Brandon Rush

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Brandon Rush and Cole Aldrich both signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason. You’re at Timberwolves.com, so chances are you already know that. If not, well, sorry about the spoiler.

They both starred on the 2007-08 Kansas Jayhawks team that won the National Championship.

That Kansas team made it through Portland State, UNLV, Villanova, Davidson (and Steph Curry), North Carolina (and Tyler Hansbrough) and Memphis (and Derrick Rose) to win the championship.

Mostly, we’ll remember Mario Chalmers’s shot to send the game to overtime.

Kansas would go onto win 75-68. It remains Bill Self's only championship win.

Aldrich was a freshman center on that team. Three years later, he would become a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, but throughout his freshman season, he averaged just 2.8 points and three rebounds per game.

In the National Championship game, he played just four minutes.

Rush was a much bigger part on that team, averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game while shooting 41.9 percent from the 3-point line. In the National Championship, Rush played 42 minutes and finished with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. He shot an efficient 5-for-9 from the field.

Rush was taken 13th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft, forgoing his senior season.

That team produced NBA players such as Chalmers, Aldrich, Rush, Sherron Collins, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson.

Of course, seven years later another future Timberwolves’ player would become a Kansas Jayhawk. He goes by the name of Andrew Wiggins and you may have heard of him.

Chances are, come March Madness, the three former Jayhawks will find a place to watch the games.

“I did a radio interview this morning and said we need to do a throwback Timberwolves with a Jayhawk patch on the jersey or something,” Aldrich said when the Wolves introduced him to the Minneapolis media.

There’s a good chance Shabazz Muhammad and Zach LaVine, two UCLA guys, will vote against that.

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Rush And Aldrich Have More In Common Than Just Signing With The Wolves

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A Year In Photos | Brandon Rush

72 games, 25 starts, 4.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, 42.7 FG%, 41.4 3P%, 64.3 FT%

The Minnesota Timberwolves went out and accomplished a couple of goals when they signed Rush this offseason. The Wolves got themselves a shooter, something they desperately needed.

Rush is a lifetime 40.3 percent 3-point shooter on 4.5 attempts per 36 minutes. The Wolves shot just 33.8 percent last season, ranking 25th in the league.

He should be able to help immediately in that regard. The team also gets a solid player off the bench who has been around a winning culture for the last two seasons in Golden State. Having Kris Dunn, Rush and Shabazz Muhammad coming off the bench gives the Wolves a better scoring punch than the second unit could throw last season. In 2015-16, most of the pressure was on Muhammad to score, which wasn’t fair to him.

One concern for Rush is perhaps his health. Rush has torn his ACL twice and that caused him to miss virtually the whole 2012-13 season and a big chunk of the 2013-14 season. While there will always be concerns with knee injuries, especially ACL injuries, it looks like Rush is as healthy as somebody can be after two ACL injuries.

It should be promising for Wolves fans that Rush played in 72 games (his most since 2009-10) last season, starting in 25 (also most since 2009-10). He played 14.7 minutes per game last season, which is about what he'll be expected to contribute to the Wolves in 2016-17.

In this 120-101 home win over the Kings, Rush got the start and played an efficient 19 minutes, finishing with 16 points (second on team) to go with three rebounds and an assist. He shot 5-for-8 from the field, 4-for-5 from the 3-point line and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Rush came off the bench in this 120-90 blowout win over the Spurs and finished with 13 points in 17 minutes. Again, he was a nearly perfect shooter, shooting 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from the 3-point line. He also added three assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Rush’s best game of the season came in another start in which Rush was lights out from the field. In nearly 30 minutes, Rush finished with 20 points, shooting 8-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 from the 3-point line. He also added four rebounds, one steal and one block.

At this point in his career, Rush is who he is. He’s 31 years old and chances are he’s not going to add anything wild to his game.

He is, though, on a new team – his fourth team in eight seasons in the league. He should reach out to the coaching staff and his teammates to get a little bit of comfortability and familiarity before heading into training camp.

