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Top Seed in West Re-Signs Proven Vet to Second 10-Day Contract

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Top Seed in West Re-Signs Proven Vet to Second 10-Day Contract


Veteran NBA forward T.J. Warren has just inked a second 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team announced in a press release. The deal will keep him in Minnesota through March 25th. Warren was initially added on his first 10-day deal earlier this month, as essentially an emergency rotation addition to help cushion the blow of losing All-Star Minnesota power forward Karl-Anthony Towns.

On Tuesday, Towns went under the knife to address a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. Per an earlier Timberwolves press statement, the seven-footer out of Kentucky was expected to have the knee reappraised four weeks from the initial procedure. Though he will not be back in time for this final stretch of Minnesota’s regular season, the wording of the statement seems to indicate that there’s a chance he is back when the club heads into the playoffs.

At 45-21, the Timberwolves are currently the third seed in the Western Conference. The club is currently just 1.5 contests behind the top-seeded Denver Nuggets (47-20), and just one full game behind the 46-20 Oklahoma City Thunder, the West’s second seed. Warren has been a key part of the club’s frontcourt rotation off the bench. Big man Naz Reid has been brought in as the Timberwolves’ KAT replacement in their first five.

He was dusted off by the Timberwolves this month after not being able to find a landing place at any other time this season. The 6’8″ North Carolina State product, still just 30, was selected at the end of the NBA draft lottery in 2014 by the Phoenix Suns, with the No. 14 pick. He developed into a prolific scorer by his fourth season with Phoenix. Across 65 contests in 2017-18, he averaged 19.6 points on 49.8% shooting from the floor, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, one steal and 0.6 blocks. Warren finished among the top 25 vote-getters league-wide for Most Improved Player honors.

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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers takes a shot against TJ Warren #24 of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on March 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Warren…


Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Warren was flipped from Phoenix to the Indiana Pacers in the summer of 2019 for cash. He continued his high-scoring tear with Indiana. Warren evolved into being a lethal three-level scorer during that first Pacers season, averaging a career-most 19.8 points on .536/.403/.819 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.5 blocks per bout across 67 contests (out of 73 during a pandemic-abbreviated season). The emergent wing was honored on the NBA’s All-Bubble First Team while averaging 31 points in eight bubble contests during the season’s 2020 COVID-19 era Orlando Disneyworld restart.

That’s when the trouble started. Warren has been beset by the injury bug for several years. He incurred a left navicular stress fracture that required surgery early in the 2020-21 season, missing all but four games across the ensuing two seasons. He joined a star-laden Brooklyn Nets squad, led by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal in 2022, and was flipped back to the Suns as part of the Durant trade near that season’s deadline.

Post-injury, Warren may never be the explosive athlete and dynamic scorer he was just a few years ago, but in limited minutes it seems like he can still contribute to a winning program. In his four bouts with Minnesota thus far this year, Warren is averaging 4.8 points on 47.4% shooting from the floor, two rebounds and 0.8 dimes a night. His new deal will carry him through the club’s next five games. If Minnesota wants to keep him around after this agreement expires, it will need to sign him to a rest-of-season contract.

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Hughes scores in debut for Wild, who defeat Bruins for 4th straight win | NHL.com

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Hughes scores in debut for Wild, who defeat Bruins for 4th straight win | NHL.com


The 26-year-old defenseman finished with three shots in 26:55 of ice time in his first game since being traded to Minnesota by the Vancouver Canucks on Friday for defenseman Zeev Buium, forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.

“It’s been a whirlwind for sure,” Hughes said. “I’m just looking forward to kind of getting my feet on the ground and get with the team here and get in a day-to-day lifestyle here. But definitely the last 48 hours have been a lot, but I was excited to go play the game.”

Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist, Hartman had a goal and two assists, and Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist for the Wild (19-9-5), who extended their winning streak to four games and home point streak to 12 games (10-0-2). Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves.

“The crowd was electric I think just from the … I would say warmups to the introduction and then throughout the game,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “So, it was great to see the building like that and the guys perform the way that they did. So, it was a great combo.”

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Alex Steeves and Andrew Peeke scored, and Swayman made 25 saves for the Bruins (19-14-0), who had won four straight.

“They’re a very good hockey team,” Boston coach Marco Sturm said. “They’re built pretty big, they play the right way, they play pretty hard, and they go to the net really hard, too. So, that’s something I mentioned, even between periods. That’s something we have to learn. And even if teams like that, we have to learn from that, and that shows we’re not there yet, and that’s a good thing, I think.

“Do we like the end results? No, but we had our chances in the first, even in the second period, and those are the chances that you have to use, otherwise it’s going to get hard against a team like that.”

Jared Spurgeon put Minnesota ahead 1-0 at 10:11 of the first period with a wrist shot through traffic as Swayman was screened by Marcus Johansson on a power play.

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Perennial candidate Kendall Qualls wins Minnesota GOP gubernatorial straw poll

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Perennial candidate Kendall Qualls wins Minnesota GOP gubernatorial straw poll


Kendall Qualls, Army veteran, former health care executive and anti-anti-racist activist, won the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial straw poll on Saturday, beating House Speaker Lisa Demuth, MyPillow guy Mike Lindell and a long list of other names. The poll of the party’s State Central Committee offers the first look at how the candidates in the 2026 […]



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Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday

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Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday


Temperatures dropped into the negative Saturday, with the coldest temperatures in the morning. 

How cold it got in Minnesota Saturday

By the numbers:

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Here is how cold the temperatures got in Minnesota: 

  • Hinckley: -20 degrees
  • Bemidji: -20 degrees
  • Ely: -18 degrees
  • Brainerd: -18 degrees
  • Detroit Lakes: -18 degrees
  • Hibbing: -17 degrees
  • International Falls: -17 degrees
  • Duluth: -16 degrees
  • Alexandria: -12 degrees
  • St. Cloud: -12 degrees
  • Cambridge: -11 degrees
  • Grand Marais: -10 degrees
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -6 degrees
  • Red Wing: -6 degrees
  • Morris: -6 degrees
  • Hutchinson: -5 degrees
  • Rochester: -5 degrees
  • Mankato: -3 degrees
  • Windom: 0 degrees
  • Marshall: 0 degrees

Here are the lowest wind chills across Minnesota from Saturday: 

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  • Bemidji: -37 degrees
  • Ely: -35 degrees
  • Duluth: -34 degrees
  • Brainerd: -32 degrees
  • Detroit Lakes: -32 degrees
  • Hibbing: -31 degrees
  • Alexandria: -29 degrees
  • Hinckley: -27 degrees
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -24 degrees
  • St. Cloud: -24 degrees
  • Willmar: -22 degrees
  • Cambridge-21 degrees
  • Grand Marais: -21 degrees
  • Hutchinson: -21 deegres
  • Morris: -20 degrees
  • Faribault: -18 degrees
  • Mankato: -18 degrees
  • Marshall: -17 degrees
  • Red Wing: -16 degrees
  • Owatonna: -16 degrees
  • Windom-12 degrees

Cold continues Sunday 

What’s next:

The Twin Cities are under a cold weather advisory that is expected to last through Sunday morning, so residents should prepare for frigid conditions if they have plans to be outdoors.

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Sunday will be slightly less frigid with temperatures climbing above zero. However, it will still feel like 10 below zero in the afternoon.

Milder and warmer temperatures are expected to return for the work week.

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