Wait. Why? Aren't we covered at this position(s)?

The Timberwolves will target Memphis restricted free agent Rudy Gay when the NBA's free agency period begins Wednesday night, according to a league source.

Wolves boss David Kahn on Monday said he will call at 11 p.m. Wednesday two agents he wouldn't identify and seek to arrange for their clients to visit Target Center and meet with team personnel, including owner Glen Taylor.

Gay, 23, is a 6-8 small forward who just finished his fourth season with Memphis, which drafted him eighth overall (one pick after Randy Foye) in the 2006 draft. He plays the same position as Wesley Johnson, whom the Wolves selected with the fourth overall pick in last week's draft.

The Wolves could sign Gay to a maximum contract too rich for the Grizzlies to match, starting at more than $13 million per season. Or they could agree with Memphis on a longer, richer sign-and-trade deal, but the Grizzlies might be unwilling to take Al Jefferson's contract back.

From the tiny bit I understand about the triangle offense, there's very little difference between the 2 and the 3 position. Gay and Johnson both seem like very quick defenders who can create their own shot on offense.

I would love a starting line-up of:
Flynn or Sessions or Rubio
Johnson
Gay
Love
Darko

Yeah, that's great and all, but it should be ordered:

Darko, Rubio, Gay Johnson-Love.

You guys lost me at Darko...

Looks like Lebron told the Knicks to fuck off. Seriously, Joe Fucking Johnson is better than Lebron?!?! Wowowowow.

They want to get him and Amare apparently. What that means for D.Lee? idk

Lee is one of the many free agents this off season. I imagine he'll go to Utah if they don't re-sign Boozer because they always seem keen on white dudes.

I was big on the wolves going after Rudy Gay but the only way I am for it is that they would be able to play Johnson and Gay on the court at the same time. Maybe one of them can play the SG position? Martell first off the bench? Not too bad. It's a big improvement. They definitely need to move Brewer if that is the case and I am a huge fan of this considering he actually has some value after last season. Package him with Al.

I think they should only sign Darko for 1-2 years tops. He wasn't THAT great at the end of last season considering the wolves won almost none of those games. This is the way the wolves lineup would be with signing Gay.

PG - Sessions / Flynn
SG - Webster / Brewer(?)
SF - Johnson / Gay
PF - Jefferson / Love
C - Darko / Hollins

other: Lazar Haward, Wayne Ellington.

That still leaves three roster spots I believe. They may be stuck with Pavlovic too though. I think the focus right now should be SG and C to fill out the roster. If they can get Pekovic over, great. But I don't know if he is an NBA center. It sounds like Houston is HUGE on him which almost means to me that maybe we should make sure to sign him.

The Knicks always seemed like the wrong place for Lebron. Their roster has so much junk on it that Lebron might as well go to the wolves. They have some roster space but don't have one player set to re-sign that is really worth writing home about.

I know the Heat are trying to just give away Beasley and that is somewhat intriguing if they want an upbeat team. Would they take Brewer for him? I'd do it.

Pavlovic is done with the Wolves, thank god.

Also, if Gay is on the team, he's starting over Johnson unless something wacky happens.

for sure, I didn't put it in order at all. It's sorta our depth chart. PG is weak but we have to hope that A) Flynn has a better year B) The rest of the team plays well enough to entice Rubio

When I did a search I noticed Dallas might be interested in Jefferson as well. Not sure who they have that I would want right at the moment but that is interesting. Kahn is smart to wait to hear offers right now because teams are desperate to sign the big free agents. If Nowitzski goes on the market for real, then things are totally nutso.

If we get Gay (!), then there's hardly any reason to hang on to Brewer, Hayward, or even Johnson maybe. We should trade one of them.

lol that knicks joe johnson quote makes them look even more pathetic than the t-wolves

From the tiny bit I understand about the triangle offense, there's very little difference between the 2 and the 3 position.

The Knicks are more pathetic. That team pays a ton of money for crap talent and had no pick in this draft. Johnson has to be their target and getting Amare too will help. Maybe they can get something out of McGrady if they resign him.

I don't know that we cut our losses so early with Johnson because after the draft, his value drops. If we can play Johnson and Gay together then I am all for that lineup. Webster or Johnson would be first off the bench. MUCH better than last year.

Look at the free agent market here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=FreeAgents-10-11
If you go through it completely you'll see the last few years of Wolves teams who probably don't have much value in this market. Foye, Nesterovic, Mike Miller, Rodney Carney, Kevin Ollie, Trenton Hassell, Craig Smith, Theo Ratliff and Shelden Williams.

I personally like Foye a lot and think he would be a great undersized 2 off the bench if he'd be willing to sign on the cheap.

I also like Rodney Carney and Craig Smith. I'd gladly take those dudes back as well.

Yeah, they could fit Gay on the roster, but why ? All the complaints about Al are gonna be the same for Rudy. Black-hole on offense, not much defense. I personally don't know that he is worth overpaying. I think it's more likely that he'll end up with one of the teams that cleared a ton of cap-space and loses out on the 1st tier free agents (Nets, Knicks, Wizards, Clippers). I also think Big Al's trade value will go up once Bosh, Amare, and Boozer find a home. This is gonna be interesting.

What the hell is Paul Pierce thinking ?

Pierce is getting greedy. He's trying to get himself locked into a high-paying long-term contract before they set the new cap next year.

Thanks for the tip on the Paul Pierce thing. It's quite strange. The fallout of free agency this year is going to be really interesting and change the dynamic of a lot of teams. The funny thing is that all the big free agents are from the eastern conference (minus Boozer and Nowitzski). If any of these guys move west, it's going to make the east even weaker.

I have to agree with Sweetpants on Rudy Gay. He brings some excitement for sure but I am not convinced he is a great team player or would work well in the triangle. I am not sure who I would focus the wolves free agent money on though either. He seems like the most attainable of the bigger players and getting him early before other teams are desperate is a smart move by Kahn. I still am big on getting Amundson and Anthony Morrow but I imagine those are guys that might end up on a team that gets some huge pieces and wants to fill in the gaps. That or they are overpaid by teams who are looking to replace the pieces they lost.

I don't want to re-visit the past with the wolves. I liked Craig Smith and if we need a backup, fine, but I'd rather try out younger talent and build the way OKC is building right now.

I'd say, good luck finding 21m a year. There's also the chance that he's pulling a Dirk and trying to help Boston out a little bit financially, but I kinda doubt it.

Is Dirk trying to help out Dallas financially with going for free agency? I thought he was considering other options. Maybe the Nets really want to pair him with another big free agent. Maybe Pierce?

Where did that LeBron quote from the Knicks come from?

I keep reading this thread title as the more aptly titled:

"timberwolves persuasion thread"

"C'mon...you've never been fucked by a wolf before? It's great. Just lay back and let me do all the work. You'll love it, I promise..." - Wolf Persuasion

Other titles for this thread:

2010-11 T-Wolves Pre-season: Hopefully we can woo Rubio over with 30 wins.
2010-11 T-Wolves pre-seaosn: This was the year we have been setting ourselves up for...man, it would be awesome to get over 25 wins.

2010-11 T-Wolves Pre-Season: only 11 1/2 months until the 2011 Draft!

2010-11 T-Wolves Pre-Season: Dude, where's my team?

The Math of Kahn

Bill Ingram/Hoopsworld:
The New Jersey Nets are said to be exploring some trade options that could land a veteran PF in Jersey. One source with knowledge of the situation said they might even be willing to deal promising big man Derrick Favors for the right veteran, as Favors is likely a year or two away from being an impact player, whereas a player like Al Jefferson or Carlos Boozer would make the Nets a potential playoff team immediately.

That would be perfect!

It's one of the only trade rumors for Big Al going around that actually excites me.

I'd like to see what would happen if we spent all our cap space talking Rasheed Wallace out of retirement to play on our 15 win team. I need entertainment. I'm a huge NBA fan, the Wolves are my favorite team and they still manage to have me feeling like I couldn't possibly care less. I would even consider buying season tickets close to the bench just to heckle him and try to make him explode, even though I've heard he's actually a nice guy and I like him.

I am pro-Rasheed and support this idea.

Sweetpants, what are some of the other Jefferson trade rumors? I would be fine with him for Favors!

I just want to share this quote from Kahn on Martell Webster: "The statistics are that when he plays a significant amount of time, 30-plus minutes, his shot-making goes up, his scoring goes up," Kahn said. "He probably relaxes a little bit when he's playing steady minutes."

Actually, the logical explanation would be that when he was making shots, he got more minutes that night. But Kahn's alternative viewpoint certainly isn't lacking in creativity.

I noticed that every time the Cavs won, Lebron scored more points. So if he has an off night, it's probably because his team didn't win.

chadfordinsider:
Breaking News: Wolves agree to 3 year, $13 mil deal with 2008 2nd round pick Nikola Pekovic. Link coming on ESPN.com...

And


jonahballow
David Kahn: "Excited to see Rudy Gay tomorrow & David Lee on Sat to show them what the team/city has to offer"

chadfordinsider:
David Lee really excited to check out Dosh, The Book Of Right On, & To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie at the Triple Rock Social Club on Saturday night. Could be a tipping point in the negotiations

I am ashamed at this thread that a British sports site had to come up with this one for us.

@ShamSports If Minnesota are successful in their pursuit of Rudy Gay, they'll have the unlikely yet genius trio of Gay-Love-Sessions on their team.
about 2 hours ago via web

Shit, Sessions was a great combo in that pun! How did we not think of adding him to the equation.

I think the wolves are smart to get out front on Rudy Gay because it shows they are trying to change things. For me, it means that they are giving up on Corey Brewer which I am totally cool with. We gave up on Gomes and look what happened. He was released from Portland. Let's not forget that the wolves haven't had much to work with and right now we already have a ton of new faces for next year:
Lazar Hayward
Wes Johnson
Martell Webster
Nikola Pekovic

This team took all the chances they should have with it's previous roster. Let's move out the garbage we had to improve this team.

Sessions / Flynn
Johnson / Brewer
Gay / Webster / Hayward
Jefferson / Love
Milicic / Pekovic / Hollins

?

chadfordinsider

Breaking News: Wolves agree to a 4 year, $20 mil deal with Darko Milicic. Link coming shortly ..

They got the Serbian centers locked up.

I still think this is a bit of a reach. He better show something more than he did at the end of last season when the wolves won almost no games with him on the team. He was out of shape but that feels like a lot of money for a player who really hasn't proved anything yet. I am hoping they saw some potential and that he shows up in great shape and frame of mind.

Anyone who thinks the wolves are blowing free agency have't been watching this team or dealing with reality. The big markets are going to win all the big players and a lot of players may not be going anywhere.

Here is a crazy idea that I am not opposed to, what about going after Shaq? I'd take him over anything else we have at center still if we could get him. I just don't think it is possible. I imagine he'll want to play with a contender.

Four years at $5 mill per for Darko? Wtf?

4th year isn't guaranteed, but yeah

yeah, I thought it was closer to $4million. Seems like a lot but then again, Jefferson is making four times as much. 4 Mil is sorta a better than bench player average salary I believe.

Also, I can kind of see Gay, we got a bunch of wings now, but they don't all have to start. But I have no clue what we're doing with Lee. Good player and all, but do we have a plan?

I think they are being realistic and moving in an athletic direction. Lee can get up and down the floor well. I think it also makes sense that we will move Jefferson for sure. The toughest thing to watch about the team last year is that they were really slow and were settling on too much half court offense. I think Flynn isn't a great half court point guard. I know I am tired of the pass to Al and settling for jump shots route they have been going for years. I'd watch just to see Rudy go to the hoop and dunk on some people.

We are ostensibly set at point, small forward and power forward right now. We have some players who can shift to shooting guard and like still life said, the triangle doesn't require shooting guards and small forwards to be totally different. I worry about what we have at center and maybe that is why they are going after Lee? Maybe they are just content to stick with undersized players at center but have larger players across the rest of the roster at SG and SF? Maybe we are trading Al for a legit center? If we can send Hollins with him, that would be great. I am still of the mind we need to move Brewer. Webster and Johnson are better versions of Brewer.

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW
this corey brewer?

What do you think we'll get for Al if every team knows we have to move him after we sign Lee, and with all the GM's thinking Kahn is an easy mark to begin with?

Corey Brewer is my favorite T-Wolf, I think. Dude rules the school.

yeah, thats part of the problem but there are also going to be a lot of teams very desperate to make a big move once they realize they can't get a big free agent. I like us getting Favors and Courtney Lee for Jefferson and Brewer?

