1:46PHILADELPHIA – Former second-round pick Robbie Hummel has spent the past month trying to prove he belongs on this Timberwolves team because of his versatility and accurate shooting. In Wednesday's 125-102 victory at Philadelphia, the former Purdue star started for the first time this preseason in what likely was his last audition before management chooses the team's final roster.
Hummel played nearly 31 minutes and … he made only one of nine shots from the field.
Oops.
Afterward, though, both Hummel and, more importantly, Wolves coach Rick Adelman sounded like Hummel has done enough to stick around when the team's final 15-man roster is submitted to the NBA office by Monday.
"I didn't shoot it very well, obviously, which is disappointing because those are shots that I feel like I made for the last six weeks of camp," Hummel said. "Obviously, you've got to perform when you're given the opportunity, and I didn't do that. But otherwise defensively, rebounding, I feel I did a pretty good job of that."
Hummel, a late second-round pick in 2012 who played in Spain last season, matched up against former USA Basketball roommate and Big Ten nemesis Evan Turner most of the night while delivering a two-point, five-rebound, three-assist, one-turnover, two-foul performance.
"I don't worry about him not shooting the ball," Adelman said. "He does all the other little things on the court. He's always in the right spot defensively. He gets those same shots, he's going to make shots. I don't worry about him missing shots. He just fits right in with the team he's on, whether it's the first group or the second group."
And that's just what Adelman says he wants — the right fit — out of an experiment at the small-forward position in which he started veteran Corey Brewer the first four preseason games, Derrick Williams on Sunday in Montreal, Hummel on Wednesday and might start either Shabazz Muhammad or Othyus Jeffers in Thursday's finale at Detroit.
