MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves made major strides this season in ending their 13-year absence from the NBA playoffs after a franchise-altering trade for All-Star Jimmy Butler.With cornerstones Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins in their early 20s and veterans Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague coming off productive debuts in Minnesota, there is a sturdy starting lineup in place around Butler to ideally take the Timberwolves deeper in the next postseason.Advancement is easier stated than consummated.The Wolves, even with coach Tom Thibodeau's preference to give his first-teamers heavy minutes, need to add depth this summer with defense and 3-point shooting atop the skill-set wish list. There is no clear way to acquire more of it, though, after making the logical first moves by drafting versatile wing players Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop last week .Wiggins will begin playing on his maximum contract in 2018-19, with a $25 million-plus salary that will account for more than 20... [More]

F Gorgui Dieng had 20 points and 11 boards Wednesday as the Timberwolves routed the Pelicans in the season finale.

Dieng led all T-Wolves bench scorers with 11 points (4-5 FG, 3-4 FT) and grabbed six rebounds in 19 minutes during Monday's exhibition loss to the Raptors.

Dieng has been a double-digit scorer in each of the Wolves' three preseason games while shooting a collective 16-for-18 from the free-throw line. He'll be the top big man off the bench for Minnesota this season, but with Karl-Anthony Towns joining a frontcourt mix that includes Kevin Garnett, and eventually, a healthy Nikola Pekovic (Achilles), it's hard to envision Dieng seeing the 30 minutes per game he averaged in 2014-15.

Dieng was a monster at Afrobasket for Senegal. Through seven games played, he averaged 22.9 points, 0.7 three-pointers, 14.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 38 minutes per game.

Putting up stats like that certainly makes you rethink how big of a role Dieng will have on the Timberwolves this season, but given how deep they are in the frontcourt, it's hard to get too excited about Dieng's production. Rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to start, and the team also has Kevin Garnett, Nikola Pekovic, Adreian Payne, Nemanja Bjelica, and Anthony Bennett all expected to compete for minutes in the frontcourt. That's a lot of mouths to feed on a budget of limited minutes, making Dieng's value difficult to peg for this coming season.

Dieng has been working on his post moves with former Raptor Hakeem Olajuwon, NBA.com reports.

Dieng is in Johannesburg, Africa in preparation for the Basketball Without Borders game pitting Team Africa against Team World on August 1st. Over the last two days, Dieng has learned the graceful Dream Shake and how to create more space between he and the defender. They've only managed two 45-minute workouts, but the improved footwork may curtail his propensity for traveling, of which he was dinged a league-high 28 times last season. Dieng will compete against rookie Karl-Anthony Towns for a starting role now that coach Flip Saunders has anointed Kevin Garnett a 20-minute starter.

Dieng (concussion) is practicing with Senegal in preparation for AfroBasket 2015, Africa's qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Pioneer Press reports.

Dieng missed the final nine game of the regular season due to a concussion, but it's safe to assume he's past those issues if he's practicing with the Senegal national team. Their training camp begins this week, and their first game is slated for August 20th. Assistant coach Ryan Saunders chimed in that Dieng is in good shape, alleviating any concerns.

Dieng's role on the Timberwolves could be affected after the selection of Karl-Anthony Towns in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Dieng had a productive second year in the NBA, finishing the season averaging 30 minutes per game after 73 appearances, but his playing time may be a bit deceiving when considering that normal starter Nikola Pekovic only managed to play 31 games during the 2014-15 campaign. With Towns expected to start at power forward and Pekovic still at center, Dieng's value this coming season will likely hinge on unexpected periods of the year where he benefits from his injured teammates' unavailabailty. If this fails to happen like it did last year then Dieng is likely in store for limited minutes off the bench for the majority of the season.

Dieng concluded the 2014-15 season with averages of 9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game in 73 contests.

In his second NBA season, Dieng more than doubled his playing time on a per-minute basis and was the primary beneficiary of Nikola Pekovic (ankle) being banged up for much of the year. Dieng made 49 starts - he and Pekovic started just three games together - and solidified himself as a dependable rebounder, as well as one of the better shot-blockers in the league. He's still rather limited as an offensive player, but he improved his free throw shooting by 15 percentage points and shot nearly 51 percent from the floor. When healthy, Pekovic is the Wolves' starting center, and it remains to be seen whether he and Dieng can productively be on the floor together for lengthy stretches. Regardless, the Wolves can afford to use Dieng as a reserve, as he's under contract for a very palatable $1.47 million next season.

