How good can the Minnesota Timberwolves be? | The Athletic NBA Show
Couple weeks back I wrote about them when they came through my part of the country with the obvious question of are they for real you know at that time my feeling was I think so uh they looked pretty legitimate and substantive and and the timing for that question to kind
Of come up again is great because um as losses go comporting yourself the way they did last night and an overtime defeat to the Celtics is about as good as it gets uh U first of all how the hell are you my friend and uh and and
What’s the word yeah I’m good uh good to see you guys um you know it’s interesting the way that you frame that Sam because I think you’re right you there has been especially earlier on in the season you’re wondering can this last can they keep it up you know is
This for real and there was a period maybe a couple of weeks ago where they started to kind of drop a couple of games and you’re wondering if the other shoe is is kind of going to drop now and and and the wolves are coming back to
Earth but but um really over the last few games now and especially that Boston one last night where they don’t have Rudy goar they don’t have Mike Conley they still probably should have won that game and and ended up losing in overtime to to Boston I I do think that they feel
Like they have rediscovered some of the things that helped get them to where they are which is number one in the west and I think they’ve been there for 54 days now in a row which is um just pretty remarkable for for this franchise’s long history of
Futility they are uh I will qualify you know you mentioned the the little bit of a downturn they’re six and five in the last 11 um you know to hear you talk about them rediscovering things I think you’ve already kind of answered this question but um you know did they grow
During that time do you think did they stady the ship and and and the way you’re kind of hdden on it is that they they’re forging ahead with that same identity and confidence at this point or or was that you know do do any red flags remain from that little stretch well I
Would say yeah they they just finished last night was a run of 16 straight games against teams with winning records and I think 11 of those games were on the road so um it was a really tough stretch and they went nine and seven during that stretch so um I do think
That I wanted to use that window of games to really evaluate what their potential is for the rest of the season and I do think that given that they were able to come out of it with a winning record um you still feel pretty good about their chances in the west now one
Thing that they absolutely are continuing to work on is finding some consistency offensively they are they’ve been a great defensive team all season long number one number two in the west all year or excuse me in the in the league all year but um their offense is kind of really stagnating ated right
Around you know 18th 19th in the league in efficiency and so a lot of the problems with with the offense have been turnover related and they’re trying to figure out you know how to iron out those mistakes and and kind of get more of a flow offensively so that they’re a
Little more balanced they know they can’t be number one in defense and 20th in offense if they want to win in the playoffs they they have to get that offense up near the top 10 level which is realistic given the talent that they have but it has been um a sticking point
For most of this season yeah and it’s not just that they it’s not just the turnovers too right like they don’t they don’t really offensive rebound you would expect expect a team that’s constructed on size to offensive rebound and they lose the possession game on more nights
Than not I I was gonna ask an offensive question too because so they’re 19th right now in points per possession and when Mike connley is going well they can look really good and sometimes when Conley doesn’t have it they kind of look like they’re running in mud is I
Think the better way to put it are they too reliant on Mike Conley and if so is that something the organization is is concerned about are they how are they looking to to alleviate that are they looking to lean on the other guys who they already have ant and those guys
More are they going to look for outside help what do you see happening there yeah I mean I think the good news is that Mike Conley’s been largely great for this season but he is 36 years old he just you know he sat out the game against Boston and remember guys they
They flew on the day of the game to Boston and still really put up a fight and and so that was I think um pretty good considering that Rudy and and Mike are their two kind of safety blankets in terms of late game offense when it gets
Stagnant you have Mike and Rudy in the pick and roll and that creates good offense for them some way somehow and so I do think that there is a correlation when Mike Conley is playing very well they look about as good as most teams in the league when he is not playing well
They do have a they have a hard time pivoting away from it and finding other ways to get really good offense what you see more often than not with them on nights that he’s off is the ball really sticking lot of iso a lot of forced shots and then you have Edwards driving
Into traffic and sometimes turning the ball over and and and and and taking tough shots um Carl Anthony Town’s doing the same thing so that’s what they’re trying to work through and so I do think that the organization Tim Conley is absolutely looking at as the trade deadline approaches some options to try
To give them more juice uh coming off of the bench behind Mike Conley because um they don’t really have another point guard behind him Jordan goffin’s a nice player but he is not going to be one that steps in and plays heavy minutes either if Conley is injured or or out or
Or just if if if he’s struggling on that particular night so I do think you’ll look for they they they are looking at adding a ball handler adding a shooter to bring know to give them some more space in the offense and to maybe be able to run things uh more efficiently
