Will the Timberwolves make a move before the trade deadline?

NINA MOINI: Things were looking up for the Timberwolves. They went into this weekend with a five-game winning streak, but that ended Saturday with a loss to the Washington Wizards, who are ranked at the bottom of the NBA.

Anthony Edwards was out with an illness. Julius Randle was out with an injury. Naz Reid left the game with a finger sprain. [LAUGH] The Wolves play at home tonight, and as many as six players on the roster could be out. So this is all happening as NBA fans are reeling from a trade between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, which may leave fans in Minnesota wondering, are the Wolves going to make a move before the trade deadline on Thursday?

Our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson are on the line to talk about this and other sports news. Thanks for being here, guys.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Thanks, Nina.

ERIC NELSON: How are you doing, Nina?

NINA MOINI: I'm doing well on this Monday. I hated to chuckle during the finger sprain for Naz Reid because that's a really big deal as a basketball player. But it just, it was all very grim for the Wolves.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Oh, yeah.

Wally, how are they doing?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Well, I think you nailed it. They're hurting right now. They're limping to the finish line, so to speak. Yeah, losing to Washington, that's a game-- you look at the schedule, and you look at Washington's record-- Washington had lost 16 in a row coming into that game, worst record in the NBA. They only had six wins coming into that. So that's one you circle on the calendar and say, OK, this is a game we cannot lose.

Well, they lost. And obviously, being without those guys-- I started doing the math. So they were missing their four leading scorers-- Anthony Edwards, obviously. Second leading scorer Julius Randle, he was averaging 19 points a game. Naz Reid, as you mentioned, hurt early in the third quarter with the finger injury. And he's questionable for tonight, oh, by the way.

NINA MOINI: Oh.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: 13 and 1/2 points a game. And Donte DiVincenzo is still injured. He's been out the past couple of weeks. He averages 11 points per game. So that's 69 points per game missing on Saturday.

NINA MOINI: Wow.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: That's not easy to overcome. They did get a good game out of Jaden McDaniels on Saturday, but they're going to need more. And hopefully Anthony Edwards is over his illness and able to play tonight. We don't know that yet. He also is listed as questionable for tonight.

But they play Sacramento tonight. That's a team that just acquired former Timberwolf Zach LaVine in a three-way trade with Chicago and San Antonio yesterday. So a lot of moving pieces in the NBA right now, and we'll see if the Timberwolves are part of that.

But right now, they have to focus on trying to beat a Sacramento team. And the Wolves will be shorthanded, no question-- no Julius Randle for sure.

NINA MOINI: Yeah a lot of turmoil there. Eric, what do you think about this trade deadline that's looming on Thursday? Will the Wolves make any moves there?

ERIC NELSON: Well, it's probably doubtful, Nina, Minnesota's going to make a shock and awe trade similar to the LA Lakers getting Luka Doncic from Dallas for Anthony Davis, or San Antonio getting De'Aaron Fox from Sacramento and Chicago acquiring Zach LaVine in a three-team trade.

But there have been rumors swirling around the Timberwolves. Remember, they made a blockbuster deal just before the season, sending Karl-Anthony Towns-- KAT-- to New York in return for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.

Now, so far, that deal hasn't panned out the way Minnesota wanted. There have been rumblings that Randle is on the trading block again. One thing we know in the NBA and really all of pro sports, the rumor mill is always churning. Now, head Coach Chris Finch said recently the Timberwolves won't be making a deal, especially now that Fox has been dealt to the Spurs because he had been rumored to be coming to Minnesota.

But you never know. All these teams try to keep a poker face whenever a potential trade is brewing or percolating. They don't want to tip their hand.

NINA MOINI: Sure.

ERIC NELSON: So I would say it's unlikely the Timberwolves make a blockbuster trade, but I won't say it's impossible.

NINA MOINI: All right, well, let's move on to the Minnesota Wild, the world of hockey. The Wild also suffered one of its worst losses on Saturday. Oh, but what happened before the game in Ottawa is what made national headlines, right, Wally?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, it is. And they did lose 6 to 0, by the way. And they were outshot in the game 52 to 16. Mats Zuccarello, one of the forwards, called it embarrassing. It snapped a Wild three-game winning streak. Oh, by the way, they wrap up a five-game road swing tomorrow in Boston.

But what happened before the game was during the National Anthem. This was the first game on the national spotlight between two teams-- one team from Canada and one from the US. And the folks in Canada weren't real thrilled with the president's tariffs, and so they booed during the US National Anthem. And I saw the video of it, and it was pretty loud and raucous.

So we'll see if that has any carryover with more games. It happened again in Toronto during a Raptors game yesterday, so I see this as a trend right now. We'll see how long this lasts.

