Minnesota Timberwolves 2025-2026 Press Conference: Return of the Timberpups
Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:43 am
The JNR is standing at a podium, his shirt unbuttoned and slightly rumpled.
The JNR: I just had a baby so I wasn't able to prepare a big video package. Not that there were many highlights of last season anyway. We traded Andrew Wiggins in the offseason and Keith Pfeffer during the regular season, two players who were instrumental in our title run a few seasons ago. We knew that it was time for a rebuild, and that the results would reflect that. In the end, we finished 30-52, the 7th worst record in the league. We were incredibly fortunate to jump in the lottery, getting the 2nd pick in the draft, and we were delighted that our number one prospect was available at #2. We selected Luka Doncic, an incredibly young and raw talent who could be great one day. We then drafted Mario Ruiz with the 21st pick.
In RFA we set our sights on Trae Young, wanting a point guard of the future. We were in negotiations to acquire him in a sign and trade, but the Magic realized what a prize they would be letting go, and they matched his offer. We moved onto Free Agency, where we were able to acquire some good young talent. We brought in Mitch Cohn, Beau Agustin, and Alvin Pack, as well as bringing back Don Houghton, Andre Betts, and Todd Dearing from last year's squad. We also acquired Cheick Diallo and Collin Sexton through trades, assembling a full roster.
Now, in the past, this team's rebuilds have been fairly short. We were bad for a single season, maybe two, and we were lucky enough to get talent who didn't take long to get going to propel us back to contendership. We were also impatient, sending assets out to get stars as soon as we could. I think part of that impatience was my focus on wins, on hitting a home run to bring a championship home. That desire has been tempered, so now I can focus on doing a rebuild the right way.
We won't swing for the fences, not right away. We will continue to try to get our young players to develop. Training camp was a good step in that direction, with most players getting better and only a few taking setbacks. We won't win a ton of games, but I think we will have a constant vision of the future and that will keep us going.
The projected starting lineup this year is:
C: Mitch Cohn
PF: Cheick Diallo
SF: Collin Sexton
SG: Alvin Pack
PG: Beau Agustin
And we expect valuable contributions from Sabonis, Ragand, Houghton, Doncic, Betts, and Dearing off the bench.
There isn't much more to say on the team. I'm excited to see what our young squad is capable of. I'll now leave it open for questions.
The JNR: I just had a baby so I wasn't able to prepare a big video package. Not that there were many highlights of last season anyway. We traded Andrew Wiggins in the offseason and Keith Pfeffer during the regular season, two players who were instrumental in our title run a few seasons ago. We knew that it was time for a rebuild, and that the results would reflect that. In the end, we finished 30-52, the 7th worst record in the league. We were incredibly fortunate to jump in the lottery, getting the 2nd pick in the draft, and we were delighted that our number one prospect was available at #2. We selected Luka Doncic, an incredibly young and raw talent who could be great one day. We then drafted Mario Ruiz with the 21st pick.
In RFA we set our sights on Trae Young, wanting a point guard of the future. We were in negotiations to acquire him in a sign and trade, but the Magic realized what a prize they would be letting go, and they matched his offer. We moved onto Free Agency, where we were able to acquire some good young talent. We brought in Mitch Cohn, Beau Agustin, and Alvin Pack, as well as bringing back Don Houghton, Andre Betts, and Todd Dearing from last year's squad. We also acquired Cheick Diallo and Collin Sexton through trades, assembling a full roster.
Now, in the past, this team's rebuilds have been fairly short. We were bad for a single season, maybe two, and we were lucky enough to get talent who didn't take long to get going to propel us back to contendership. We were also impatient, sending assets out to get stars as soon as we could. I think part of that impatience was my focus on wins, on hitting a home run to bring a championship home. That desire has been tempered, so now I can focus on doing a rebuild the right way.
We won't swing for the fences, not right away. We will continue to try to get our young players to develop. Training camp was a good step in that direction, with most players getting better and only a few taking setbacks. We won't win a ton of games, but I think we will have a constant vision of the future and that will keep us going.
The projected starting lineup this year is:
C: Mitch Cohn
PF: Cheick Diallo
SF: Collin Sexton
SG: Alvin Pack
PG: Beau Agustin
And we expect valuable contributions from Sabonis, Ragand, Houghton, Doncic, Betts, and Dearing off the bench.
There isn't much more to say on the team. I'm excited to see what our young squad is capable of. I'll now leave it open for questions.