As the Minnesota Timberwolves create a young core that’s all the rage, it’s easy to forget about their veterans. One such player is Nikola Pekovic.
Pekovic played in only 12 games last season after playing in 31 during the previous year. In fact he has not played more than 65 games in a season during his career.
Last year, the Wolves center struggled with foot injuries, eventually succumbing to a sore achilles. Now, his future with the Wolves and the rest of the league is in jeopardy.
According to ESPN’s Darren Wolfson, Pekovic is still not physically ready after the latest bout of injuries (h/t Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk for the transcript):
He’s in town. He’s been in town the last few weeks. He worked out in front of Wolves personnel last week. He is still not ready physically.
That Pekovic is working out is a good sign. Not being physically ready could just mean that he’s out of game shape. Nevertheless, his health is a concern and his fit on the Wolves doubly so.
The Wolves now have Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng as the future at the four and five spots. They also added Cole Aldrich in free agency. It’s difficult to see how Pekovic is better than any of these players or a better fit for Tom Thibodeau’s scheme.
But for now getting Nikola Pekovic back healthy is the most important thing. Unfortunately, he does not necessarily sound close to doing that.
