When new executives come into a situation, there is usually a seismic shift in personnel. That is exactly what happened for the Minnesota Timberwolves. New president Tim Connelly made his mark immediately by trading several first-round picks along with Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Jarred Vanderbilt and Leandro Bolmaro to acquire Rudy Gobert.
Coming off one of the best finishes in franchise history, Minnesota is hoping to take the next step forward with the addition of the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
This is how the rotation should look for them this coming season…
With most of the top players off the board, the trade market has come to the forefront with a blockbuster Rudy Gobert trade, and now all eyes are on Kevin Durant’s next potential destination following his recent trade request.
Below is the latest intel gathered by HoopsHype on trade talks surrounding Durant, Gobert, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. Plus, behind-the-scenes notes on the free agent decisions of Donte DiVincenzo, Jae’Sean Tate, Royce O’Neale, Chris Boucher, and Thaddeus Young.
The NBA Draft is less than a week away, with more potential big trades on the horizon following the Christian Wood acquisition by the Dallas Mavericks, as noted throughout our new HoopsHype aggregate mock draft.
To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand currently, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo, Basketball News, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.
The most notable risers within the projected lottery selections included Dyson Daniels moving up further within the top 10 picks, Ousmane Dieng becoming a projected lottery pick, and Jalen Williams vaulting into the Top 20 range. Jake LaRavia and Dalen Terry, two of the biggest risers throughout the draft process, have moved into the late first round.
Other risers in the second round include Ryan Rollins, Andrew Nembhard, David Roddy, John Butler, Michael Foster, Gabriele Procida, and Dereon Seabron.
The notable name that fell was MarJon Beauchamp, who now is projected outside the top 20 picks despite receiving a green room invite. Josh Minott and Jean Montero were among those whose stock fell in the second round.
NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 58 points. If a player was second, he received 57 points and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report
Following the withdrawals of several prospects, the aggregate NBA mock draft has shifted noticeably, and more intel on teams have surfaced with the draft nearing.
To get a better projection of where all of the projected top prospects stand currently, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, The Ringer, Sports Illustrated, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, SB Nation, Yahoo, Basketball News, and USA TODAY’s For The Win.
The most notable risers within the projected lottery selections included Keegan Murray leaping Shaedon Sharpe into the top five range, Dyson Daniels entering the top 10, and Malaki Branham cracking the end of the lottery. Dalen Terry also vaulted 12 spots since our last aggregate mock draft and is currently positioned as an early second-round pick.
Some of the more notable names that fell slightly included TyTy Washington, Max Christie and Leonard Miller.
NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 58 points. If a player was second, he received 57 points and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.
HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report
Whew this rivalry is going to be fun moving forward
We know the vibe with the Grizzlies by now. They ain’t “ducking no smoke,” as Ja Morant put it before.
They’re easily the best trash-talking team in the NBA at this point. They’re so good even Morant’s dad is talking trash. And why wouldn’t they be? They’ve absolutely backed it up all year long by being the second-best team in the NBA this season as far as records go.
When you’re that good? Yeah, you can talk a little trash. Or a lot. Whatever it is you choose to do.
That’s why it’s kind of hard to get mad at the Grizzlies for dancing on the Timberwolves logo on their way out of the door.
The Grizzlies eliminated the Wolves after yet another comeback victory in Game 6 on Friday night. After the win, Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks made their way to midcourt where they did the Griddy all over the Wolves’ logo.
The Minnesota Timberwolves not only finally got back into the playoffs but also proved to be a dangerous opponent. This roster had 11 players returning from the 2020-21 team, making them one of the franchises with the most continuity for this season. The biggest difference was head coach Chris Finch getting more time with the squad and fully integrating his system. Led by an All-NBA caliber season by Karl-Anthony Towns, along with a significant leap from Anthony Edwards, the Wolves are now a team for the present and the future.
Minnesota will have the most cap flexibility it’s had in years this offseason. While they have several core pieces set for the foreseeable future, they still have room for several new additions either in free agency or trade. They will also have several players with upcoming extensions whose futures may be decided this offseason.
Ja Morant just gave us one of *those* playoff moments.
Ja Morant is just 22 years old but he’s already given us some absolutely classic moments in these playoffs.
And I’m not just talking about his vicious dunk over Malik Beasley — although, yes, that definitely counts. No idea what Beasley did to Morant to deserve that other than stand in the way, but I’ll enjoy it nonetheless.
But it was really everything that happened after that that solidified Morant’s night.
We’ll remember it as one of the ones that he solidified his status as an absolute superstar in the NBA with his performances. He legitimately made plays that only all-time great NBA players make.
He gave us moments that were eerily similar to plays made by one of the best players ever: LeBron James.
