The Timberwolves assigned healing rookie center Justin Patton to their Iowa team in the G League on Sunday, a move Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau calls the "next step" toward Patton playing professionally for the first time.
It's also part of a big-picture plan to add more 7-foot size and reach, if not yet muscle, to a team that — as recent games against big men such as Detroit's Andre Drummond, Charlotte's Dwight Howard, Miami's Hassan Whiteside and Oklahoma City's Steven Adams have shown — lacks physicality.
The Timberwolves sent Patton to Iowa after he was cleared for full 5-on-5 contact practice. He could play for the Iowa Wolves on Friday in what Thibodeau calls "some minutes, not extended minutes" after participating in two practice before then.
"This is basically his training camp," Thibodeau said. "This is the great value in having a G League team. We want to use it. He's anxious to play."
Selected 16th overall by Chicago before moving to the Wolves as part of the draft-night Jimmy Butler trade, Patton broke a bone in his foot when he slipped on a wet spot during a late-June workout. He had surgery days later.
"We're anxious to see where he is," Thibodeau said. "We're taking the long view with him. He's a big guy and we like what he has shown so far. He has missed a lot of time: Missed the summer league, missed fall practices, missed training camp. We're not going to rush him along. When he's ready, he's ready. But we like who he is, so we think this is important for us."
Miss you
Clippers coach Doc Rivers and Wolves guard Jamal Crawford exchanged "miss yous" in an arena corridor before the game. Crawford played four seasons for Rivers in L.A. before the Clippers traded him to Atlanta last July in a summer roster makeover.
"You want him to do well," Rivers said. "He was a great Clipper for us. He did so many great things for us, on and off the floor, and I think Jamal is a great ambassador for basketball. I love the fact that's what he does all summer. He just plays basketball.
