Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark has been cleared to play in summer league after missing all of last season due to injury.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark has been cleared to play in the NBA Summer League after missing all of last season while rehabbing a left Achilles tendon rupture.
Clark sustained the injury in March 2023 while playing at UCLA and underwent surgery two days later. He was ruled out of participating in team workouts during the predraft process but was still selected by the Timberwolves with the 53rd pick in the NBA draft.
He was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 13 points, six rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.9 assists in the 2022-23 season as a junior. He finished sixth in the country in steals per game and second in defensive box plus-minus (plus-6.7).
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 7, 2024
Despite the injury, Clark signed a two-way contract last July. He spent the entire year recovering from the injury and was seen throughout the season doing on-court work. He has now been given the green light to play, clearing the way for him to suit up in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 22-year-old will be joined in summer league by 2024 draft picks Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr., along with roster players Leonard Miller, Josh Minott and Daishen Nix, among others. Assistant Chris Hines will coach the team.
The Timberwolves will play at least five games, beginning with the New Orleans Pelicans on July 12 at the Thomas & Mack Center (5 p.m. EDT, ESPN2).
Luka Garza has been fighting for his chance to stick in the NBA since he was drafted 52nd overall by the Detroit Pistons in 2021. Following a successful career at the University of Iowa that saw him win the National College Player of the Year award, Garza did not play much for the Pistons.
The role has been the same over the past two seasons for Garza, taking up a role at the end of the bench while playing in the G-League. Minutes were pretty tough to earn as a big, having to compete with the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid.
Despite his limited time on the court, Garza has obviously done enough for the Wolves to want him back. They see him as a viable depth piece who can come in for spells should any of their starting bigs see an injury.
Garza won the Naismith Trophy in 2021 and finished his Iowa career as the Hawkeyes’ all-time career scoring leader with 2,306 points.
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Only 4 NBA teams are in the second apron. That speaks volumes.
We anticipated that the NBA’s second apron rules would have a major ripple effect on the league landscape. I don’t think anyone, sans some general managers, saw what they would do to free agency.
Roughly two days into the NBA’s open market period, we’ve seen most squads around the league approach their spending cautiously. Rather than throw around money willy-nilly like in years past, it is clear that teams are noticeably more gunshy about throwing around monster contracts, especially to non-star players.
Everyone else, including recent NBA champions such as Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets and Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks, have trod lightly when it comes to the second apron. That speaks volumes.
It’s worth noting that the second apron isn’t technically a hard cap, even though the discussion has veered that way. Teams currently sitting in the second apron can keep extending players already on their roster as much as they please. It’s more that sitting in the second apron for an extended period is a calculated risk that NBA squads have to be prepared for, given the lack of on-the-fly flexibility it presents in here and now and the future.
Because once you’re in the second apron, most maneuverability is gone, and you’re at the mercy of hoping that life doesn’t get in the way.
(Hint: It often does.)
Teams like the Nuggets and Bucks may well enter the second apron in the near future once they recognize it’s time to really maximize the primes of Jokic and Antetokounmpo. They just weren’t going to do it for names like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, even with him being as dependable as he is. I’m also not sure what it means that the four current second-apron NBA teams all have chaotic ownership situations to some degree, but it has to have some kind of correlation.
In the end, as basketball fans, we all lose here.
There will be less player movement on the macro, and great teams will be more cautious with their spending. That, in turn, will reduce some of the wonderful drama we’ve come to expect from the NBA offseason. So, don’t expect the second-apron group to meaningfully expand in scope anytime soon.
In the name of forced, frustrating artificial parity, this is exactly what the NBA wanted. It’s a lot less entertaining, that’s for sure.
Now they have turned draft assets into..draft assets?
After the San Antonio Spurs excited their fan base by taking champion University of Connecticut combo guard Stephon Castle with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2024 NBA draft, those same fans heard league Commissioner Adam Silver call out an unexpected name.
That name would be of University of Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham, a player connected to the Spurs but making much less sense after San Antonio’s selection of Castle earlier in the draft. Mercifully, it turned out that the Spurs were dealing Dillingham to the Minnesota Timberwolves for future draft assets the team may use to pick up an established played when the moment is right.
The folks behind the “SSPN: A San Antonio Spurs Podcast” YouTube channel reacted to the decision to trade away the No. 8 pick’s return to the T-Wolves on a recent show.
Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say.
The 2024 NBA Draft is in the books and although former Wisconsin Badgers forward Tyler Wahl wasn’t selected, he has found a home to play in this year’s NBA Summer League.
Wahl will be a part of his hometown Timberwolves roster during summer league, giving him a chance to compete with other NBA hopefuls who went undrafted, as well as those that did.
Minnesota added two first round players in the first round of the draft Wednesday, bringing in Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham (8th overall) via trade from the Spurs and Illinois wing Terrence Shannon Jr. (27th overall).
Wahl spent five seasons with the Badgers from 2019-2024, appearing in 162 games, including 121 starts. Most recently, Wahl averaged 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 2023-2024.
