Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Date: July 13th, 2026
Time: 10:00 PM CDT
Location: Thomas & Mack Center
Television Coverage: Prime Video
The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered their first loss of Summer League on Saturday night, falling by 19 points to the Denver Nuggets in a game that technically offered Denver a chance to avenge its first-round playoff elimination at Minnesota’s hands. Well, provided everyone agreed to ignore the minor detail that Anthony Edwards, Nikola Jokic, and almost
every other player who made that postseason rivalry compelling was nowhere near Cox Pavilion.
So yes, Denver got its revenge. It was just the least satisfying version imaginable. That does not mean there was nothing worth watching. Summer League has never been about the stakes attached to the final score. It is about searching for evidence, however incomplete, that a young player may eventually become useful when the games matter. It is the NBA’s annual Rorschach test, only with more missed jumpers and significantly worse transition defense.
Minnesota entered the game without the player Wolves fans were most eager to monitor. Joan Beringer, who opened Summer League with an encouraging 18-point, 12-rebound performance against New Orleans, was held out because of back tightness. In a normal July game, losing one prospect should not completely alter the outlook. For this particular Wolves roster, however, Beringer’s absence mattered because he represents one of the few internal options Minnesota has to address its suddenly depleted frontcourt.
Beringer’s development has taken on more urgency than anyone would have expected a few months ago. He is no longer just an intriguing young big who can be allowed to develop quietly at the back of the rotation. The Wolves need evidence that he can eventually contribute, and possibly sooner than anticipated. His debut against New Orleans supplied some early optimism. His absence against Denver left Minnesota short-handed and removed one of the team’s most natural sources of rebounding, interior activity, and defensive size.
The result was not particularly inspiring. Denver controlled the game, Minnesota struggled to mount a meaningful response. The Wolves did not look especially cohesive, and never found the combination of energy and execution required to cut into Denver’s advantage.
Still, the most important development of the evening was not the 19-point margin. It was Isaiah Evans finally making his debut. Minnesota selected Evans with the 33rd pick in the draft, but he was unable to participate in the Summer League opener while the organization completed the transactions connected to the LaMelo Ball trade. Saturday offered Wolves fans their first real look at the team’s top selection from this draft class, and it would be fair to say that the introduction did not unfold the way Evans probably imagined it during the weeks leading up to Las Vegas.
He struggled to find his shot, never appeared fully comfortable, and looked like a young player trying to adjust to the speed and physicality of a higher level of basketball. That is also completely fine. This is precisely what Summer League is supposed to be for. Evans is a second-round rookie playing his first game in a new environment after being forced to wait for the trade machinery to stop moving before he could even step on the floor. The jury on Evans should therefore remain exactly where it belongs: completely undecided.
He will get more opportunities, beginning Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, to settle into the offense, regain his shooting touch, and display the skills that convinced Minnesota to use its first selection of the draft on him. The important thing is not whether he immediately dominates. It is whether he responds, looks more comfortable, and begins stacking together positive possessions that provide some evidence of future value.
The same applies to the Wolves as a whole. The organization is trying to evaluate Beringer’s readiness, determine whether Roko Zikarsky can provide useful frontcourt depth, get its first meaningful look at Evans, and identify any other player capable of forcing his way into a training camp conversation.
Monday’s game against Portland offers the next set of clues. Monday’s game tips at 10 p.m. Central, which is not ideal for anyone with a normal sleep schedule, a morning job, children, or even the mildest interest in functioning like a responsible adult. Summer League has a way of testing a fan base’s devotion, and staying up past midnight to evaluate second-round picks in July may be the purest version of basketball fandom available.
For the Wolves fans willing to make that sacrifice, Canis Hoopus will have the comments section open and ready.
The stakes remain low, the tip time is unnecessarily late, and the conclusions should remain temporary. But Timberwolves basketball is on television again. For the middle of July, that will have to be enough.
