Wolves Preseason Presser

[JNR]

The JNR strides across the room to take his place at the podium. He's wearing a denim jacket with the sleeves cut off and no shirt underneath.

The JNR: Call me Bruce because I was born to run -- run away from pressure in the playoffs.

He shrugs.

The JNR: Yeah, that was lame, but so is a 2 seed losing to a 7 seed. It happens.

Look, we had a 60 win season. We were really really good. But we just didnt prepare for the playoffs, and we were smoked. I'll be perfectly honest, and break the fourth wall a little bit -- I didn't submit one gameplan all season. Not one. We coasted by on talent alone, and when it matters in the playoffs, when you need to meticulously plan your attack, we faltered. That's on me. Will that change this year? Who knows?

He takes a bit of an apple.

The JNR: Look, we've been doing this for 42 years. That is a long ass time. And what I've found out is there are parts of the game I'm good at, parts of it I'm bad at, and parts of it I just don't care about. And playoffs belongs in those last two categories. I'm bad at it and I just don't care. I already won a title. And I enjoy building my team and winning games in the regular season.

Speaking of, this offseason was a lot of fun. We signed and traded Domantas Sabonis to the Bulls for Patrick Edmunds. We signed Tibor Pleiss and Donovan Mitchell back, as well as a few depth pieces. And then we focused on internal growth in training camp, which...didn't work out as well as we'd hoped. Edmunds, Wrenn, and Shane Havard regressed seriously, and it has put our team in a precious position. We're still talented, but we aren't as deep as I had hoped when I started the season.

Going into the season, we are planning to start

C: Chad Marsh
PF: Fredric Hughes
SF: Patrick Edmunds
SG: Luka Doncic (these two positions will likely swap often)
PG: Ja Morant

With Wrenn, Pleiss, Krohn and Lavigne getting minutes off the bench. We think we'll make the playoffs, but who knows after that?

We'll now open it to any questions.

[TheSyndicate]

How much of your playoff failures do you attribute to your abilities versus your mental state? Seems like more of a self-fulfilling prophecy #ifyoucandreamityoucandoit

[JNR]

The JNR: Well, seeing as I didn't submit a gameplan, it is probably due to my mental state. I also have won a championship, so I know it's possible if I get the right breaks with the right team. Did I create a situation where I didn't try to protect myself? Maybe. Am I going to stop doing that? Meh, who knows?

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Despite a hard Training Camp, Vegas lines still rank the Timberwolves as one of the three strongest teams in PBSL. Your starting lineup is still very strong. However, who will we see playing big roles on your 2nd unit?

[JNR]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Despite a hard Training Camp, Vegas lines still rank the Timberwolves as one of the three strongest teams in PBSL. Your starting lineup is still very strong. However, who will we see playing big roles on your 2nd unit?

Tibor Pleiss will be getting minutes off the bench, for sure. After that, we're just going to roll out whoever we can and see what they do. Truman Wrenn may surprise a few people.

[Keepit100]

Alex Sayuck - Laser Eye Basketball Magazine

Who do you see stepping up this season to join the under-26 super talents, alongside Ja Morant and Luka Doncic?

[NOLa.]

I remember when the team drafted Luka he was a long term project. Going into his 7th season he has definitely come a long way and is starting to fill out and be what the league feared he would be. Do you see him taking a jump in production and make that leap to being an All Star and All NBA Team type player this season?

[JNR]

Alex Sayuck - Laser Eye Basketball Magazine

Who do you see stepping up this season to join the under-26 super talents, alongside Ja Morant and Luka Doncic?

I was hoping it would be Frederic Hughes, and while he's close, he's not quite there yet. We may be ending our young talent movement, unfortunately.

[JNR]

I remember when the team drafted Luka he was a long term project. Going into his 7th season he has definitely come a long way and is starting to fill out and be what the league feared he would be. Do you see him taking a jump in production and make that leap to being an All Star and All NBA Team type player this season?

If he doesn't, it was a wasted pick. I still feel he's more of an Otto Porter type than an All Star. Elite level glue guy whose scoring never quite keeps up with other powerhouse scorers.

[MexicanMamba]

With a rather large salary on the books and a hefty tax bill resulting, will you be making it a priority to shed some of that salary or are you going all-in to see how far you can go?

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[JNR]

With a rather large salary on the books and a hefty tax bill resulting, will you be making it a priority to shed some of that salary or are you going all-in to see how far you can go?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Great question. I would love to shed some salary, but the main problem is finding which players to move without sacrificing my core talent. It may be impossible to do so. I don't want to trade any of my core players, but depending on the looming bill, it may happen.

[greepleairport]

Wow, never would've guessed you skipped out on gameplans. That's an awfully good ability at building a solid team then. If you might close the door on younger talent in Minnesota, where does your focus in growth as a team lie?

[Xist2Inspire]

Random Reporter: While you mentioned that you thought Hughes wasn't ready yet, this will be his first taste of major minutes. What kind of production are you expecting from him?

[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Was Edmunds attitude after his championship winning shot, a pro or con to you?


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[JNR]

Wow, never would've guessed you skipped out on gameplans. That's an awfully good ability at building a solid team then. If you might close the door on younger talent in Minnesota, where does your focus in growth as a team lie?

Well if I'm not counting on young talent to grow, then I'm not counting on much growth. I just have to be confident that the current players I have can compete for a championship at their full potential.

[JNR]

Random Reporter: While you mentioned that you thought Hughes wasn't ready yet, this will be his first taste of major minutes. What kind of production are you expecting from him?

I'm hopeful that he can average a little more than 10ppg and play good defense next to Marsh.

[JNR]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Was Edmunds attitude after his championship winning shot, a pro or con to you?


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A plus. It was important to bring in someone who knows how to win to show my young talent how to get it done in the playoffs.