The NBA Summer League will take place July 12-22 in Las Vegas. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound athlete will have an uphill battle to make the Timberwolves’ roster, if he impresses in Las Vegas, he could garner a spot on the team’s G-League team in Iowa.
Moore spent three seasons with the Blue Devils from 2019-22. He authored one of the moments of the decade on the road against North Carolina in February 2020 when he hit an overtime buzzer-beater as a freshman. He emerged as a true leader during his junior season, averaging 13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists while the Blue Devils made it all the way to the Final Four.
Moore got drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 26th pick in the 2022 NBA draft, but a series of draft-day trades ended up with him on the Timberwolves. He’s played in 54 games over the last two seasons, averaging 1.1 points and 0.6 rebounds in 4.2 minutes.
Charania said the Timberwolves also gave the Pistons the 37th pick in exchange for the 53rd pick.
Minnesota is trading Wendell Moore Jr. and the No. 37 pick in today's Day 2 of NBA draft to Detroit, sources say.
His scoring and playmaking could translate very well to the next level.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published June 12, 2024.
Kentucky Wildcats star Rob Dillingham is a crafty guard whose scoring and playmaking could translate very well to the next level in the pros.
Dillingham is widely considered one of the top players at his position in this class. After averaging 15.2 points with 3.9 assists per game while shooting 44.4 percent on 3-pointers as a freshman, the SEC named him Sixth Man of the Year.
Although he is celebrated for his incredible ball-handling and his ability to score off the dribble, during a recent interview with For The Win, the guard said there is plenty more to know about his game.
“I would say an all-around playmaker player who can get my teammates involved and really just do whatever the team needs to win,” Dillingham said. “I feel like if it involves scoring a ball, I can score the ball. If it involves passing the ball, I can pass the ball.”
Dillingham, who has represented Team USA in the FIBA U-16 Americas Championship and played for Donda Academy as well as Overtime Elite, has already had a long journey in his young basketball career.
Through it all, he has kept the same attitude that has gotten him this far.
“I’m just a funny dude. I always joke around with my friends,” Dillingham added. “I can’t help but joke. I laugh all day. I just be in the gym for sure. Outside of basketball, I feel like I try to make people happy because you never know what people go through.”
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Watch Episode 3 of Prospect Park, a video series featuring future NBA players brought to you by USA TODAY Sports and For The Win:
What should NBA teams know about you?
I’m an all-around dude. I want to see everybody win. I feel like that’s a boost to my thing because if I want to see everybody win, everything feels good for people that want positive things. I feel like I can help my teammates and it gives confidence to my teammates and it makes my teammates like me, so just knowing I can be a leader and also a player that gets guys together.
Is ball-handling your best skill?
I really don’t feel like ball-handling is my best. I feel like change of pace makes my ball-handling looks a little better because I know how to change speeds. But I feel like reading the game is my advantage because I feel like a lot of people don’t really see because I’m moving so fast. I feel like I can really read the game. I see everything that happens on the floor. I know where people are. I know basketball.
How will your shot-making off the dribble help you?
I think honestly it would be a big help for me because getting past your first defender, if you can score with the ball, they have to guard you. If they have to guard the shot, getting past them isn’t really the hard thing about it. So once you’re past them, the defense has to help and once the defense helps, it’s based on what reads you’re going to make. Sometimes, getting to the second thing is just helping me get to the reads. Once I get to the reads, it’s up to me to make the right decisions.
How would you have helped teams in the playoffs?
Really, depending on the role I’m playing. But if I’m in a point guard role, coming off screens is easy because you’ve got to switch it. If you don’t switch, it’s a play where I’m ahead and I have an advantage. If I’m at the two, I feel like I can knock down shots at all times. I have to space the floor and they can’t help as much. Either position, I feel like I can do both and help any team.
How can you help teams defensively?
I feel like I can be a pest at all times. I can always be on the ball and really just knowing the game plan. When I know the game plan, I can do it and if I don’t do it, that’s on me. I’m going to rise to the occasion. Whatever the coach needs me to do to play defense, I can do it. If I don’t do it, you can take me out. I don’t have a problem. I want to get better in that role and I feel like I can, honestly.
What have you learned on your basketball journey?
Really, it’s just keeping the main thing the main thing: Understanding that it’s going to be so many distractions and so many things that come to you and if you keep basketball the main thing and you really love it with everything you want and that’s what you want, it’s always going to work out for you because that’s your main goal. As long as you put that as your main goal and you don’t have other distractions, God is going to guide your path. That’s how I look at it.
Per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News, the Brooklyn Nets have interest in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ first-rounder in the 2024 NBA Draft.
The Brooklyn Nets are the only team in the NBA that does not have a pick in the first round or the second round in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft. While Brooklyn is currently paying the price for the James Harden trade that happened years ago, it seems that they are trying to do something about it.
