With the trade deadline looming, whatever moves that are made or not made on the
Timberwolves side, will be made in unison.
The trade deadline is on Thursday at 2 p.m. CT. Trades could be announced after
that time, but all calls to the league need to be made before the 2 p.m. CT
deadline.
The Wolves are in a unique position having fired President of Basketball
Operations Tom Thibodeau last month. Making the front office decisions is
General Manager Scott Layden, who has plenty of experience. He’s a basketball
lifer. Layden made it clear in his first media availability after Thibodeau’s
firing just how dedicated he was to his job and making the Timberwolves better.
“I spend every waking hour I have trying to make this team better and getting it
to a winning way,” Layden said back on Jan. 7. ” . . . It’s one of these deals
where we all need to work as a group and get better.”
Layden and interim head coach Ryan Saunders, who have worked together since
Layden’s arrival in Minnesota in 2016, are in constant communication. There will
be no surprises.
“Scott and I talk multiple times a day,” Saunders said. “We’re on the same page
with everything. So, you know, whatever role is needed of me, I’m always open to
it. And he’s great about communication through things and he’s aware of how I’ve
envisioned this team playing and that, so we’re talking. . . I expect to be part
of it.”
It’s tough to assess the Wolves as a team right now. As of Feb. 6, the team is
25-28, four games back from the eighth seed in the West. The Wolves certainly
would like to be in better position, and the team won’t make excuses, but you
can’t ignore the amount of injuries this team has had.
Robert Covington, an All-NBA defender last season, has missed the last 16 games
with a knee injury. Tyus Jones (ankle) has missed the last nine games. Derrick
Rose (ankle) has missed four of the last five and 11 of the last 18. Jeff Teague
(foot) has missed seven straight just a month after missing nine straight.
“You always want to better your team,” Saunders said. “I know Scott and
everybody in the front office and the scouts are always working on things, but
we always want more additions. We’ve got guys injured, so it’d be nice to get
those guys back, too.”
What makes the NBA so great is the constant 24/7 news cycle. And with that comes
plenty of trade rumors and speculation. Some, unfortunately, come with zero
substance. For Saunders, there’s a challenge of communicating with players over
the next day amid rumors that may or may not be true.
“I mean, really just go business as usual each day,” Saunders said. “I think the
biggest thing and everybody, no matter what role you’re in in the NBA,
assistant, head coach, support staff, anybody, you get relationships with these
players and you know that everybody is human. You hear your name and you might
think about ‘hey, I’m going to start moving my family across the country’ and
things like that, so you do want to be able to communicate with them, but
ultimately everybody knows this business and everybody’s professional about it.”
The next day in the NBA should be wild. We’ll see if the Wolves make any moves
or decide to stay put.
Media Content:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/wolves-same-page-and-constant-communication
-trade-deadline-approaches
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Minnesota Timberwolves, Ryan Saunders, Minnesota
Timberwolves
Media Thumbnail:
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Taxonomy: Scott Layden
Story Link:
https://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/wolves-same-page-and-constant-communication
-trade-deadline-approaches
