How Cole Aldrich spent his summer vacation: Cole Aldrich and his wife were in Italy when the former Bloomington Jefferson big man signed a three-year, $22 million free agent deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Thursday he was on the phone from Helsinki, Finland. "We're getting spoiled," he said. It's been quite the summer of travel for Aldrich, who is in Finland as part of the NBA's Basketball Without Borders program. Run in conjunction with FIBA, it is an instruction and development program for teenage players. In this case Aldrich and Timberwolves assistant Ryan Saunders are at the camp, which is drawing players from all around Europe. -- Star Tribune

Q&A: Karl-Anthony Towns on Call of Duty, Summer Highlights, Acting, NBA and More: Here’s how passionate Karl-Anthony Towns is about the Call of Duty video game franchise: This past holiday weekend, the reigning Rookie of the Year traded relaxation for attendance at the third annual Call of Duty World League Championship at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif. There, he watched the best global gamers go at it, while playing a sample of the upcoming COD: Infinite Warfare title, which releases in early November. -- NBPA.com