Minnesota Timberwolves

Nikola Pekovic takes another step in his rehab process

Published Dec. 15, 2015 12:12 p.m. ET

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Nikola Pekovic is in an odd situation in Minnesota. He's currently out with an Achilles injury, as he's been all season, but when the constantly injured Pek finally does return, where does he play?

Karl-Anthony Towns has shown to be more comfortable as a center than as a power forward, and is it worth possibly stunting development just so you can give an offensive-first center some minutes on an inevitably losing team? It's going to be an awkward fit for Pek when he returns.

He is a highly skilled scorer and rebounder though, someone who can absolutely make the Wolves better if Sam Mitchell finds the right role for him. It's out there. We're just not sure what it is right now.

The good news: Pek seems to be on his way back, slowly but surely.

From Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune:

There is no official timetable on Pekovic for the moment, but it certainly seems like we'll have to wait until 2016 to see him on the court again. Given his injury history, it wouldn't be surprising to see Minnesota be extra careful with him, too.

He has three years and about $36 million remaining on his contract (including this year) and if the Wolves want to trade him down the line so they can play Towns at the 5, he'll have to be healthy. You're not getting anything for a $12 million player, no matter how good, if he can't stay on the floor.

For the first time since his Achilles surgery in April, center Nikola Pekovic did some 5-on-0 drills in practice today. It’s a relatively small step, but it is sign of continued progress. Pekovic has already done some individual drills with the team. And he has done some carefully-controlled one-one-one scrimmaging. The next step will be to gradually ramp up his participation in practices.