Tuesday, 4:06 p.m. – Las Vegas
Sometimes you win money when you gamble. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you try to gamble and you get your ID checked four times in eight minutes and it isn’t fun anymore.
Hi there. We are heading over to the Thomas & Mack Center in about 20 minutes to cover the Wolves and Warriors game which tips off at 7:30 CT on ESPN 2.
What have I done since we last talked?
- Ate lunch with Noah, our cool video dude.
- Put money in a slot machine with Noah. Noah won. I lost.
- Remember when I was at 44 steps at 9:19 a.m.? HA! Things have changed, good friends. I am now at 14,185 steps according to my Fitbit. 20,000, here I come!
Tuesday, 9:19 a.m. – Las Vegas
Good morning!
I have 44 steps right now, so things are really moving along here.
Did I just have a handful of Goldfish for breakfast? You’ll never know.
The Wolves play the Warriors tonight to wrap up preliminary play here in Vegas. The Wolves are currently 1-1, while the Warriors are 0-2.
What’s on my schedule for the day?
I’ll probably roll to the gym at some point to take a nap on the treadmill. I have a few more things to write for this website, including short pieces on the signings of Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague. There’s also a 77 percent chance I go to Casino Royale because they have $3 craps and that’s all a boy can ask for.
Any recommendations for lunch today? Holla at your boy. I’ll check in around lunch time, good friends.
Monday, 5:03 p.m. - Las Vegas
What a day. Not much as far as Summer League content goes considering the real news today was the Wolves introducing Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague to the team.
We have plenty of content up from that and we'll have more tomorrow. As far as Summer League goes, the Wolves are back at it at 7:30 p.m. CT tomorrow against the Warriors of Golden State. I'm kind of tired and want to go watch Miguel Sano win the Home Run Derby, so I think I'm going to do that now. Until tomorrow morning, good friends.
Monday, 7:23 a.m. – Las Vegas
Gooooood morning!
Remember how I said I was going to take 20,000 steps yesterday? I’m not one to brag, but . . . I took 20, 304. So booo ya!
What did I do last night? Walked the strip. Came to hotel. Got a pizza. Ate the pizza. Watched ESPN. Went to bed. Things are getting rather crazy here in Las Vegas. Since Fitbit tracks my sleep, too, I know that I slept seven hours and 41 minutes last night, or more than 90 percent of Las Vegas. So I'm good with that.
What’s on the schedule for the day?
No game for the Wolves. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be busy. The team is having a press conference back in Minneapolis starting at 1 p.m. CT, so we’ll be all over that coverage because technology allows us to.
In the meantime, I’m going to lay in my bed, write some stuff and hoping to see Adam Silver at the gym so I can make up for my very awkward elevator experience.
Talk to you cats around lunch.
Sunday, 7:20 p.m. – Las Vegas
Hello, good friends.
The Wolves beat the Nuggets tonight in pretty much what was the opposite from last night’s game against the Raptors.
Minnesota started out solid and didn’t look back.
Matt Costello is probably my favorite player on this Summer League team because the dude gives 100 percent. We talked to him after the game and he’s looking for a roster spot, and if he plays like he did tonight (15 rebounds), he just might get one.
My work tonight is done. All of our postgame work is done. It’s only 7:20 p.m. but I am fairly certain I could sleep for 12 hours right now.
Instead, I’ll probably walk around the town and lose all of my money. This seems promising.
I’ll talk to you cats in the morning!
Sunday, 1:24 p.m. - Las Vegas
Yo. Yo. Yo.
About two hours before the Wolves play the Nuggets in their second Summer League game.
What have I done since we last talked?
Gym. 10,521 steps. No big deal . . .
Wrote a few articles that you can find on this site.
Ate Cheetos.
Realized I was out of toothpaste so I went to buy a mini tube for $8. Stay woke. Vegas will get you.
That's all I've got. I'll check back in when we get back from tonight's game.
Sunday, 8:08 a.m. – Las Vegas
Good morning, peeps. Sorry on only two posts yesterday. After landing, I was pretty rushed to get to the Timberwolves Summer League game, which wasn’t the best showing from the Wolves, but it’s Summer League. It’s supposed to be filled with learning experiences.
Two bright spots for the Wolves: Marcus Paige and Jack Gibbs. For a team that could use some wing help, they could make a push for a two-way contract.
Here are a few other random thoughts from the last 15 hours or so:
Step Up
I went grocery shopping at CVS which consisted of me getting Chex Mix and Cheetos. I’m the type of person who beats himself up on not working out (which probably is weird considering I'm not the best eater), but according to my Fitbit, I hit 13,613 steps. That’s not bad! I’m aiming for 20,000 today.
I’m Awkward
I saw NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in the elevator last night. It was just us two. I told him “I’m a big fan of yours.” He said, “thanks.”
I’m stupid and awkward. Of all the things I could have possibly said, that’s all I got? I’ve let you all down. My parents are probably photoshopping me out of family albums now.
Summer League Observations
I stuck around a little bit to watch the Lakers and Celtics game which included Lonzo Ball and Jayson Tatum.
I’ve watched all of the highlights and I get that Ball has the media’s attention with his dad and all of that. And he had a solid game with an 11-point, 11-assist and 11-rebound triple-double. But Tatum finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead Boston. In my mind, that’s the story. If Tatum can contribute from Day 1 to the Celtics, who were already a contender, that’s freaking scary.
What are my plans for the rest of the day, you ask? (You didn’t ask this because you don’t care but I’m going to answer regardless.)
I have another “Get-To-Know” piece going up, a feature on Tom Thibodeau’s media availability yesterday and I need to go get more tooth paste.
The Wolves play at 3:30 Vegas time tonight. We’ll be there.
I’ll update you guys after lunch.
Saturday, 2:17 p.m. - Las Vegas
We'll make this short and sweet. Arrived in Vegas. It's like 111 degrees here, so that's great.
Noah, our video dude, is here and we are ready go to cover the Wolves and Raptors game at the Thomas & Mack Center.
I'll check back in after the game. Later
Saturday, 9:35 a.m. – Minneapolis
Good morning!
I’m currently at the Minneapolis airport waiting for my flight to take off to Las Vegas.
The Timberwolves kick off their 2017 Summer League tonight in the City of Brotherly Love against the Raptors of Toronto.
So far, I’ve had two pieces of toast and a coffee that my waiter was very eager to take from me. There’s an 84 percent chance I get Peanut M&Ms before my flight takes off. Mustard pretzels are also under consideration.
Fun fact: There is no gate G27. I looked for it for about an hour. There is, however, a G20, where I was supposed to go. That has resulted in me taking 4,600 steps so far this morning. Did I count all of my steps? While I tried, I lost track after step 818. My Fitbit did the rest of the work.
I’m pretty sure I saw former Yankees player Aaron Boone here. And while I thought about getting a picture with him, I then remembered that I’m 27 and I don’t need to do that.
I arrive in Vegas around noon. I’ll head to my hotel, drop off my stuff and ground transport to the Thomas & Mack Center to watch the Wolves play.
Summer League is weird because these guys don’t really practice at all together so you really have no idea what to expect. I am looking forward to see former Notre Dame forward V.J. Beachem. He’s a guy who could make a run at a roster spot.
We’ll have plenty of content up from this trip, so you should pay attention to this website. I’ll check back in when I land.