I thought Brewer had a nice year last year and if we keep him, I won't be mad. He is a nice player off the bench and can provide some energy but his value is definitely at a peak right now.

"I like us getting Favors and Courtney Lee for Jefferson and Brewer?"

I can't imagine what would possess NJ to do that, but sure.

Jefferson for KG?

I haven't read much of this thread, and I do not consider myself a great NBA mind, but why the hell are we trading Jefferson now? Why would we trade a consensus good-to-great player when his value is at its absolute lowest coming off a shit season that saw him recovering from major knee surgery. Why not keep him and see if his value increases? I don't think it would get much lower than it is now.

stu, that's kind of the biggest complaint against Kahn right now. Most fans think that they should at least let him play up until the deadline to show that he's recovering well, but Rambis/Kahn think his defense is so atrocious that they're willing to trade him for cap space to sign Rudy Gay now.

Well, I guess the answer would be that there's no guarantee it won't go even lower if he has more knee issues. But I agree with you. I'd still trade him for Favors though. If the deal is good, it's good.

Yeah, I don't want to give him away but Favors has more upside in the long run. Favors is more athletic. New Jersey would want Jefferson because they would want a proven player to try to win now and Favors is considered a project player who needs a year or two. They could then team him with whatever one big free agent they get. Teams are desperate to make moves to woo James and if it means giving up potential future talent, then so be it.

Jefferson could get worse and his defense is pathetic. He has great low post moves but he also needs the ball a ton to score a ton...for lousy teams. He may be the new Ricky Davis. Both have moved around to teams that are shitty as their previous teams have improved. Jefferson hasn't proved anything other than he can score 20 a game for a team that can't even come close to winning 30 games. Sure, he has potential to break out but he won't have the numbers he has had with the wolves on any other team. Regardless, he has proven he isn't much of a defender and thats a big minus in my book as well.

2010-2011 Timberwolves persuasion thread: This is Gonna Be Our War

Also, the wolves really need to be realistic. We aren't going to win for a number of years especially being out west. Jefferson isn't old but he will be getting up there by the time this team turns it around. His health issues may get worse too. They need to go the way of OKC and stack up the young talent and go athletic. The wolves have yet to make a massive mistake by trading away players who did well here (minus KG but their hand was forced on that one and Cassell because we gave up a 1st round pick): Miller, Foye, Gugliotta, Wally and Marbury didn't end up being as big of losses as we thought.

Also, the wolves are sorta forced to trade away some power forwards because we don't have a serious center on the roster right now and have a million power forwards in Darko, Pekovic, Love, and Jefferson. Love has more potential and they have invested in the others. Maybe they trade Pekovic to Houston because Houston really wants him but I don't know that we would get a ton of value for him right at the moment.

Darko and Pekovic are centers. I still don't see a clear rotation by signing Lee, even is we trade jefferson. So Love still sits the bench? Even if we start lee at center to have Love at PF. Lee is still undersized just like Jefferson, and we just spent 13 million on a third string center in pekovic and 20 mil in a backup center in Darko?

Darko and Pek are centers. Pek is 6-11, 250 and Darko is 7ft, 275. Darko is a LEGIT center, while Pek's game maybe resembles more a PF style of play offensively.

Tom, you should be banned from talking about Big Al after your Big Baby Davis statement last week.

On a team of Lee, Love, Darko and Pekocic, then yes Pekovic is a third string center, because in my mind you can't sit Love anymore and have him play 28 minutes a game or Lee for that matter so Our front line has to be a Lee/Love combination. I'm not talking about the skill or the potential of pekovic. I'm talking about playing time. there just aren't enough minutes in a game to get full value out of everyone. I'm hopeful that pekovic turns out to be a nice player but we'll never know because he's only going to get 8-12 minutes a game and i don't like them spending millions on someone who never gets a chance to play.

I really don't see the Lee thing happening and I'm skeptical about Gay. Either would have to be a sign and trade unless the Wolves just trade Al for capspace (which hopefully they would only do if they knew for sure they were getting a player). Perhaps Memphis would be interested in Al because of the Randolph debacle, but I can't see the Dantoni Knicks having any interest in Al unless they completely strike out. I think the Nets, Clippers, or Washington might just try to sign Gay to a huge front-loaded contract in hopes of Memphis not matching. It's gonna be interesting.

Sounds like Memphis signed Gay to a 5-year contract.

Thank god. I'd just as soon have Al as Gay. Yes, I'm serious. Gay is just as big of a black-hole as Al, and just as porous defensively. He's no better a scorer, either. About the only thing he has over Al is he plays a slightly less crowded position. Then again, after Johnson and Webster, even that's not true.

Stein:

Sources say Gay is canceling meetings with interested suitors, such as Minnesota, which was scheduled to host Gay later Thursday night



Gay on verge of verbal agreement on five-year $80 million deal to stay with Memphis Grizzlies. Link forthcoming.

I've been bashing the wolves a lot, but I commend them for signing Pekovic and Darko. That said, there's absolutely no reason to sign Gay or Lee. What I really like about this lineup is the flexibility. Love, Darko and Pekovic can all play the 4 or the 5. Webster and Brewer can play the 2 or the 3. Sessions can play the 1 or the 2. That leaves you with Flynn as the natural PG, Johnson as the SF, and Jefferson as the PF.

While I like Pekovic, his numbers concern me. He averaged just under 4 rebounds per game (22 minutes/game) last year and he had 8 blocks in 9 games. I compared him to Marc Gasol, who posted 6 rebounds per game in about the same number of minutes, and had 10 blocks in 11 games during his final Euro season. While his FG% and PPG are excellent, it looks like you can expect about 6 rebounds and 1 block per game from him if he gets about 30 minutes. So I think what Minnesota needs immediately are two things: a shooting guard to get minutes when Webster is playing forward and Sessions is playing the point, and a defensive presence who can play either forward position. Tyrus Thomas would be awesome for the latter, but I don't see that happening. As for the shooting guard situation, the Wolves had their chance during the draft and I think they really screwed themselves over.

It's pretty difficult to translate numbers from the Euro league, but yeah, Pek is known to be more of an offensive player. A bigger, faster, uglier, whiter, poor man's Al Jefferson if you will. I'm not too worried about the team as is. We'll definitely be in the Harrison Barnes sweepstakes.

$15m for Gay ? That's crazier than the bucks signing Gooden for $32m.

Exactly. And I hope we don't overpay goddamn David Lee, either. He's a good player, but, sorry, he's just an older, more polished version of Love.

Getting one of the game changers is a near impossiblity for this franchise, and none of the rest of the free agents do anything for me--especially for what they'll cost. Stick with what you've got and start building a cohesive team.

i wonder what happens to wayne ellington? i kinda like that dude

I do, too, mags. He'll still be on the team. Let's see if he can play well enough to justify some minutes.

Sweetpants, what comment about Big Baby are you talking about? That I would rather have him over Al? I'll stick with it and I'll stick with my comment on Cousins being maybe slightly better than Big Baby versus being the superstar talent some have said he is.

If we do a sign and trade for Gay, I wouldn't be upset but I still think the route to go is for youth. Lee is a player I go back and forth on but again, he had great numbers but the Knicks were generally pathetic.

Pek and Darko could get worse contracts and I think they are taking a risk without putting a ton of money down but they may be playing it safe. Again, I am glad the wolves are going at it strong during free agency early and the ideal situation is to get a good young player from a team who is looking to pair Jefferson with an all star.

Slee zz, I think you may be right about Lee with Love but Lee is a bit more athletic and Love is a smarter player and better passer. I'll stick with Love versus overpaying Lee.

Man, that Big Baby comment was funny, I'm sorry.

Anyway, saw this on Twitter:

@teamziller DeMarcus Cousins could have been MIN's starting center for the next 4 years for $12M, instead of Darko at $20M. Wes had better be good.
about 1 hour ago via web

and this just made come close to laughing:

@ShamSports You know how "they" said everyone will wait to see where LeBron signs before they commit? Well, Drew Gooden is his own man.
about 2 hours ago via web

I think signing Darko for that long could be a massive mistake much like it seems to be a huge mistake to have signed Hollins for as long as they have. Isn't he under contract, including this year, another three years?

tom
6/24/10 3:13 PM

I think the best comparison for Cousins is Glen "Big Baby" Davis on Boston. It's not bad at all. I think Big Baby might be better than Al Jefferson but I feel the same about Cousins. Better than Jefferson but not convinced he is going to be a perennial all star.

That's just silly.

Anyway, it looks like Joe Johnson and Rudy Gay are off the market. Cool by me.

Just read someone already saying the Johnson deal will be the worst in NBA history. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I'm pretty astonished by it. Still, Hedo has a hell of a headstart on him for worst contract ever.

yeah, it's a scattered comment. I'll clear it up. I think Big Baby is a pretty damn good player. Last year in the playoffs and this year, he proved he was a first man off the bench or starter for a team who could win in the playoffs or at least get pretty far. I think Jefferson is the same type of player. He might make a big swing but I wasn't impressed by Jefferson much last year. Sure he was coming off an injury but there were little things like turnovers and ball handling that made me think less of him as an all around player. I think Cousins could be solid but a lot of people have said he might be one of the most talented players in the draft. I don't see the potential as much as others. We'll see. I was dead wrong about Foye but I was on the money on Durant, Curry and Jennings. I also told everyone that the wolves team two years ago isn't going to win 30 games and that the team last year was going to do worse than the year before.

Where did Johnson end up? I always wondered why he would want to leave Atlanta so badly. Sure, they had a bad series against Orlando but that team has a considerable amount of talent in place that may be worth sticking with.

Hatelanta

Sweetiepants, was it you that traded me Horford? I did that partially because I assumed Johnson would be gone this year and Al would take a bit of added responsibility. Out the window with that. At times like this I can only quote Cristiano Ronaldo: "I feel a broken man, completely disconsolate, frustrated and an unimaginable sadness. ... I am a human being and like any human being I suffer and I have the right to suffer alone."

My championship team is up for sale btw, since I can't get the league commissioner to pay up, and I'm about to default on my stadium mortgage.

Why don't we just vote him out?

Why doens't someone just give me my goddamm $400?

I know he's probably reading this, by the way. And he can't. Say. A. Word. Good times.

Is Camby under contract with Portland for next year?

Yeah, they resigned him. Maybe before the season was even over.

ah, well, he is more than solid guy off the bench if can ever stay healthy. Are Pryzbilla or Oden going to be ready for training camp or does it look like it will be a bit in to the season for both?

No idea, haven't looked. Vanilla Gorilla's injury was worse though, I believe, and then he re-injured it a few months later slipping in the shower.

thoughts on:

Shannon Brown
John Salmons
Tyrus Thomas

good jumper
funny name
2006 NCAA tournament

Salmons is about to strike a deal with the Bucks, Thomas is close to resigning with the Bobcats, and Brown will probably go back to the Lakers.

Also:

Don't want.
Don't want.
Don't want.

This organization, and a lot of their fans, are waaaay too interested in acquiring second- and third-tier talent. You cannot win a title in the NBA without at least one flat-out top-5 player. Look at every single champion since the 70s: They all had a HoF player. The '04 Pistons and the '08 Celtics were the only ones that you could say did not have a top-5 player, but both teams had STACKED starting fives. Every single other champion since at least the mid-70s had an HoF-er in the prime of their careers.

Point being that we can dink around with some second-rate talent and become a .500-ish team, or we can find an all-timer in the draft or (somehow) convince one to come here. I prefer the latter two approaches, personally. I think we need to conserve our picks and our money to have the best chance possible to do so. David Lee, Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay, etc. ain't it. For the love of Thor, do not give any of these fuckers max deals!

Brown could be a hell of an offensive weapon, but he's never been healthy or proved himself. I'd support his acquisition.

Salmons is a good player and I don't think he'd work in our system at all. He's kind of like a rich man's Ricky Davis and we saw how well that worked out.

Tyrus Thomas is a beast, a poor man's Josh Smith. Can play either forward position and is a really good defender who's probably a better shot blocker than anybody on the Wolves right now. Love the guy.

Well, we probably do need better second and third tier talent, if that makes any sense.

