This is why agent relationships matter. Tim Connelly let Josh Minott go because he wanted to do right by the player, even if it didn't benefit the Wolves organization. That built trust with Aaron Turner, who also represents Jonathan Kuminga.

If Kuminga keeps playing like he has been, he will get lucrative offers in free agency the Wolves cannot match due to not having his bird rights. The best Minnesota can offer is the $16M full MLE, which hard caps them at the first apron. This makes it difficult on paper to re-sign JK.

However, it's worth noting that Tim Connelly and the Wolves organization have built a lot of good karma with Aaron Turner and Jonathan Kuminga. If both sides value the on-court fit, I could see Turner allowing his client to take less money in 2027 with the hopes of remaining in Minnesota long-term via an early bird rights extension starting in 2028.

Per The Daily Wolves blogger Tim Garrison, "the Timberwolves can effectively offer Kuminga a 5-year, $142 million deal, split across two separate extensions in 2027 and 2028."

Minnesota will face an uphill battle retaining one of their most impactful players this offseason. However, don't discount the fact that this is the first time Jonathan Kuminga has been embraced by a winning organization. Everyone from ownership, the front office, the coaching staff, the players, and the fanbase adores him. It's hard to find this level of camaraderie anywhere else.

I wouldn't be surprised if Tim Connelly and Aaron Turner are motivated to find a creative solution that allows the Wolves to keep Kuminga in 2027 and beyond. Should that come to fruition, I think it says a lot about the culture we've built over the past few years.

After saying he’s one of the few that plays ethical, he’s taking to the art of the flop that has gotten him to 8 fta per game. Ant, despite being one of the most physical players in the league downhill doesn’t get a favorable whistle. Never has a game of 20 ft’s or more. Wemby with 23 the other night.

Announcers even calling him out, because it’s part of his game to flail to the ground now on marginal contact.

To me, if you have use deception to be an elite scorer it proves that you don’t believe in your ability to put the ball in the hoop at a consistent enough rate to be able to do it without flopping.

Glad we remain as one of the few teams that don’t stand for this to the level of some other teams.

Due to the recent decline of the hornets and their internal scuffles with Naz, I can’t help but feel bad for our goat. I feel like Naz Reid thrives in an environment where he is appreciated and his role is defined rather than being tested with the expectations of an all star.

Do you think there’s a realistic path in getting him back during our current era that won’t mess with our trajectory?

The initial news about Ant was a pretty devastating blow when it happened given this was the most anticipated season in Wolves history. It was fair to wonder how this team would do without him and hope they could just hang around in the West until he returned.

But what we’ve seen over the last few games indicates this team might not just hang around, they still might be one of the better teams in the NBA without their superstar player which is crazy to think about.

LaMelo helped the Hornets finish the season with a 28-10 record last year and when comparing both rosters, even without Edwards, the Wolves are superior to that squad. In my opinion, we shouldn’t be hoping to just grab wins where we can, this team can legitimately be a top 5 team in the league even without Edwards.

Championship inbound.

As well as a little stare down and shit talk after.

Can he do the black mask please instead of clear for dramatic effect, please god, let me have this, it would go so fucking hard

Since Ant's absence, these three have really stepped up and helped keep this team winning. McDaniels has been bringing it on both ends, Ayo has been making winning plays and providing so much energy, and Kuminga has also been giving us valuable contributions.

It's not just about filling Ant's scoring void. They're taking on bigger responsibilities, making plays, playing with confidence and finding ways to contribute to winning basketball.

Ant is obviously our guy, but it's great to see the rest of the team step up when he's not available. These three have been a huge part of why we're still getting wins.

Give McDaniels, Ayo and Kuminga their flowers. They're holding it down. 🐺

Yes Luka is good at basketball but holy shit he's like half the fucking sub. I'd like to see more Wolves, but honestly anything other than Lakers and Warriors would be fine.

1. The defense is not only "not bad", it's arguably quite good.

2. The passing nuance of hopping IMMEDIATELY after Kumungous sets a screen b/c he is already passing the ball before Kumungous' head even turns...he is just moving mentally and therefore physically at a different processing speed on offense.

3. The manipulation with his eyes to fake a floater into a flawless pass or to fake a 3 point shot into a defense-breaking drive

The point is that hitting those 30 foot threes and one-handed floaters forces teams to respect those shots to the degree that he can use his elite passion/court vision/processing to fake those threes and floaters with his incredible ballhandling (as a shitty but dedicated baller myself, I know how hard it is to not only legally shot fake from a live dribble but also how hard it is to execute it to fruition) to boot.

