Timberwolves – Page 13 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins Deal with Blue Jays for Bullpen Help at Trade Deadline

Posted on July 30, 2024July 30, 2024 by David Shama

The Twins made a late afternoon deal to acquire reliever Trevor Richards from the Blue Jays in return for minor league infielder Jay Harry. Richards, 31 years old, is 2-1 with a 4.64 ERA and has struck out 49 batters in 52.1 innings this season. He has one save in his MLB career that dates back to 2018.

Harry, 22, was a Twins sixth round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and has a .248 minor league average in 404 plate appearances.

The Twins were able to make a deal on a day it was thought they might acquire even more pitching help. A prime trade prospect for the Twins might have been Rockies starter Cal Quantrill who is affordable at reportedly $6.5 million and under team control next season. A 15-game winner with the Indians in 2022, he is not a power pitcher but can cover bulk innings and could have fit in the back of the starting rotation providing quality starts.

Twins management presumably thought the cost was too high in money and/or in parting with their own players to acquire a Quantrill, or similar talent. Richards has about $710,000 remaining on his 2024 $2.1 million deal for the Twins to pay, according to Mlbtraderumors.com. He is a free agent after this season.

The Twins did add starting pitching depth today recalling veteran Randy Dobnak from the Triple-A Saints, according to multiple media reports. Dobnak, pitching better of late, was last with the Twins in 2021.

The hope from the Twins is that Richards and the 29-year-old Dobnak, both right handed journeyman pitchers, can contribute to a few more wins in a division race that finds the Twins 5.5 games behind the Guardians in the AL Central Division. Even without a division title, Minnesota is a solid contender for a wild card entry in the playoffs.

A contending Twins team through the end of the season and then participating in the playoffs can boost fan interest and the franchise’s coffers. And Twins fans know the budget conscious ownership group runs a cautious operation with scrutiny. Right now the Pohlads can look at home attendance and see that the 23,203 average per game at Target Field trails last year’s final of 24,371.

If the Twins fall out of contention in August or September for a playoff spot, average attendance will decline from what it is now. Fans can generally be categorized into two groups: those more interested in the charm of being at the ballpark with all the on-field and stadium pleasantries, or those who prioritize winning and are frustrated the club hasn’t been to the World Series since 1991, or even made a deep playoff run.

The first group is likely to diminish in numbers in September when school starts and the club’s promotional schedule winds down. Those that want to win now won’t be buying tickets for the rest of the season if they feel frustrated (again).

The Twins reportedly cut payroll by $35 million last offseason and are expected to be budget cautious for 2025. After winning the division title and first round of the playoffs in 2023, there are unhappy fans who say the club didn’t build on that success including a high-end contract to bring back staff ace Sonny Gray.

To the front office’s credit, though, the club has assembled a talented and productive roster of positional players and hitters. It’s a core group, too, with mostly under 30 players.

The starting pitching lacks depth but the Twins can argue the top of the rotation starters— Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober—is enough to make the team a tough out in the playoffs. The starting staff probably didn’t get a big boost at the trade deadline, nor did the so-so bullpen.

Led by Derek Falvey and Thad Levine, the Twins have made successful moves in assembling their roster while working with limited payroll. More money doesn’t guarantee success. The Mets, with a 56-50 record, have the highest payroll among MLB teams, $313,112,204, per Betmgm.com. The Twins rank No. 19 among 30 clubs at $128,865,502.

Some clubs do more with less including the 64-42 Guardians who rank No. 27 in payroll at $100,242,718. Twins’ fans know that’s the way their club operates, too. It was true yesterday, it’s true today and will be tomorrow.

Worth Noting

Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and his French Olympic team defeated Japan in overtime today, 94-90. Gobert had 7 points and 15 rebounds.

Joe Mauer and Royce Lewis were both overall No. 1 MLB draft choices, with the Twins having to decide if they wanted to select pitchers instead of those two position players. When the Twins drafted Mauer in 2001, there was opinion that Mark Prior was a better option. Turned out, though, Mauer became one of the best catchers ever and Prior had a disappointing five-year run with the Cubs before injuries ended his career after the 2006 season.

The results may not be so one-sided between Lewis and Hunter Greene who the Reds chose with the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. Lewis, mostly playing third base and being a hitting sensation, has been a wunderkind for Minnesota when available but he has also been a medical curiosity with the many injuries that have sidelined him in the last three seasons. Greene, after two so-so seasons in the bigs, is turning heads this summer with a 7-4 record and 2.97 ERA.

