Summer League Game Report - Wolves v Nuggets

[Lipoli390]

Great Summer League start for the Wolves with an 85-78 win over the Nuggets. I lot of fun. My wife stayed back at the hotel, so I was there with a friend. I believe we were the only two Timberwolves fans in the Cox arena amidst a big Nuggets crowd.

Finchy was sitting court-side in front of us with assistant coach Micah Nori and another guy I didn't recognize. DLO was there with Jaden McDaniels, Nathan Knight and Naz Reid. DLO, McDaniels and Knight all sat next to one another and interacted a lot. Naz Reid sat apart from them and didn't interact at all. It was interesting, but not a big deal. DLO was the only one of the four who sent into the locker room with the team at half time. When DLO came out with the team, Finch went out to talk with him as DLO was walking across the court towards his seat behind the basket. It was weird because DLO kept walking away from him as Finch walked to him. Some pretty uncomfortable body language from DLO towards Finch. I don't want to make too much of it, but it was too obvious to ignore. My friend and I both noticed it independently and we both viewed it as really uncomfortable.

The stand-out star for the Wolves by far was Josh Minott with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists. His defense was also terrific. And his energy was infectious. He looked out of sorts through most of the 1st quarter as he seemed to be moving too fast. But it's much better to have a young player who has to slow himself down than the other way around. Once he slowed himself down a bit he settled in and played a tremendous game the rest of the way. There was a really fun moment when Minott and Harris double teamed Braun and forced a turnover. The energy between those two at that moment had an intensity that illuminated the entire arena.

It looked like the Wolves Summer League has four NBA-caliber players on the roster - Minott, Moore, Spagnolo and Kevon Harris. Minott is clearly the most talented of these four players. Moore has a sweet-looking shot and I like the way he handles the ball. But he's way too passive. I don't see any dog in him yet. We'll see how things go with him the rest of the way, but after 3 years of college I expected more from him. Nevertheless, he still looks like a genuine NBA player. Spagnolo's numbers don't stand out at all, but watching him you can see an NBA player ready to emerge. He's not super quick or athletic, but he's not slow or unathletic. He has an excellent handle and very good court awareness. I loved watching Harris play. He's bigger than I expected. And his defense is relentless. He was the most intense player on the floor tonight and his intensity never wavered. Right now, I'd say the Wolves have to consider giving him one of the team's two-way contracts. But it's only one game so we'll see how things progress.

I had my tape measure with me, Q. I didn't quite have enough time to get the tape on Minott, but my eye test from close up told me he's really, really long. He's listed at 6'8, but he looked as tall as David McCormick who's listed at 6'10. I'd say he's as long as McDaniels, but skinnier. Moore looks pretty short.

Overall, a great start. But the Nuggets Summer League squad is pretty bad. We'll see what happens in the next game against Memphis.

We watched a number of other games today. Some of the standouts in other games were Branham, Blake Wesley, Josh Primo, Ashton Hagans and Benedict Mathurin and Chris Duarte.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Thanks Lip! That detail about player interactions and the DLO-Finch thing are just so valuable because you don't see that sort of thing on TV unless you get lucky.

That Harris-Minott moment came through on the screen too. You could tell they were both amped for every defensive play, even if it just led to Denver getting the ball out-of-bounds. Love to see that kind of dedication, especially on that end of the floor.

Not great to hear about DLO's body language toward Finch. Was it clearly intentional, or is there a chance he really just didn't see him? I like that he was going into the locker room with the guys. He really did show more leadership last season than I'd expected from him previously. Hopefully that maturity can include the ability to work with the coaching staff and front office despite the persistent trade rumors.

Maybe I wasn't watching Spagnolo closely enough. I'll keep a closer eye on him in this next game.

This is awesome Lip, thanks!

[Tactical unit]

Nice report Lip, that Finch / DLO insight might be something to follow. Any insight on why Wheeler got zero PT?

[FNG]

Damn...wanted to watch the replay this morning, but somehow I didn't record last night. So I really appreciate the in-person review, Lip. I also appreciate the reports on player interaction...I spend a lot of time at games analyzing that too. You're correct that we can't read too much into the DLo/Finch thing, but it certainly needs to be put into the "watch" category". It's a situation that some of us have been concerned about since the end of the playoffs. A max player like DLo understandably has a lot of pride, and being benched at a critical playoff moment followed by a summer of having to read every day that your team is trying to move him can't sit too well with him. I appreciated TC and Finch's positive comments about DLo this summer, but Russell appears to be one of the smarter guys on the roster, and he likely sees them as mere platitudes. So yeah, maybe nothing, but more likely possibly something. I need DLo to listen to Finchie as the coach tries to maximize his value to the team, and if this is an indication of some tension between them, that's not good. But in Finchie and TC I trust, so if there is a rupture, I think it increases the chances TC will continue to find a suitable way to move him...if not this summer, at least by the mid-season deadline. This is one we're going to have to watch closely.

Anyway, I loved the box score and report on Minott. I see us as a championship contender this year, so we shouldn't expect much contribution from a rookie project like Minott, but it sure sounds like he is fun to watch and might be a factor in the future. Did TC find a real diamond in the rough here? Time will tell.

