tags: Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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Chris Finch Pledges To Make Karl-Anthony Towns Centerpiece Of Offense

Feb 22, 2021 11:26 PM

Chris Finch had an introductory press conference as head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Finch said he spoke to Karl-Anthony Towns on Sunday night and pledged to make him the centerpiece of the offense.

The Wolves previously interviewed Nurse for their head coaching job in 2019.

Before the Saunders news broke, Towns reaffirmed his commitment to the franchise and said he liked the trajectory of the franchise despite the dismal record.

"If you want to build a legacy we got to win," Towns said. "And I want to build my legacy here so I want to win with the Wolves, and I'm going to do everything I possibly can to keep step-by-step, brick-by-brick, building something and a culture here that's going to stand here for a long time."

Chris Hine, Kent Youngblood/Star Tribune

Tags: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

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Karl-Anthony Towns Addresses Future With Wolves For First Time This Season

Feb 22, 2021 8:31 AM

After a tough loss to the New York Knicks, but before Ryan Saunders was fired, Karl-Anthony Towns addressed his mindset about remaining with the Minnesota Timberwolves over the long-term for the first time this season.

"If you want to build a legacy we got to win," Towns said. "And I want to build my legacy here so I want to win with the Wolves, and I'm going to do everything I possibly can to keep step-by-step, brick-by-brick, building something and a culture here that's going to stand here for a long time."

Towns can become a free agent in 2024 after signing a five-year, $158 million max extension with the Wolves in 2018. 

Since signing the extension coming off a playoff appearance, the Wolves have consistently struggled and are now on their third head coach. Minnesota also made a risky move for Towns' close friend, D'Angelo Russell, but the pair have only played five games together so far.

Chris Hine/Star Tribune

Tags: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Trade Rumor, NBA Misc Rumor

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Timberwolves Fire Ryan Saunders; Finalizing Deal To Hire Chris Finch

Feb 22, 2021 8:00 AM

The Minnesota Timberwolves are finalizing a multiyear deal to hire Toronto Raptors assistant Chris Finch as the franchise's new head coach, replacing Ryan Saunders, sources told ESPN.

The team announced that Saunders had been fired following a 103-99 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday night, which dropped them to a league-worst record of 7-24.

Saunders was 43-94 as coach of the Timberwolves in his two-plus seasons.

Gersson Rosas didn't want the Wolves to spend the remainder of the season with an interim head coach. There has been no hiring of an assistant coach to a head coaching job with another team since Lionel Hollins was hired by the Memphis Grizzlies from the Milwaukee Bucks in 2009.

Toronto hired Finch in the offseason as Nick Nurse's top assistant but wouldn't stand in his way to accept a head-coaching job during the season.

ESPN.com

Tags: Minnesota Timberwolves, Toronto Raptors, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor

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D'Angelo Russell To Undergo Surgery On Left Knee, Out 4-6 Weeks

Feb 16, 2021 6:50 PM

D'Angelo Russell is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove a loose body on his left knee.

Russell is set to miss the next 4-6 weeks.

Russell was averaging 19.3 points and 5.1 assists on the season,

Adrian Wojnarowski/ESPN

Tags: D'Angelo Russell, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Injury

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Ashton Hagans Waived By Timberwolves

Feb 14, 2021 12:52 PM

The Minnesota Timberwolves waived Ashton Hagans over the weekend.

Hagans, who was on a two-way contract, appeared in just two games for the Wolves this season.

Jason Marcum/A Sea Of Blue

Tags: Ashton Hagans, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Misc Official Transaction

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Karl-Anthony Towns: 'A Lot Of Scary Nights' Battling COVID-19

Feb 11, 2021 11:02 AM

Karl-Anthony Towns returned to game action for the first time since mid-January when he was diagnosed with COVID-19. Towns missed 13 games while dealing with the virus that took the life of his mother and six other family members last year.

Towns said his "vitals weren't good" and that his underlying conditions and genetics made his bout with the virus "scary," at times.

"I am a high-risk case," Towns said of his experience with the coronavirus. "COVID did not treat me well whatsoever. A lot of scary nights. One of the things that I told my sister when I got COVID was that, 'Hey, I got it, and I don't got a good version of it. I got a lot of COVID in me, but I am going to fight and beat it.'"

Towns added: "Through all the long nights where I was just not feeling well whatsoever and the vitals weren't good and decisions had to be made on my health, I kept [my family and my niece and nephew] in mind. They pushed me to continue doing things. When COVID kept messing with my body, my mind and spirit, I thought about them and my mother."

Towns said he is more "genetically connected" to his mother.

"You hear those stories where people get COVID," Towns said. "And they're like, oh, for four days, five days, I didn't feel well, and then I turned the corner magically one day and I was feeling great. That did not happen with me."

"Everyone's case of COVID is totally different; every human and their underlying conditions are totally different," he added. "And my underlying conditions did not play in my favor at all for COVID, yet alone one of the most scariest parts for all of us in this organization and my immediate family is how genetically connected I am to my mother.

"Nothing was playing in my favor. I knew it was going to be a rough journey."

Towns said he also felt enormous guilt about his ability to overcome his illness with the resources he had access to that others might not.

"I felt very guilty about the treatment I got," he said. "And I feel that should be more widely available to Americans, to anyone in the world. I felt very guilty even getting something that could help me more just recover, stay healthy, stay alive. There is such mental strain through all this time, a feeling of guilt because of the resources I have, and I wish I could spread these resources with as many people as possible. The guilt, just a lot of demons I haven't dealt with that I put to the back burner for basketball."

Ohm Youngmisuk/ESPN

Tags: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA

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Malik Beasley Agrees To Plea Deal, Will Serve Sentence In Offseason

Mark Schlabach/ESPN

Karl-Anthony Towns Getting Closer To Return After COVID-19

Chris Hine/Star Tribune