Rick Adelman’s Media Day quotes

Adelman really hammered how the Wolves were in a good position last season prior to Rubio’s injury (and other injuries like Pek’s nagging bone spurs), but how their lack of depth was felt most keenly not in the abilities of the bench but in their attitude and approach.

This was a point that got brought up time and again. Their frontcourt is certainly not going to be a defensive terror, but Adelman believes (as do many players) that what’s then important is buying into team defense.

It’s important that the Timberwolves didn’t just get older, but actively sought out players who have been in the playoffs and had success there. It’s clear that Adelman really values that particular kind of veteran presence.

Well, maybe. Of course, he didn’t have the benefit of Lin’s tremendous backstory. But come on, he’s just as cuddly and adorable.

I can’t overstate how important I think this is. Rubio himself echoed it when he talked about how even when he’s not playing he has to be there to bring the team together. I think he’s the guy that really does this, and it comes down to something you can’t train or teach. He just exudes confidence and it’s infectious.

As we know, Adelman prizes flexibility in his players. It’s clear he thinks of positions more in terms of “wings” and “forwards” and “ballhandlers,” with the lines sometimes being blurred between all of those ideas. That can be a tough thing for players to grasp, but hopefully with more time to work on the system, players playing more than one position will be able to take advantage of that, rather than being hamstrung by it.

This stands in interesting distinction to his play in the Olympics, where he seemed to be confidently running the team and taking the right open shots. It’s maybe the case that the language barrier shouldn’t be underestimated here. Even just a little bit of hesitation in making sense of on-court communication could be leading to him deferring as he adjusts.

I like that Adelman emphasized how it’s not the size of any individual game in the NBA for players coming into the league, but more the sheer slog of the long season. Players like Rubio last season and Shved this season are coming from much lighter schedules. That’s the biggest adjustment for them, and for rookies as well.

Love this. Systems are great, but when you’ve got sweet passing big men like that, you can make a lot of stuff work.

I’m excited for this possibility, but I hope they still go with the pick and roll a bunch, given how good Shved has looked running it, plus Rubio when he comes back.

This was another thing that a lot of players emphasized. Without calling anyone out, I think they just tried to convey that as things fell apart last season through injury, a lot of guys didn’t stay in the game but instead started putting their heads down and just hoping to get through the season. Of course, that culture is there for the Wolves going back further than last season, but it will be great if they can begin to change that this season.