Also, 2008 Celtics - Pierce or KG could've been in the top 5 talent discussion that year. And if not, that team had (and still has) three and potentially four Hall of Famers. STACKED, indeed.

i thought the same thing about thomas....

i agree - we need better 2nd tier and 3rd tier talent

Sure, we need better mid-level talent, but not at the cost of losing draft-picks, salary cap room, and the mid-level talent we already have. I'd rather be a horseshit team with future prospects than a .500 team with none. Unless we get LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire, or Nowitizki, I say stick with what we have and not hamstring ourselves with a max contract for Lee, Johnson, Gay, et al.

The Darko signing is on par with the T-Hud deal.

I'm with you Traag, though at least Darko won't have the option of dribbling for 20 seconds before starting the offensive set with 4 seconds on the shot clock.

God, I fucking hate T-Hud more than any Wolf ever.

the stress of both worlds

Two Worlds, One Cup?

Lawoman, I think you underestimate the talent of Big Baby and overestimate the talent of Jefferson. Lamar Odom was the first guy off the Lakers bench. Jefferson would have been the second on that team. Big Baby was up and down but knew his role and was scrappy. I think Jefferson is convinced he is an all star and I don't see it. He happens to be the best player on a lousy team that needs someone to score. I could be wrong and he could be better surrounded by better players but his numbers wouldn't be anywhere close to what they are. I have rarely seen a true "star" look like Jefferson did on the court this year. It could be the injury but it could be an issue that plagues his career.

Ball Don't Lie Thu Jul 01 12:05pm PDT

The Timberwolves are off to an inauspicious start
By Kelly Dwyer

No, we don't know what Minnesota is doing either.

It's early in this particular offseason, despite the draft taking place last week, the Wolves already committing to two free agents, and meeting with another pair. But all early indications have the Timberwolves' goofball GM David Kahn acting as expected so far in this run.

After drafting the underwhelming (and soon to-be 23-years old) Wesley Johnson(notes) with the fourth pick in last week's draft, the Wolves have committed to a three-year, $13 million deal with Nikola Pekovic(notes) (not bad; pretty good, actually), and a reported $20 million deal spread out over four years with Darko Milicic(notes). Same guy.

(I mean, this is Isiah Thomas-territory right here. Remember back in 2006, when it was becoming clearer and clearer to everyone besides Knicks fans that Thomas was just the worst? It was a series of bad jokes, come true. I bet the next guy they trade for will be Jalen Rose! I bet they get Steve Francis(notes)! And then they go do it. This time around? Darko Milicic. He went and did that. For four years.)

In the meantime, with Pekovic coming on board (again, a fine player who can't rebound a lick, but a starter in this league I'm told), a deal for Martell Webster(notes) on the trade deadline, and Darko Milicic (same guy) on board, the Timberwolves are now down to just over five million in cap space, according to Mark Deeks from Chicago Now (you might know him as Sham, from ShamSports.com).

And they visited Rudy Gay(notes) and David Lee(notes) today. To tell them what, exactly? That they could have signed them had they not traded for Martell Webster, traded down and away from Wesley Johnson, and passed on bringing Darko Milicic (same guy) back?

It's all part of Kahn's master plan to pair Darko Milicic (same guy) and Kevin Love(notes) together in the front court, and trade Al Jefferson(notes) along the way. This would make sense if the Jefferson and Darko pairing weren't actually statistically better
than the Darko and Kevin Love pairing last season. I can appreciate trading Jefferson with Love around - Love is younger and nearly as good already - but to accommodate Darko? That guy?

Same guy.

So can the Wolves dump Al Jefferson? He has three years and $42 million left on his contract, and despite the ACL from two years ago and a tough 2009-10, this is still someone taking a chance on, even at that price. He can still score in the post without being overall ball-hoggy, a rare thing in this league.

If I were Dallas, and the big name free agents all declined, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to offer Erick Dampier's(notes) unguaranteed deal for Big Al. Even with Dirk Nowitzki(notes) around. If I were Chicago, I'd seriously consider trading Luol Deng(notes) for Jefferson, especially if any free agent signees turn out to be more perimeter-based.

And if I were any of the teams that got shut out of the free agent game, and still had cap space? Go after this guy. He can play.

Now, dealing Jefferson for immediate cap space would allow Minnesota to be major players again, with a little under $18 million in cap space to work with; but if any of the three scenarios I mentioned above pan out, this means most of the bigger free agent names will be spoken for by the time all that cash opens up. Even if the Grizzlies, before signing him, had let Gay dangle a bit as a restricted free agent. Even if the Knicks let Lee, a clear second-tier guy, go.

And that's only if the Wolves can dump Jefferson for immediate help, which is no sure thing. Trading for Deng wouldn't provide it, and I doubt (no, I know) the Grizzlies wouldn't have wanted to take on Jefferson with so many bigs already on the roster in exchange for Gay. There are various permutations that could turn out so the Timberwolves can make future deals, use that bit of cap space, use Jefferson, and possibly break even; but this is a poor start.

How? They entered last week with three draft picks in the first round including a lottery selection, and potentially over $15 million in cap space including all the cap holds, and so far they've procured Martell Webster, Lazar Hayward(notes), Wesley Johnson, Nemanja Bjelica(notes), Darko Milicic (same guy), and Nikola Pekovic. Five million in cap space left.

yeah, I read the same articles on both guys. Every article about Joe Johnson re-signing is saying that he is getting paid WAY too much money. The one plus though is that maybe Atlanta will get some crazy offers for him yet in trades because some team is desperate for one of the big free agents.

I'd take Deng for Jefferson. Sign me up. I don't know that I would take Dampier but I like him better than any of our other centers right now. My biggest problem is that I don't know if we have any strong defensive players in our power forwards and centers. Pekovic supposedly can't rebound but can he defend at all? Darko was ok on defense last year but ok at best. Hollins is not good on defense. Jefferson and Love weren't great defenders either. If defense wins titles, then we are aiming at the lottery. I guess our swing players can play decent defense so at least we have that going.

Fingers crossed we can move Brewer in a trade with Jefferson to get more value.

Deng is a 3 though, correct? Wher we're at there is no reason to even entertain that idea.

I am increasingly of the mind that Kahn is turning out to be a really sorry joke.

Ah, I thought he was definitely a 2. Yeah, if he is most naturally a 3 then I would pass. I think the team needs one really strong 2.

They entered last week with three draft picks in the first round including a lottery selection, and potentially over $15 million in cap space including all the cap holds, and so far they've procured Martell Webster, Lazar Hayward(notes), Wesley Johnson, Nemanja Bjelica(notes), Darko Milicic (same guy), and Nikola Pekovic. Five million in cap space left.

So very damning. This is what's bothered me so much lately.

I can't wrap my head around the Darko price tag. Just. Can't.

Isn't Dampier like 60 years old?

Señnor Tom, I don't really know what to tell you regarding Glen Davis. You're falling in love with knowing one's role. Mark Madsen was damn scrappy and role-knowing as well. Al Jefferson absolutely should have been an All Star the year he got hurt, and was an elite low post scorer in the league. Much more skilled as a pivot scorer than Dwight Howard even. You do at least recognize that 99% of NBA fans would think you're out of your mind, right?

LaWoman, that's the kind of talk that got bloodface banned. Watch yr ass!

Hey now, I'm being civil. I am a man of civility.

You're like the white bloodface

Hahaha, beautiful. Thanks, maybe.

Glen Davis was the starter last year for the Celtics without Garnett and they barely lost to the eventual team that made the finals. Davis was pretty impressive in my book. He was great off the bench this year too. He has good agility under the hoop and plays pretty decent defense. Probably better defense than Al overall. I might be wrong because he is surrounded by great players but who knows how good or bad he would be on his own. Madsen was scrappy but couldn't finish layups and was horrible from the free throw line. He brought only defensive energy at his best. He was a poor man's Rambis.

Jefferson is the best player on the worst team in the league. It's not an impressive feat to me. He has never been on a winning team. Okafor had amazing numbers playing for the Bobcats when they were absolutely lousy but is a 3 or 4th option on a team that still doesn't make the playoffs (Paul's injury does play a part in that but New Orleans beat the piss out of the wolves without Paul).

I think Jefferson is much like Ricky Davis early in his career. He had great numbers because he was always on terrible teams but in the end, he wasn't that great of a player. I might be totally wrong but lots of people in the NBA thought Davis was great and isn't.

99% of NBA fans thought Greg Oden was the better pick over Durant. I never though it was. I'm setting myself up to be wrong but Jefferson's game last year got worse as the year went on. The way the wolves finished the season last year was with Darko and Jefferson playing a lot. This is also why I think re-signing Darko is a massive risk that Kahn better be right on.

Another take from Real GM:

When the Wolves traded Brian Cardinal to New York in exchange for Darko Milicic, it became an easy punchline to some sort of joke, but Kurt Rambis and David Kahn fell in love with his ability to stretch the floor with his jumper and pass the ball from the high post.

Even though it appeared as though the Wolves would trade Al Jefferson eventually regardless of what happened with Darko, it is not an absolute inevitability. Because Jefferson is one of the best post scorers in the NBA and was the centerpiece of the Kevin Garnett trade, the Darko signing must be judged against what Minnesota receives in return for him.

At some point, the Wolves were going to have to choose between Kevin Love and Jefferson, and trading the latter is undoubtedly the correct decision. He is older, more expensive and is more flawed as a player.

Returning to Darko, he played 614 minutes with the Wolves after the deadline deal. His PER of 12.9 was in line with his career average, as were his shooting (49.9 TS%) and rebounding (12.1% rebound rate). Both those numbers are significantly less than what a normal 7-footer should post, but his skill-set isn't like a normal 7-footer. Darko is far less effective in the post as a scorer than Jefferson, but Jefferson isn't the most efficient scorer either with a TS% of 52.4% during the 09-10 season.

His ability to pass the ball and create scoring opportunities in that way is particularly valuable for the Triangle, as well as for Minnesota's insistence on improving their transition play. The Wolves were one of the absolute worst teams in this area of the game during the 09-10 season, which made their ability to effectively run a halfcourt offense more difficult.

In theory, Darko is a great fit and if he even reaches 80% of his potential then it is a good signing. There is of course the mistrust issue of Darko in terms of his mood and consistency.

In spite of being a good fit for what the Wolves are trying to accomplish, $5M per year over four is a big commitment for a player that has failed to live up to expectations as his raison d'être since being the second overall pick in 2003.

Between Darko and the signing of Nikola Pekovic, the Wolves have shot through almost all of their cap space. In comparison to Drew Gooden's contract with the Bucks, the combined amounts don't feel quite as bad, but the pair are decidedly average at the position for a total commitment of $9M-$10M annually.

One small advantage of the Pekovic/Darko pairing is that they will be able to share the floor together in a similar way as the Lakers do with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, but that's of course comparing Pintos and Cadillacs.

The Wolves now must absolutely acquire a legitimate starting wing for Jefferson.

Minnesota also passed on an opportunity to draft DeMarcus Cousins, a player who projects as a top-10 center in a worst case scenario. I proposed the concept of drafting Cousins, followed by a trade of Al Jefferson for a wing who would be as good as, if not better than Wesley Johnson. Cousins isn't a perfect fit for Minnesota's system, but the difference in talent is clearly stark.

Grade for Wolves: B-

Darko seemed dead-set on returning to Europe when he was languishing on the bench in New York and held onto that possibility as a negotiating ploy.

He has has a truly remarkable career in terms of his presence on the transaction wire:

- Second overall in 2003, ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade
- Magic give up a mid-first round pick for him in 2006.
- Signs a three-year, $21 million deal with Memphis after Orlando needed to clear him to sign Rashard Lewis
- Traded for Brian Cardinal in order for the Knicks to save a little money
- Signs a four-year, $20 million contract with Wolves

Grade for Darko: A

ha, bloodface knows why he got kicked off and so does everyone else. It doesn't need to be rehashed.

Holy shit. Comparing Big Al to Ricky Davis ? Darko's contract to Troy Hudson ? WTF.

First off, that Dwyer article that PeeYay posted is straight up awful. Wow.

The hate for drafting Wesley Johnson is something I will never understand and I'm very hopeful that he makes all the naysayers eat their words.

As far as Darko is concerned, I firmly believe that it's a reasonable contract. Especially when you take in to consideration the other deals that are happening around the NBA and the general going rate for a serviceable center around the league. He openly admitted that he was completely out of shape last year after being in NY and not playing for four months. His numbers weren't amazing while he was here, but he did show that he was an above average defender with good hands and passing ability. Rambis saw something in him and that's why we signed him. If he's wrong, who cares ? 5m is practically peanuts in the NBA these days.

