Morning Pickup: Fowles to debut, Turiaf opens up, Towns in NYC, Vin Baker, Rumors, and Lupe

Sylvia Fowles was introduced as the newest member of the Lynx on Tuesday.

After going through her first practice with the team, she spoke to the media during her introductory press conference. Fowles will make her season debut tonight in Minneapolis against Los Angeles.

Mechelle Voepel wrote an excellent piece on the teams ongoing pursuit of Fowles, how the organizations hopes of completing a deal, along with Fowles desire to move on from Chicago, had started to fade after numerous offers and counteroffers, and how the three-time WNBA All-Star center was prepared to sit out the entire 2015 WNBA season.

Voepel included some of the expectations moving forward and some of Fowles' first interactions with her new teammates and coaches.

Eric already wrote about the blockbuster acquisition. I'd like to reaffirm his point that it's great to see the front office do whatever it takes to keep the championship window open. General manager Roger Griffith has worked his magic, doing a marvelous job of putting the Lynx in position to win a third title in five years.

The additions of Anna Cruz, Asjha Jones, Renee Montgomery, and now an elite game-changing player in Fowles, cannot go understated.

Below are Fowles advanced statistics throughout her seven year career.

Turiaf opens up about his heart surgery

There's a good chance you have already seen former Timberwolves center Ronny Turiaf's piece about his open heart surgery on The Players' Tribune, published on Monday. I still wanted to highlight the article for those readers that may have missed out. Give it a read.

Turiaf only appeared in 32 games over two seasons with the Wolves, but he had a lasting impact within the organization and community. Everybody still speaks incredibly highly of his character and positive attitude.

I smiled when reading this part:

A few weeks after my surgery, I reached out to Fred Hoiberg, who also underwent surgery for an enlarged aorta. His procedure happened three weeks before mine, and he walked me through every single issue I could ever encounter. He gave me moral support and told me everything was going to be okay. That meant a lot to me, because when you rehab from heart surgery, little scares come up all the time. There is so much to know and worry about, so every conversation with Fred was as priceless as the last. That's why when I joined the Timberwolves in 2013, I chose Fred's number. I'd always worn 21 whenever possible, but I wasn't touching Kevin Garnett's number, out of respect. So Clayton Wilson, the equipment manager, mentioned wearing 32 in honor of Fred, and we thought it was a great idea. What a wonderful rite of passage, and a way to honor someone who played for the Timberwolves and had such an impact in the Minnesota community.

In other news...

Karl-Anthony Towns was part of a thought leadership panel that discussed the benefits of youth sports and funding issues facing teams nationwide yesterday in New York City.

During the celebrity panel, DICK'S Sporting Goods - through its Sports Matter program - announced a partnership with leading crowd funding platform Donors Choose to assist in raising funds for youth sports programs across the country.

Sports Matter Announcement: Press Release

Recommended Reading

Ex-NBA star Vin Baker conquers demons and shoots for success in Starbucks management.

NBA Rumor Round Up For Tuesday, July 28.

Enjoy your Wednesday.