Anthony Edwards has been fined $50,000 for directing an obscene gestures towards a referee on Saturday.
The incident occurred with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 127-125 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Edwards had plenty of reason to be frustrated with himself, finishing the night with 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting, including 0-of-5 from three.
All told, the 23-year-old has been fined seven times by the NBA.
Ant 💀
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This now marks the fifth occasion Edwards has been fined this season alone.
Four of the fines have been for obscene gestures or profane language while the first fine of the season was for repeatedly publicly criticizing the officiating.
It is becoming apparent Edwards cares little for these fines and the “crime” is worth the punishment.
Frustration Mounting for Edwards?
This has been a trying season for the Wolves and one wonders if that’s led to the escalation in these fineable offenses from Edwards.
Losing to Memphis dropped the Wolves to a middling 20-18 on the season, well short of expectations for a team that went to the conference finals a season ago.
It’s glaringly obvious they came up on the short end of trading Karl-Anthony Towns. Julius Randle is proving to be a less than ideal fit, even if the counting stats are there. On the season, he’s averaging 19.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists while shooting 47.8 percent from the field.
Towns, meanwhile, is having an outstanding season with the New York Knicks, putting up 25.4 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He’s shooting 55.4 percent from the field and 44.9 percent from three.
While the Minnesota defense is still strong and ranks sixth, it’s no longer the league’s best and most intimidating defense from a season ago.
Edwards’ playing style has changed, too, attacking the basket less frequently and taking nearly 10 threes per game after averaging close to seven attempts last season.