Al Jefferson is one of the best low-post scorers in the game today. Period. Nevermind last year and his injury. The year before he was robbed by not getting selected for the All-Star team and that was only because he was on a losing team. I also don't buy into the whole his numbers were inflated because he was on a shitty team. His numbers would of looked just as good in any other half-court offense. Yes, he's not much of a defender and not a great passer, but he is a starting PF for 95% of the teams in this league. Comparing him to Big Baby Davis is ridiculous at best.

he was robbed by not getting selected for the All-Star team and that was only because he was on a losing team

and sentiment for putting Shaq on the team, which he rewarded during the introductions with that masked dance routine he did.

totally disagree with you on Darko though. no way has he earned that kind of money and commitment. no way in heck. his biggest accomplishment last year was that he made everyone here say "he doesn't suck." you don't hand out four year contracts for that. and the points about us killing our cap space in that dwyer article (from the sham sports guy originally) are totally valid as well. the return on our large amount of draft picks and cap space so far is just terrible.

Darko's contract is actually only 3 guaranteed years and I never said he deserved it. My point is that if Rambis/Kahn/Ranzone believe that they can bring something that no one else has, than go for it. That's really one of the only ways the Timberwolves are going to find talent outside of the draft and drastically overpaying mid-tier talent. Were people actually thinking that we were going to lure some top-level free agents to Minnesota with that capspace ? Should we of paid Rudy Gay $16m a year to come here ? I also honestly believe that Kahn wouldn't have offered those contracts to Pek/Darko without a plan in place or if he had true confidence that we could of signed someone great.

I think it's more than obvious that this team is getting built for Rubio. Look at what they've done. We're now bigger, longer, way more atheletic, better scoring and 3pt shooting. Pretty much everything so far is exactly on par with what I've expected.

Why oh why are we even talking to Lee? I was looking over the FA list - http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AlKCC.SJS12JF4OBOa.v5ce8vLYF?slug=ys-nbafreeagenttracker2010 - and Tom might be correct: it makes sense to go for a 2.

Not much quality in our price range, but here's a few:

-Tony Allen
-Morrow
-Ronnie Brewer

Anthony Morrow would be fantastic pickup.

Pants, no way we're bringing a top level free agent in. But that's not the only way cap space can be used.

I believe I saw that Morrow was already resigned by the Warriors. He was one of the players I would have liked to have seen the wolves go after well over Lee. Same with Amundson for Phoenix. I think he has proven to be a nice player and I can't imagine Phoenix is going to hold on to him too tight given Lopez's progress.

I looked at list of shooting guards and I think the wolves won't be able to get anyone great and it may be that they will have to be looking for a trade to make any moves to get someone of high value.

GS only made a qualifying offer to Morrow, which I think means he can deny it and look elsewhere?

That means GS can match any offer he gets.

From Marc Berman of the NY Post: There's been rumors of a three-way trade talk between Golden State, Minnesota and the Knicks where Lee winds up with the Timberwolves, Monta Ellis comes to the Knicks and Al Jefferson goes to Golden State. Lee visited Minnesota yesterday and it has only $7 million in cap room, meaning he'd want a sign-and-trade.

Interesting. I think I'd rather just get Monta, but I've got the feeling in the past the Wolves don't have much interest in him.

with Sweetpants. We would need a Monta more than a David Lee type player. It's going to be an interesting season.

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Amare to Knicks.

I have to say, if Wade And LeBron both stay home, I'm going to be upset. Years of waiting, for that?

Shaq might sign with the Hawks. Is that exciting enough for you ?

I'm actually pretty excited about Shaq signing with the Hawks. They could use a center even if he is old. The Hawks look to be in position to be good again. Orlando has to be nervous about who gets Lebron at this point too.

So how little space will Cleveland have to sign anyone if they keep Lebron? I am guessing almost no space.

Amare better get someone else to sign in New York. I am guessing Lee is pretty much as good as gone then too. I'm really surprised that Gay didn't try the free agency market given New Jersey or New York would overpay him big time to play in a better market if they miss out on the big free agents.

Gay signed for about 6 million more than any other team could have offered so it was pointless to try free agency based on money alone.

true. I wonder if Memphis is considering trading him though and that the signing part was to get Rudy the money but then allow Memphis to get something back in a trade as well since they always had the option to match anyways.

That's why most free agents won't leave their respective teams is because they'll get paid way more if they stay home. Gay and Johnson are perfect examples. I'll be surprised if Lebron or Wade play for a different team this year, even though they'd probably have a better chance of winning if they joined Rose and Noah in Chicago. Money or championship ? Sadly they probably choose money. Bosh will probably end up wherever Wade goes, likely Miami, and Chicago, NY, and NJ will be left picking from Boozer and Lee (unless the Wolves steal him). I'd love to see more of a shake-up, but we'll see. Once these shoes drop, hopefully Al's trade value will skyrocket, but I'm guessing if Lee agrees to sign here, they might just use Al as a salary dump.

First summer league game is on Monday versus San Antonio. Wed vs. Sac and Fri vs. Memphis.

LeBron announcing his decision Thursday night in a one hour special on ESPN. Fucking hysterical. I'll definitely watch. Does this mean that he's staying in Cleveland? Could he possibly be a big enough prick to do this TV thing and announce he's going somewhere else?

Scheduling an hour special to announce this, no matter if he stays or goes, makes him seem like a huge dipshit.

I look forward to watching his dipshit ass do this. 45 minutes of videos and obnoxious television personalities, followed by him ripping his shirt off, and Stephen A Smith taking a huge red hot cattle brander in the shape of new team's logo, and ramming it into LeBron's chest, as Delonte West and LeBron's mom hold him down as he screams. Then cut back to Stuart Scott and Michael Wilbon for analysis as Stephen Smith turns the same branding iron on himself on the stage in the background.

hahahahaha

This is from a poster on KFAN, so take it with a grain of salt:



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Beasley/Batum/Lee

New postby One N Done on Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:45 pm
I have no links or published reports just a friend with the Wolves. This is the same person that last year on draft day said we'd take Flynn and hope to package James Johnson for Tyreke. The deal never happened but I think well after the draft it was established those talks did in fact take place.
Whether this will happen or not would you do it?
1. Jefferson sent to Dallas, Dampier to Heat(waived), Beasley and a draft pick to MN
2. David Lee signs as FA
3. Love is dealt in a deal for Batum
I believe Brewer is involved some how.

End result
5-Darko/Peko
4-Lee/ Beasley
3-Johnson/Webster
2-Batum/Webster
1-Flynn/Session

I just read that. As much as I like Love and Brewer, that line-up is waaaaaay better and deeper than we've had for years.

It's something I could maybe live with because i really like Batum and Lee. I'd be slightly worried about trading Love.

Beasley ain't no 4. Not sure how the rotation of him, Johnson, Webster and Batum would go. And we'd need another PF. And I have a hard time seeing Portland give up one of their prized assets for a guy who would be playing the same position as LaMarcus Aldridge. And I can't imagine Beasley wouldn't be extremely unhappy coming off the bench in for a losing team in sub-freezing Minnesota. And an unhappy Beasley might be a difficult thing. So I don't see it. Maybe without the Love/Batum swap it'd be more realistic.

Beasley is a tweener. Too big and not fast enough to play the 3 and doesn't play big enough for the 4. I could see Portland wanting Love. There's also a few rumors floating about them trading LaMarcus Aldridge, so that would make it a little more plausible.

A rotation of Batum, Johnson, Webster would be awesome.

But yeah, I'm sure it's bullshit.

How does everyone feel about Lee? I was really impressed by his play last year, but then again, he averaged 37 minutes per game. I feel like an average PF could put up those numbers, given those minutes.

I have the same questions about Lee that I have about Jefferson. Both had great numbers but it's hard to tell how good they are when they are on a team that has little to no talent. Lee is more athletic and fits with the direction they want to move and I want to see the team move. I would like to get another year of Love before trading him myself as well but wouldn't be distraught if we moved him. I definitely would like to take a shot at Batum though. That guy had a great playoff run and might be worth the shot. Trading Jefferson for Beasely and a draft pick is a pretty good deal in my book. I think all of these trades would be moving for players who have a big upside and are young. They are all risky but would get me pretty excited about the new season.

Wade and Bosh to the Heat. Shocking.

Luke Ridnour is coming to town for a chat. Whitest team ever?

Boozer to the Bulls. I'm assuming that means the Nets will get David Lee.

man the way this is breaking down i think lebron is def headed to the t-wolves...

So now lebron definitely won't be going to Chicago? Didn't Cleveland already try the Boozer/Lebron experiment?

I wouldn't rule it out. If I heard correctly, Chicago cleared enough cap space to bring in multiple big-name free agents.

THE DECISION

The Cavs may be sweating out LeBron James' announcement on Thursday night, but that doesn't mean they aren't working the phones.

From Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Twitter: "Sources: Cavs are in trade talks with Minnesota Timberwolves for PG Jonny Flynn. Flynn is represented by LeBron's agent and LRMR. Cavs have been looking at guards that will help them run. Also, Flynn is tight with LRMR member Rich Paul, who recruited him."

It's likely Delonte West would be sent back in such a deal. His contract for next season is non-guaranteed, which could generate more money for the Wolves to work with if they release him.

Such trade talks might also explain why the Wolves reportedly met with free agent Luke Ridnour on Wednesday.

All the rumors today are suggesting LeBron is joining Wade and Bosh in Miami. Sounds crazy, and fun! But I still think he stays a Cav. Everyone talks about how his #1 is winning. I think his #1 is going down as the greatest of all-time. If that's the measure, I firmly believe his best option is to stay in Cleavland.

With that said, I loved this line I read on ESPN today in a collumn by Bill Simmons.

In May, after the Cavs were ousted in the conference semifinals, I wrote that LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: "winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York)."

I never thought he would pick "HELP!"

-Bill Simmons

Do you think Delonte West will seduce Corey Brewer's mom?

Zgoda twitter:
David Kahn: "Jonny Flynn is not being traded."
Kahn characterized Flynn-Cavs stuff as one of many trade discussions that didn't -- or isn't? -- going anywhere.

STP, for the fucking win!!!!!

I'd be bummed if Lebron goes to south beach or New York. I want him in Cleveland first, then New Jersey, then the Clippers then Chicago.

I'd like to see him NY, but only because I'm an old Knicks fan and would like to see them have a decent team for the 1st time in forever. It's sounding like the Heat though.

He's got to be staying put. Taking an hour of national tv time just to say "cya Cleveland" is such a dick move.

but then again, taking an hour of national tv time just to say nothing new is happening?

I think all the hype and the self-absorbed announcement - coupled with the media's predictable mouth foaming response - will lead to eventual public backlash and certainty of a lockout next year. How could it not? Very sad, my respect for the man has been waning in the last couple of weeks.

A well-written op piece, from the Strib.

Like y'all wouldn't be interested in seeing Wade, LeBron and Bosh all playing together. I'd be damn interested in seeing what happens. Hope he stays in Cleveland though. "It's the right thing to do."

Ditto. I hope he stays in Cleveland, but it'd be fun to see just how good Miami could be with all three. I'd expect them to break the 72-win mark within the first two or three years. They'd have to. Christ, they could round out the starting lineup with me and pee.yay. and they'd still win 65.

Michael Beasley has been told to expect a trade. Means LeBron is coming? Regardless, they're going to have an interesting time filling that roster out with barely any money.

There's an interesting set of dynamics/dichotomy here: you have 3 all-stars - two of them top 5 players - who are essentially agreeing on taking a good sized pay cut individually in order to exist on one team. You also have a group of recently signed FAs who just took home the bank and then some - for what might be seen as the same reason of maintaining playoff-caliber potential (Haywood for $55M WTF?), to desperately maintaining a presence in playoff hopes (Gay, JJohnson).

Well, this is just getting ridiculous.

What's Polish for 0_o?

Darko
Pekovic
Bjellica
Love
Stiemsma
and now possibly Gortat?

How many 6'10"+ white dudes does a team need?!

note - I'm sure Stiemsma won't be on the team at the beginning of the year.

Rambis' Triangle Offense actually means playing tall white dudes with triangle-shaped heads.

Next Kahn signing???

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I've heard of hoopballs, but this is ridiculous.

The NBA allows the Euro dudes to smoke while dunking just because they're Euro?