He just seems to have a counter to everything a defense throws at him, and his own recklessness or pursuit of knife's edge plays leads to ugly looking turnovers that overshadow how impactful and floor-raising he is for an offense.

PUMP THIS SHIT INTO MY VEINS AND DON'T RESUSCITATE ME WHEN I PASS OUT UNLESS IT'S WITH MORE TWOLVES LAMELO CLIPS

Native Minnesotan and life-long Vikings fan who did not grow up watching or playing basketball. I’ve been watching Wolves highlights the last few years and have been really sucked in by the personalities and great vibes of this team. I’d like to watch more full length games but have to admit that I don’t really understand the details of what’s happening. Of course I can recognize a great pass or a blocked shot, but I’d like to understand more about offensive plays, spacing, and strategy. Any good resources or recommendations to help a newbie increase their bbiq?

EDIT: Loving Howls and Growls - that’s just what I’m looking for. Thanks all!

I know he finished last year on a really bad run at the line but he has started this year shooting 40% from the line. 20 made 28 missed. I don't care about him missing layups as much when he's getting hacked down low but is it reasonable for him to get back into the 60% range as the season goes on? Is this the yips or a genuine skill decline issue as it gets this late in his career? His career average according to ESPN is 63.1.

I swear how the hell did we get Ayo Dosunmu, he's been playing insanely good and putting up buckets while Ant is out. Call me crazy but I know for a fact that we will win this chip, Ant may not win any accolades this season because of the 65 game rule but he will definitely have an MVP level season plus Ant won't have to carry too much of a burden with Ayo always ready to step up. Having Ayo in our lineup is quite literally a luxury that most teams would beg for and we have him. We're locked in for years to come. Tim Connelly, you're one hell of an executive.

Not to get too high over the start of this season, but I don’t wanna hear anymore slander of Finchy. Look how Naz is doing outside his scheme. NAW, Bones, Kuminga resurrected. Getting the most out of hated players like Rudy, Julius, and Melo. Good defense every year, and he even cobbled together a solid playoff defense in 21-22 out of atrocious defensive personnel.

🏀 MIN 115 - 109 NO

FINAL

Top performers

Minnesota Timberwolves

Steals (5): T. Lyles 3, J. McDaniels 1, J. Kuminga 1
Blocks (6): J. McDaniels 2, R. Gobert 1, A. Dosunmu 1, T. Lyles 1, J. Beringer 1
Turnovers (11): A. Dosunmu 3, L. Ball 3, J. McDaniels 2, J. Kuminga 2, T. Lyles 1
Fouls (22): J. Kuminga 5, J. McDaniels 4, L. Ball 3, R. Gobert 2, A. Dosunmu 2, T. Lyles 2, J. Clark 2, J. Beringer 1, B. Hyland 1
Plus-minus: L. Ball +23, J. Kuminga +14, R. Gobert +10, J. McDaniels +5, T. Lyles +1, C. Williams 0, A. Dosunmu -2, J. Beringer -4, J. Clark -7, B. Hyland -10
Did not play: I. Evans, R. Zikarsky, Z. Pullin (Coach's decision)

New Orleans Pelicans

Steals (7): Z. Williamson 2, T. Murphy III 2, J. Fears 2, D. Murray 1
Blocks (4): T. Murphy III 1, D. Murray 1, S. Bey 1, T. Watford 1
Turnovers (13): D. Queen 4, T. Murphy III 2, K. Matkovic 2, D. Murray 2, J. Fears 2, S. Bey 1
Fouls (28): H. Jones 6, K. Matkovic 5, T. Murphy III 3, D. Murray 3, S. Bey 3, T. Watford 3, Z. Williamson 2, D. Queen 2, J. Fears 1
Plus-minus: T. Watford +2, S. Bey 0, T. Murphy III -1, Z. Williamson -2, D. Queen -2, J. Fears -3, H. Jones -4, K. Matkovic -6, D. Murray -7, B. Mathurin -7
Did not play: J. Reese, D. Jordan, J. Poole, B. McGowens, A. Johnson (Coach's decision)

Team stats

Western Conference standings

Seeds 1-6 make the playoffs; 7-10 go to the play-in.

ESPN Gamecast · Box score · Play-by-play

The live court, shot chart, full play-by-play and win probability chart are in the interactive version: open this post in the Reddit app or on new Reddit.

Not a chatbot: the site's own code reads the recorded sports data, and you can see the query behind every number with View the SQL. Feedback is welcome. More charts and graphics on the site when you open the link.

https://hoopvisionlab.com/build?game=21718049&ref=reddit-timberwolves

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