The Athletic: Does that cut both ways, I wonder? Like if the front office makes a move that wasn’t on your radar and then in hindsight you’re looking at it saying, ‘I’m not sure I like that…’ Karl-Anthony Towns: I think it would hurt the star player or player (that’s) highly regarded in the organization if they didn’t feel confidence in the front office. I do. I feel very confident in Gerss and (coach) Ryan (Saunders) and all of them. So like I said, whatever they do, I’m going to support because I know they’re trying to make the right decisions for us to win.
Tag: Ryan Saunders
Christopher Hine: Ryan Saunders earlier …
Christopher Hine: Ryan Saunders earlier when asked if trade rumors can affect a team on the floor: “There’s obviously things that weigh on people, but it’s our job as professional basketball players, coaches or executives and training staff to compartmentalize the best we can.” Wolves down 18-4.
Jon Krawczynski: Ryan Saunders was good …
Jon Krawczynski: Ryan Saunders was good today, talking about understanding that this is a process while also saying yesterday was unacceptable. “I believe in what we’re doing. I believe in the down-the-line vision of this. But we need to make sure that we correct last night.”
Dane Moore: Ryan Saunders said the …
Dane Moore: Ryan Saunders said the Wolves are going to have “a spirited conversation” in their film session today. (Saunders does media with us before practices.) He was also asked if he slept last night, and he said no.
Throughout a trying last two months, as …
Throughout a trying last two months, as the Timberwolves have put in place a system designed for future relevance over immediate success, Ryan Saunders has served as a beacon of positivity to try to make the inevitable hard times easier to stomach. He rarely argued with officials. He accentuated the positives in postgame press conferences. He fed a team in transition a steady diet of encouragement to try to quell the indigestion that comes from losing over and over again. The team has largely followed suit. Karl-Anthony Towns preached chemistry. Andrew Wiggins changed his shot chart. Jarrett Culver maintained his confidence despite clank after clank.
“We’re not a good basketball team right …
“We’re not a good basketball team right now.” It is easy to dismiss the words that came out of Saunders’ mouth after that ugly loss in Chicago, easy to crack wise or hit that reply button on Twitter with a “no kidding” remark to rag on one of the league’s long-suffering franchises. Put that statement into full context — who said it, when it was said, what happened to prompt it — and it should not be so easily dismissed. It came from the team’s relentlessly positive coach assessing a team that was not getting enough from some of its key players.
Playing in the Rising Stars Challenge …
Playing in the Rising Stars Challenge certainly isn’t a make-or-break deal or even an accurate reflection of a player’s rookie year. But it is an opportunity for Culver to be around the best players in the league that should only help his confidence. “I think that he’s very deserving of that,” Timberwolves coach Ryan Saunders said Tuesday. “You look around the league and Jarrett, the way he’s come on and the way he’s progressed, his improvement and development is a great story over this last month here. . . Being around other players like that, being around other All-Stars . . . that will really help Jarrett.”
One player Saunders isn’t concerned …
One player Saunders isn’t concerned with when it comes to handling speculation is Covington. “He’s a professional in terms of the way he approaches this game,” Saunders said. “His commitment to us and what we’re doing on a nightly basis has been a great example to our young guys especially. Cov is somebody I never worry about.”
Towns is extremely close with Saunders, …
Towns is extremely close with Saunders, routinely watching film with the coach and stopping by the Saunders family home after practice to spend time with Ryan, wife Hayley and their infant son, Lukas.
Karl-Anthony Towns downplays rumors
While he was out, reports surfaced concerning teams monitoring Towns’ level of unhappiness. In his first public comments since the injury, he made a strong statement that reaffirmed his commitment to the Wolves when asked about those reports. Here it is in full, with a curse word edited. “I think you’ve been around me long enough to know I don’t go for all the …,” Towns said. “I just do my job, go home and I know what the real story is. There’s a reason those stories are made because people need to sell papers, sell links and clicks, whatever the case may be. I’m here to be a Minnesota Timberwolf. Very fortunate I have a head coach like [Ryan Saunders], a President and friend like [Gersson Rosas]. I’m not worried about all that nonsense.