Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves are having "serious talks" with Denver Nuggets president Tim Connelly to assume their team's open president of basketball operations position, per Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Connelly would replace Gersson Rosas, who was fired in Sept. 2021. Timberwolves executive vice president Sachin Gupta led Minnesota's front office this season, and the team has "not ruled out the possibility" that he will keep leading the team's basketball operations, per Charania and Krawczynski.

It's easy to see why the Timberwolves would be interested in Connelly. Under his leadership, the Nuggets have become a perennial playoff contender. They've assembled a solid core led by back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, point guard Jamal Murray and forwards Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.

Despite Murray being out all season (torn ACL) and Porter gone for all but nine games (lumbar spine surgery), the Nuggets made the playoffs this year.

A pair of veteran big men (Jeff Green, DeMarcus Cousins) and some notable Nuggets draft picks (guards Bones Hyland, Monte Morris) helped form a good enough core around Jokic to make the postseason.

Denver was bound for a much better season with Murray and Porter on the court, and Connelly's work in town is ultimately very impressive.

Charania and Krawczynski reported that Connelly is a "serious target" and also that he's the "first known external candidate" for the position.

Minnesota finished this past season with a 46-36 record and a first-round playoff appearance. It was a breakout campaign for a young team with an emerging core led by Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell.

More work needs to be done in Minnesota, and it looks like Connelly is a strong candidate to try to lead the T-Wolves to greater heights.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Danny Green isn't sure the Minnesota Timberwolves' Patrick Beverley has a leg to stand on with his criticism of Chris Paul's defense.

Beverley took shots at Paul after the Phoenix Suns were crushed by the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series, saying the 12-time All-Star "literally can't guard."

Green provided his take on those remarks on NBC Sports Philadelphia's Inside the Green Room.

"People target you too, Pat Bev. You ain't playing no f--king defense out there," Green said. "You ain't stopping Luka [Doncic]. It's time and time again I see Luka call your ass 'little man' and 'he's too f--king small' and go right at you every chance he got. When you play Luka you're a cone, too. How would you like that?"

The three-time NBA champion added he believes Beverley took advantage of a situation on national television (the comments came on ESPN's Get Up) to deliver unprovoked jabs at Paul.

"I think [Beverley] just used that platform because he has an issue with Chris, and he used it as a personal vendetta to take out a lot of his anger on the set at that moment," Green said. "I thought it was unfair to Chris, and I'm sure a lot of people felt the same, a lot of guys in the league."

Green's comments didn't go unnoticed by Beverley:

It's a unique situation because all three players (Green, Beverley and Paul) have some defensive accolades on their resume.

Paul is a seven-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection. He also earned two appearances on the All-Defensive Second Team, but none of those nine honors have come since 2016-17.

Beverley was voted to the first team once and second team twice, and Green also made the second team on one occasion.

Here's how they performed on that end of the floor in 2021-22, per FiveThirtyEight's defensive RAPTOR metric: Beverley (+1.9), Green (+1.3) and Paul (-0.4).

So perhaps the Suns star isn't the defender he was in his prime. That said, it's probably also unfair to expect a shutdown performance from Paul (6'0'', 175 pounds and 37 years old) against Doncic (6'7'', 230 pounds and 23 years old).

One thing's for sure: Paul and Beverley are among the NBA's most fiery competitors, and the comments are going to add ample intrigue to their head-to-head battles next season.

Based on Green's remarks, there may be other players looking to take on Beverley, too.

After calling out  Chris Paul during an appearance on ESPN's Get Up, Minnesota Timberwolves veteran Patrick Beverley revealed to Stephen A. Smith on Stephen A's World that his beef with the Phoenix Suns point guard began when he was in college and went to a LeBron James camp.

"I appreciate everything he's done for the game," Beverley said. "Me and CP, this started when I was in college. I went to LeBron James' camp. ... and I got a taste of little CP there. ... It's always been something from there."

Beverley continued: "I respect his game. ... But the praise that he gets and the slander that he doesn't get when he doesn't perform, it's not the same as it is with every other superstar. and my question is why not?"

During his initial appearance on Get Up, Beverley went on a rant about how Paul doesn't play good defense and that "he literally can’t guard" anybody.