More than likely, Rush will come off the bench as another wing option next to Muhammad. The nice thing with Rush is that there’s some position flexibility. He can play the 2 and the 3, which means he can play with Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins and Muhammad if the team wants to play small ball and put Muhammad at the power forward.

He’s a solid 3-and-D player and gives the team much-needed shooting. The Wolves have guys that can shoot, but Rush is a shooter. There’s a difference.

Don’t sleep on Rush potentially starting at shooting guard. He’s a better defender than LaVine and gives the starting lineup some shooting. He’ll still be limited to 15-20 minutes, but similar to Kevin Garnett starting last season for his defense, Rush would do the same for his offense and shooting.

“We’re excited to have him as well. Again, where he’s coming from, a winning organization… He started 25 games for them last year. His versatility at 6’7, 6’8, and his ability on the defensive end. His ability to play multiple positions… The shooting was the main thing with him.” – Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau on Brandon Rush.

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Roster Review | Brandon Rush

Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations and Head Coach Tom Thibodeau addressed the media via conference call to chat free agency on Saturday afternoon from Summer League.

So far, the only official move has been signing wing Brandon Rush, a solid 3-point shooter that we’ve discussed a little bit already. But Thibodeau elaborated more on Rush during the call.

“We’re excited to have him as well,” Thibodeau said. “Again, where he’s coming from, a winning organization… He started 25 games for them last year. His versatility at 6’7, 6’8 and his ability on the defensive end. His ability to play multiple positions… The shooting was the main thing with him.”

Rush has had some injury history, suffering two torn ACLs already, but he did play in 72 games last season, averaged 14.7 minutes per game and shot 41.4 percent from 3-point line. That was after playing just 73 games in the previous three years combined.

Thibodeau thinks that after a few rough years, Rush is recovered, as much as he can be.

“Most players have to get past things and he’s shown that,” Thibodeau said. “… Obviously being healthy last year and being able to fill a role, I think he’s a good fit.”

Rush will likely be a good back-up wing who can play somewhere between 12-18 minutes. His shooting fills a need, while his experience does, too. Rush is 31 and is just a year removed from winning a title with the Golden State Warriors.

Thibodeau said that the Wolves aren’t necessarily done yet in free agency, but he’s taking a slower route with the process which is probably the right move considering the Wolves probably won’t be contending for the championship next season and there’s plenty of young talent on the roster.

“We’re still being patient,” Thibodeau said. “We’ll see what presents itself. We want to take everything step-by-step. The first part was the draft, and then of course free agency… We think we have assets that are attractive to other people. We’re pleased.”

Free agency was obviously crazy with the cap rising so much and there were some moves that we’ll probably look back on and think of as irresponsible. But Thibodeau wasn’t surprised by the moves at all and said more than anything, it shows how successful the NBA has been lately, on and off the court.

“It says a lot about where the NBA is. I think our league is doing great,” Thibodeau said. “I think our players have done a great job of representing our league in a very positive way. I think it’s good. I’m not surprised because it’s all relative to performance. I think the guys who have performed well have been rewarded.”

Thibodeau said exactly what you figured he’d say after Kris Dunn’s 27-point Summer League debut.

“Well, it’s the beginning, first game of Summer League,” Thibodeau said. “You can’t get too carried away with it, but I thought for his first outing, he did well overall. There’s a long way to go. There’s a big difference between Summer League and an NBA regular season game; and certainly a postseason game. It’s a start.”

That might seem like a buzz kill, but Thibs is spot on. It’s OK to be excited. Dunn was the best rookie on the first day of Summer League. But it’s the first day of Summer League. Dunn seems like the type of player who won’t ever get too high or low, so he probably agrees with Thibodeau.

Ryan Saunders is leading the Summer League squad for the second straight season. Saunders gave a bit of “coach talk” on Friday night when asked about Dunn’s viral crossover. The shot, however, didn’t’ go in.

“Well, I normally like it when the ball goes in the basket,” Saunders said.