In a recent episode of “Minnesota Sports with Mackey & Judd on SKOR North” (H/T NetsDaily), Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News said that the Nets have interest in the 27th overall pick that the Minnesota Timberwolves own. There have been various reports about the Nets trying to trade back into the Draft along with general manager Sean Marks saying that Brooklyn will always leave open the possibility of acquiring picks.
“I mean, they’re open minded. The Brooklyn Nets are on the lookout for a pick. The Brooklyn Nets have interest in pick 27,” Wolfson said. Ian Begley of SNY reported recently that the Nets have been active in trying to obtain a pick and that they’re optimistic about getting one.
With all of the reporting about the Houston Rockets trying to get either Mikal Bridges or the Phoenix Suns draft picks under Brooklyn’s control in exchange for the Nets’ draft capital lost in the Harden deal, it seems that Brooklyn will have some important decisions to make before the first round of the Draft on Wednesday.
Aran Smith of NBADraft.net recently wrote that there is word going around that the Nets could be one of the teams that approach the New York Knicks for one of their two first-round picks in the Draft. Time will tell whether Brooklyn is successful in getting any picks, but if they don’t, it wouldn’t be for a lack of effort.
The path back to the WCF is not going to be an easy (or cheap!) one for Minnesota
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had a great week and have an even better weekend ahead of you.
Things didn’t go so well for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night when the Mavs bounced them out of the playoffs. The Wolves lost 124-103, and somehow, it was one of those games where the score was a lot closer than the game was. We’re talking about a 21-point loss here. It was that bad.
The natural reflex for people after the loss usually sounded something like this: “Don’t worry — the Wolves will be back.”
That’s a reasonable take. After all, the team’s 22-year-old superstar in Anthony Edwards is only getting better. He’s not even close to reaching his prime yet he’s already carried this team this far. Expecting a higher climb in the near future makes plenty of sense.
While I fully believe in Ant-Man’s power and his ability to carry this team, I am not sure that this team will be taking the next step anytime soon. It’s not because of anything the Timberwolves are doing or have done — it’s because of what they might not be able to do.
The NBA’s new luxury tax rules make it extremely hard for teams already spending a ton of money to get any better. The Wolves fall into that category.
When Anthony Edwards’ extension finally kicks in next season, Minnesota will around $194 million in salary on their books, according to HoopsHype’s salary data. If the Timberwolves don’t make a move to shake things up, that puts them firmly over the luxury tax for next season at $171.3 million and well into the tax’s second apron, at around $190 million, per Yahoo! Sports.
If the Wolves are a second-apron team, it’s going to be hard to get better. Being in that second apron takes away access to key roster building tools like:
The ability to make sign-and-trades to acquire players
The ability to use the tax-payer mid-level exception to sign new players
Sending out cash in trades for things like extra picks
The ability to take back more money in any trade made
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot more that ESPN’s Bobby Marks goes over here. The point is, though, that the Wolves will have to find creative ways to get better while not taking on any money. That’s hard to do in the NBA.
Maybe Minnesota doesn’t have to — it could be a matter of internal improvement. Run it back with the same team, and they’ll likely still be competitive. This was a 56-win team, after all.
But don’t be surprised if the Wolves don’t do much this offseason. The new collective bargaining agreement might not let them.
“We get it. There’s almost a week until the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks meet for Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and you’re just not quite sure what to do without basketball. There’s no Luka Doncic around to troll fans ruthlessly, and there’s no Jaylen Brown here to be transparently and hysterically honest.
The WNBA is in full swing, and now is a good time to catch up on the league if you’ve been entrenched in the NBA playoffs. With a full 16-game slate this weekend, you’ve got plenty to watch. Tap in.
Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves might have been knocked out of the playoffs by the Mavericks in the most embarrassing way possible, but let me tell you something — I don’t care about any of that today.
Why? Because Edwards made me completely forget about it with his latest “Face of the League” ad with Adidas for his signature AE 1 shoe.
The campaign for these shoes has generally just been great. Edwards has been roasting rival brands and their athletes from the beginning while flaunting the AE 1, which is undoubtedly the best signature shoe in the NBA right now.
In it, Edwards has a “receipts” machine that basically brings up old tweets and quotes from people. He goes at Carmelo Anthony hard in this one. He says “[expletive] buddy” after hearing a criticism from Cam’ron. He laughs at the rest of his haters.
It’s so incredibly petty and so incredibly perfect. I love it so much.
I know it’s en vogue to compare Anthony Edwards to Michael Jordan. Sure, you can see some similarities in their games.
But tell me y’all can’t see this being a Jordan sneaker commercial back in the day? I definitely get MJ vibes from this. It’s easily one of the best sneaker commercials I’ve seen in years.
It’s so perfect because it’s so Ant. This is legitimately how he seems to be. It doesn’t change when he’s on the court or when he’s in a press conference or when he’s doing a commercial. He’s always giving us his thoughts, unfiltered and uncensored. It’s great.
Keep it coming, Ant Man. More AE 1 madness, please.
