The Timberwolves have some clarity on the wrist injury plaguing center Karl-Anthony Towns — and Towns will be out at least two weeks as he undergoes treatment for a fractured wrist.
After consulting with multiple specialists, Towns will undergo treatment for the injury, which was affecting him before he missed the Wolves' final game before the All-Star break against Charlotte.
But he had an initial MRI before that game and consulted with doctors more this week after returning from the break. Coach Ryan Saunders said Towns initially hurt the wrist in a game against Oklahoma City on Jan. 25. After that game, the Wolves said Towns had an X-ray that came back negative. He attempted to play through the injury, but the pain increased.
"He felt good, good enough to play through any type of pain," Saunders said. "At that point in the season, everybody is going to be playing with some sort of pain."
Towns took pride in not missing a game his first three seasons in the league. This season he has missed the most time of his career because of injury. First, he missed 15 games because of a left knee injury and an illness in December and January, and now the wrist injury, which will keep him out at least until early March. Friday was his 19th game missed this season.
"Karl is a guy who's competitive and a guy who wants to play and wants to be out there with his teammates," Saunders said. "But he understands [what's best]."
The injury will delay the development of the new-look Wolves with Towns as the focal point of the offense alongside friend and point guard D'Angelo Russell.
"He's a huge part of what we do," Saunders said. "His ability to score inside, score outside, we've looked forward to him and D'Angelo getting to share the court together as we continue to build and continue to work toward our ultimate goal. We saw that's not going to happen these next couple of weeks here."
