Timberwolves General Manager Matt Lloyd Interview With Michael Grady At NBA Summer League | 07.12.25

Timberwolves General Manager Matt Lloyd Interview With Michael Grady At NBA Summer League | 07.12.25

All right, I’m here with Timberwolves general manager, Matt Lloyd. And Matt, this is this always an exciting time of year. What what gets you excited about being out here in Vegas and this atmosphere and all this going on? Yeah. Um, well, first off, thanks for having me, Michael. And I think the most exciting part is just to get to see our young players who have been working so hard, getting ready and staying prepared during the regular season to have this be the reward for all that work and and preparation. We had they all each had all they each had stretches during the season that we saw with the potential of what they could be. But out here they have the held the responsibility of of carrying the team and thus far it’s been great. It’s such a great scouting venue. It’s such a great opportunity for all levels of our organization to show off development, the trainers, the coaches, um our front office people responsible for putting the team together. So all in all, it’s a it’s an awesome experience and we’re just so happy to be here. Let’s talk about the development of some of your guys. Let’s talk about the draft picks to start. Yoan Baring, what what do you like about him? He got off to a great start in summer league play. Yeah, Yawan is such an intriguing player for us because it really gives us a player at all five positions have that has like a developmental cycle that we can see. Um he’s active. He’s very smart. He’s interested in getting better. Um he’s committed. He’s got great hands. So he’s he’s been he’s been really fun to watch through camp and in these first two games. He is uh he hasn’t really had a great statistical game thus far in the second game, but he’s plus 20 right now. He’s plus 20, which means he’s impacted the game when he’s on the floor. And sometimes that that’s all we can expect from a rookie playing his second summer league game. So, you got you got a big guy later in the draft than Roco Zakarsski. What do you like about what intrigued you about Rocco? Yeah, Rocco uh Roco came through it for a workout. We had sent scouts down to see him in Australia this year. He was part of the uh NBL’s Next Stars program and he was kind of like a hidden hidden gem to a degree. He’s a legit 72. Um he can shoot. He’s got a great feel for the game. We’ve seen in the first two games him uh be a great passer. Um great stationary passer. So the challenge for Rockco will be getting acclimated to the speed of the game here and getting his conditioning and strength up. But we’re pretty pretty bullish on him as well. um having traded back from 31 to 45, uh we were happy when he was there. So, he’s going to be he’ll he’ll have some time in Iowa this season. We’re really looking forward to investing in him and seeing what that could yield. All right, how about some of the returning guys? We’ll start with Terrence Shannon Jr. who is again doing exactly what you want to see from a guy with his skill set in his second year in summer league play. Yeah, he’s been really, really good in the summer league this far. Um because he’s put the time in and the work in to improve the areas of his game that he felt needed to get buttoned up a little bit. The only thing you can say about Terrence Shannon Jr. is that he’s totally committed to being a good basketball player, a good NBA player, and he’s totally committed to being a good teammate. The best story about TJ Shannon, and you know this probably cuz you saw it. Um, after every game, even if he if he played, if he didn’t play, he was always the last one off the floor giving everyone five. That says something about him. He no one told him to do that. Um, it’s intrinsic within him to be a good teammate. So all that work he puts in and how much positive energy he brings to the gym every day that’s going to elicit a great response. How about Rob Dillingham? It’s it’s a heavy load to be a point guard for a team to help lead a team, especially when you have the scoring ability as Rob has. What what have you seen from Rob Dillingham and what do you what do you expect to to get out of him in year number two? Yeah, this is going to sound corny, but um Oh, Terren Shannon Jr. just brought the house down. Um, this is going to sound a little corny, but I I’m I’m I’m really proud of Rob Dillingham and and our whole front office is really proud of Rob Dillingham of how he he stuck with it. He kept getting better. Um, and we’re seeing the results of that, too. His his output is going to be gauged on our team success this year, uh, this here at the summer league. And then we’re going to build on it. We’re going to see what it elicits. Very high on Rod Dillingham and and really our whole front office, the whole coaching staff. We’re very proud of him and how he’s handled all this. I’m going to leave you with the last couple of couple of guys, Leonard Miller, Jaylen Clark. Clark had some really good opportunities to do some things, especially defensively on the floor for the team last year during the regular season. What stands out about those two guys? Yeah, they both committed time. They both played in the G-League last season in Iowa. Um, and that program has elicited a lot of positive outcomes over the last couple years since it’s been there as part of Chris Finch’s program. Chris coached in the G- League, so he understands the respon uh the uh the importance of it. and Leonard and and Jaylen have both put the time in to get their games built together. They have great individual pieces and they’re just starting to put all that stuff together. There’s going to be a period, we see it every year, there’s going to be a period where we those guys will have to hold the responsibility of of producing in games. They’re ready for it because they put the time in to get ready for it. Appreciate your time as always, man. Thank you. You’re the best, Michael. Thank you for having me, man. Thanks so much.

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