Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns was guarded by Josh Green of the Mavericks during a game in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. (Kamran Jebreili, Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

At Timberwolves media day, Karl-Anthony Towns did not project the kind of bouncy and engaging personality with which he has dealt with the media over the years.

Instead, Towns was serious, sullen and short with his answers instead of loquacious and affable.

Sometimes Towns is like that after a tough game. It's all a part of the rhythm of an 82-game season and the many interviews star players give during the course of a season.

But on Tuesday, Towns was no different than he was at media day as he spoke for only about three minutes in another abrupt session.

What is the purpose behind this new facade?

"There's not much to say," Towns said. "Get the job done."

Perhaps Towns is taking a different tone in his public comments after a summer in which he drew some unwanted attention for remarks he made on podcasts with Clippers forward Paul George and former teammate Patrick Beverley.

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Perhaps Towns is trying to set a tone for the upcoming season for what he wants fans to expect from him. If the latter is the case, Towns got off to a solid start in the Wolves' first two preseason games in Abu Dhabi. He looked fresh and in midseason form after a summer in which he played for the Dominican Republic in the FIBA World Cup.

Compare that to last season, when an illness caused Towns to miss much of training camp.

Towns averaged 17 points on 48% shooting in the two games while playing no more than 18 minutes in either game.

"Just be aggressive with my shot at all times," Towns said. "Put the ball in the basket more than not."

Wolves coach Chris Finch had a little more to say about Towns' game.

"It's like we've told him, worry about yourself, don't try to get everybody else involved," Finch said. "Get yourself going. Do things that you're really good at, attacking from the top of the floor. He's going to get a lot of open looks, he's got to be shot ready. I thought he was. Some of them just didn't go down, but he got a lot of really good looks."

Finch is emphasizing that to get Towns in a different mindset than he was at this time a season ago. Then, Towns wanted to make sure he got Rudy Gobert involved in the offense, and it did lead to some good chemistry early between the two. But Finch felt that came at the cost of Towns' own production.

"He's a pleaser by nature," Finch said. "He wants to make everything work. With the Rudy thing, he wanted to be the guy to make it work and ingratiate Rudy into the fold. I think at times it kind of cost him his opportunities."

Added Towns: "I was just doing what I was told. I was told to move the ball and I thought I did that."

Overall, though, the Wolves are going to need Towns to look to score. They are the best version of themselves when Towns has it rolling, and especially when Towns is clicking from three-point range or has his downhill game going to the basket.

"He looks great," guard Anthony Edwards said. "He looked great in FIBA. So it's only right that it carries over."

And who knows how long his new public-facing demeanor will also carry over?