"Ain't nobody worried about Chris Paul when you play the Phoenix Suns, nobody in the NBA," Beverley said. "I'm just letting you know how NBA players feel. He's finessed the game to the point where he gets all of the petty calls, all the swipe-throughs at the end."

Those comments came after Paul and the Suns were eliminated from the NBA playoffs with a 123-90 Game 7 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Semifinals. It was a game in which the Suns had just 27 points at halftime and were getting blown out. 

Paul began Phoenix's series against Dallas on a high note, putting up 59 points through the first three games. However, he fell apart through the final four games, putting up just 35 points, including a 10-point outing in Game 7, which is inexcusable.

In addition, the Suns were outscored by 39 points in Game 7 with Paul on the court, which is why Beverley was so emphatic in his comments when he mentioned that Paul doesn't play good defense. 

However, it might not be fair to say that Paul is a defensive liability just yet. He was a solid defender throughout the regular season and contributed to the Suns finishing with the third-best defensive rating in the NBA.

With their season now over, Paul and the Suns can focus on improving for the 2022-23 season. If that includes working on defense, then so be it. 

In 1960, the Lakers left Minneapolis for Los Angeles. Sixty-two years later, Patrick Beverley is trying to coax the team's biggest star to leave Los Angeles for Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves guard made an appearance on ESPN's Get Up on Tuesday and made a pitch to recruit LeBron James.

"Should he stay in L.A. if he wants to win a title? I don't think that's up to him," Beverley said. "... You just seen Jeanie Buss get on TV talking about how unhappy she is and all of that, etc. So I don't even think it's up to LeBron. I think it's up to the ownership. I think it's up to the organization.

"... He's LeBron James. He could stay. He could really go anywhere and try to make a championship happen. ... I want him with the Minnesota Timberwolves. And I don't want to get our team fined either, so I'm trying to give the right answer. I would love him with Minnesota. We're a young group of guys. We got a little experience. We got a lot of toughness. We got a lot of athleticism. He could help mentor Anthony Edwards. But I don't want my team to get fined."

While Beverley made headlines with the comment, the odds that James will leave Los Angeles for Minneapolis are remote. If the Timberwolves want to land James, perhaps they could prioritize drafting his son Bronny in 2024.

James has maintained on multiple occasions that he wants to finish his career by playing alongside his son.

As far as which franchise would give LeBron the better chance at winning, that seems to be pretty obviously Minnesota. The Wolves finished with 13 more wins than the Lakers during the regular season and have a deep roster full of solid young talent highlighted by Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.

A Big Three including James would make the Wolves title contenders. It's just a pipe dream. 

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley remains skeptical the Brooklyn Nets as currently constructed can climb to the NBA's mountaintop.

"Can they bring a title to Brooklyn? They need a lot of help...three really good teams that's gonna be in Eastern Conference next year for sure," Beverley said Tuesday on ESPN's Get Up.

Brooklyn's first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics was a sobering assessment of where the team stands.

Durant looked mortal against Boston, shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, and he isn't getting any younger. The 12-time All-Star will be 34 when the 2022-23 season tips off.

Irving had another uneven postseason as well. The 59 points he dropped in Games 1 and 4 bookended him shooting 10-of-30 from the floor in Games 2 and 3.

The Nets are also counting on a third star, Ben Simmons, who missed the entire season and underwent a microdiscectomy on his back.

It doesn't appear general manager Sean Marks can simply run it back with the same roster and expect dramatically different results next year. That would even presents a challenge of its own when Irving can opt out of his contract and the pair of Bruce Brown and Nicolas Claxton are free agents.

ESPN's Bobby Marks noted carrying the 2021-22 squad over to next season could carry a $330 million price tag in terms of player salaries and luxury tax penalties.

If Beverley has any ideas on how Brooklyn can land the necessary "help" for Durant and Irving, then the franchise might be all ears.

Patrick Beverley is under contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2022-23 season. But if he weren't, one team he apparently would consider is the Los Angeles Lakers, to play alongside LeBron James.

