NBA Notes: Timberwolves, Chris Finch, Celtics, Spurs, Elfrid Payton

Timberwolves

The Timberwolves keep flirting with the idea of being an elite West team, but the consistency has not been there. Not yet, anyway.

Wednesday’s home loss to Memphis was another reminder. Minnesota struggled to generate good offense, and head coach Chris Finch didn’t sugarcoat it afterward.

“Our offensive decision-making was awful,” Finch told reporters, via Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “From shot selection to turnovers to execution it was just not very good.”

That is not the standard the Wolves believe they are capable of reaching, especially after last season’s breakthrough.

They will get a quick chance to reset Friday against Oklahoma City, a Thunder team that beat them 113-105 back in late November and has been far steadier on both ends of the floor.

Celtics

With trade season approaching, Boston is once again walking a familiar line.

Brian Robb of MassLive.com took a deep look at where the Celtics stand financially and what tools they realistically have at their disposal. The big takeaway is that frontcourt help remains the clearest on-court need, particularly another true center to stabilize the rotation.

At the same time, Boston will have to decide whether it makes sense to remain in the tax or quietly explore ways to duck below it.

As always with the Celtics, the calculus will come down to how real this team feels as a contender vs. how much flexibility management wants to preserve.

Spurs

The Spurs continue to cast a wide net.

In addition to recently bringing in big man Christian Koloko, veteran guard Elfrid Payton has joined San Antonio’s G League affiliate ahead of this weekend’s NBAGL Showcase, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

The idea is simple. Give evaluators another look and see if anything sticks. For a Spurs team still focused on development and optionality, those low-risk auditions remain part of the process.