Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns gives a nod to St. Paul city council

Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns dove into number of topics on an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show this week.

Yes, included among them was the Timberwolves. Towns was asked if his team can win an NBA championship, and of course the answer was “of course” — imagine if he said “No” — but here was Towns’ reasoning.

“I think if we can play defense the way we’re playing, especially earlier in the year, we continue to figure out our offensive flow, continue to grow as a team and even get more continuity, I think the sky is the limit for us,” he said. “And I’m really excited to see the team we are at Game 83 from right now. That’s what’s really exciting.”

Towns also discussed his social justice work — including that as part of his efforts with the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition — as well as his work with Hope Kids and the recent successful completion of his annual coat drive, which this year Towns said delivered upwards of 1,000 winter coats to those in need.

Among other charitable efforts, Towns also will host a youth basketball camp on Saturday afternoon in St. Cloud.

Lighthearted topics were discussed such as Towns’ sports fandom, which ranges from MLB’s New York Yankees to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. The latter’s late-season struggles concern Towns a bit, but he’s not giving up on his Birds heading into the playoffs.

“I’m just nervous with how we’re going into the playoffs,” Towns said of the Eagles, who lost five of their last six games to close the regular season. “But just like in basketball, we could say that about anybody. They don’t look like they were going to be the championship team, and end up winning the championship.”

Eisen asked Towns how he would do as quarterback of a “Tush Push” play.

“My knees would not like that. I’ll do whatever it takes to get that touchdown, but my knees would not like that,” Towns said. “I think what would be better would be Jalen Hurts throwing me a touchdown as a tight end.”

As the interview was coming to a close, Towns was sure to inform the national audience about some local news taking place here in the Twin Cities.

“Shoutout to the historic St. Paul City council — it’s all women, it’s the youngest council, as well, and it’s the most racially diverse council of all time here in the city of St. Paul. So it’s really, really cool. Really want to give a shoutout to them,” Towns said. “They’ve done some great work, and I’m really excited to see, with that diversity, how can we affect change here in St. Paul.”

McDaniels’ coats

Like Towns, Jaden McDaniels is participating in a winter coat donation. On Saturday afternoon, the Wolves’ wing will visit Urban Ventures, a non-profit in Minneapolis, to drop off 500 coats while also chatting with kids on hand.

“I did it last year. My agency help me set it up and find it,  and I actually liked doing it. It was pretty cool. It wasn’t too overwhelming or anything. The kids were nice, they were asking me questions, so it was a fun experience, so I just wanted to do it again,” McDaniels said. “I was like, ‘Same thing (next year). I can keep doing this as long as y’all want me to come.’ ”

McLaughlin’s shooting

A bugaboo for the past season and a half, Jordan McLaughlin has seemingly found his outside shooting touch after being re-inserted into the rotation two weeks ago.

Over his past four games heading into Friday’s game with Portland, the reserve guard had hit 5 of his last 12 three-point attempts, a 42 percent hit rate. That’s a key number that will keep McLaughlin on the floor should it sustain.

“I feel good. I feel confident in my shot,” he said. “Every time I’m open I’m going to shoot it. Like I said, I worked really hard this offseason on my shot and just being confident in knocking down shots.

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