One other note from the Wild-- Ryan Hartman, Minnesota's Ryan Hartman, a forward, is facing a lengthy suspension after shoving Ottawa's Tim Stutzl's head into the ice after a faceoff on Saturday. He's considered a repeat offender, having been suspended four times already by the League. So number five is coming up, almost for sure.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, and Eric, the Wild aren't the only team that sees fans from Canada and Minnesota in the same venue, right?

ERIC NELSON: Yeah, you're exactly right, Nina. I mean, again, we don't know big picture how the tariff situation is going to play out on either side of the border. But the Minnesota Twins could see some fallout because the Toronto Blue Jays, the only Canadian Major League Baseball Team, they make one regular-season appearance in Minneapolis each year. And usually-- and I've been to a lot of these games-- Blue Jays fanatics flock to the Twin Cities because for some of them, Minneapolis is closer than Toronto.

I mean, typically there are thousands of fans who come south from places like Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. They come by the busloads--

NINA MOINI: Oh, sure.

ERIC NELSON: --wearing their blue jerseys, their Toronto caps. They fill up the ballpark, the bars, and the restaurants. You can hear chants of "let's go, Blue Jays" at Target Field. It's literally a Canadian coup d'état.

And if you're wondering, Toronto plays Minnesota on a weekend-- June 6, 7, and 8-- at Target field. And it will be very interesting to see how many folks from Moose Jaw, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, and other Canadian cities show up, given the current tension between the two nations.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, who knows.

ERIC NELSON: And we'll see if it costs the Twins any money.

NINA MOINI: Yeah, who knows what will be going on there by June, but that's really good perspective. Thank you.

Let's talk about wins. The third-ranked Gopher men's hockey team did have a great weekend, right? They beat their rivals from Wisconsin twice, Wally?

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Yeah, huge wins for the Gophers. As a matter of fact, on Saturday they were down 1-0, but they scored four times in the third period, and they finished off a series sweep of the 18th ranked Wisconsin Badgers. And that was a Big Ten Conference match-up.

Oh, by the way, the game on Saturday drew the largest crowd in Mariucci Arena history--

NINA MOINI: Wow.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: --so a big day at Mariucci Arena. Yeah, there was 10,894 Minnesota fans came to Mariucci on Saturday. And this used to be a huge rivalry back in the old WCHA Gophers and Badgers all the time. And both teams were always really good. The rivalry has finally kind of reignited over the last few years now as fans here in Minnesota have more accustomed to Big Ten hockey.

And that's a big deal. It's good to see Mariucci filled up again like it was back in the WCHA days. Oh, by the way, the Gophers now in second place, just two points out of first place behind Michigan State in the Big Ten. They're off this weekend. They travel to Michigan a week from Friday and Saturday.

NINA MOINI: OK, and then Eric, the Gopher women's basketball team really had their hands full yesterday in Los Angeles. How did they do? They were playing the nation's number-one team.

ERIC NELSON: Nina, they would have been better off going to Santa Monica beach, to be blunt.

[LAUGHTER]

The top-ranked Bruins battered the Gophers 79 to 53. Elina Aarnisalo scored 15 for UCLA. Kiki Rice had 14. As you mentioned, UCLA is number one in the nation and is now 21 and 0. Amaya Battle did lead Minnesota with 21 points.

On Thursday, also in Los Angeles, Minnesota lost to fourth-ranked USC 82 to 69, so it was a SoCal sweep, as they couldn't get a win against either team. In that one, JuJu Watkins chipped in with 20 points, and Kiki Iriafen had 23 to pace the Trojans.

But there's a chance things get better for Minnesota. They have a game against Iowa at the Barn. That's later this week. It's winnable. And the good news is Caitlin Clark no longer plays for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

NINA MOINI: [LAUGH]

ERIC NELSON: She's in the WNBA with Indiana.

NINA MOINI: Yeah.

ERIC NELSON: Although they did retire her Jersey Sunday down in Iowa City. They knocked off USC. And David Letterman was one of the celebrities who showed up to cheer on the Iowa Hawkeyes.

NINA MOINI: Cool. Well, I appreciate you both, as always. We know it's a Super Bowl week, Sunday's game, so we'll be excited to talk to you after that game in New Orleans come next Monday. Thank you, guys.

WALLY LANGFELLOW: Sounds good, Nina.

ERIC NELSON: Sounds good, Nina. Enjoy the snow.

NINA MOINI: Thanks. Those are our sports contributors, Wally Langfellow and Eric Nelson. I'm Nina Moini. Thanks for tuning in to Minnesota Now on this Monday. I hope you have a great start to your week, and we'll see you back here tomorrow at noon.

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