It’s been 68 days since the Minnesota Timberwolves last played a professional basketball game, and 12 days since the Minnesota Lynx last took the court, which means the #kahntent keg has completely dried up as we navigate the dog days of summer. And YET — there are still a few notable items to discuss from this past week, including the announcement of an open Timberwolves practice, a Summer Olympics update, and some “FORE!” play between Wolves teammates.
Let’s break it all down:
Pump Up The Jam (Session)
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced this past Thursday that the organization will host the Summer League Jam Session and the team’s first open scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) at Target Center. Season ticket holders and general public will have the opportunity to watch rookie standout Jaden McDaniels and select Timberwolves players in action as they prepare for Summer League in Las Vegas.
All fans in attendance will receive two tickets for an October home game during the 2021-22 season compliments of new Timberwolves and Lynx limited partners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez.
Open Practice + Scrimmage
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 22, 2021
Join us at Target Center for our inaugural free Summer League Jam Session on August 6th!
Fans who register and attend will get 2 free tix to an October home game courtesy of @MarcLore & @AROD
One newsworthy item that came from this announcement was that one of the Wolves new assistance coaches (Joseph Blair) will coach this year’s Summer League. Blair was recently named to Head Coach Chris Finch’s front bench coaching staff after spending the past season with the Timberwolves as an assistant coach. Also in attendance will be Rookie of the Year Finalist Anthony Edwards.
Summer League Jam Session will be the first time since March 2020 that Target Center will welcome fans at full capacity. It is also the first official event to include the team’s two new owners — Rodriguez and Lore — and like I’ve mentioned before, I’d expect to see them making a LOT more public appearances moving forward now that they have been approved as minority owners of the team.
If you’re interested in attending the event, you can get tickets at Timberwolves.com/summer.
Time For Tokyo
The 2021 2020 Summer Olympics officially kicked off Friday morning with the Opening Ceremonies. As you know by now, both the Wolves and Lynx are well-represented in Tokyo, with players like Josh Okogie, Ricky Rubio, and Napheesa Collier all suiting up for their respective countries for the latest round of summer games.
.@CallMe_NonStop’s view from the opening ceremony pic.twitter.com/MrebSdCSdg
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) July 23, 2021
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) July 23, 2021
Wake up! The Americans are about to make their way into the stadium!
» @TODAYshow pic.twitter.com/YL0Ek1lf2z
If you’re looking for quick links to both the men’s and women’s Olympic basketball schedules, I’ve got you covered below. Team USA (men) tip off this Sunday at 7:00am CST against France, and Team USA (women) are set to play their first game next Tuesday at 11:40pm CST.
It is truly amazing to see so many Wolves and Lynx players representing their country this summer, and on behalf of everyone here at Canis Hoopus, I want to wish all of them the best of luck as competition kicks off later this weekend.
May The Course Be With You
And finally — it wouldn’t be a “Feel Good Friday” without some wholesome #kahtent to send you into the weekend.
Just building #chemistry on the course pic.twitter.com/Big83xdgzB
— John Meyer (@meyerNBA) July 23, 2021
As our good friend John Meyer pointed out, it looks like Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell were enjoying a round of golf together earlier this week. Russell’s summer basketball camp recently wrapped up down in Louisville, KY, and both Towns and fellow Kentucky alum Jarred Vanderbilt were in attendance, so it’s not all that shocking to see KAT/D-Lo continuing to spend some quality time together as the summer rolls on.
Now that the NBA Finals have concluded, the basketball offseason gets a little breather before the next major item on the calendar: the 2021 NBA Draft (scheduled for next Thursday). While the Timberwolves will enter the night lacking both a first and second round pick, don’t be surprised if they make a little noise later in the evening and attempt to buy (or trade) their way into the second round to grab a player that they have their eyes on. From there, NBA Free Agency officially kicks off a few days later (August 2), and then it’ll be NBA Summer League before you know it.
With new ownership officially onboard and a new NBA season on the horizon, I’d expect a lot more Wolves-related items in the upcoming weeks. As always, we’ll have you covered here at Canis Hoopus for everything Wolves and Lynx related, but for now, enjoy your weekend and enjoy the Summer Olympics.