Vikings safety Harrison Smith, 35, is still admired by football authorities. He was named to the NFL’s Top 100 recently landing at No. 93 in the annual vote by league players rating the best of their peers. “I still think he’s a good player. I really do,” a former NFL executive with two franchises told Sports Headliners.

Golden Gopher senior Aireontae Ersery today was named to the Outland Trophy watch list by the Football Writers Association of America—the award that honors the best interior lineman in college football. The 6-6, 330-pound Ersery is college football’s best returning run-blocker, according to Pro Football Focus, and is PFF’s highest graded returning offensive tackle.

Gophers’ featured running back Darius Taylor was named yesterday to the Maxwell Award watch list—the award presented annually to the outstanding player in college football. Taylor is one of eight sophomores among the 80 candidates.

John Butler, the former Gophers assistant coach under Tim Brewster, was hired this month as Nebraska’s secondary coach and pass game coordinator.

Brewster, BTW, is in his first season as associate head coach and tight ends coach at Charlotte. Brewster was Minnesota’s head coach for four seasons, from 2007-2010. His resume includes five seasons as an NFL assistant, and seven jobs as an assistant at Power Five programs.

Former Gophers basketball player Jamal Abu-Shamala is the organizer of early Tuesday morning pickup games at Lifetime in St. Louis Park. Former college players participating include ex-Gophers Andre Hollins, and brothers Dan and Joe Coleman. Abu-Shamala has about 50 emails he uses to target commitments from around 13 players for the 6 a.m. start most Tuesdays.

Bill Guerin might make some lists of NHL general managers on the “hot seat” for next season, but he made fans happy yesterday when the Wild announced the signing of Minnesota native and former Gopher hero Brock Faber to an eight year $68 million contract that runs through the 2032-2033 season.

National Speakers Hall of Famer Walter Bond, the former Gophers basketball player, will talk to the Capital Club breakfast group August 18 at Mendakota Country Club. More information about the Capital Club is available from Patrick Klinger, patrick@agilemarketingco.com.

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P.J. Fleck Makes Case for Better Gopher Pass Game in 2024

Posted on July 25, 2024 by David Shama

In 13 games last season the Golden Gophers football team averaged 20.3 points per game, ranking 12^th in the 14-team Big Ten. Minnesota was mediocre running the football and had a dismal passing game, adding up to an offense averaging 300.9 yards per game—again 12^th in the league.

“When you have the Big Ten kicker of the Year, you’re probably not very good on offense,” head coach P.J. Fleck said today at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis. Fleck is a big fan of returning kicker Dragan Kesich and his proficiency for kicking field goals but knows his offense must produce in 2024 to improve on last season’s 6-7 record.

Fleck said personnel limitations and injuries dictated what the offense could do last season. “We want that to be better. We want that (offense) to be way more balanced,” Fleck told reporters in Indy at a news conference televised on BTN. “We also have to have the personnel to do that, which I think we have.

“We’re deeper at wideout, we’re deeper at tight end. We’ve basically got our whole line coming back. We’ve got a really good quarterback who is really consistent. …We’ve got a running back room that’s really deep. And if we can stay healthy, we can be balanced and be consistent on a daily basis on the offensive side of the ball.”

At the most important position in football, Minnesota has newcomer Max Brosmer. The transfer from New Hampshire was a second team FCS All-American last season.

Fleck said the Gophers were committed to finding a portal quarterback for 2024 who would be the starter. Someone with talent and a match for the program’s culture that stresses teamwork, academics and citizenship. Fleck tells his players to work at being better people than players, believing if you’re a better person you will become a better player.

Brosmer will have just one season of eligibility with the Gophers, but his leadership has already been so apparent to the coaches and players. “He’s a meticulous ‘why’ seeker and he’s a very, curious, curious individual. And anytime you have a curious leader, you can accomplish a lot.

“The quote that he is a coach on the field gets thrown around a lot, but he truly is. He could be a doctor and a surgeon which he probably will be, but he’ll be a phenomenal coach if he decides (to be) that one day after he’s done playing.”

Adam Weber, the former Gopher quarterback who still holds school records for career passing yards and career touchdown passes, has spent time with Brosmer. “He’s very impressive,” Weber told Sports Headliners Tuesday.