Than just relying on the you know Superior individual talents of towns and Edwards they can do it but it’s kind of not a recipe for consistent success offensively John this week um you know it comes out that Netflix has an interesting documentary series uh what are they calling it again by the way
Remember the title I I don’t remember the title of it but it’s the it’s just like the quarterback right for yeah it’s the play caller s that’s our podcast apologies um but the it’s a it’s a NBA focused five uh guys behind the scenes Anthony Edwards is one of them the what
What struck me about that is a couple things for one as a guy who has a soft spot for small markets I kind of love that Minnesota and Sacramento are both in there because deas sabonis is also featured um but it also is the latest reminder that the Minnesota Timberwolves
Are Anthony Edwards team and you know the the Dynamics that I found so interesting and that I did WR about a little while back was you know how does cat feel about that how does Rudy fit into this um that train is going to keep
You know down that track in terms of ant being the man here uh are those Dynamics just you know as steady as can be and still as as good as they were before um maybe even better at this point in terms of just the human part of of these guys
Figuring it out yeah I mean I think first and foremost when you win at the level that they’ve won at it kind of validates everything that they’ve been doing and so it’s hard for people to complain about roles about things like anything like that when you’re first in
The west and when things are going well the other thing about that makes it I think easier for the Timberwolves is that Anthony Edwards is a very charismatic easyto likee dude in the locker room and I think a lot of the guys really respect him for the way that
He works for the way that he relates to everyone and even on those nights when he maybe gets a little bit too aggressive and tries to put too much on his shoulders um it’s it’s more of a case of viewed as you know he’s so talented and these are mistakes of
Ambition um than anything else and Edwards himself is very coachable and when he makes mistakes he acknowledges them he apologizes for them and he does kind of uh you know take accountability and so all of those things do help that process go forward uh smoothly but I do
Think we we are seeing a point in the season right now just a little window into him still being a 22y old I mean uh last night in Boston uh he was was in the fourth quarter in overtime he was 1 for seven with three turnovers and uh
And and as they just needed a couple of more buckets to close that thing out maybe there was an ill-advised shot here or there maybe there was a bad turnover and so you have Chris Finch you have Mike connley especially constantly sort of reminding him and and and emphasizing
To him the importance of moving the ball you know trusting that it’ll come back to you and kind of working through the impatient of Youth and no one you know everyone kind of understands what he is going through and the mistakes that he does make are just kind of come with the
Territory of being a young star and a young go-to player but at the same time I do think that these veterans are really trying to really drill into him that if he just stays within the offense and plays team basketball that it’ll be better for him and for everyone else and
So it’s a work in progress that way but in terms of chemistry in terms of pecking order and Leadership and all those things it’s been really good that way for the entire season joh John are we going to get a 5,000-word feature from you if if Nas Reed goes
50490 I mean that it 5,000 words wouldn’t even cover it I mean it’d be it’d be a chap couple chapters um you’d have to do three chapters series one that’s 50,000 words one that’s 40,000 words and one that’s 90,000 words just keep it on theme will do it yeah yeah
It’s been great he’s been he’s super fun um but he and you look at he’s he’s so talented I mean you know I I really do believe it that he belongs in the Sixth Man of the Year category uh race um just given the success of the team and how
Important he is to that second unit but his shooting from three and he’s like he shoots 40% from three at a decent volume coming off he’s not just taking one or two a game he’s T he’s letting it rip um and and and he is he is supremely
Talented offensively with the handle um with with the shooting with with a post game so he been critical to to what they’ve done but 50490 is surprising everyone around here even that’s for sure he’s also uh you know the uh you got to help me understand the the the
Timberwolves fans proclivity for Nas reading the hell out of our comments section any timberwol story that gets published uh there’s real reaction and then there’s about half of it is is Naz Reed in the comments is that just Naz Reed love is that all that is totally
It’s he’s a cult hero here I I you need to be in Target Center guys when he gets introduced um when he comes inis levels is that it’s Bobby poris level absolutely it’s um he is uh a central figure in here and and I do think what
The biggest thing you know you say why why does Naas Reed resonate so much with this fan base and I do think that they look at NAS Reed as a just a trophy for them in terms of he was undrafted comes in and has developed
Into what he has today and and I think that forever the Timberwolves franchise was always viewed as one that never really found the diamond in the rough that you know that would even even with their high draft picks they’d botch those and it wouldn’t work out well here
Is a case where credit to Gerson Rosas who um was here previously and signed him undrafted the year that he came out and then credit to NAS Reed who has reshaped his body who has you know kind of really honed his game and worked his butt off to become you know this this
Player who um is so talented but also you can tell just wears his heart on his sleeve and plays so damn hard every single night and so it just makes him unbelievably popular here in Minnesota I got a there’s a pizza place just a few blocks away from where I live and
