2015 Training Camp

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After practicing for the first time in 10 days with a right quad injury on Friday, point guard Ricky Rubio made it two practices in a row on Saturday.

This makes it more likely that Rubio will play in a live game for the first time since March 18 tomorrow against the Memphis Grizzlies. While it appears as if Rubio will play (he’s currently listed as probable), interim head coach Sam Mitchell didn’t give a definitive answer.

“He practiced,” Mitchell said. “So if he feels good tomorrow, he’ll play.”

So right now, you can probably pencil him in to get some minutes tomorrow – but we’ve seen things like this change before. It would be great to get Rubio minutes with a new starting lineup before the regular season starts. After all, there are only three preseason games before the regular season starts on Oct. 28.

Rubio admitted on Friday that his conditioning wasn’t exactly where it needed to be, and that’s to be expected with a quad injury. But he’s going full speed and has looked like the player we saw last season before spraining his ankle against Orlando.

“He’s looked good,” Zach LaVine said. “He looked like Ricky. Passing the ball, moving, energetic. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

In other injury related news, shooting guard Kevin Martin had a full practice after back spasms kept him out of Wednesday night’s game. Mitchell noted on Saturday that he’d like to give Martin a few more minutes before the regular season starts.

LaVine spent last season playing majority at the point guard spot, something that was completely new for him. This season, Mitchell announced that he’ll start the season as the team’s starting shooting guard.

Mitchell has said throughout camp that it’s beneficial having two starters who can handle the ball with Rubio and LaVine. It sounds like we could see more of LaVine running the point this week.

“I did it all last year, so I mean, it’s the same thing,” LaVine said. “Wherever coach puts me, I’m going to go out there and work my hardest… Whether it’s point guard or shooting guard, I feel like I know both the roles.

Whether that means with Rubio or when Rubio subs out has yet to be seen.

The Wolves will tip off against the Grizzlies tomorrow at 5 p.m. The game will not be on TV or radio.

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Practice Report | Rubio Practices For Second Straight Day

After playing three games in Canada as part of the NBA’s 2015 Canada Series, the Minnesota Timberwolves finally got a practice in on their own floor on Friday afternoon.

Point guard Ricky Rubio practiced for the first time in 10 days. Rubio was being bothered by a right quad injury and he said after Friday’s back that everything was great, perhaps besides his conditioning.

“I felt tired, but that’s normal,” Rubio said. “Just got to pick up. Now we’ve got like 10 days before the first game.”

Rubio and the Wolves will practice again on Saturday before traveling to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday evening. Rubio said that if he feels good after tomorrow’s practice, he’ll give it a go on Sunday against the Grizzlies.

It’s getting down to crunch time for Rubio to play with the starting lineup with just three preseason games remaining before the regular season starts on Oct. 28.

“I can adapt very quick,” Rubio said. “A point guard, I got to know the personnel. I’ve been around since day one… I think everything’s going to be all right.”

Rubio hasn’t played in a live game since March 18 and played in just 22 games last season.

He did take part in Friday’s 5-on-5 scrimmage.

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Practice Report | The Return Of Rubio

After Friday’s practice, the Minnesota Timberwolves prepped to go up north to Canada to kick of the NBA’s 2015 Canada Series.

Some players like Karl-Anthony Towns have never been to Canada.

For brothers Andrew and Nick Wiggins, though, it will be a mini-homecoming.

Both are from Toronto and Andrew especially has become the new face of Canadian basketball even though he’s playing in Minnesota.

The Wolves will kick off the series tomorrow in Winnipeg against the Bulls. They will then play the Raptors on Monday in Toronto and against on Wednesday in Ottawa.

“(We're) definitely excited for the road trip in Canada,” Nick said. “… It’s going to be very exciting and obviously a blessing to play where you grew up.”

It will also be an interesting experience for interim head coach Sam Mitchell.

Mitchell coached the Raptors from 2004 to 2009, compiling a 156-189 overall record while winning the 2006-07 Coach of the Year Award. Mitchell was asked if he feels any sort of satisfaction that he has felt with the growth of basketball in Canada since he was head coach.

“No, guys,” Mitchell said. “Ya’ll think a little more of it than I do. I just take it day to day.”

The trip should be good for team building, especially for the rookies and new faces on the squad.

We’ll be posting plenty of content from our folks at NBA Canada throughout the trip, so make sure to check back in.

After Wednesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Shabazz Muhammad was a bit frustrated. So frustrated that after the game, he went to the new practice facility to put up shots at about 10:30 p.m.

He was joined by second-year big man Adreian Payne.

A 24-year-old and a 22-year-old in the gym (after a game) at 10:30 p.m. when they have the following day off. You don’t see that every day.

Muhammad thinks it will be regular thing for some of the younger guys this season.

“I think that’s something that’s great for us young guys and I think it’s going to happen more during the year,” Muhammad said. “We should definitely get in here. This facility is so nice, I can’t help but get in here.”

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Practice Report - Oct. 9 | Going To Canada

There will be changes to the Minnesota Timberwolves' rotation.

At least for their first preseason game – which might not mean a whole lot.

Interim head coach Sam Mitchell announced that Ricky Rubio (strained right quad) will not play tomorrow. Rubio has been in-and-out of practice the last few days and missed Tuesday’s practice.

“He did some stuff on the side,” Mitchell said after practice. “But I’m going to hold him out tomorrow because if you’re not practicing, it doesn’t make sense to play him in a preseason game.”