Yes, you read that correctly. Before you go away, though, just take a look below:
Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery
Normally, when it comes to sports and so many other things in life, I am a person who is completely here for the trash talk.
It builds character! You’ve got to be able to talk a little smack to your opponent because, at some point, you’re going to run into someone who is going to talk smack to you. And you have to be able to respond to that smack talk in kind.
But, clearly, Karl-Anthony Towns needs to stop talking trash to the Memphis Grizzlies and their fans. Or really saying anything to them, rather. Not hi or bye. Good morning. Good evening. Nothing. Just play ball.
Because every time in this series when Towns has said anything to or about the Grizzlies, a furious comeback follows. We have two examples of this already.
Then, you have the game last night, where Towns hushed the crowd after hitting a 3-pointer to give the Wolves a 13-point lead. 10 minutes left in the game.
And, well, I’m sure you already know what happened after this. A furious comeback. Minnesota was outscored 32-17 the rest of the way here, capped off by this incredible game-winning layup from Ja Morant.
Sheeesh. That’s a rough way to go out. Especially after dishing out a hush just 10 minutes before. This is not a good look — at all.
But it’s also kind of becoming a thing with Towns. And it’s certainly not one of those things that you want to see become a thing. Especially not if you’re a Timberwolves fan.
So, yeah. It’s understandable to want to stay unfiltered in that moment and remain present. Towns should keep doing him. But if doing him keeps leading to this kind of thing? Might want to change up before game 6.
Watch our sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery
The Play-In is fun but it’s fertile ground for disaster.
Welcome to Layup Lines, our daily NBA newsletter where we’ll prep you for a tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon.
What’s good, party people? It’s Sykes here to usher you into tonight’s NBA Play-In action. Speaking of the Play-In, a quick word on that.
This little tournament the NBA has put together for its bottom four playoff seeds is pretty fun — I have to admit that. Tuesday’s action with the Timberwolves and Clippers was particularly exhilarating.
But…I’m also not the biggest fan of the Play-In. Now, look. I’m sure this comes off as a bit of hate. But I have good reason, though!
The league is lowering its playoff standard while it punishes teams in the 7 and 8 slots. Imagine a world where the Timberwolves as a 7 seed don’t make the playoffs because they couldn’t win a Play-In game due to some unforeseen circumstance. At 46-36 they’d be 12 games better than the Spurs as the 10 seed and out of the postseason completely. Make that make sense.
That’s going to happen someday. A star player will get injured or a team will just go ridiculous cold in the last week of the season and they’ll lose out. It won’t make sense but it’s Play-In chaos, baby. That’s what y’all want.
Look, I get it. This is fun. It’s NBA-style March Madness and this is what everyone loves to see. But this isn’t how you determine the NBA’s best teams.
The Play-In is here to stay because y’all love it so much. But don’t be mad when your favorite team falls victim to the chaos. Because it’s bound to happen at one point or another.
Anyway, let’s jump in.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
It was really like they won a title. Especially for Beverley as my colleague Charles Curtis writes.
“He celebrated by tossing his jersey. He talked a lot of trash in the postgame press conference. He got on a live social media feed and said some more wild stuff.”
Beverley had real tears in his eyes after beating his old team. Anthony Edwards jumped up on the scorer’s table with his point guard. Karl-Anthony Towns had a celebratory kiss on the sidelines with his boo, Jordyn Woods. These dudes were happy.
Honestly? I can’t really blame them. This is their second postseason appearance since 2004. Let them go crazy — even if it’s just for one night. They deserve at least that.
Hawks (-5.5, -230) vs. Hornets (+180), O/U 234.5, 7 PM ET
Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
For a 9 seed vs. 10 seed matchup, this sure is an exciting game. You’ve got Trae Young going head to head against LaMelo Ball. Their season series is tied 2-2 with each team taking one on the road. The key here is the Hornets defense on Trae Young, who they’ve guarded exceptionally well this season. He’s only shooting 38% from the field against Charlotte.
I think the Hawks win outright at home. But I think it’ll be close so I’m taking the Hornets +5.5.
Who’s in and out?
Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
—Pelicans: Brandon Ingram (hamstring) is probable for the Pelicans’ Play-In matchup against the Spurs on Wednesday.
—Pelicans: As expected, Zion Williamson (foot) is still listed as out for New Orleans.
—Hornets: Gordon Hayward (ankle) remains out for the Hornets.
—Hawks: John Collins(foot) has also been ruled out for Atlanta.
Gannett may earn revenue from Tipico for audience referrals to betting services. Tipico has no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. SeeTipico.comfor Terms and Conditions. 21+ only. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA).
With a thrilling 104-109 win in the play-in tournament over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Minnesota Timberwolves clinched the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and made the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Here are the best tweets from last night’s play-in game, which heavily feature the trash-talking Patrick Beverley:
