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‘I want to be feared as a defender’: Timberwolves forward Josh Minott has high goals, and the mindset to reach them

jace frederick, pioneer press
·6 min read

Josh Minott was back in the gym 10 days after the Timberwolves’ season ended in the NBA playoffs in April. So much for an “offseason.” The 20-year-old didn’t see much reason for down time.

“Can’t afford to not be in there,” he said.

Not given his goals. A season ago, Minott was a rookie essentially glued to the end of the Timberwolves’ bench. That’s great and all, to get paid handsomely to watch basketball. But he aspires to do more.

So while he wasn’t playing, Minott was still working.

“I was locked in and working on the side before games or working on game days, we’re staying behind after shootaround. People go back to their hotel rooms and we’re in the gym, we’re playing, stay-in-shape league and all that,” he said. “Basically, I could’ve just sat around — anybody can sit around and watch the games and think ‘Oh, we’re getting paid.’ But it’s just not enough for me.

“I just really have that sense that I haven’t accomplished anything yet.”

Timberwolves Summer League head coach Max Lefevre, a player development assistant coach during the NBA season, said the staff has relayed to Minott and fellow second-year wing Wendell Moore Jr. that this is a big summer for the two returnees.

Minott received the message loud and clear.

“We can’t waste this. We haven’t really proven anything, so I feel like people have seen that we’re hungry,” he said. “I don’t really see why there’s a reason for us to be overseas (on vacation) and relaxing. You’ve got to get the work. Like I said, we haven’t accomplished anything, so we’re trying to accomplish something now.”

Lefevre said putting in the time in the Timberwolves’ practice facility is the best thing Minott can do. Both Moore and Minott, the coach noted, have “gotten a lot better” in the past couple of months.

For Minott, it’s the continuance of his rapid ascension over the past year, since he was selected No. 45 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft. Minott entered the draft out of Memphis with NBA athleticism but was considered a “raw” prospect. Lefevre thinks that was a fair assessment.

“I think when we got him, he was raw. But he came a long way from where he was last year. And the last couple of months, I think he took a big step,” Lefevre said. “Obviously, last year he had progress during the year. But he’s a lot further along now than I would’ve expected a couple months ago. He’s made big strides.”

How big? Just ask Minott, who is confident in the leaps his game has taken.

“I don’t really feel like there’s a defensive concept that I can’t grasp right now. I think defensively, I feel like I’m one of the elites out there right now,” Minott said. “My shot, too, another improvement I’ve made over the summer. Just to keep working on that. That’s about it.”

Minott hopes to hit the three ball at a high-30-to low-40-percent clip in Las Vegas. He is excited to show playmaking chops most don’t know he possesses in Summer League, which starts Friday for the Timberwolves with a matinee game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

“It’s just another opportunity to show the jump I’ve made, to show the work I’ve been putting in over the summer,” Minott said. “Anybody can watch a workout, but I feel like it’s environments like this, environments like Summer League, where you see how much the work has translated and just how much you’ve gotten better.”

Minott gained valuable pro experience during his rookie season. He played in 16 NBA game, most notably including a February contest in Utah in which Minott logged a double-double in 29 minutes to aid a short-handed Timberwolves roster to victory just hours after the team traded away D’Angelo Russell.

In nine G-League games, Minott averaged 20.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.3 steals. The defensive numbers are a sign of the disruptor the 6-foot-8, athletic wing can be on that end of the floor. He fancies himself to be a potential shut-down defender.

“It’s just a mentality. I don’t think you can teach defense. You can tell someone what to do, but you can’t really tell them how to do it. Overall, it’s been a strong suit of mine,” Minott said. “I feel like your shot can be off, or there’s just a lot of inconsistencies in people’s games, but defense is one of those things that can always be there. So I’ve had that sense of pride where it’s like things might not go my way, but overall, my defense is going to be there.

“People aren’t going to score on me easily. I’m not trying to be seen as someone that’s like an easy bucket. I want to be feared as a defender.”

He would like the rebounding numbers to be even higher moving forward than they were in Iowa, nothing that was a deficiency for the Timberwolves a year ago that he feels he can help address. Rebounding is one more avenue for Minott to get onto the court in Minnesota in the 2023-24 season and beyond. That reality is more likely than it was a year ago, with Taurean Prince now with the Lakers and wing minutes somewhat up for grabs.

“I’m definitely not expecting anything. It’s part of the reason we’ve been here all summer, just trying to chase that opportunity,” Minott said. “I know for a fact it’s not going to be handed to me, because I never even had it to begin with, so it’s like why would I have it now? So I’m trying to break the door open here in Summer League and just put people on notice as to what I can do with an opportunity.”

Lefevre wants to see Minott impact the game consistently while in Las Vegas. The coach noted the wing does so many things you cannot teach as far as his athleticism and motor.

“You just want to see that consistently throughout the whole game with playing a lot of minutes,” Lefevre said. “Rebounding, cutting, defense, transition baskets. Just all the little things he does that you can’t really teach that impact the game. Just seeing that on a longer run.”

But, Lefevre added, this is also an opportunity for Minott to see an even larger role, where he can also show some things with the ball in his hands.

“Everybody already knows I’m an athlete, knows I can run, jump, rebound, stuff like that,” Minott said. “But I’m really trying to show I can play the game of basketball, too.”

Because that’s how he’ll carve out a legitimate NBA rotational role.

“I’m excited to see him play,” Lefevre said. “Don’t want to put too much pressure on him, but I’m excited to see him play in Summer League and kind of showcase some of that.”

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