[Monster]

Thanks for the report Lip. You will get those measurements on Minott next game!

I just finished watching this game. And here are my thoughts:

Denver looks to have found a couple nice players themselves In Watson and Braun. I was a little surprised at how high both were taken but I actually really liked Braun and he was impressive in his SL debut.

The Wolves overall talent aside from their draft picks looked pretty blah. Matt Lewis is a solid player and Harris certainly made his presence felt later in the game. It's just the first game but it doesn't look like a very impressive group. They did defend their butts off and play hard which is a big reason they won this game. Guys played pretty aggressive on defense.

Spagnolo looks like a nice player. He just looks like he knows how to play and has a nice skill set. He is only 19. That one play where the guy got an easy bucket I thought it could have easily been called an offensive foul. I'm glad that he is able to play in SL I'm looking forward to seeing more. For a late 2nd round stash pick I thought there was plenty to be interested in.

Moore was a bit of a mixed bag. When it comes to him playing PG I compare him in how he plays as more of a Tyus Jones than a guy breaking down a D and whipping passes to people. Obviously I'm not suggesting he has the PG savvy of Tyus but I think that's more of his game. Meanwhile he shot the ball well and yes he got beat on D. I also think while he has physical tools he will be better playing where he knows what guys around him are doing on D. Still he made a couple reads that looked really good. Regardless Moore looked like the guy I thought he would be and what he was picked for. He is a versatile player that can do a lot of stuff.

Minott. I was hoping for something good from him but wowzers. I thought his FT shooting was solid anyways but his shot looked extremely smooth there. His one 3 that he took that looked ugly he clearly rushed it and it was ugly. Do I believe in his 3 point shot? Not exactly but I may believe in it a little more than I did. Regardless if he can do all the other stuff make his FTs over 70% it would be a good pick. This game where he was easily one of the best players on the floor after being a reserve in college makes you want to see more.

I'm not sure I would even consider Kevin Harris on a 2-way but I'll have to keep looking. I didn't specifically see his defense but quite frankly the Wolves had various guys that were getting after it but he is physically put together. It seems like he looks stronger than I remember when I watched a few clips of him. He played more as an off guard and I didn't see much from him that suggests he is much of a combo guard but it's one game.

Anyway it was a good start for the Wolves overall. I am looking forward to the next game and I think someone else on the roster will emerge as someone that is more worthwhile at least as a SL player.

Lip what made Hagens stand out?

[60WinTim]

Here ya go, Lip!

Jonathan Givony
@DraftExpress
·
May 18
Memphis's Josh Minott official measurements from the NBA Combine: 6'8.75 in shoes, 6'11.75 wingspan, 8'11.5 standing reach, 197.2 lbs with 4.7% body fat

[Monster]

Here ya go, Lip!

Jonathan Givony
@DraftExpress
·
May 18
Memphis's Josh Minott official measurements from the NBA Combine: 6'8.75 in shoes, 6'11.75 wingspan, 8'11.5 standing reach, 197.2 lbs with 4.7% body fat

Lip is trying to get confirmation on the report that Minott is still growing. I know he was disappointed he didn't get a measurement at the beginning of Summer league to compare to the measurement he hopes to get at the end to compare. :)

[kekgeek]

I'm cool with giving Minott the Naz Ried contract special. Wolves have 3 open roster spots and I'm cool with Minott taking one up

[Monster]

Lip thanks for your report on interactions. What seems weird to me is that if Russell was the guy going into the locker room with the SL guys why would he be ignoring his head coach? If he was actually unhappy it seems like he might not even be around (my guess some NBA players really like being at SL though) but it would seem unlikely he would be invested in the summer league players. Again I'm not questioning what you saw I just thought it was weird when I thought about it more a few mins later. It will be interesting to see if any of the MN reporters chat with Russell at some point.

[Lipoli390]

Thanks Lip! That detail about player interactions and the DLO-Finch thing are just so valuable because you don't see that sort of thing on TV unless you get lucky.

That Harris-Minott moment came through on the screen too. You could tell they were both amped for every defensive play, even if it just led to Denver getting the ball out-of-bounds. Love to see that kind of dedication, especially on that end of the floor.

Not great to hear about DLO's body language toward Finch. Was it clearly intentional, or is there a chance he really just didn't see him? I like that he was going into the locker room with the guys. He really did show more leadership last season than I'd expected from him previously. Hopefully that maturity can include the ability to work with the coaching staff and front office despite the persistent trade rumors.

Maybe I wasn't watching Spagnolo closely enough. I'll keep a closer eye on him in this next game.

This is awesome Lip, thanks!

The DLO thing with Finch was subtle. They did talk, but DLO kept backing away as Finch walked toward him while they talked. It just looked to me and my friend like DLO had no interest in talking to Finch. It looked pleasant; nothing angry and DLO didn't ignore Finch. Maybe DLO couldn't wait to get back to his seat next to Knight and McDaniels. I'm not worried. I love that DLO was there. It was a reminder that he's a true basketball junkie. He says he watching basketball all the time. He truly loves the game. That's a big deal. And I love that he went into the locker room with the Summer League squad. I dropped that one little tidbit because it was interesting. But the overall story on DLO's presence last night was hugely positive in my view.