LOS ANGELES - In little more than 24 hours, Timberwolves forward Anthony Tolliver went from nearly becoming a Portland Trail Blazer to playing 23 minutes in Friday's loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, his most playing time in two months.
On Thursday, as the minutes toward the NBA trade deadline clicked away, Tolliver and his expiring contract were set to be shipped to Portland to help make work a three-way deal that would have sent Michael Beasley to the Lakers and brought shooting guard Jamal Crawford from the Blazers.
"I heard some rumors," he said. "My agent mentioned it, so I wouldn't have been caught off guard."
Ultimately, the Wolves refused to take back Lakers veteran guard Derek Fisher's $3.4 million contract option for next season and the deal was scuttled as the clock ticked. The Lakers then shipped Fisher's contract to Houston instead to save themselves luxury-tax money.
And Tolliver stayed, and played more Friday against the Lakers than he had since playing 27 minutes against Detroit on Jan. 18.
Tolliver missed all four of his shots and went scoreless in those 23 minutes. He hadn't played that many minutes in the past two weeks combined. Wolves coach Rick Adelman called upon Tolliver for two reasons:
With Beasley out for the second consecutive night because of an injured toe, Adelman said he wanted Tolliver's length and activity at the small forward spot on a second unit that again couldn't keep pace in the second quarter, just like the night before at Utah.
And ... ?
"He follows exactly what we want to do defensively," Adelman said. "He's very good at what we want to do defensively and he plays with energy, so I just decided to give him some time while Michael's out."
Tolliver played about a minute more than starting small forward Wes Johnson, and the two of them combined to score two points at a position where most teams have a potent scorer. No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams, an undersized power forward whom Adelman has spotted at small forward for limited minutes, played nearly 19 minutes and scored just six points on a night when the Wolves reserves were badly outplayed. The Wolves bench combined for 19 points while Lakers reserve Matt Barnes scored 17 all by himself.
"I'm grateful for every minute I get out there," said Tolliver, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer at age 27 when the two-year contract he signed in summer 2010 expires. "Unfortunately, I haven't been able to capitalize on the offensive end. I've been doing some good stuff on the defensive end, helping the team on that end on the floor.
"When I go out there, I just try to be a positive, either on offense, defense or both. I just want the team to be a better team when I'm out there."
And Friday, Adelman deemed the Wolves better when Tolliver was on the floor, even if Wolves fans watching back home took to Twitter to ask why a guy who didn't score a point was on the floor for so long.
Defense is the answer, in case you wanted to know.
"It's definitely something I take pride in, being in the right place, doing the right things," Tolliver said. "I haven't had the most minutes this year. Every time I get a chance, I want to go out there and at least do well defensively and hope the offensive part will come."