There’s a sign outside that says says honk if you love Nas Reed and and and people are honking all the time you know you’re honking John don’t pretend you’re not honking absolutely why not um but yeah so I mean that just kind of tells you there’s all sorts of those little
Anecdotes about you know what what he means to this fan base and they just see him as kind of a view of hey the the organization finally accomplished something and and and did the smart thing and the hard work thing by finding this guy who um who every other team
Could have had and and and missed on and he’s he’s a Timberwolves guy and he’s their guy and so um yeah he’s he’s just it’s Naas Reed is a is a meme it’s a it’s a call it’s a siren call whatever you want call it and it’s a movement
Yeah so it’s it’s a h it’s it’s a honk it’s a honk a h exactly I I I I just love the idea that Jon is home peaceful by himself finally works works Works 90 hours a week covering the Timberwolves going around the country and and and and
Getting up early and going to bed late and pulling all nighters and finally he gets a second to rest and just as his as his head hits the bed just as he’s about to go to sleep he hears this loud honk and it’s na re keeping him up every
Night that’s it that’s it you know hey I’ve been waiting for stuff like this for 20 years so why not you know so uh within that and on a less light-hearted note more business question for you this is an unanswerable question that I’ll ask anyway just to get your perspective
Nas Reed represents uh the perceived Tipping Point when they gave him this current deal of of kind of the question of good God how much money are they going to give to big guys and what does that do to the luxury tax down the road and now because really most of us did
Not see this level of play coming now a question that we didn’t think would be on the table is is going to be on the table which is how far does this team have to go in order for this you know new ownership group of Alex Rodriguez and
Mark lore to just take that big old Gulp and say okay we’re just gonna pay for everything I mean do they have to win the whole thing do they have to get to the finals what what do you think the the uh point of view is there yeah I
Mean it you’re right and it is unanswerable because we just have not yet seen Mark Lori and Alex Rodriguez in action in terms of from a you know being the number one guys the controlling owners yet they’ve been very active in terms of working with Glenn Taylor to
Make moves they were very they were on the front end of the Rudy gobear trade they were on the front end of the Tim Connelly hire and paying the big money that he got to come here so they have shown an aggressiveness in wanting to spend money but it’s not been all of
Their money yet and it’s about to be you know in right around March April assuming that they um get approved by the NBA and all of those things and so until you’re in that spot and in that seat it’s hard to really gauge what they’re going to do but the way that I
View it is it’s a good problem for them to have because like you said Sam we did not know when you fir when they signed Nas Reed you’re like man they are giving Rudy goar a max deal they have Carl Anthony towns on a max deal and now Nas
Reed is getting 15 million a year um how is that going how are they going to work you know allocating that much Financial Resources to their front court and the good news for them is is that the three of those guys have all played very well together and they’ve found a
Way to be successful with this unconventional roster construction but I do think that anyone would have to say that the deeper the playoff run the better for these guys because they have to generate some Revenue to help with the second apron to help with the luxury
Tax I think though guys you know big picture I can see them if they go deeper into the playoffs Western Conference Finals NBA Finals the this group trying to keep them together at least for the short Hall here because not only do they want to win at a very high level but I
Think you’re going to start to hear questions about Arena a new Arena and all of those things and so the more you win now um the the more support you can kind of build up for a new project that might come down the pike in five six
Years something like that and so I do believe they see a window that is open for contention right now and they’re going to be aggressive going for that but you know it’s easy for me to say it’s not my money to spend great stuff John great stuff Fred
Appreciate you both um I will say on the back end here uh John is always a mustre but this week uh people should go out of their way to go read his piece on Ricky Rubio who kind kind of quietly retired this week relatively speaking um and
Rick’s a guy that that is always going to spark flashbacks for me uh when the Kings worked him out in that what year was that when he came out John 09 was when he was drafted yep yeah he just people forget man his the hype was just
Through the roof for Ricky coming out of Spain uh I I took a lot of pride in the fact that I I landed one of the first interviews with him he comes through Sacramento and the late Dan Fagan his agent at the time had had kind of orchestrated this interview where I I
Felt like I was going to interview one of the Beatles I’m not trying to be hyperbolic but like they were they were guiding me through back doors to get into the hotel room and you had to keep it quiet and not tell anybody it’s just he was a massive star coming in
Obviously dealt with injury early in his career and and you captured it well in the column John how like that spark it never died completely but it was never the same as it was that first year uh dude had vision for days and and and a
Hell of a smile and the alliteration on his name and a very kind soul a guy who was real open with the public and the fans when he lost his mother and and mental healthwise now is has uh been real open about what he’s going through
So all the best to Ricky go read John’s column uh as always appreciate your brother
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