Other new player in Timberwolves trade, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, looks to learn with new team

DALLAS – Nickeil Alexander-Walker got done with his pregame routine with the Jazz on Wednesday night with about 40 minutes left on the clock to game time.

Shortly after coming off the floor, Alexander-Walker found out Utah was trading him to the Wolves, the team at the other end of the floor. So Alexander-Walker took a shower, got dressed and headed down the other end of the hallway to greet his new teammates.

"I went from thinking game plan to saying final goodbyes and what not, so it was a lot and it was all fast for me," Alexander-Walker said. "I was excited just because everything is an opportunity and a chance for me to get better and grow."

Alexander-Walker, who is in his fourth season out of Virginia Tech, isn't walking into a totally foreign situation. In his rookie year with the Pelicans, Wolves coach Chris Finch was an assistant there. Alexander-Walker said he used to ask a lot of questions of Finch, who he said was "very patient" with him. Finch joked that he wasn't sure anybody has ever referred to him as patient.

With the perspective of time, Alexander-Walker said a lot of the things Finch told him about life in the NBA has come to light for him since Finch left New Orleans and Alexander-Walker went from there to Utah and now back to Minnesota.

"It's something I thought about a lot just from my rookie year," Alexander-Walker said. "How much I was growing and learned — the small things he said that carried over I needed to realize I was a little stubborn towards."

Finch said he thinks of Alexander-Walker as a "utility infielder" who can do a little bit of everything on the floor. He can play all three backcourt positions and Finch said his defense has grown since that rookie season.

"Nickeil is very cerebral," Finch said. "He's also inquisitive. Wanted to learn as much as he could about not just what we were doing, but the league. He's a pleaser. He wants to learn, put it in play, know we got it right. With any rookie, he's just going through the ups and downs of a rookie learning how to play in the NBA. Now, I see a guy who's way more confident in who he is as a player."

Alexander-Walker is a restricted free agent after this season, and Finch said he was hopeful Alexander-Walker would find a role with the Wolves, especially because all the moving around in his career hasn't allowed him to settle into one place for too long.

"For me, it's how do I help the team?" Alexander-Walker said. "One of the huge leaps I felt I made this year was defensively. It's a chance for me to come in and be another asset. I know Jaden [McDaniels] has a lot on his plate guarding the best players for a lot of teams. Coming to relieve and help him out, add another presence, stuff like that, small things that can help me implement into the game."

The Wolves sent out their season-ticket renewal orders Monday, with COO Ryan Tanke saying the Wolves were raising the prices of tickets for the first time in five seasons. The average increase is 8%, Tanke said. Tanke noted that 82% of seats would increase by $5 or less.

The Wolves are extending for another season the 50% discount for retail and concessions in the arena for those that renew their season tickets while those who purchase them for the first time will receive a 25% discount. Tanke said the Wolves have had 14 sellouts this season through 32 games, with six of the last seven sold out.

The Wolves are averaging 16,492 fans per game this season. That's 27th in the league, ahead of the Rockets, Pacers and Thunder. Their average attendance is up slightly from 16,028, which ranked 21st in the league last season.