Dieng (concussion) won't play in Minnesota's final two games, head coach Flip Saunders told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Dieng has been out since Mar. 29 due to a concussion and there's no reason to have him play the final two games.

Dieng (concussion) will not go on the Timberwolves' West road trip. He'll miss the next four games, giving him an opportunity to possibly return for the final two games of the season.

There's always the outside chance that Dieng ends up joining the Timberwolves at some point during their four-game road trip, but it's more likely that he's simply done for the season.

Dieng (concussion) has been ruled out for Tuesday's game in Sacramento.

Dieng will be sidelined for a fourth consecutive contest due to a concussion, which is a notoriously murky ailment to overcome. As a result, consider him highly questionable to make his return Wednesday at Portland.

Dieng (concussion) won't play Friday against the Magic, Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Dieng will miss his third straight contest because of the concussion issue. He was upgraded to questionable initially Friday, so it's possible he's nearing the end of the concussion protocol. The Timberwolves don't play again until Tuesday, which seems like a plausible return date at this point.

Dieng (concussion) has been upgraded to questionable for Friday's game against the Magic.

Dieng was ruled out for the game Thursday, but the team's official account is now listing him as questionable. Even so, it seems unlikely Dieng plays since he's in the league's concussion protocol.

Dieng (concussion) has been ruled out for Friday's game against the Magic.

Dieng took a hit to the head Sunday against New Orleans and will now miss his third straight game as he remains in the league's concussion protocol. His next chance to play will come Tuesday in Sacramento.

Dieng (concussion) will sit out again Wednesday against Toronto, Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Dieng continues to progress through the league's concussion protocol, but he won't be able to return to game action until Friday at the earliest. With Nikola Pekovic (ankle) shut down for the year and Kevin Garnett (knee) doubtful, Adreian Payne and Justin Hamilton should see most of the frontcourt minutes.

Dieng won't suit up Monday against the Jazz due to concussion-like symptoms.

Dieng was forced out of Sunday's game versus the Pelicans with a facial contusion, but upon further evaluation, he's been deemed to be dealing with a concussion. Because he must complete the league's protocol for head injuries, he should be considered out indefinitely due to the murky nature of such issues. With Nikola Pekovic (ankle) out and Kevin Garnett (illness) doubtful Monday, Justin Hamilton could get a spot start at center.

Dieng (face) is listed as questionable for Monday's game against the Jazz, the Timberwolves' official site reports.

After leaving Sunday's outing due to a facial contusion, there's little surprise that Dieng has been handed questionable status. Prior to the contest, he played at least 32 minutes in nine consecutive games, averaging 13.6 points (on 57 percent shooting), 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, two assists, and 1.4 steals in 39 minutes. With availability of Nikola Pekovic (ankle) and Kevin Garnett (illness) also up in the air, it'll be interesting to see who will gather the minutes at center Monday.

Dieng suffered a facial contusion in Sunday's game against the Pelicans and will not return.

Dieng's injury is just a contusion, which shouldn't cost him too much time. With a game on tap Monday, however, it's possible he will sit once again. Regardless, the team should provide an update prior to the opening tip-off in regards to his status for the contest.

Dieng scored 19 points (9-10 FG, 1-4 FT) with 11 rebounds, six blocks and two steals in 48 minutes during Thursday's OT win over the Knicks.

He took full advantage of the soft New York frontcourt, especially under his own basket. Dieng is now averaging 13.4 points, 8.6 boards, 3.2 blocks and 1.6 steals over his last five games.

Dieng posted a monster line Friday against the Thunder, contributing 21 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks in 42 minutes of action.

Dieng certainly made the most of Nikola Pekovic (ankle) sitting out, managing to stuff the stat sheet in a massive 42-minute performance. There's a good likelihood that Pekovic eventually plays a few games down the stretch, but given his injury history, it wouldn't be a bad thing for owners to roster Dieng from here on out.