The Wolves would love to have Rubio on the court, but a positive is that it’s not his ankle. Minnesota has already taken the injury-prone train with Nikola Pekovic – and it’s not a fun ride.

Mitchell revealed to SiriusXM NBA Radio after practice that Wolves rookie Tyus Jones would get the start for the Wolves in tomorrow’s preaseason opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

His first matchup? Russell Westbrook. Oh, fun. 

Jones looked good in Monday night’s scrimmage, hitting three 3-pointers and looking more comfortable running the offense – something he struggled a bit with during Summer League.

“Man, he’s mature. I mean, he’ll get the opportunity to go out there tomorrow and just be himself,” veteran point guard Andre Miller said about his understudy. “He’s way ahead of the game. He’s got a lot of smarts. Just try to help out as much as I can and hopefully I can rub off a little bit.”

It’s also worth noting that Miller was the last to leave practice today. Maybe to avoid the media members, which he wasn’t able to do. He’s a vet. He knows how the game works.

Chances are he’ll teach Jones a thing or two before the end of the season.

Tough to say exactly what this means. It’s probably safe to call it a competition at this point and with the first start of preseason, LaVine looks to have the edge.

Certainly an intriguing storyline as camp continues.

That he’s already feeling extremely comfortable with the Wolves. The second-year forward said that he’s play more power forward this season than he did last year in Indiana, but he doesn’t see that becoming a problem.

“Throughout my career (overseas) I would have seasons where I played only 4 or only 3,” Rudez said. “… It’s not that big of a difference because I know my advantage is (my) shot.”

Rudez hit three 3-pointers on Tuesday and is fighting for playing time. One thing that he showed during the scrimmage is that he also has the ability to be a very good passer when the offense is rolling. 

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Training Camp Report | Time To Shine For Tyus

Our Kyle Ratke was able to speak with Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins at this year's Media Day. As always, Wiggins was a man of few words. 

KR: This summer obviously was different than last summer for you. Did you work on anything in particular for your game?

AW: Yeah, just trying to perfect everything, you know? Gotta get my ball handling ready, my shooting.

AW: Definitely. He’s a good friend of mine. I think that will be a great opportunity for him (in Toronto).

KR: Pretty cool to have your brother in camp? Obviously you had him in Summer League as well, but will it be fun going against him every day?

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Three Questions With Andrew Wiggins

Heading into Monday night’s scrimmage at the Target Center, fans had many questions regarding the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Is Ricky Rubio healthy? Who is this Nemanja Bjelica guy? Has Zach LaVine really looked as good as media members have told us? 

Not all the questions were answered, but fans, media members and interim head coach Sam Mitchell came away more knowledgeable about the 2015-16 Wolves after the scrimmage.

The scrimmage consisted of four 10-minute quarters. The Black team consisted of LaVine, Bjelica, Tyus Jones, Andrew Wiggins, Kevin Garnett, Karl-Anthony Towns, Damjan Rudez, and Kleon Penn. 

The White team consisted of Andre Miller, Kevin Martin, Shabazz Muhammad, Adreian Payne, Gorgui Dieng, Lorenzo Brown, Nick Wiggins and Tayshaun Prince.

Rubio did not play as a precaution. He’s still expected to be available for the start of the season.

The scrimmage wasn’t so much of a dunk contest as it was an actual game. The Black team proved to be the better team, constantly moving the ball. A big part of that was Bjelica. The Serbian forward would drive and kick, finding a teammate for an open 3 or for an easy layup. 

His teammates haven’t seen much of Bjelica yet, but so far, so good. 

“I like him a lot,” Wiggins said. “He’s very skilled. He can shoot the ball, amazing passer.” 

No stats were officially kept, but thanks to our public relations team for this: 

Towns and Rudez led the Black team with 13 points each. LaVine added 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. Jones finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. 

Dieng led the White team with 13 points, while Brown added 12. Payne had the game’s only double-double, finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

It’s tough to know what exactly to take away from a scrimmage, but Mitchell seemed pleased with how his team played. He also knows that it’s early – the team still has three weeks before the regular season starts.

“We’ve still got a long ways to go, a lot of work, but I like the way the guys the guys passed, setting screens, moved,” Mitchell said. “Getting up and down the court. We did a lot of good things, but we still got a lot of work.”

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Things To Build On In Team's Open Scrimmage

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Photo Gallery | Wolves Kick Off Season With Open Scrimmage

Editor's Note: Our Kyle Ratke was able to chat with Ricky Rubio at Media Day about his ankle, his relationship with Arnie Kander, and the 2016 Olympics. Here's a bit of their talk.

KR: The question everyone wants to know. How’s the ankle doing?

RR: Pretty good. I’ve been working all summer to get healthy. I’ve been cleared to play 5-on-5 a month ago. I haven’t done much, but I feel good. I’ve been doing conditioning and all of that stuff to keep me in shape and do a lot of stuff.

KR: You’ve met with new Vice President of Sports Performance Arnie Kander already. He seems to be a big fan of yours. What’s he been like?

RR: Yeah, I mean, I like the chemistry we already have between the both of us. He’s smart, he’s knowledgeable about not just what he does, but life in general. He’s amazing to work with him and learn from him.

KR: It was probably tough for you to sit out for Spain this summer. I’m assuming you’ll be suiting up next summer for the Olympics?

RR: Yeah, I mean if I’m healthy I will. I was watching the European championships through TV and it was so tough to watch it on TV but it was fun to see them win. 

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Three Questions With Ricky Rubio

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