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Jon Krawczynski: Wolves beat the Bucks, 112-100. It wasn't always pretty, but it was needed. Ball: 34p 6-13 3s Ayo: 19p, 12r, 8a Gobert: 10p, 10r Lyles: 12p, 4r Kuminga: 8p, 10r
Alan Horton: Edwards, Ball, McDaniels, Kuminga, Gobert, Dosunmu, Hyland & Lyles will not play tonight & did not make the trip to Chicago. Chris Finch before the game... "This game is extremely intentional. We treat it almost like a baseball split-squad game. Half the roster stayed back home & practiced today & we get these guys here who get a chance to play extended minutes."
Jon Krawczynski: Ayo Dosunmu will not be traveling back home to Chicago for tomorrow night's preseason finale against the Bulls. No injury, just resting up for the regular season.
Jon Krawczynski: Chris Finch on playing Ant and LaMelo together continued: "... You see the TJ (Shannon)/Ayo combos are really, really good. So, you know, we might just double down, play those guys together, but we'll be ready to read it as we go along."
Jon Krawczynski: Chris Finch says he's still mulling whether to stagger Ant/LaMelo: "My gut tells me I want them to be out there together. We've got guys off the bench that can bring punch, that can be handling, that could bring different things, those guys are really good together. You see the TJ (Shannon)/Ayo combos are really, really good. So, you know, we might just double down, play those guys together, but we'll be ready to read it as we go along."
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Jon Krawczynski: One of the things I've heard about Wolves camp so far is Ayo Dosunmu is really vocal and challenging everyone. Ant: "It's fun, man. Not many guys talk trash back to me, so having somebody like him on my team, not against me, is super great."
Q. What's it like now knowing, "Okay, I'm I know I'm just here. I have my contract." All of that. Ayo Dosunmu: That's a great question. I think I'm actually opposite. I think I'm even more locked in and more focused because I understand that they invested in me. So me being a competitor, me loving the game, being able to do this game at a high level. I want to do a favor to myself and make sure that I give it my all. I want to make sure that I can say that, "Okay, you invested this in me, but you should have invested this in me." You know what I'm saying? That's the mindset I have. I want to look back in three years and they say, "Oh, that was a steal of a contract." So I'm even more locked in because now I feel like it's more responsibility for me to just go out there and compete and give my all and help this organization ultimately win a championship. So my mindset now is about doing whatever it takes to take my game to the next level because I feel like, you know, they invested in me and I invested in myself my whole life.
Jon Krawczynski: Ayo Dosunmu said he envisions starting a family in Minnesota. Mentioned the highly rated public schools as one reason he wanted to stay here. That's long-term thinking. "I felt at home. That was the most important part."
Ayo Dosunmu: "I try to make deep improvements. I'm trying to be elite, not just good. I don't even need to be elite. So, you got to push a little bit harder. That's the goal. Do it now, every day, push it, push it, push it. I want to get a little bit better each day. I'm not looking for a huge margin, just a little better each day. And over time, after you get the separation."
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Ayo Dosunmu on why he wanted to stay in Minnesota: ‘This is always where I wanted to be at. I knew once I got traded here that this was home for me, and they welcomed me. The fans welcomed me, the coaching staff welcomed me, and my teammates welcomed me. So I always knew that Minnesota was the place I wanted to be at. So it's just a blessing that I'm able to come back and continue my career here because this is where I want to be and I feel like this is where I'm accepted the most.’
Jon Krawczynski: Bones Hyland has agreed to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves next season, sources told @TheAthletic. Hyland established himself as a rotation player, teaming with Ayo Dosunmu in the "Twin Turbos" backcourt.
This trade, which can’t be official until July 6 since the Bulls required cap space to acquire Nic Claxton, will be expanded to include the Wolves’ acquisition of Ball for several reasons. The first is that Reid’s $23.3 million salary isn’t enough to match Ball’s $41.25 million individually. Randle’s $33.3 million salary is ($9,098,000 trade exception). Then they could simply trade Reid for Green and create a trade exception worth the difference in their salaries. However, the Wolves can no longer function as a below-apron team. Ball’s $41.25 million salary is too high for them to field a roster below the first apron while factoring in Ayo Dosunmu’s new five-year, $112 million contract. It is expected to start at $19.3 million, the lowest it could be with standard raises. They now must operate as an above-apron team so they can fill the rest of the roster, meaning they must do a 100 percent salary match.
The once supersized Wolves are now looking very thin in the frontline. They will have a difficult time finding an upgrade with no draft picks left to trade. They might need to part with one of Terrence Shannon Jr. or Joan Beringer to get a team interested. Otherwise, they’re looking at starting a lineup featuring LaMelo Ball, Ayo Dosunmu, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Rudy Gobert. The Wolves would have limited options for upgrading the frontcourt. They will no longer create a $33 million trade exception and lose access to all trade exceptions created last season, including the $10.8 million one. They also lose the $5.5 million bi-annual exception and get the reduced $6 million taxpayer mid-level exception instead of the $15.5 million one. They are highly unlikely to get a starter with that amount.
