Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns: Regular-season return possible

Towns continues to rehab his surgically repaired left meniscus and "there is optimism he could be back before the end of the regular season," Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.

Towns returned for eight contests at the end of the 2022-23 campaign after a multi-month absence due to a severe calf strain, so there is precedent for Minnesota to re-incorporate Towns before the playoffs if he is medically cleared. The 28-year-old is due for re-evaluation April 9, which marks four weeks removed from surgery and leaves four games remaining on Minnesota's schedule. The team's regular-season finale comes April 14 versus Phoenix, so Towns' window to return before the playoffs is narrow. Overall, his recovery appears to be going smoothly, which bodes extremely well for Minnesota's postseason aspirations.