LaMelo Ball is giving the Timberwolves more than just on-court intrigue. According to head coach Chris Finch, his presence in the room has already started to change the temperature around the team.
“He’s always in a great mood,” Finch said Monday. “Always come in smiling.
He and Anthony (Edwards) have a shared quality: They’re really hard to stay mad at. And they do some things that you want to get mad at.
They have a reflective joy, and I think that’s important. They tease the joy out of each other as practice goes along.
So, that kind of adds to the overall spirit of the group, which we really needed.”
Minnesota has been a serious Western Conference force in recent years, reaching the conference finals in 2024 and 2025 before getting to the second round in 2026. But Finch made it clear that this version of the Wolves feels different already.
“We referred to ourselves as a moody team in the last couple of years at times, and it’s probably gotten in our way,” Finch said. “We’ve traded moodiness for giddiness, so we’ve got to kind of get back to some sort of equilibrium. But it’s been fun to go to work every day so far.”
Elsewhere in the West, Jordan McLaughlin said he had other options before deciding to return to San Antonio. The veteran point guard, who re-signed with the Spurs on a minimum-salary deal this summer, said Monday that he briefly weighed the Hawks, Celtics, and Jazz before sticking with the Spurs. McLaughlin pointed to the way the organization treats its players as a major draw.
“You hear nothing but good things before coming into the organization, but when you’re in it and you actually see it, they take care of their players,” McLaughlin said.
In Oklahoma City, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault addressed the organization’s pride in developing homegrown players such as Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins, both of whom were traded this offseason. Daigneault said he has a voice in team discussions, but made it clear the final call belongs to Sam Presti.
“It’s definitely Sam (Presti’s) decision, but I wouldn’t describe it as that I’m totally separated from it. One of Sam’s gifts as a decision-maker is his ability to take information in from a lot of different sources, and I’m one of those sources.
Sam and I talk regularly about the team, the roster. But, at the end of the day, the roster decisions are Sam’s decisions,” Daigneault said.
And in New Orleans, the Pelicans are now officially listing Jordan Dumars - the son of executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars - as an “executive advisor” heading into the 2026/27 season. Shamit Dua of In The NO noted last November that Dumars had already become part of the team’s inner circle, even though the team never formally announced his hiring. At that time, New Orleans described him as a “basketball operations consultant.”
In Other News...
Thunder Rookies Are Giving OKC Fans Something Real To Debate
The Thunders preseason trip to Atlanta gave Oklahoma City another reminder that the young talent is already part of the conversation, even if the results are still coming up short. In a 113-110 loss to the Hawks, the Thunder fell to 0-3 in the preseason, but the bigger takeaway for fans was how much the rookies kept showing up in the box score. Bennett Stirtz and Aday Mara were among the young players driving the offense and filling up other categories, giving the night a different feel than a routine October loss.
For a team with plenty of eyes on its developmental pipeline, performances like this can turn a preseason game into an early debate about who is ready now and who is still a little further away. Oklahoma City will get another chance to sort through those impressions in its next preseason game, a home matchup against Indiana, where the rookies should have another opportunity to make the case that they belong in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Thunder's Unexpected Skid Is Testing Patience Even Before Opening Night
The Thunder have spent the months since their playoff run doing something they never wanted to carry into October: losing, and losing often. The skid has stretched across the end of the postseason, Summer League and preseason, with Oklahoma City dropped into an awkward run of results even as the roster has mostly been without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.
Mark Daigneault has leaned into the teaching side of it, because the minutes have gone to younger and less experienced players who are trying to learn on the fly. The latest preseason loss fit that mold, and while the record has been ugly, the staff is treating these games less as a referendum on the Thunders ceiling and more as a chance to sort through the edges before opening night arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Kenrich Williams Thunder Role Is Starting To Matter A Lot More
The Thunder have opened the preseason winless through three games, but there have still been encouraging signs, especially from rookies Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz. Amid the early results, Kenrich Williams has quietly become one of the more interesting rotation pieces to watch as he heads into his seventh season with Oklahoma City.
Williams is expected to spend more time on the wing this year as the Thunder sort through a roster that is still taking shape, and preseason usage has hinted at how the team might lean on his versatility once the games count. His playing time is not locked in, but Oklahoma City clearly sees value in being able to move him around and use him in different spots during the regular season. [Read more 🡒]