"If I was a free agent and if me and Minnesota didn't agree to a number, yes," Beverley said on ESPN's This Just In when Max Kellerman asked him if he would want to play for the Lakers. "I wouldn't even hesitate. Just to be able to play with a great like [James], be able to pick his brain, be able to be a star in whatever role that I have, playing alongside Russell Westbrook...fantastic. Playing for the Lakers, couldn't ask for a better job."

It was a little surprising to hear Beverley cite playing alongside Westbrook as a perk of being on the Lakers after he seemed to revel in talking trash to him during a March matchup between the teams, alongside Karl-Anthony Towns:

Beverley, 33, went on quite the smack-talking tour on Monday across a variety of ESPN shows, putting his crosshairs on the recently eliminated Phoenix Suns and Chris Paul in particular:

The Lakers, of course, were quite the mess in the 2021-22 season, finishing 33-49. The issues ran deep, as Westbrook proved to be a poor fit next to James and Anthony Davis, and the rest of the roster construction lacked players with the ability to defend at a high level or stretch the floor.

Fair or not, the man who was sacrificed for those shortcomings was former head coach Frank Vogel, with the position still vacant and reports that previous members of the organization's brain trust like Phil Jackson and Magic Johnson have re-emerged within Jeanie Buss' inner circle.

But the Lakers still have one of the most iconic histories in American sports, and living in sunny Los Angeles is always a selling point. Add in the chance to play alongside one of the greatest players ever to step on a basketball court, and most role players would eagerly sign up to join the Lakers, warts and all.

Even Beverley—who isn't afraid to kick a franchise when its down, like he did to Phoenix on Monday—would sign up for that.

The Phoenix Suns won 64 games in the 2021-22 season and claimed the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs, so it came as a shock when they were eliminated in the second round by the Dallas Mavericks following Sunday's 123-90 Game 7 blowout. 

Well, a major shock to everybody but Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Patrick Beverley, who claimed Monday on ESPN's First Take that the Suns didn't exactly inspire fear around the NBA, even bringing his former teammate Paul George into the fray:

Ain't nobody afraid of anybody over there in Phoenix. Everybody in the league knows that, bro. But y'all don't know that 'cuz y'all not in the locker room. No one's afraid of Phoenix. We wanted them. We [the Timberwolves] wanted them. No one's afraid of Phoenix. I talked to some teammates, I ain't gonna say who—I'm gonna say who, forget it, I talked to Paul George last night—ain't nobody scared of them. But if you face Dallas? You ain't scared of Dallas, but man, you've got to get your game right when you play Luka [Doncic]. I'm just being honest.

Beverley wasn't done there, continuing to go in on Chris Paul:

Suffice to say, Beverley's scalding takes were met with a mixed response on the socials:

Beverley has something of a past with Paul in particular, shoving him in the back in the fourth quarter of last season's Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals between the Suns and Los Angeles Clippers. The Suns blew out Beverley's Clippers in that game, 130-102, and ended the series, with Paul putting 41 points on his former team. 

"We knew we broke them," Jae Crowder told reporters after that game regarding Beverley's cheap shot. "There's no better sign. That's a great feeling to have."

So it's a little possible that Beverley is still stinging from that smackdown and had his revenge on First Take. 

But that's the full Beverley experience. The intensity and chip on his shoulder that has allowed him to carve out an NBA career as a dogged defender also sometimes spills into moments like Monday's slander. 

If nothing else, Beverley showed that he just might have an entertaining second act as a media figure once his playing days are up. He certainly won't pull any punches. 

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Patrick Beverley said "nobody in the NBA" is worried about point guard Chris Paul when opponents play the Phoenix Suns and that the 17-year NBA veteran "literally can't guard."

Beverley made his remarks on ESPN's Get Up Monday:

Ain't nobody worried about Chris Paul when you play the Phoenix Suns, nobody in the NBA. I'm just letting you know how NBA players feel. He's finessed the game to the point where he gets all of the petty calls, all the swipe-throughs at the end.

I mean, we going to be honest? You want me to be really honest? He should've fouled out. He should've fouled out the last game too. You see the replay against [Jalen Brunson], he hit him on the shoulder, hit him on the mouth, ref don't call anything.

If that's me, oh review it, oh flagrant-1! If that's him, they don't call it. So let's not get it twisted. He should've fouled out, he can't guard. He literally can't guard.