Maybe it's an idea to play a euro type game and bring over Rubio. Rumor are just that at this point. If we are trading Al we better get someone else super good back.

I bet if Lebron comes here, Rubio would come over.

Boston expected to sign Jermaine O'Neal

Nets sign Travis Outlaw to a five year $35 Mil. deal

With the Nets losing out on the Lebron sweepstakes, I guess that means they're gunning for Carmelo next offseason.

is Nathan Jawai still on the wolves roster?

No more Jawai.

This was huge news, Lebron cloned himself and joined 5 times but not one of them was the timberwolves :(

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when do the jugglers & the rockettes go on? man, what a massive cunt. i looooooathe him.

He's got to be staying put. Taking an hour of national tv time just to say "cya Cleveland" is such a dick move.

so he's leaving?

It's funny how his friends from high school thought this would "build his brand." He basically just destroyed everything he had built up over the last seven years. Fuck this dude. I hope he suffers a career-ending injury during this offseason. Or better yet, Wade suffers a career-ending injury and then LeBron demands a trade to the Thunder. What a massive douche.

damn what a dink. i remember when we were in ohio on tour and watching a cavs game at the bar we played at. those people there looooove him and need him. seems like it would be like if Kirby was like fuck ya'll twins i'm playing for the A's

Howie, that is a perfect analogy. Cleveland doesn't have shit for sports and this seals it.

I have enjoyed Lebron during his career but much like I was disappointed with Garnett for going to the Celtics and liked those players on their own, I will be cheering against them. I'm happy to root on Orlando and Atlanta out east. Miami is going to maul Boston. I think these guys might think this is good for the NBA but I am not totally convinced. The other side is that if this team has injuries, they are going to be in trouble. Even signing players for super cheap, Miami isn't going to be able to build up much of a bench. I imagine they are going to give away any of the young talent they currently have.

At least this means that Beasley can be had on the cheap.

Miami is the new Yankees. I hope that shithole slides into the ocean.

What can I do to help LeBron make his first billion?

I knew that he was leaving when his first answer to a question from Jim Grey was something like "I'm looking forward to free agency." That was funny. Nerves.

Worth noting, everyone in Ohio hated him when he was in high school and wanted him kicked out of school. He wasn't popular there until he got drafted. The investigation the state did into his Hummer was fucking stupid. His mom got a loan to buy it for him. She got it because her son was going to be a millionaire a year later. Doubt they investigated too many kids out in the suburbs when their parents bought them cars. Lots of shit like that going on back then.

He is a bitch though.

Bitchest of the bitches. Quit on his team in game 5 of the Boston series. His knee ligaments snapping will be my most sought after sound sample. Piss on this turd.

I've always been a Lebron fan. Partly because I like his game and the fact that he's so incredibly well rounded as a player. But more than that, I like to witness history. I always want sports to be epic, so I like the idea of dominant players. I want to have witnessed the greatest of all time. I guess I did with Jordan, but I want another, and another! That's why I'm depressed about this. It didn't really hit me until just now after I heard the news. Joining Wade and Bosh is no place for the greatest of all time. The greatest of all time defines a franchise, or at least an epoch for a franchise. Lebron can't do that in Miami, not with Wade, especially not with Wade and Bosh. People will always talk about the dream team, not the godly star that made it all happen. I want my god back.

What a cool brand!

I don't follow basketball so excuse the dumb question, but: does all the Scottie Pippen talk on Twitter mean that most people consider Wade to be better than Lebron?

Also, there was seriously an hour long show about this?

Dwyane Wade is going to poke LeBron's mom.

we got beasley!
here

That's kind of tight!

He's a small 4 right?

6'10

6'9" 235#s

This is never wrong

SMH

PG: Flynn / Sessions
SG: Johnson / Brewer / Ellington
SF: Webster / Hayward
PF: Love / Beasley
C: Milicic / Pekovic / Hollins

And trade Jefferson for a SG so that Johnson can play SF?

Huge...and I mean huge upgrade in talent for us. Now we need to find him in DT MPLS and talk some sense into him. Maybe hook him up with a nice girl or something. We need his head to be in the right place. This is a steal for us.

This is pretty cool. It's like Skeletor just joined the NBA.

Yeah, I like that we finally got a good steal in a trade. Good for us. I am sure Miami wanted to trade him to a team that had no chance of playing them in the playoffs anytime soon which was smart of them.

I will say that while I was a Knicks fan in the 90s, I hated what the Knicks were doing over the last few years. They arrogantly cleared space and made dumb moves assuming that LBJ would have no other option than their team. The problem is that the Knicks had an unwatchable squad the last few years. They didn't give Lebron a better chance of winning a title just moving there and I am happy to see NYC get what it deserves. Miami already had the best team on the court going in to it. They had a better record than Chicago.

I feel for Cleveland fans even though Ohio sucks. I'll be cheering for the Hawks and Magic out east right now. They are the only two teams that can give them a fight. Cleveland won't make the playoffs and will be terrible. Toronto is going to get a lot worse too.

I don't like that we'll be swapping first round picks also though. It's almost certain to be swapping a top 5 for #30. I hope to god it's protected somehow if we ever get the #1 pick.

good catch. That could end up being a mess. We already lose our pick in 2012. They better have made some right moves. This team could be bad for a long time if we end up losing even more players.

i think there is a 7 year window for the swap though...

I love the quotation marks.

I mean, I love "the" quotation marks.

And in Comic Sans to top it off

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW

Wait, what's this about swapping picks?

David Kahn cannot do anything right.

Will Leitch, on the other hand . . .

I thought we're giving up a second round pick for Beasley?

And swapping first rounders, but at a time yet to be determined.

oh shit
well whatever

I actually feel a little bit sorry for Erik Spoelstra. Unless he gets Miami to the East finals, he's likely to be replaced... possibly by Riley himself.

"Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there."

This line from the Gilbert letter is fucking hilarious and terrifying.

cleveland = dying?

Soapy Kittens
7/09/10 7:56 AM

Good lord that Gilbert letter is something else! Don't know that I've ever seen such a reaction to a guy leaving in free agency. Pretty awesome, actually.

Totally agree. While comical and beyond over the top, this was AWESOME.

N. Ebi outscored Turner for the 76ers in a summer league game.

wow, possible starting five, all 25 or under, all top six draft picks

PG - Johnny Flynn – 21 years old – 6th overall in 2009 draft
SG - Wesley Johnson – 22 years old – 4th overall in 2010 draft
SF - Beasley – 21 years old – 2nd overall in 2008 draft
PF - Kevin Love – 21 years old – 5th overall in 2008 draft
C - Darko Milicic – 25 years old – 2nd overall in 2003 draft

and that's without Al.

re: Lebron - I just heard Chad Ochocinco say something to the effect of "The people of Ohio shouldn't feel bad. They still have me to watch every week!"

yeah, this team is YOUNG which is good since these guys will hit their prime about the time that Miami team and a few of the other big superstars right now settle down. Boston will be terrible by then, Durant and OKC will be awesome.

There are some people who think the big 3 could be a great thing for the NBA but as much as there are people who want to see those big three together who aren't really fans of any team in particular, fans of teams in the bottom rung of the NBA have to think they don't have a chance for a very very long time right now. I give it 10 years before the wolves can even consider sniffing a western conference finals appearance. I'm excited about the potential with this young team and to see who we can get for Jefferson but the wolves are likely going to be the worst in the west yet again. I'll take the little wins and one of those would be getting a team that gets up and down the floor a bit more.

This is so awesome. I love Michael Beasley! I'm thinking it'll be like a second round pick and a first round swap in the next three years with top 3 protection. This will get Rubio over here next year, so all we need is a guy who can play the 1 or 2 who's a strong defender. Joe Johnson would be perfect but he just re-signed. Hinrich would be great, too! Too bad Chicago went for Boozer.

Get Tony Allen or Ant Morrow

Oh Hinrich was traded on draft day n/m

I should say to my own above comment that the big X-factor is Rubio. If he is a game changer at point guard, then this team could improve quickly. It's just hard for small market teams to hold on to quality players and amass talent.

I think Kahn is doing a pretty great job getting guys in here and helping them enjoy playing here. I work with a girl who sort of dated Wayne Ellington for a while and I know that he, Jonny Flynn and Corey Brewer hang out daily and love it here. And according to Twitter, Wesley Johnson has joined their little clique. Jonny Flynn always tweets about how the 4 of them are hanging out watching movies after practice or whatever.

Also, look at Darko. Dude was bitter as fuck and completely gave up on the league less than a year ago. Kahn/Rambis brought him in and built up his confidence and got him to change his mind and sign a contract. Not sure how he'll do, but he has the skills and could thrive here, if and when he gets in shape.

From what I've seen of Beasley's character, he seems like a really funny, nice guy. If he gets in good with the Brewer/Ellington/Flynn/Johnson crew, I can see him wanting to stick around, especially since he now has the chance to be "the guy" on a team.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I think Kahn has done a good job building a "team". If they enjoy playing with eachother and being around eachother, we have a way better chance of hanging onto them when their free agency hits.

What's memphis doing with Mike Conley? He's a good defender and can play either the 1 or 2. I see them playing Mayo at PG and Henry at SG but they don't need Jefferson.

Man, if we had picked Lance Stephenson instead of Hayward we'd be soo gravy right now.

"I work with a girl who sorta dated Wayne Ellington for awhile" ha.

Jonny Flynn is a kid who tweets stupid shit. I think this winter he tweeted "hey, watchin me on sport nation. It's my favorite show." "Watchin CSI, who's out there." Dead Silence.

MMM, great way of framing the situation. I'd have to agree on your points and Johnson joining Flynn was always something I saw as a positive.

Mustachio, I think the wolves are reluctant to make any moves at the point guard position because they are aiming their sights on Rubio clearly. I am sure they will buy out Sessions next year if Rubio comes over.

Stephenson looked good in summer league stuff but he is currently injured. I am hoping they know something about Hayward that others don't.

I had to stop following Flynn on Twitter. I started to dislike him based on stupid shit he was posting. It is the same reason I hide updates from people I know on Facebook and stop following some people on twitter. A lot of people just don't have much to say and when they have something to say, they don't know how to write anything clever.

weren't a lot of beasley's problems related to depression and (possible) alcohol problems?

i mean, hopefully if he's on meds or getting help that will help him out in general

oh, yeah...that's how I know him...He's DRUNK beasley. Coming to this dark and icy country will do him great!

I can't stand Flynn's tweeting. Do you have to be on twitter to write on someone elses twitter ? I've always wanted to write "Hey Jonny, if you worked out as much as you tweeted, you'd be a fucking All-Star in no time."

haha, you can mention people on twitter by posting something in their direction by using "@" in front of their handle but it doesn't assure they will read it. I think it's pretty fair to say though. Dude needs to work on his game big time in the offseason.

Saw this on RealGm concerning the Beasley trade:
I'm hearing the first round pick was added by the Timberwolves. They control the right to swap first round picks with the Heat for the next seven years. In other words, if the Timberwolves decide not to swap first round picks, that clause of the trade is voided after seven seasons.


If true, that makes the trade an absolute no-brainer.

I wonder if part of the reason we got Beasley was an unofficial favor owed to us from the Chalmers trade. Trading Chalmers to Miami was among the very worst moves I've ever seen from the Wolves and that's saying a whole lot. Maybe we did a little "if I scratch your back..."

dude do we need to discuss this?

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The only way that's funnier is if it said "God's Boo."

So if in six years, all hell breaks loose and the Heat jettison everyone and wind up picking in the lottery, WE drive whether the trade happens or not? So we are trading a second round pick for Beasley AND the opportunity to trade up with the Heat if we choose? That is so monumentally one-sided, I can't believe it is correct.

The new team photo should have a small bag of deesh laying inconspicuously in the background.

What good is that Super Cool Beas pic without the bag of weed lying on the table? Who would crop that picture in such a way?

HOLY SHIT! He is a DJ now? He must look crazy up there DJing considering the dude is like 7ft.

Seikaly

It would be fun to see him perform in Beirut this month.

Road trip!

hell yeah, I'm in. That or one of his many shows in Ibiza. We could celebrate Spain winning the world cup.

Beasley and Brewer are gonna get so high all the time

STAB STAB STAB BARF BARF BARF STAB STAB STAB

What's Ridnour's defense like? I haven't really seen him play. Is he more of an offensive PG?

haha.

not sure how ridnour compares to sessions. probably a better passer.

