Minnesota Timberwolves shooting guard Anthony Edwards has been fined $50,000 for throwing a chair that hit two bystanders during the NBA playoffs. The incident occurred in the moments after the Timberwolves' season had come to an end at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. Despite the incident occurring in April, the NBA has had to wait on punishing Edwards. This was due to a criminal investigation into the incident, which was dismissed last month.
Despite the hefty fine, Edwards will not miss any games in the 2023-24 season. Edwards, the first-overall pick in the 2020 draft, had a big year for the Timberwolves last season. He put up 24.6 points per game, best for 16th in the league. He also had 5.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game across 79 games played. However, Edwards also missed a game-tying three at the end of regulation in Game 5, sealing the Timberwolves' fate.
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Edwards Avoids Suspension
Edwards is currently with Team USA preparing for the FIBA World Cup, which is being hosted in Southeast and East Asia later this month. While $50,000 feels like a lot of money, many people feel that Edwards got off lightly. Furthermore, as mentioned, Edwards will be fully available for the start of the season. This is in contrast to the 25-game suspension that Ja Morant will serve at the start of the season. In light of the fine news, many people have made jokes surrounding viral footage of a fight at a jetty in Alabama. One participant in the fight can be seen using a chair.
Edwards signed a max rookie extension (5 years, $260M) with the Timberwolves in what was their biggest move of the offseason. Overall, Minnesota primarily focused on adding depth, seeming to believe that they already have a contender-level roster. However, they did sign Troy Brown Jr. and Shake Milton. Both players were brought in on 2-year, $10 million contracts. The Timberwolves were also lucky in that they only lost one player to free agency. Taurean Prince left to join the Lakers on a one-year deal. In the draft, Minnesota picked up UCLA shooting guard Jaylen Clark in the second round as their own rookie acquisition.
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