Karl-Anthony Towns tested positive for COVID-19, just nine months after his mother, Jacqueline Towns, died of the same virus. The virus also killed his uncle and five other members of his family.

Towns received treatment at an area hospital, then quarantined at home for the next few weeks.

“I’ve had a lot of situations this year where things were just too much for me,” Towns says. “I just remember [quarantining] in the house, and it was more than just COVID for me. I felt like I was going through a holistic journey.”

Towns was cleared on February 1st and had worked his way back after losing 50 pounds while recovering from COVID-19. “I was as big as D’Angelo [Russell],” he jokes. “I was as big as our guards. You think I’m gonna play center?”

While Towns solved his weight problem with a high-calorie diet, he had the symptoms of a panic attack in his first game back.

When the first quarter ended, Towns rushed back to the locker room and he texted his agent: “I can’t be out here anymore. I can’t do this.”

Towns keep on playing as it felt like it could provide a blip of relief. 

“[My mother] made basketball fun for me my whole entire life,” Towns said. “She made it where I wanted to even do this. So for me, I was like, [There’s] too much on my mind. I’m not, I can’t, nah, I can’t.”

Despite the tumult facing the Wolves during his tenure, Towns is interested in a contract extension.

“My chips are all on the table,” Towns said. “So it’s up to the Wolves, you know? If they give me the chance to stay there I fa’ sho would take it. The ball is in their court.”

Outside of the 17-18 season in which the Minnesota Timberwolves reached the playoffs, the tenure of Karl-Anthony Towns with the franchise has been tumultuous due to no fault of him. Flip Saunders passed away shortly after Towns was drafted, which led to Tom Thibodeau taking over both coaching duties and the front office at the end of his rookie season. Ryan Saunders replaced Thibodeau as head coach in January 2019 and Gersson Rosas was hired to run the front office a few months later. The Wolves have since fired Saunders and replaced him with Chris Finch, while they're now also searching for a replacement for Finch.

"Karl-Anthony Towns has weathered a lot of drama in his six years here," said Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. "The Jimmy Butler situation. He's had a bunch of guys who have been president of basketball operations. He's had a bunch of head coaches. There's just been so much turmoil and tumult around him. You've seen stars ask out in other places and you say 'Do you really need to go that far? Is that really necessary?'

"I think if he fired that bullet, I don't think many people would disagree. It's been a mess here. 

"Now so far, there's no indications that he's ready to go that route. I know the team has engaged directly with him and his representation over the last 24 hours to really try... They've engaged with every player to try to send a new message and get everyone on board and let them know what they're thinking and doing."

The Minnesota Timberwolves made a surprise move on Wednesday in dismissing Gersson Rosas just days before the start of training camp.

Ownership of the Wolves have listened to a vocal contingent of staffers who expressed concern with the way Rosas conducted his business, sources tell The Athletic. The franchise decided they could not wait any longer to address the situation. 

The tenure of Rosas was described by some as dysfunctional with tension rippling through the front office. Rival team executives and agents also complained about how Rosas treated relationships and negotations. The complaints reached the ownership level of the last few weeks.

The Wolves went 42-94 in two seasons with Rosas running the front office. 

Glen Taylor took part in a meeting with Rosas on Wednesday before the decision was announced. 

The Athletic had been investigating the working environment under Rosas over the past few weeks. Some said Rosas worked his staff long hours without giving much input into the decision-making process. 

“It’s hard,” one member of the organization who followed Rosas to Minnesota after he was hired said. “He’s not who I thought he l was.”

Rosas had direct issues with Sachin Gupta. Gupta's potential lateral move to the Houston Rockets with increased pay was blocked by Rosas. The tension between Rosas and Gupta only grew later in August when Rosas banished Gupta from the team’s offices and granted him permission to seek employment elsewhere, according to sources. The issue was resolved in early September after ownership got involved and Gupta decided to stay. Gupta is now replacing Rosas on an interim basis. 

Sources tell The Athletic that the driving force behind the move was the lack of success on the court and poor front office morale, but the franchise also discovered that Rosas had a consensual intimate relationship with a member of the organization. It was not the reason for the dismissal, but it impacted the timing. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves have promoted Sachin Gupta as the head of basketball operations on an interim basis.

The Wolves parted ways with Gersson Rosas earlier on Wednesday. 

Gupta previously worked with the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons. 

The Minnesota Timberwolves have parted ways with Gersson Rosas as president of basketball operations. 

"As an organization, we remain committed to building a winning team that our fans and city can be proud of,” said Glen Taylor in announcing the move.

The Wolves made the announcement just six days before training camp and a few weeks after Rosas made several moves such as the trade for Patrick Beverley. 