Lidnour is pretty decent. He had a few good years in Seattle when they had Allen and Lewis. I don't know that I have heard of him getting great minutes the last two years but he is a more than capable point. I didn't think much of Sessions last year and maybe we can dump him with Brewer since he still has value. I know some people are going to harp on me for constantly arguing to trade Brewer. He had a nice season and it is to be commended but in the end, his value has peaked and we have other players worth giving more of a chance at that position. If we can get value, we might as well go for it.

Looks like the Suns, Raptors, and Bobcats are trying for a big three-way with Calderon going to Charlotte, Turk going to the Suns, and Barbosa and Chandler going to Toronto. The Suns also signed Josh Childress.

What if we just kept our team the way it is now? Just keep it put. Can we do that? And have players work their asses off to learn the system and attain minutes. Have a TEAM going and build TEAM chemistry. If Al or anyone can't handle, later them shits.

Apparently Michael Beasley's dad said on his twitter that the Heat traded his son because he looks too much like Delonte West and LeBron didn't like that.

HAHAHA

sweet:

JerryZgoda #Timberwolves-Heat Beasley trade no longer has first-round pick swap, second-round picks in 2011 and 2014 and cash considerations instead. 1 minute ago from web

Then this trade definitely is good. The first round swap seemed like something that would inevitably bite us in the ass.

wow that is great

I like the fact that Kahn wants to acquire Ridnour, because he's a very good defender (to answer My Main Man's question) and as I expressed earlier in this thread, the lack of defense in the back court is perhaps this team's biggest weakness on paper. I don't really mind getting rid of Sessions but I do find it annoying that we spent so much money signing him last year when the plan all along was to told down the fort for Rubio's 2011 arrival. I agree with Tom regarding Corey Brewer. His value probably won't go any higher and he'd fit in great on a team like San Antonio as a 6th or 7th man with a Mikael Pietrus type role.

On the other hand, if Beasley's really going to play the 4 and Jefferson's time here is short, losing Sessions and Brewer greatly diminishes their flexibility and it would mean that Wesley Johnson would pretty much have to average 32 minutes a night. That's a lot to ask of a rookie...

I'm watching a Knicks-Lakers summer league game. Chuck Person is the Lakers' summer coach; he is enormous. Darryl Strawberry's son is on the Summer Lakers and Patrick Ewing's son is on the Summer Knicks.

This shit sucks.

Please don't.

Utah? Oh SWEET more white dudes!

um, I don't really get this trade although I do like that Stevenson has a bit of thug to him.
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Take that King.
? Carroll getting to Kobe?

Don't we have to clear some space with a trade like that? Would we be bailing Hollins, Brewer or Sessions? With the Beasley trade we are at 13 players.

PG-Sessions/Flynn
SG/SF-Webster, Johnson, Brewer, Hayward, Ellington
PF/C-Pekovic, Beasley, Love, Jefferson, Hollins, Darko

This trade would put us at 15 players which would mean we wouldn't consider anyone coming up from summer league or would have to make another move to add another player.

Somewhere along the line, Kahn is going to have to start trading for players rather than expiring contracts. I understand the logic behind it, but we have to be getting to the point where we need live bodies, not dead weight.

yeah, I get that we are still playing for the future than the present but if they want the future to be in Minnesota then maybe they should consider getting better assets in a trade.

Utah has pulled into the lead. No players coming back our way, just picks apparently. And less salary on our books with no Jefferson.

Great, we get Utah's late 1st rounders ? WTF.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Wow. This just keeps getting gooder and gooder.

SO=o, this has to put us above the penalty for salaries, correct? So now we have to move at least one person for sure?

I doubt Luke Ridnour will make Rubio wonder where he stands. I'd hope not, for his sake.

Not if we're trading Big Al's $42m as a salary dump.

Jazz CEO Greg Miller just tweeted this:

GregInUtah

I just approved a Jazz roster move that I’m very excited about. Planning to share details tomorrow

Can someone give me a really dumbed down explanation of TPEs? I just don't really get it.

@JerryZgoda

Hearing major move Jazz CEO sez it'll make is Big Al's $13 million salary for a protected 1st-round pick from Mem and more. #Timberwolves
21 minutes ago via web
Retweeted by canishoopus and 5 others

interesting comments that if utah does not match the offer for wesley matthews - brewer could be thrown in the deal as well....

wait, what does that mean? So we wouldn't get Mathews but we would be just throwing in Brewer to clear space? I would think the Wolves would be able to get at the very least a lottery pick out of Jefferson. If not, don't trade him then or wait for better offers. This is why I was begging the wolves to take on Elton Brand's contract to get Turner or trade him for some other lottery pick straight up or taking on some contracts if need be.

Matthews has been outta Utah for like 48 hours, holmes.

Pee.yay, not yet. Mathews offer sheet can be matched by Utah. You would think they might want to do it but maybe the price is a little high.

Why are we so eager to trade Al? He's got his deficiencies for sure, but does this team forget that he averaged 23 and 11 two years ago? I don't care if he was the best player on a horrible team; those kind of numbers don't come around often. And he is flat-out one of the top low-post scorers in the league. Maybe the best. That kind of player is rare and valuable.

In addition, he's coming off a major injury, so his trade value is FAR less than his actual value.

Listen, his defense and passing abilities range from lousy to atrocious, and he may never fully recover from that injury. But that's exactly why you don't trade him: The potential that he could return to the scorer/rebounder of two years ago is much greater than the potential of the bag of balls you'll get in return from a trade.

Actually, I would argue that 20 point games happen on every wolves team whether they are good or bad. We have traded some of those players and have seen them do next to nothing so it does make a difference who is playing where but I agree that we can't be that eager to trade Al. I feel like we have to after all the free agent "moves" they made because we have wayyyy too many players at either center or power forward. They signed on everyone else they have and I think they want to see more of Love. Jefferson isn't going to be an all star player but he warrants more than a first round pick sometime in the future.

Al is the only player on this team that could see legitimate starter minutes on a good NBA team. If we trade him for nothing, that is ridiculous.

Yeah, 20 point games happen on every Wolves team, but not by one player who AVERAGES 23 points. And, yes, we've traded away a shitload of players who went on to do nothing, but none of them were even close to Al.

As for the glut of players at power forward and center, who cares? I mean, it's not like we're deciding between McHale and Duncan here. A bunch of mediocre to good guys is what we're dealing with, so why not keep the one that, right now, is the best of the bunch?

I'll just say this now: Al is going to have a huge year playing with Deron Williams. With Stoudemire and Boozer in the East, he'll make the All-Star team. I'll bet a meal at the Wienery on it. Who wants this action? Tom?

In!

Backpedal: This bet assumes that he stays healthy up until the All-Star game. If he blows out the other knee in preseason, the bet is off.

Other than that, let's do this.

I'll take that action plus I'll take the action that Al Jefferson is never an all star for a meal at the wienery. No one is going to put him on the all star team and the fact is that if Utah doesn't do more to replace Boozer, you can expect them to Fall pretty far down from last year.

Jefferson had to have the ball a ton to get 23 points a game. There is no way a team with Okur, AK-47, Milsap and Williams is going to give the ball to Jefferson even half the times he got it in Minnesota. He is a defensive liability at this point and a lot of other teams couldn't afford to leave him on the court as long as they wolves did.

Awesome! Anyone else? I think three meals is all I'll be able to eat at the Wienery.

I'll take the bet with the revision too. I guess he could make it with a lot of injuries out west but he isn't ever the best player on a team that is making the playoffs.

All of this aside, the most relevant reason we are trying to trade Jefferson is because he asked to be traded. No matter how good he is or how valuable he is he doesn't want to be in MN anymore.

How do you know this? I meeeeaaaan, you have bone spurs and I can dunk on you.

I guess he could make it with a lot of injuries out west but he isn't ever the best player on a team that is making the playoffs.

He doesn't have to be to make the All Star team. I think Slee ZZ is probably going to be getting some free meals out of this. Probably. He's right, Amare and Boozer in the East. Shaq won't be relevant this time no matter where he ends up. Tim Duncan could conceivably miss it this year. Playing with Derron Williams he has an excellent chance. Unless Big Baby gets traded into the West, of course.

I've heard that rumor, but I haven't actually seen the quote that he's asked to be traded. Links?

Even if he has asked to traded, I don't blame him. He's clearly being pushed aside by the administration and fans. Trust me, I'm not shedding tears considering he's still pulling $11 mil a year, but he's definitely not wanted here anymore by most.

As far as the trade, assuming it goes down the way we hear it will, I think you have to wait to grade it for the Wolves. You have to know what Kahn will do with the TPE before you can know how we did. Which is frustrating and will make this a bad PR move, but that's how it is.

Scoff at my comments. Al Jefferson hasn't been on a team that has reached 30 wins (unless one of those Boston teams did that but he didn't play much that year). He has a TON to prove yet that he is a top five player on a serious playoff team or even a bottom tier playoff team. He wouldn't start on any of the four teams in the eastern and western conference finals. If he was traded to Utah last year, he would not have started. I could be wrong but Jefferson looked abysmal on some really basic things last year like passing and holding on to the ball.

100% agree on it being a horrible PR move. I think the wolves need to get something out of the deal that is attractive to fans especially given their talk in spring about this being a big year. It is looking like the mantra of "one more year" holds and getting Rubio over here is going to be on the shoulders of a rough team.

Again, I think Beasley could easily make up the point production of Jefferson and Love can make up the rebounding.

Potential Al Jefferson Trade Proves That David Kahn Must Be Stopped
SportingNews
40 minutes ago

SportingNews
As noted last night in this space, the Jazz and Timberwolves are on the verge of pulling off a deal that would send big man Al Jefferson to Salt Lake City in exchange for a large trade exception and several draft picks. And it boggles my mind.

If this deal goes down, the Jazz will have saved their offseason. Yesterday, I wrote about how Deron Williams has expressed frustration at his team’s lack of summer moves. Well, this more than makes up for it. Jefferson is a marginal defender, but he’s an excellent post scorer and quality rebounder who put in 17.1 ppg and 9.3 rpg in what can be considered in off-year. He might not be as productive as the departed Carlos Boozer(notes), but he’s an excellent replacement considering the other available options.

In other words, he’s not the kind of player you get rid of in what’s clearly a salary dump. The Wolves have a logjam at power forward with Jefferson and Kevin Love(notes), but those two are also the team’s best players. I’m all for opening up a spot for the cheaper, younger player, but it shouldn’t be done for any offer of any value. And David Kahn has essentially just traded one of the team’s best assets for peanuts.

Kahn has been shopping Jefferson for a while now, so it shouldn’t come as much surprise that he was dealt. For all we know, this actually was the best offer on the market. But as Tom Ziller wrote earlier today, if this is the best offer, just don’t take it and hold on to Jefferson until his trade value increases. As far as I know, no one held a gun to Kahn’s head here. Although if that were the case, it’d certainly clarify this decision.

Then again, it’s also possible that Jefferson’s value only sunk to this low level because other GMs could so clearly sense Kahn’s desperation to trade him. When it becomes obvious that someone really wants to trade a player, potential partners aren’t going to give up fair value. It’s a simple rule of business.

Congratulations to the Utah Jazz. They appear moments away from pulling off the most lopsided trade of the summer. Send all "thank you" notes to the Target Center.

EXACTLY! Dude read my posts.

I'm totally fine with this trade. I think it works out well for both teams.

Don't worry Tom, I'm totally scoffing at your comments.

9/11 LAWM, I'm pretty sure the Wolves won't be getting a TPE because they're under the cap. Utah will be using the TPE they got from the Bulls to acquire Jefferson, but I don't think it get's passed on. The Wolves will just be getting $13m in raw cap-space, which could actually be more rewarding as they could use it however they want instead of on just one player.

hmmm, so it's two first round picks for him? I would rather have this
1st round pick from Utah
Utah matches Portland and signs Mathews who they put in the trade

Mathews has some good moments and would at least give us someone right now to work with. I don't know if he is really a starter but I don't think we get a starter out of the picks we would be getting from Utah or Memphis. Both of those teams aren't moving in a negative direction and if the Memphis one is protected, then who knows when we get it.

Does that mean we would have more room to make moves for this year? I hope they do something other than Ridnour. I am fine with Flynn and Sessions for this year with the assumption we get rid of Sessions sooner or later to clear the way for Rubio. Ridnour at his best isn't going to a player for the long term unless you assume Flynn is sorta worthless or isn't going to play PG.

