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Ayo Dosunmu on why he wanted to stay in Minnesota: ‘This is always where I wanted to be at. I knew once I got traded here that this was home for me, and they welcomed me. The fans welcomed me, the coaching staff welcomed me, and my teammates welcomed me. So I always knew that Minnesota was the place I wanted to be at. So it's just a blessing that I'm able to come back and continue my career here because this is where I want to be and I feel like this is where I'm accepted the most.’
Two candidates, Minnesota’s Steve Senior and Philadelphia’s Prosper Karangwa, are widely believed to have turned the Lakers down before staying with their current organizations. Adding the head of scouting is seen as the first step for the Lakers to address a longtime need: a lack of a robust pro scouting department. The Lakers’ 2025-26 media guide lists just three full-time domestic scouts and two international scouts. All, per league sources, had been primarily (if not fully) tasked with amateur scouting.
In my exclusive deep dive earlier this week detailing The Architect vs. The Accelerant, I revealed that a potential pairing in the Twin Cities was being heavily bottlenecked because Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards had not yet extended a direct, formal line of communication to recruit James. That report immediately set the league’s baseline for Minnesota’s true pursuit. However, high-level sources intimately familiar with James’ camp have immediately moved to clear the air, reaching out directly to update my notebook and reveal that those initial hurdles have officially been cleared. According to top-tier institutional sources close to the situation, the connection between the two Olympic teammates has already been activated. “They telling you, Ant Edwards never reached out to him. That’s a lie,” a source close to the process tells me point-blank. “He did. He reached out to him and it was received.”
Smith ultimately signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal with the Detroit Pistons for the 2000-01 season before returning to Minneapolis. Still, the shadow of the scandal followed him for the rest of his career. “Even when I eventually went back to Minnesota after the fact, it was something I had to talk about all the time,” Smith said. “I had to hear about it because of the draft picks the Timberwolves lost. I think I took more of the brunt of that hit than anybody. And it was much more my agent’s doing than me having anything to do with it.”
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Ibrahim and Omar Ali were sitting in their home in Minnesota, scrolling on Instagram when they came across Kyrie Irving’s page. The Dallas Mavericks guard had posted a new profile picture back in April: a Palestinian child in the occupied West Bank, sitting while holding a book, fenced in by barbed wire. His path to school is impeded. The child is fearfully looking behind him, as three Israeli soldiers approach. Ibrahim and Omar intimately understood the photo. The feelings behind it. The fear. The uncertainty. The fences. The soldiers. The frustration in simply trying to relax. To read. To exist.
Life is much different now in Minnesota for the two brothers than it was during their upbringing in the West Bank, but many of those earlier difficult experiences helped instill a tenacity and relentlessness with which they are pursuing their hoop dreams. No matter how far they travel for tournaments during the weekends this summer, they are still reminded of their past. Of the realities of the occupation. “You live every day uncertain of what’s going to happen next,” Ibrahim says. “You’ve got to be cautious. You’ve got to be careful at all times. One second you could be in school. Ten minutes later … soldiers are raiding the school … bombing and closing the streets right outside our school.”
Kyle Ingram: Tim Connelly on the power forward position: “There’s a couple free agents still available, we’re working with one or two of them right now” 👀
Oh No He Didn't: DeMarcus Cousins on where he wants to see LeBron James end up: "I think Bron in Minnesota with Ant Man would be must watch TV. They added LaMelo Ball who's also another exciting player. You put those three characters together I think we in for some good ball and possibly a championship run"
"It's my job to not just look at half of last season or two-thirds of last season," Peterson said when asked what he saw in the second-half surge that led him to consider trading Ball. "I've been here for a little bit over two years now. So looking at the totality of the picture and also looking at trends along the league. Just making an objective decision in terms of just the timing and being honest with myself of where we really are as it compares to the rest of the league. "I'll say it every day: LaMelo was tremendous in our run last year. He was extremely impactful and I know he's going to do great in Minnesota. But for the Charlotte Hornets, just felt like it was the right time to execute a trade of that magnitude. We're in a great position because of the talent, the depth of our roster and our flexibility."
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Jon Krawczynski: "I think the longer that this drags out, the better the Timberwolves' chances become. Because if you think about what LeBron has to process and has to consider, it is fair to say of all of the teams left, Minnesota is probably the most surprising one. Cold winters, no history of winning, a lot of things that go into it that just make you think, why would the Timberwolves be in the hunt? Now, they have a great case to make, if you ask me, with basketball fit ... I think that they have really thrown the kitchen sink at LeBron and just said, we are here for you, we think this is the best place for you to come and win if you want to win a championship. And I do think that has gotten LeBron James' attention."
Donovan Mitchell also would embrace the Cavaliers reuniting with LeBron James if James makes the decision to sign with Cleveland, according to sources. The Cavaliers are among several leading suitors for James, joining Miami, Golden State, Philadelphia and Minnesota.