He’s a coach who has the respect of players and coaches. There aren’t many who work harder than him. So far Thibodeau, another guy who works extremely hard, has been very impressed with the 30-year-old coach.

“He’s been terrific. I think coming up and being a part of the organization, obviously being around Flip,” Thibodeau said. “He’s also learning a new system, he’s doing a good job keeping us organized. Not for him, but for the entire staff, it’s a chance for everybody to work together. Start to develop and understanding of game planning, preparation, our practice drills, our offensive system and our defensive system and how we’re going to function during the year.”

Thibodeau said that the team is still talking to a number of people to join the front office.

“We’ll announce all the hirings at one time.”

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Thibodeau Talks Free Agency & More

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced on Friday morning that they had signed Brandon Rush.

Rush is a 31-year-old wing, who is an exceptional shooter and solid defender. He’s the first official signing of Tom Thibodeau and Scott Layden’s tenure.

No, it’s not the splashiest move. But sometimes the splashy moves end up being the wrong moves. Remember when the Philadelphia Eagles signed all the best free agents like five years ago and called themselves the “dream team?”

We’re at Summer League right now and Thibodeau is set to talk more tomorrow about Rush, but here’s a quick rundown on what he can bring the Wolves.

Rush’s bread and butter is his shooting. He’s a lifetime 40.3 percent 3-point shooter. In eight NBA seasons, he’s eclipsed 40 percent four times, including hitting 45.2 percent in 2011-12 with the Warriors.

He suffered an ACL injury in 2012 and really struggled to get back to form after. That was until last season when he shot 41.4 percent with the Warriors and played in 72 games, his most since 2009-10.

The Wolves were a bad shooting team last season. That’s being nice. The Wolves shot 33.8 percent from deep, 25th in the league and only hit 455 3-pointers. Only the Milwaukee Bucks made less.

Rush is 31 years old. He’s played in the league for eight years. The Wolves had just four players with more experience on their roster last season, and two of them (Andre Miller and Kevin Martin) didn’t end the season with the Wolves. The other two, Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince, weren’t able to give the Wolves a whole lot of production on the court.

The Wolves hope Rush is the best of both worlds. Ideally, he’s a guy who can play 12-18 minutes off the bench while giving the second until 3-point shooting, and the locker room leadership.

This is a little trickier to measure, but after two torn ACLs, Rush fit right in on a Warriors’ defense that switched more than the Cleveland Browns have quarterbacks in the last decade. OK, maybe not that much. But still

If Thibodeau didn’t like what Rush could bring defensively, I doubt he’d sign him.

We’ll have more coming tomorrow on the Rush signing. Now back to Summer League. 

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What Can Rush Bring To The Wolves?

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Gallery | Brandon Rush Through The Years

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed guard/forward Brandon Rush. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Rush, 31, shot 41.4 percent (65-for-157) from three-point range while averaging 4.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 14.7 minutes in 72 games last season for the Golden State Warriors. Rush started 25 games for the Warriors last year, averaging 7.0 points and 3.3 rebounds in 21.0 minutes per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, including 49.4 percent from three-point range.

The 6-6 guard/forward has career averages of 7.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in eight NBA seasons with Golden State, Utah and Indiana. Rush is a career 40.3 percent (478-for-1186) shooter from beyond the arc, making him one of just 11 active players to own a career 40 percent mark from three-point range in at least 1,000 career attempts.

Rush was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 13th pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft and traded the following month to the Indiana Pacers. He played three seasons with Indiana. In 2009-10, Rush played in all 82 games (64 starts) and averaged 9.4 points and a career-high 4.2 rebounds. On Dec. 19, 2011, he was traded to Golden State where he averaged a career-best 9.8 points per game while appearing in 65 games in that shortened season. Rush was traded to Utah in the summer of 2013 and played the 2013-14 season with the Jazz before signing as a free agent with Golden State in the summer of 2014.

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Timberwolves Sign Guard/Forward Brandon Rush

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