Rosas was still holding meetings and was in the gym Wednesday morning and the decision caught players and other members of the franchise by surprise. 

wtf…

— Karl-Anthony Towns (@KarlTowns) September 22, 2021

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed forward Brian Bowen II, guard Matt Lewis, guard Isaiah Miller and forward Chris Silva. 

In two seasons with the Indiana Pacers, Bowen saw action in 12 total games. He played in 44 games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants over two seasons, averaging 14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. After withdrawing from the 2018 NBA draft during the final entry deadline, Bowen made the decision to forgo college and pursue a professional contract. On August 7, 2018, Bowen signed with the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL. During the 2018–19 NBL season, he played in 30 games while averaging 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Lewis, 22, wrapped up a four-year career at James Madison University where he ranked among the career leaders in several categories, including third in points (1,928) and eighth in assists (341). Last year during his senior season, he was named CAA Player of the Year after leading the Dukes in points, field goals, three pointers, free throws, defensive rebounds. assists, and minutes. Lewis became the first James Madison player ever be named to the All-CAA team in three different seasons.

Miller, 22, played in all five games for the 2021 Timberwolves Summer League team, averaging 7.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.6 steals in 16.2 minutes per game. Miller averaged 14.9 points on 47.4% shooting, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game during his four-year career at UNC Greensboro. In Miller’s final season with the Spartans, he was named SoCon Player of the Year and SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the only men’s basketball player in SoCon history to be named both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. The Newark, N.J. native ranks second in school history with 314 steals and third in scoring with 1,965 points.

Silva, 24, saw action in 15 total games last season for the Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings where he averaged 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. During the 2019-20 season, the 6-8 forward split time between the Heat and the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League where he saw action in 44 games in for Miami, averaging 3.0 points on 61.5% shooting and 2.9 rebounds. Silva played four seasons at South Carolina, appearing in 134 career games (108 starts) and averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.39 blocks and 21.7 minutes. He became the first player in school history to total at least 700 rebounds and 500 free throws made.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed 2020 first round pick Leandro Bolmaro. Bolmaro signed his rookie scale contract a year after spending the 2020-21 season with Barcelona in Spain.

The 21-year-old guard averaged 4.9 points in 13.1 minutes over 75 games in various European competitions last season. Bolmaro has also logged time with the Argentinian national team, including at the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021.

The New York Knicks drafted the 6'7'' combo guard with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. The Wolves later acquired Bolmaro's draft rights in a pre-arranged trade with the Knicks and the Oklahoma City Thunder. It's expected that Bolmaro will compete for a rotation spot for Minnesota this season, while also likely logging some developmental time with Iowa of the G-League.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a three-year deal with restricted free agent Jordan McLaughlin. McLaughlin has played the last two years on a Two-Way contract with Minnesota.

Despite his status as a Two-Way player, McLaughlin became a regular rotation player for the Wolves in both 2019-20 and 2020-21. Over that time, he's played in 81 games (four starts) and averaged 18.9 minutes per game. McLaughlin has put up averages of 5.9 points, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals over two seasons in the NBA.

Following a successful rookie year on a Two-Way, McLaughlin had trouble finding traction on a standard contact due to his restricted free agent status. That led him to re-signing with the Timberwolves on a second Two-Way deal. McLaughlin again outperformed that contract and has now found some long-term security on a standard deal.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to terms with restricted free agent forward Jarred Vanderbilt on a three-year deal worth $13.8 million. Vanderbilt was one of the better remaining free agents on the market, but his restricted status made him likely to return to Minnesota.

Vanderbilt became a regular rotation player for the first time in 2020-21. He played in 64 games for the Wolves with 30 starts. In 17.8 minutes per game, Vanderbilt averaged 5.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He also shot 60.6% from the floor.

Without an established power forward on the roster, Vanderbilt is expected to compete with Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince for a starting job. McDaniels was a 2020 first round pick by the Wolves, while Prince was acquired this offseason in exchange for guard Ricky Rubio. Vanderbilt's experience playing next to Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota's frontcourt may give him an advantage headed into training camp.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Arturo Galletti (@AmericanNumbers) break down the over/under win totals for the Western Conference heading into the 21-22 season.

They discuss the win total, division, conference and title odds as well as any pertinent individual award lines for the Thunder (3:18), Rockets (14:00), Spurs (20:42), Timberwolves (24:19), Kings (29:55), Pelicans (37:16), Grizzlies (46:42), Trail Blazers (51:45), Clippers (59:06), Nuggets (1:05:03), Warriors (1:12:12), Mavericks (1:21:22), Suns (1:31:11), Lakers (1:37:44) and Jazz (1:48:59).

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