Worth Noting

Fleck, entering his eighth season with the Gophers, said he and athletic director Mark Coyle have worked together longer than any head football coach-athletic director duo in the Big Ten. Fleck emphasizes the importance of sustainability in a program’s culture that comes about when leadership is in place for a long time. Minnesota had four different head coaches between 1997 and 2016.

An example, he said, of how culture translates into sustainability is the Gophers return 16 of 17 eligible starters from last season’s team.

None of those starters has received more preseason hype than offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery. Ersery is a member of the latest EA Sports College Football 25. Not only ranked at No. 24, but he is also the highest rated offensive lineman in the Big Ten.

Fleck reiterated he “loves Minnesota” and said he and wife Heather have been building a new home for more than two years and it will be completed in two weeks.

Thirteen Golden Gophers have been named as candidates to play in the January 30, 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl in Arlington, Texas. That’s more than defending national champion Michigan has with nine on the watch list for the postseason all-star game.

Gophers are: Max Brosmer, Quinn Carroll, Tyler Cooper, Aireontae Ersery, Jack Henderson, Daniel Jackson, Jah Joyner, Dragan Kesich, Cody Lindenberg, Jalen Logan-Redding, Elijah Spencer, Danny Striggow, Justin Walley. https://shrinebowl.com/shrine-bowl-1000/

Former Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen, along with Rick Pizzo, Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith, will host a new 30-minute B1G Countdown to Kickoff show on BTN this summer and fall to prepare fans for the Big Ten games of the day.

Condolences to family and friends of Rochester native and Gophers’ swimming great Steve Jackman, 83, who died last month. Once referred to as “the fastest man in the world” after twice winning the NCAA 50-yard free style races, Jackman was an 11-time All-American at Minnesota. Jackman graduated in 1968 from the University of Minnesota Medical school and practiced radiology at the Mayo Clinic and Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois, according to the Springfield-based State Journal Register website.

Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards is the youngest player at age 22 on the men’s Olympic basketball roster. Wolves coach Chris Finch sees another opportunity for Edwards to grow from the opportunity, watching how some of the world’s greatest players prepare and handle themselves as professionals.

Edwards has predicted he can contribute in big moments for the U.S. team. “His confidence is something that fuels him, to be quite honest with you,” Finch told Sports Headliners earlier this month.

The team’s opening game in the Paris Olympics is Sunday against Serbia. Start time is 10:15 a.m. CDT with NBC televising.

The Summer Olympics begin tomorrow and cybersecurity company AVG has a warning: phishing and scam attacks rise during the summer and winter games. Attacks were up 280 percent during the 2021 summer Olympics and 238 percent for the 2022 winter games, per AVG.

Hollis Cavner has been a golf trailblazer here for more than 30 years. His efforts began with the Burnet Senior Classic in 1993, then the Coldwell Banker Burnet Classic and 3M Championship and now the 3M Open, Minnesota’s PGA Tour stop in its sixth year and going on this week at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.

Cavner, his employees and volunteers have put high quality golf on the map in Minnesota while raising millions of dollars for local charities and boosting the economy. With the objective of growing interest in the game, kids 16 and under are admitted free to the tournament.

Cavner excels in building relationships including with young golfers such as Sahith Theegala who turned pro in 2020 and is now ranked No. 11 in the world. He will be at the 3M Open as will young players granted an exemption to participate including former Gopher Ben Warian.

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Coach Confident about Wolves Paying Luxury Tax

Posted on July 23, 2024July 23, 2024 by David Shama

The controlling ownership of the Timberwolves is in dispute, but head coach Chris Finch told Sports Headliners he’s optimistic about the organization’s willingness to pay the NBA luxury tax to retain core players and add talent.

“I am extremely confident everyone (among key players) is back. We’re very fortunate to have our top seven players under contract,” Finch said. ‘We’re coming off a great season. We have strong team identity —which we’re looking forward to being able to add to, not detract from.”

That was evidenced on NBA Draft night last month when the Wolves acquired the No. 8 overall selection in the first round from the Spurs by giving up future draft picks. Minnesota used the lottery pick to take Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham. The higher selection increased the franchise’s expected luxury tax by millions of dollars, with Sportrac.com now reporting the luxury tax amount for next season at $105.6 million.

The luxury tax will, of course, be on top of reportedly at least $196 million for next season in committed salaries. “Yes, Glen (Taylor) and ownership have been extremely generous in their willingness to support this roster and the opportunity I think this roster has,” Finch said. “That was evident by our ability to be aggressive on draft night to move up. That doesn’t happen unless you have ownership’s backing.”

