Cole Aldrich

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60 games, 5 starts, 5.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 59.6 FG%, 71.4 FT%

The Wolves entered the 2016 offseason needing a big who could protect the rim.

And the icing on the cake was that it was a player most Minnesotans are familiar with in former Bloomington-Jefferson star Cole Aldrich.

After bouncing around from Oklahoma City, Houston, Sacramento and New York, Aldrich found his niche last season for a 53-win Los Angeles Clippers team.

Aldrich is a defensive-minded center. He has proof. A scar on his forehead and a removable tooth that he’s not afraid to take out.

The big man ranked first in the NBA in Defensive Box Plus/Minus last season with a 5.8 mark, per Basketball-Reference.

Despite the limited minutes, Aldrich eclipsed double-digit points in nine games, double-digit rebounds in six and three or more blocks in eight.

Aldrich is a hard worker on both ends of the court and does what is asked of him. Effort will never be an issue for the big man. He should fit right in with Tom Thibodeau and the rest of the Wolves.

In this 110-103 home loss to the Kings, Aldrich started for DeAndre Jordan and played exceptional in nearly 29 minutes. He finished with 19 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists. He shot an efficient 8-for-14 from the field.

The Clippers had already clinched their playoff spot going into this game, so guys like Jordan, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul took the night off. While the Clippers lost 114-105, Aldrich did his part, finishing with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Aldrich was a beast in this 102-99 win over the Jazz in Utah. The big man played nearly 40 minutes and finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds, five steals, two assists and one block. That’s a grown-man’s box score. He shot an efficient 10-for-15 from the field. In no surprise, all of his buckets came at the rim. 

He needs to get Andrew Wiggins, a young star on the Wolves, to forgive him for this filthy block from March 19, 2015.

Some players never come back from that. Chase Budinger was so surprised by the lack of Kansas love that he just panicked and threw up a wide-open air ball. 

In all seriousness, the only thing Aldrich really needs to do is connect with his future teammates and the coaching staff. He’s a veteran and his game is what it is. Obviously he’ll be working on his craft day in and day out, but he’s a rim protector who is effective offensively when he’s rolling to the rim. Don’t fix what’s not broken.

The Wolves went from lacking depth at the post position to having an abundance of it thanks to the signings of Aldrich and Jordan Hill this offseason.

More than likely, Aldrich will come off the bench and play 15 to 20 minutes in a similar role he did last season with the Clippers. He averaged 6.3 fouls per 36 minutes last season, so he probably won’t be given a starter’s plate to scarf down.

Don’t be shocked, though, if Thibodeau starts with Aldrich at the center and Karl-Anthony Towns at the power forward. This could save Towns from a few “cheap” early fouls, while the Wolves would have a solid defender to start, similar to what they had last season with Kevin Garnett.

Obviously, there are still a lot of moving parts here as Garnett has yet to decide if he’ll return for the 2016-17 season.

“You know, you always kind of have it, maybe, in the back of your mind. And you never really know if it would happen, or when it would ever happen. My wife and I just got back from Italy, and we were sitting in a small little town in wine country. And I got a call from Thibs. And we just kind of talked and talked. And I kind of thought in the back of my mind, ‘you know, maybe there is a chance.’ Who knows, it’s still early in free agency, it’s only two days in, and you just don’t know. And then, I talked to my agent another day or two later and the option was there. And we were ecstatic. You know, it’s home for us. I grew up watching the Timberwolves, watching KG in the conference finals. And all those teams that they had when they made that run. It brings a real excitement to me.” – Cole Aldrich on joining his hometown team.

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Roster Review | Cole Aldrich

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A Year In Photos | Cole Aldrich

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

A return to Minnesota was always in the back of Cole Aldrich’s mind.

Not to visit. Aldrich already came back to Plymouth during each offseason, but to play for good.

“You never really know if it would happen, or when it would ever happen,” Aldrich said.

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced earlier this week that they had signed Aldrich to a deal. The center was born in Burnsville before he attended Bloomington Jefferson High School. During his senior season, he was named the state’s player of the year by both the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press.

He’s been almost everywhere since then. He attended Kansas, was a Second Team All-American in 2010 and an NCAA champion in 2008. He declared for the 2010 NBA Draft and was taken 11th overall by the New Orleans Hornets before being traded to the Oklahoma City. Since then, he’s played for the Rockets, Kings, Knicks and most recently, the Clippers.

And after being in so many unfamiliar places, Aldrich is now in a very familiar place. Home.

Aldrich said he first knew it was a possibility when Tom Thibodeau called him when he was vacationing with his wife in Italy.

