Latest news with #MikeConley
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Wolves face elimination after Game 4 loss to Thunder [RAW]
Wolves Mike Conley on his future Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley spoke with the media as the team's season came to an end Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. He reflected on the loss and talked about his future role with the team. 9:08 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Thunder at -750 a 'fair price' to win NBA Finals
Wolves Mike Conley on his future Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley spoke with the media as the team's season came to an end Wednesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. He reflected on the loss and talked about his future role with the team. 9:08 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
Reuters
19 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Tim Connelly: Timberwolves need to be 'creative as possible' with roster
June 3 - It's fair to say Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly's default position is not to stand pat. In February 2023, he moved D'Angelo Russell for Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker - two key parts of the Timberwolves' eight-man rotation that just reached the Western Conference finals for the second straight year. Last October, Connelly shipped four-time NBA All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo - two more key pieces in that eight-man rotation. So, with the NBA draft and free agency fast approaching, what might Connelly have in store in order to get the Timberwolves to their first NBA title? "I mean, you're always just guessing," Connelly said. "I mean, I don't know. I mean, until you win it all, you've got to be very self-critical and look for areas where you can improve upon. "This time of year is especially active because the draft (precedes) free agency, so it's really one of the biggest transactional windows we have. We feel very happy with the core we have. We don't feel like there's a tremendous pressure to do much. But, you know, until you're raising the trophy, you've got to be active and creative as possible to try to get to a point where, at some point, you're the final team." Presuming Connelly wants to bring back every member of that eight-man rotation that went 27-12 over the final three months of the regular season and defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 and the Golden State Warriors 4-1 in the playoffs, he's going to have to do some financial gymnastics. Minnesota led the NBA in total cap allocations in 2024-25 at $237,156,897. Hypothetically, the Wolves could live well above the cap again, but forwards Julius Randle and Naz Reid are veterans who get to decide whether to accept a contract option for next season or become a free agent. Meanwhile, Alexander-Walker is an unrestricted free agent. "The goal is to keep everybody," Connelly said. But if any or all three move on, the Timberwolves have the Nos. 17 and 31 picks in the NBA draft. They also have three youngsters who just completed their first season - wing Terrence Shannon Jr., guard Rob Dillingham and forward Jaylen Clark - who could warrant more minutes next year. At the same time, the current group lost the Western Conference finals in five games to the Oklahoma City Thunder - an organization loaded with enough younger players and first-round picks that it ought to contend for several more years. "I think (our) team grew together as it got to know each other, so I don't know if there's a ton of certain skillsets we need," Connelly said. "I think it's more kind of collective maturity - to be able to play different ways and have... you know, every night we're not going to be able to be super-productive. So how do we win those games (that are) kind of in the mud? "You know, we've got a bunch of guys who have these huge roles that are starting to get a little bit older. So you always want to have people behind them. So I think there's some positions that potentially could be more of (a) need because of how the present roster is set up." --Field Level Media
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"Work My Butt Off This Summer": Anthony Edwards Reacts To Embarrassing Game 5 Loss Against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
"Work My Butt Off This Summer": Anthony Edwards Reacts To Embarrassing Game 5 Loss Against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder originally appeared on Fadeaway World. The OKC Thunder have proceeded to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 after a resounding win over the Timberwolves. In Game 5, they won 124-94 to send the Timberwolves packing on vacation. Anthony Edwards, the star player for the Timberwolves, struggled once again to produce offensively to the level of his own standard. He finished the game with 19 points, shooting 7 of 18 from the floor and 1 of 7 from beyond the arc. After the game, Edwards spoke to the media about the loss. Advertisement "They came ready to play, and we didn't. When you lose a game like this, there's not really too much to break down. They did what they were supposed to do and won the game... They dominated the game from the tip, and I can do nothing but tip my hat to those guys; they came ready, man, good job by them." When asked how he's feeling about the game, he admitted being hurt for his veteran teammate, Mike Conley, more than for himself. "I'm hurt, more so for myself, for Mike. I came up short for Mike. Like I said, we tried last year, we couldn't get it. We tried again this year, we'll try again next year. But hurt is a temporary word to use, I'm good." Upon further questioning about Mike Conley, Edwards even promised to work harder in the upcoming summer to help Conley win his first championship. Advertisement "I'mma work my butt off this summer. Nobody's gonna work harder than me this summer, I can tell you that much. I'll try to make it happen again for Mike." Anthony Edwards' offensive skill set seemed to be no match for the defensive prowess of the Thunder. This has given Anthony Edwards a chip on his shoulder to work on in the summer. Analyzing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander And Anthony Edwards' Performance In This Series Before the series began, we did a comprehensive analysis of Anthony Edwards compared to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Playoffs. Gilegous-Alexander, who averaged 8.8 free throw attempts per game in the regular season, averaged 8.8 makes in 10.2 attempts per game in this series. Gilgeous-Alexander has averaged 31.4 points, 8.2 assists and 5.2 rebounds in five games in the series. Without the free throws, he would average 24.6 points per game in this series (44 free throws made in 167 points scored over five games). Advertisement Edwards, on the other hand, has averaged 23.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists in the five games played. Without the free throws, he would average 18.6 points per game (22 free throws made in 115 points scored over five games). Gilgeous-Alexander still had a better performance in this series and thus thoroughly deserved the unanimous win for the West Finals MVP award. Related: Isiah Thomas Says Thunder Are Treating Anthony Edwards Like 'The Bad Boy' Pistons Treated Michael Jordan This story was originally reported by Fadeaway World on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Timberwolves vs. Thunder: Live updates, highlights for Tuesday's Game 1
Feb 24, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket between Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid (11) and guard Mike Conley (10) during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images The Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Minnesota Timberwolves for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday. The NBA playoff series will start with both teams tied at 0-0. The Thunder are fresh off a 125-93 Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Facing a Round 2 exit, the first seed destroyed the top-heavy squad. They led by as many as 43 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored an efficient 35 points and Jalen Williams had 24 points. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are well-rested with nearly a week off. They closed the Golden State Warriors out with a 121-110 Game 5 win last Wednesday. Julius Randle led the way with 29 points. For live updates and highlights from the Thunder's Game 1 against the Timberwolves, regularly check back to this post: What channel is Timberwolves vs. Thunder game on today? Time, TV schedule TV Channel: ESPN Start time: 7:30 p.m. CT Where to watch Timberwolves vs. Thunder on livestream Watch Timberwolves vs. Thunder live on Fubo (free trial) Timberwolves vs. Thunder injury updates Thunder: Nikola Topic (torn ACL) is out. Advertisement TImberwolves: None. Probable starting lineups Oklahoma City Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Lu Dort Jalen Williams Chet Holmgren Isaiah Hartenstein Minnesota Timberwolves Anthony Edwards Mike Conley Jaden McDaniels Julius Randle Rudy Gobert Thunder 2025 NBA playoffs schedule Thursday, May 22 vs. Timberwolves Saturday, May 24 at Timberwolves Monday, May 26 at Timberwolves This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Timberwolves vs Thunder: Live updates, highlights for Tuesday's Game 1