I don't think they could technically put Mathews in the trade. While he played good last year, I wouldn't really care anyway. I'm not too worried about the wing position, especially if the Session for Fernandez has any legs to it. We already have Webster, Johnson, Brewer, Hayward, and Ellington. Not to mention Beasley can play the 3 some. They could make moves anytime. Now, mid-season, trade deadline. Whenever.

Yep, it's official. Listen, Beasley's got far more talent than Al, but he's also far less polished. I hope to hell you're right, Tom, but I still think trading a PROVEN top-notch scorer for not much is a dumb, dumb idea.

Clearly, the team is writing off this season as a losing one. So why not hang on to Al one more year and see if he gets back to his old self. Then re-evaluate at the end of the year. If he's still "just" a 17 and 9 guy like last year, you could still get two low first-round picks from somebody. If he gets back to the totals of two years ago, then you either keep him as an All-Star caliber player, or you trade him for a shitload more. Maybe Love continues to progress and you could trade Al for an excellent 2 guard, and now with Rubio coming over you've got a pretty good team.

Oh man, if we can get Fernandez then that is where I get really excited about things.

The Mathews deal would require Utah to match Portland which they could do but probably won't.

Thanks for the heads up on Beasley. I just didn't see it anywhere on NBA.com

Also, tom, even with all those other supposedly talented players (not much beside Wade, in my opinion), 14 and 6 is a looooooooong ways from 23 and 11.

Again, I'm begging that you turn out to be right and Beasley blows up. He just might. It's a no-risk deal, anyway, given that we gave up nothing. Kahn's best move by far, though that's a low bar.

I think we're going to play Beasley at the 3. His numbers there were worse, but a couple things on that - the sample size was much smaller than him at the 4, and there's something to be said for just throwing the most talent you can out there. That would definitely be Love and Beasley together. The thing is, and I realize this sounds insane, we're not really looking for starters at the moment. Not with Rubio in the equation.
1. Flynn/Rubio
2. Johnson
3. Beasley
4. Love
5. Darko/Pekovic

Unless an All Star center or wing fell into our lap (which isn't going to happen this summer) we're actually OK for a starting five. We're not looking to replace any of those guys, unless we're sure Love and Beasley can't play together. And we have pretty decent depth at the wing already. Sounds nuts to take that "we don't need anyone" attitude, I know. But I think for the moment we have reason for optimism at every spot on the floor. Not sure it'll last, but there it is.

agreed with you Sleezly on not being that excited about Mathews but I am about the same with two draft picks. It really does depend on what all they still have yet to do. Sweetpants, if Fernandez is possible, man, it would be fucking great. I dig that guys game.

Sleezy E, I hope I am right about Beas too. I think he, Johnson, and Webster have me intrigued. Hayward had a nice game in summer league yesterday and maybe he can be a good move by Kahn.

I kinda agree Sleez, but I think Kahn had a plan and Jefferson wasn't in it. So it goes. I loved watching pre-injury Big Al and I'm glad he got sent to a good team where he'll most likely thrive and get to experience winning. I'll reserve my judgment on the trade until we see what happens with the newly acquired cap-space.

It's pretty interesting that Timberwolves no longer have any player that makes more than $5m.

S-Pant, you could be right abuot the TPE. That's just what's being said out there right now. I report, you decide.

On Beasley's 14 and 6, don't forget that he went to a team with Dwyane Wade on it. How many hugely hyped guys come out of college, drafted 2nd, and go to a team with one of the top 3 players in the league on it? He's the only one I can think of.

lawoman, again, great way to puts things in perspective. That bench is pretty interesting too with Hayward, Webster and Ellington. Lots of youth. The team has a lot of potential players and if two can really prove they are worth it, then it's something to be excited about.

So you think Johnson starts for sure and is at SG? It's going to be a really long team at SG and SF which I like. You have guys that can get up and down the floor nicely too.

For now the Fernandez rumor is just that, but if they get to keep Mathews I'm guessing that would increase the chances of them moving Fernandez. Obviously if the Ridnour thing is true, something more needs to happen.

Basically, what just happened was Al Jefferson and 2 2nd round picks for Michael Beasley, 2 first round picks and a $13 million trade exception. He's Kahn mad!

Brilliant if you ask me. Almost as brilliant as Foye/Miller for Rubio.

Do you think that obtaining Fernandez would do anything to help our chances to get Rubio to actually come here?

Off subject, but peeps in the local fantasy basketball league, I was going to send an email out sometime today in an effort to figure out where we're at, in terms of money getting paid out and people staying in the league. I've heard rumblings of trouble and I want to be sure we're keeping this together. You guys will not rob me of my moment of glory by quitting the league. Check your email tonight or tomorrow if you can.

lawoman might know better on that one. I would hope it would improve those chances and I am betting Kahn is hoping it improves our chances. Fernandez would definitely be an odd man out with Mathews joining Portland most likely. Fernandez's value is sorta low due to injuries so maybe that is what we are hoping.

SL: couldn't hurt, though Rudy would want more playing time then he's getting in Portland. He's talked a lot about going back to Spain.

yeah, I wonder where Rudy would fit in the equation for starting? It would seem like we would have to have one of these players come off the bench next year: Beasley, Love, Johnson or Fernandez. Webster joins that equation too but I am guessing he was always a first man off the bench or a starter if he outplays Johnson.

As I said earlier, we should not be worried about a "glut" at any position. With the exception of Al, who appears to be gone, there isn't a player on this team who is a no-brainer starter on a decent team. One thing I think is clear is that we've definitely upgraded our depth, even with Al's departure. This is a good thing. Let these guys fight it out for the starting spots. I've got no problem with somebody like Love or Beasley coming off the bench if it means someone better is in the starting lineup. On a championship team, those guys would be bench players, anyway, at least at this early point in their careers.

wow that song is amazing

Yeah, recent Fernandez stuff I've seen, including a report that he wouldn't play for the Wolves because it's not a big enough market and he wants a guaranteed starting position has made him look like a ego-maniac. Who knows if there's really any truth to them. I don't think it would get Rubio here this year, but definitely wouldn't hurt to have a friend on the team.

Flynn/Ridnour (Rubio in a year)
Webster/Brewer/Ellington
Beasley/Johnson/Hayward
Love/Beas/Pekovic
Darko/Pek/Hollins

That's a pretty balanced roster, not to mention possibly something for Sessions.

Anyone watch the Summer League game yesterday ? Johnson didn't go crazy or anything, but looked damn smooth before he left the game with a tightened hamstring. He had a three that looked liked butter and a nice put-back dunk, but what I noticed the most was his defense. Looked great. Hayward looked pretty good as well.

is that MSG from mrmb?

One in the same.

I was just thinking of the cap-space the Wolves acquired and decided to look at the free-agents of 2011.

Unrestricted: Melo (probably already planning on the Knicks), Crawford, Caron Butler, Diaw, Chandler, Nene, JR Smith, David West, Azubuike, Pietrus, Dalembert, Kirelenko, CJ Miles

Restricted: Horford, Noah, Marc Gasol, Stuckey, Brandon Wright, CDR, Moute, Marcus Thornton, Wilson Chandler, Jeff Green, Thad Young, Al Thornton, Nick Young

David West, Marc Gasol, and Noah are the only ones on that list that interest me, and they all play power forward.

Well, obviously, 'Melo, too, but there's no chance of that.

Apparently we are getting that TPE according to the Barreiro show's guest on the subject. We have until one year from the Boozer-to-Chicago deal to use it, and it must be used in a trade.

All i got out of that article is that bloodface is gonna use WARP to try and beat me this year.

Yeah, that was Jon Krawczynksi on KFAN. Hollinger and a few others says it's just cap space. Seems like everyone's confused on the matter. Who knows. Not too much of a difference anyway.

Well, technically, I guess I do have to withhold judgment until we see with Kahn does with the TPE. But trading Al still seems like a bad, bad move to me.

JerryZgoda #Timberwolves taking back Kosta Koufos in Jefferson trade, but Kahn said he'll work with agent to move him to team where he might play more

Huh, Koufos wouldn't fit our team but there was a few plays I saw him on the floor where he was impressive.

Bloodface: Generous use of "we" when describing the Timberwolves.

i just read in one of the twolves blog posts that Pecovic is returning to Europe? So maybe we keep Koufos?

Huh? How is that possible? He is just going to walk from the contract we gave him? That would be a horrible blunder for Kahn if that is the case.

He didn't actually sign a contract, he agreed to one in principle. That's why the Wolves have not officially announced his signing. They just announced the Darko signing two days ago because that's when it became official.

Yeah, a lot of talk on those ladyboy cruising sites that sweetpants and bloodface frequent are mentioning that his Greek team is offering Pec somewhere in the ballpark of $9M.

Well, then I guess getting the dude from Utah is good.

Kahn said in the paper today that he will help Koufos get to a team where he can play a lot. Doesn't sound like Kahn has him in mind for the Wolves.

Awesome!

Very well researchedarticle detailing how Miami nabbed 'Bron, Wade and Bosh. Pat Riley is a fucking genius.

you guys see C-Webb and kahn get into it?? so funny....c-webb was pissed

Webb's snide "good luck" comment was hilarious.

I was getting ready to see some awesome argument, what a let down. The whole thing seems pretty overblown to me. The "good luck" comment was about the worst it got.

I'm sad that I have to open the Turf and won't be able to watch the Beasley presser at 3. I'm interested to see what he has to say. Oh well, I see it when I get done with work.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overblown. Thank you Bill Simmons, Sports Oprah to us all.

Darko speaks from the Strib:

--He will not travel to Los Angeles to work out with Rambis and Michael Beasley. Instead, he’ll stay in the Twin Cities until the end of the month, working out and finding a place for he and his family to life this fall.

--He said he intends to be more aggressive on the offensive end going forward. For him it’s all a confidence issue. “I’ve been talking to the coaches a lot,’’ he said. “They like me passing the ball, but they’re also telling me to be more aggressive in the post, try to score. Not having that much confidence in myself, I looked to pass more than go to the basket. Now I think I can score more in the post.”

--It will take time for a roster full of new names to mesh, but a preseason trip to Europe will help.

--He took some blame for the way his career has gone so far, but talked about Minnesota as a new start. “I never thought anybody would come and give me a chance like they did,” he said.

--By the way, Milicic also showed some fire when asked how he felt about the criticism the Wolves have taken for offering him the contract. “Maybe if they talk to my face it would be different,” he said of the critics. “Come to Serbia, (see) if you have the (fortitude) to say something like that to me. … They’re gonna talk. That’s what they do.”

Darko speaks.

Come to Serbia, (see) if you have the (fortitude) to say something like that to me.

No way, man. We know how you guys handle disagreements.
"We have mass grave for people like you".

darko: the final solution

It's nice to have an ethnic cleanser on the boards.

Is this a HAHAHAHA moment or not? From Yahoo:

"As reported by Brian Windhorst and confirmed by Chris Tomasson, the Cavs are interested in acquiring Ramon Sessions(notes) from the Timberwolves. Minnesota would potentially get back Delonte West(notes) in the trade, who they’d then release before August 5 to pay only $500,000 of his $4.6 million salary this season."

Why HAHAHA ?

Does this mean that after we dump Delonte, we will have saved $4.1M to be able to use as free space under the cap, or just that we're wiping Sessions' salary (minus $500K) from the books, and be able to utilize whatever his salary amount was?

Either way... WWMBDS?















(what would Michael Beasely's dad say?)

Yeah, either way. Although, they have to be getting dangerously close to hitting the cap minimum.

Which means what then?

pee.yay made some bold t-wolves claims this weekend, i look forward to seeing which of them come true

I think they have until close to the end of the season, but they'd have to sign/trade/or acquire some salary by the end of the season. I'm guessing that once Pek and Ridnour officially sign they'll be fine.

There's a rumor about Pek receiving a huge offer from a Euro team (can't remember who) that would be too good to resist for him.

Good morning,9/11 LAWM.

pee. yay.
7/14/10 11:48 AM

Yeah, a lot of talk on those ladyboy cruising sites that sweetpants and bloodface frequent are mentioning that his Greek team is offering Pec somewhere in the ballpark of $9M.

haha jah bless pee.yay

the phrase "mark my words" came up several time if i recall correctly

so, sweetpants, the master of calling ppl out on their old b-ball predictions pls note for the record!

tex and sweetpants are very privvy to my predictions already. I was even more wasted later on that night when i relayed my predictions to them. From what i recall they were totally picking up what I was putting down.

mark my words, i will be the one chortling and guffawing come May 2011.