“It was just kind of an easy conversation,” Aldrich said.

Aldrich nearly played for Thibodeau when he was coaching the Chicago Bulls and was able to get to know the defensive-minded coach when he observed the Clippers last season during the preseason.

“I think he understood the person and player that I am,” Aldrich said.

Aldrich is humble. He chats with media members, joking that one should cover his phone bill after calling him in Italy after the signing was first reported.

His father was in attendance, but only for a few hours because he was going back to work after the press conference.

“The old man missed a few hours of work today, so he’s going back to work here in a little bit,” Aldrich joked.

Aldrich said that the financial security of a multi-year contract, after bouncing around the league since 2010, is nice, but nothing really changes. He’s still going to come to work and work just as hard if his team is doing great or is struggling.

It goes back to how he was raised and who he is as a person. He may not have had the big contract, but he didn’t need it to feel complete on or off the court.

“I’ve been wealthy for a long time. Ever since I was a kid: great family, friends. To me, that’s what it’s all about.”

Aldrich is trying to find ways to help the community, the community he is from. But with that comes hometown pressure, right? It’s something Aldrich accepts, but not something he’s super worried about.

And being the type of player Aldrich is, he shouldn’t need to worry about not having the fan support. He stopped during the press conference to show us a scar on his forehead and even took out a removeable tooth. The original got knocked out while playing physical defense, something he loves to do. And something that Thibodeau will love.

“I’m a defensive player,” Aldrich said. “I love to get my nose dirty. As you can tell, I’ve got a few scars and I’ve got a missing tooth. It kind of fits the groove. (I’m) just excited to play for (Thibodeau) and the organization is going to be really good in a few years.”

Aldrich brings toughness and is coming off of his best season as a pro with a Los Angeles Clippers team that grabbed the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. He played in 60 games and averaged 5.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Those numbers don’t exactly scream, “free agency steal!” But when you consider the fact that he was backing up All-NBA Defensive center DeAndre Jordan, it looks better. Per 36 minutes, Aldrich averaged a career-high 14.8 points to go with 13 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.

“Playing behind Jordan, it’s always a tall task because he’s one of the best centers defensively,” Aldrich said. “… Going in, my goal was always to try to do my best to keep my level where it was when he was in the game. For me, it was defensively. I had the opportunity to score the ball on pick and rolls sometime, but defensively I wanted to make that mark. For me, the next few seasons, that’s where I want to do it.”

He hasn’t talked to Thibodeau about his role with the team yet, but given what he did last season, it’s easy to see where he’ll fit in. The Wolves lacked interior defense and Aldrich will bring that, whether he starts games with Karl-Anthony Towns at the center, or comes off the bench (more likely) for 15 minutes per game.

Whatever his role is on his hometown team, it would be extremely satisfying for him if the was part of a Timberwolves' resurgence and bringing the Wolves back to the playoffs.

“I would love it. I’ve been a fan of the Wolves my whole life. Just to kind of get back, I remember I was sitting in the arena when they went to the conference finals against the Lakers back in ’04. That was my freshman year of high school. I remember the atmosphere and the excitement. Being in the playoffs this last year and my first few years, just seeing those crowds and knowing what our city would be to have that crowd would be awesome.”

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The Hometown Kid Comes Back Home

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Gallery | Cole Aldrich Introductory Press Conference

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed center and Bloomington, Minnesota native Cole Aldrich. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Aldrich, 27, averaged 5.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 13.3 minutes per game last season with the Los Angeles Clippers. Aldrich started five games for the Clippers in 2015-16, averaging 15.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals in 29.6 minutes per contest. Aldrich posted career highs in field goal percentage (59.6%), blocks per game (1.13) and steals per game (0.78) and was the only player in the NBA last season to record a game of at least 21 points, 18 rebounds and 5 steals.

The 6-11 center owns career averages of 3.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in parts of six NBA seasons with Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, Houston and Oklahoma City. Aldrich was originally the 11th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft by New Orleans before his draft rights were traded to Oklahoma City on July 8, 2010.

Aldrich starred for Bloomington Jefferson High School, earning 2007 Minnesota State High School Player of the Year honors from Gatorade, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press as he led the Jaguars to Lake Conference and Section 2AAAA titles. Aldrich was also named a McDonald’s All-American in 2006.

Aldrich went on to play for the University of Kansas where he averaged 9.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in three years as a Jayhawk. Aldrich was a consensus 2nd Team All-America selection and a Wooden Award Finalist his junior season before declaring for the NBA draft.

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Timberwolves Sign Center Cole Aldrich

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