Ownership of the Wolves and Lynx is in flux with the legal dispute between long time majority owner Taylor and the Marc Lore, Alex Rodriquez, Michael Bloomberg group. A resolution is expected by fall, with perhaps a vote by NBA owners deciding the matter.

Unconfirmed reports last spring speculated the potential new majority owners wanted to slash payroll, resulting in reduced luxury tax imposed by the league. For now, Taylor remains the majority owner and apparently is willing to pay the tax for exceeding the league tax threshold of $170,814,000.

The organization’s willingness to spend additional monies is sweet music to long suffering Wolves fans. The team is coming off a 56-26 regular season where Minnesota won the second most games in franchise history. The Wolves advanced to the Western Conference playoff finals for only the second time in their history and first time in 20 years.

Minnesota will enter next season among the favored teams to win the NBA championship. “..We have every opportunity to punch through and be considered among those teams,” Finch said after noting the last six titles have been won by six different franchises.

The Wolves return starters Mike Conley Jr., Jaden Daniels, Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. Rounding out the top seven are Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander- Walker.

Towns, among the team’s veterans at age 28, will earn one of the NBA’s top salaries next season at $49,350,000, per ESPN.com. His uber talent as a 7-foot combo power forward-center is undeniable but his inconsistency and pricey paycheck have made him a subject of trade speculation if the basketball front office led by Tim Connelly is told to reduce payroll.

Finch (no surprise) is a KAT supporter and agreed with the suggestion he is underappreciated in this market. “Absolutely. KAT is a phenomenal player,” he said.

Finch also said KAT had a “great season” and is among the team’s most important and impactful players. More than anyone, the coach said, KAT was willing to take the lead role in making the partnership work between himself and 7-foot-1 center Rudy Gobert. The two put to rest a lot of the criticism and skepticism regarding whether “Twin Towers” could play together and help fuel a winning season.

“That, plus, I thought he (KAT) had… outstanding playoffs,” Finch said. “He had a lot of really…under the radar games that were important. He took the match up of (the Suns’ Kevin) Durant, he took the match up of (the Nuggets’ Nikola) Jokic. These are things that normally you wouldn’t have thought in the past that someone would ask of KAT, and in doing so has made a huge impact on our ability to win.”

The 19-year-old Dillingham, who only played one season at Kentucky before entering the NBA Draft, shows promise of being a major contributor off the bench. He has the kind of potential and rookie salary that the Wolves likely couldn’t afford with a similarly talented free agent or traded for player.

On Sunday, in the Wolves’ last Summer League game in Las Vegas, the 6-foot- 3 Dillingham had 25 points and 12 assists in a win over the Magic. He averaged 13.6 points, while Terrence Shannon Jr., who the Wolves selected at No. 27 in the NBA Draft, averaged 13.3.

“They both have NBA skillsets, NBA athleticism, speed and we’re excited about both of them,” Finch said. “And we’re excited about our other young players that haven’t had a chance yet. Josh Minott, Leonard Miller—these guys have an opportunity to earn minutes, too.”

Shannon, a 6-6 guard-forward, shares a skill with Dillingham of successful slashing to the basket. Both could provide valuable scoring off the bench next season, with Finch noting “they have a nose for putting the ball in the basket.” Minott and Miller, both forwards, have intrigued the Wolves with their talents since being added to the roster two years and one year ago respectively.

Finch expects Dillingham and Shannon to play extensive minutes in preseason games. Whether they can average double-digit minutes on the floor during the regular season will depend on understanding the team system and philosophy and executing. Finch added there are “non-negotiables” the coaching staff isn’t willing to accept and added “the first thing they gotta do, like any young player, is make sure they’re not hurting the team.”

There’s a “currency of trust” players must earn. Finch said his rookies will have to improve as the season progresses to achieve that trust.

Finch also said the Wolves not only like Dillingham and Shannon as players and also like their character. He believes they can handle the ups and downs of what awaits them as they start their pro careers.

As with all his players, Finch’s to-do list includes developing a one-on-one relationship with the two first round rookies. Let them know what’s expected and what they need to do.

Some of the relationship building comes away from basketball. “We try to meet them where they are,” Finch said. “We try to get comfortable with them. Who are the people in their lives? … And things they like to do off the floor. They’re all-important things that we need to know about them and learn. The best way to do that is learn them in a casual, comfortable environment.”

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