Beverley's comments dropped one day after Paul and the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs after a 123-90 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

Paul has made nine NBA All-Defensive Teams during his storied career, but the Mavericks' backcourt had his number.

Mavs guards Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson scored 59 points on 23-of-38 shooting Sunday, while Suns starting guards Devin Booker and Paul posted just 21 points on 7-of-22 shooting. The Mavs outscored the Suns by 39 points with Paul on the court.

Even backup Dallas guard Spencer Dinwiddie got in on the act.

Simply put, the Paul that appeared in the regular season, the first-round series against the New Orleans Pelicans and the first two games of the Mavs matchup did not show up for the final playoff performances of the year.

Doncic and Brunson also significantly outplayed Paul and Booker over the course of the seven-game series with their 51.3 points per game compared to 36.8 PPG for the Suns' duo.

For much of this year, the Suns' defense was largely sensational, and Paul certainly played a role en route to Phoenix finished third in defensive rating, per Basketball-Reference.

However, the Mavs proved to be far too strong for the Suns in Game 7, and now, Phoenix's once-promising season has concluded.

Deandre Ayton was conspicuously absent throughout the Phoenix Suns' Game 7 123-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, playing only 17 minutes.

Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Patrick Beverley believes it should've been Chris Paul riding the pine instead.

"First off, I'm going to get a lot for this, but I don't really care. They benched the wrong person. Should've benched [Chris Paul]," Beverley said Monday on Get Up. "And I'm not saying bench him now. Once you see they started attacking Chris early and you know that might become a problem later on, you need to see how the team works without Chris in the game a little bit. I got benched. We won, though, so you don't even remember that. So as a coach, you have to understand, they're attacking my main guy, I can't get buckets from him, I have to make an adjustment, whatever that adjustment is. And that's no fault against Monty [Williams], he's a great coach, Coach of the Year. But [Ty Lue], if T-Lue's there, he's making that decision. It's a hard decision, but he's making it."

Paul finished with 10 points and four assists in the blowout loss. The 37-year-old did not record his first field goal until the third quarter, at which point the Mavericks already had the game well in hand.

Ayton's benching was seemingly a sore spot after the game, with Monty Williams tersely telling reporters "it's internal" when asked why the center spent most of the game on the bench. His 17 minutes played were 10 fewer than any other starter and his lowest of the season not related to an injury.

Ayton did not speak to reporters after the game, marking a bitter end to an otherwise stellar season as he approaches restricted free agency.

As for Paul, his complete implosion over the final five games of this series appears to be somewhat injury-related. Marc J. Spears of Andscape reported Paul is dealing with an undisclosed quad injury. The Suns did not list Paul on any injury report with the quad, and he averaged 32.4 minutes per game for the series, so it's unclear how much he was hampered..

That said, Paul was clearly a diminished player for some reason as the series progressed. The Mavericks regularly hunted him on defense and he became an uncharacteristic turnover machine, coughing the ball up an average of 3.1 times per game for the series. 

If Chris Paul was looking for any sympathy following Sunday's disappointing 123-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the Phoenix Suns star won't find it with Patrick Beverley.

Former NBA point guard Jeremy Lin reflected on Paul's larger body of work and said the 37-year-old "deserves" to taste victory in the NBA Finals. Beverley disagreed:

If one applied a very literal definition of the word "deserve," then Beverley probably has a point.

Paul has spent 17 seasons in the NBA and reached the playoffs on 14 occasions. He has certainly had plenty of opportunities to earn the most glaring omission from his Hall of Fame resume.

The 37-year-old has encountered some bad luck—most notably the hamstring injury in 2018 that might have cost the Houston Rockets a spot in the NBA Finals. But he has also deserved some blame in his teams' postseason exits, too.

But it's easy to see the wider point Lin was making.

Paul is one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, yet the absence of a title might overshadow a lot of what he achieved on the court. He could potentially join the likes of Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor and Patrick Ewing as the one of the best players never to win a championship.

Of course, it's all relative.

Beverley and plenty of others around the Association might be thrilled to swap places with Paul and be considered a great who couldn't win the big one rather than somebody whose contributions will likely be lost to history over time.