I AM ORACLE

9/11 LAWomanMachine
7/19/10 2:03 PM

There's a rumor about Pek receiving a huge offer from a Euro team (can't remember who) that would be too good to resist for him.

Yeah, it's been disputed since.


I actually almost agree with PeeYay. 20 to 30 wins. Beasley could very well average 20. I'm guessing Darko's average will be more like 10pts, 7 boards, 3 assists, and 1.6 blocks.

If Darko doesn't average 30/15/5, I'll buy everyone on the board lunch every day for a year.

The Timberwolves are such an interesting team to be a casual fan of.

It's even weirder when they're your favorite sports team. People constantly think I'm joking when I talk about how big of a fan I am.

T-Wolves are the #1 team I follow. I watch highlights of summer league games even.

I like the idea of bailing Sessions if we are getting Ridnour. We don't need more than two point guards going in to the season and I am glad they are realizing that last year's team was pathetic and needs a massive makeover. Keeping too many players from a team that was just constantly getting beat up creates a really negative feeling in the locker room. You give the players who are still on the team some hope and excitement and you bring in some guys who want to prove themselves to be better than what people have been saying they are.

I haven't caught up on summer league stuff but what is the word on Hayward and Johnson for us?

hayward meh
johnson hamstring issues

Johnson only played 3 quarters of the first game, as far as I know. He had some hamstring tightness or something, so they kept him out of the last 3 games. He looked pretty good in the little amount of time I saw him.

Hayward looks like he'll get some garbage time on the Wolves and possibly be able to work his way up, depending on how he does. He had 19 points in the final summer league game.

I didn't see the last game. 19 points could equate to a flash of brilliance.


Speaking of 19, 19.5 points per game from The Beas.

20-30 games is probably right. I won't be surprised if they fall below it either but I have a little bit more hope this year than last. I said last year they would do worse than the year before and was right. The year before that I said that the wolves would not come close to 30 wins and they were not.

I think the question one should always ask is, who is actually worse than the wolves right now? I can't fully answer that myself and curious to hear what others have to say. I know the Cavs are going to be pretty bad.

It's hard to say who's worse right now. The Wolves team is much deeper than the team they had last year. Plus, they still have a shitload of capspace to use.

right, but I think we know what we are getting with the capspace. We aren't going to land a starting SG that averages 20 ppg I would think. Let's say we have Ridnour (or did that already happen).

Are we better than Sacramento? Maybe. Depends on Cousins.
New Jersey? Anthony Morrow and Favors are nice pickups. Farmar might be a nice backup point. Shouldn't they have a bunch of cap space yet?
Golden State? They still have some strong scorers. Gadzurik could give them some night minutes. Udoh, who knows?
Toronto? Lost their best player and got nothing back. They already missed the playoffs. They will be fighting for the bottom.
Washington? They picked up Wall and get back Arenas. They lose Miller and Foye (not that they were that important). They should be better.
Philly? Adds Turner to go along with some young up and coming players.
Clippers? Get Blake Griffin and Aminu. If they can stay healthy at all, they should be fighting for the last spot in the playoffs out west.

Again, this is how I look at the league. Yes, the wolves are improving but so is the rest of the league. I think the wolves don't crack 25 wins. I think a lot of it depends on Beas and Johnson. I would love to see Darko do something incredible and Love take the next step but those aren't things I necessarily expect.

Ridnour is now official. Press conference tomorrow @ noon.

Is camping out tonight at the Target Center doors permitted tonight?

Doesn't seem like it. I've been here for about 2 hours now with no troubles.

1. LA Lakers
2. Dallas
3. OKC
4. Phoenix
5. Houston
6. Denver
7. SA
8. Memphis
9. Utah
10. Portland
11. LA Clippers
12. GS
13. Wolves
14. Hornets
15. Kings

I'm not ready for the EAST yet.

No way is memphis beating out utah or the clippers.

Phoenix is going to be way worse this year.

Well, I'm thinking that pos. 6-11 could be within 5-6 games of each other. Still think Phoenix has enough to make the playoffs.. possibly ahead of that logjam.

Like Ozzy says, it's a shot in the daaaarrrk.

Lakers
Dallas
SA
OKC
Phoenix
Utah
Denver
Clippers
Portland
Memphis
Hornets
Wolves
GS
Kings

The Houston franchise folds mid-season in pee.yay's world.

West
Lakers
OKC
Denver
SA
Dallas
Portland
Phoenix
Utah
Hornets
Memphis
Clippers
Wolves
GS
Kings

East
Heat
Magic
Hawks
Celtics
Bulls
Bucks
Bobcats
Knicks
Pistons
Wizards
Nets
Pacers
Raptors
76ers
Cavs

People really think the Kings are going to be that bad this year?

Y'all are putting the Hornets that low? You guys are nuts. If Paul stays healthy, they are sure as hell making the playoffs, and I'd argue that they are the fourth or fifth best team in the West.

Portland>Houston>Memphis

MMM and Slee ZZ, this is exactly what I am talking about. The Kings could be better than last year. If Tyreke keeps playing well, then they might take a jump up. Cousins is the huge X-Factor. Do people really think Golden State is going to be worse than the wolves? I think it is possibly but I stil haven't seen the wolves add enough to say they are out of the cellar in the west. This is why I think it is safe to say 25 wins or less for the wolves should be expected at least at this point. Again, Beasley and Johnson's play can shift us up 2-3 spots possibly in the west. Phoenix had a deep team. I wouldn't totally count them out but they are not a contender anymore.

Yeah, the Kings actually did pretty good last year, especially once they got Landry going. I think they'll be better this year.

I love translated Euro articles:
In the second preparation match of BIH Montenegro was again too strong for BIH. It must have been for Rizvic and Bajramovic like a kind of a Harlem Globetrotter show starring Nikola Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket), new member of Minnesota Timberwolves when they played against Montenegro. Pekovic made 39 points making look our big men like schoolboys competing against Jordan. Jazvin picked up an injury in the previous match which made things not easier for Rizvic and Bajramovic to stop the 130kg beast.However Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket) is the best pivot player since years and fortunately we are not in the group with Montenegro.
On Wednesday BIH will play in Vienna against Austria featuring Rasid Mahalbasic.

All y'all with the Kings last = nuts.

9/11 LAWomanMachine
7/21/10 12:49 PM

All y'all with the Kings last = nuts.

I'm with you. They're one of the teams I truly liked watching last year. They almost always competed. Tyreke is the man.

Flynn has an injury? This is definitely looking like a curse without a doubt. History of Timberwolves players in their 2nd year with the wolves who have substantial injuries:
Love
Brewer
Foye
McCants
Jefferson (2nd year with wolves)
and now Flynn???

Seriously, it would be comical if it wasn't so depressing.

Picks before McCants: Ebi, Wally, Rasho, Avery, Paul Grant

The T'Wolves are close to officially finalizing the signing of 2008 second-round pick Nikola Pekovic. The reason for the delay in the deal is that GM David Kahn wanted Pekovic to take a physical overseas, which has delayed the process.

I should add that he is a big X-Factor too to this team this year along with Darko. I have been very negative on the team but I do see a lot of potential in the young players we have. I don't think it will change over night but we will have a better idea what direction we should move.

a yo put me on though

West
1 Lakers
2 Dallas
3 Denver
4 Oklahoma City
5 Portland
6 Utah
7 San Antonio
8 Phoenix
9 Houston
10 New Orleans
11 Sacramento
12 Memphis
13 Clippers
14 Wolves
15 Warriors

East
1 Heat
2 Magic
3 Bulls
4 Celtics
5 Hawks
6 Bucks
7 Bobcats
8 Cavs
9 Pistons
10 Nets
11 Knicks
12 Wizards
13 76ers
14 Pacers
15 Raptors

I'll give it a spin
1. LA
2. OKC
3. Dallas
4. Portland
5. Denver
6. San Antonio
7. Utah
8. Phoenix
9. Clippers
10. New Orleans
11. Houston
12. Memphis
13. Sacramento
14. Warriors
15. Wolves

East
1. Heat
2. Magic
3. Hawks
4. Bulls
5. Bucks
6. Celtics
7. 76ers
8. Bobcats
9.Wizards
10. Knicks
11. Pistons
12. Pacers
13. Nets
14. Cavs
15. Raptors

According to a source with knowledge of his plan, Chris Paul has requested that the Hornets trade him to the Knicks, Magic or Lakers before the season begins.

"He wants out," the source told Ken Berger of CBS Sports. "He wants to play with another superstar. He wants to follow LeBron's model of teaming up with other great players."

NBA sources say that members of Paul's camp told them recently, "He's not going to start the season in New Orleans."

The Hornets will try to persuade Paul to remain based on the team's new direction.

"Paul won't go public with his trade request -- if he did, he'd be subject to a fine under NBA rules -- but those with knowledge of his plans believe his desire to pair up with another superstar (or two) has gained too much momentum to stop," writes Berger.

The Knicks are preparing to make an attractive offer to acquire a superstar talent via trade.

"According to sources familiar with the Knicks' strategy," writes Berger, "part of the reason for orchestrating the sign-and-trade for David Lee -- which yielded young talents Anthony Randolph and Kelenna Azubuike from Golden State -- was to stock the roster with attractive assets that could be used to acquire such marquee players if the opportunities presented themselves."

East
1 Orlando
2 Chicago
3 Boston
4 Miami
5 Milwaukee
6 Atlanta
7 Charlotte
8 Cleveland
9 Washington
10 Detroit
11 NY
12 NJ
13 Philly
14 Indiana
15 Toronto

Move the Knicks up to 6 or 7 if the CP3 stuff is true.

FEAR THE DEER

Soapy Kittens
7/21/10 9:23 PM

The NBA is dead. Why not just eliminate every team except Boston, LA, New York, and Miami?

Because OKC is gonna dominate.

The NBA/NBC's greatest nightmare: Milwaukee v. Oklahoma City in the NBA Finals.

Let's make this happen, people.

PLEASE let that Chris Paul deal happen.

[i]Soapy Kittens
7/21/10 9:23 PM

The NBA is dead. Why not just eliminate every team except Boston, LA, New York, and Miami? [/i]

orlando, nuggets, spurs, bulls

there's no denying that the league is getting way lopsided.

I don't agree. There's always good teams at the top in any sport, but in the West I could see at least five teams finishing second to LA this year. And in the East, the drop-off from the top to the rest of the teams is much less dramatic than it used to be.

Breaking news:

J_Flynn
RT @mw1ll: Comparin the Simpsons and Family Guy is like comparin The Cosbys & Martin. Family Guy & Martin are funnier, bt the others classic

what a fucking stoner

seriously cut him now, martin gtfo

Anyone going to talk about Kahn going on the radio and calling Chris Webber a "schmuk" and saying Beasley smoked too much pot in Miami?

That was awesome. When he called Webber a schmuck I almost spit out my water.

I'm maybe half with Kahn and half with the national media that's out to get him when it comes to these issues that always come up with Kahn. I thought the original interview being a story was dumb. But I'm decidedly with the national media on this one, assuming he gets roasted. What was he saying about Webber getting defensive and asking questions with an agenda? What the heck is he even talking about?

I am torn what to think about Kahn. I want to like him because he is our guy and I can see some of the rationale in his decisions but I also think that he isn't making big strides with this team and is going to struggle for a long time. The west isn't becoming any easier place to play and we need a lot of things to fall in to place to avoid being one of the bottom three teams out west this year.

9/11 LAWomanMachine
7/22/10 7:44 PM

I'm maybe half with Kahn and half with the national media that's out to get him when it comes to these issues that always come up with Kahn. I thought the original interview being a story was dumb. But I'm decidedly with the national media on this one, assuming he gets roasted. What was he saying about Webber getting defensive and asking questions with an agenda? What the heck is he even talking about?

He was saying the agenda is that Webber has been working with McHale on NBAtv and that he seemed to be attacking Kahn from the get go, perhaps in part on his buddies behalf.

On this morning's KSTP's top-of-the-hour news segment, they played the audio of yesterday's phone interview where Kahn talks about Beasely: "He's immature, and smokes marijauna....I trust him that if he says he won't smoke anymore, then i'll believe him."

They cut back to the news sportcaster who says, "Gee, I'd never guess that an NBA player would be smoking pot." Funny white men.

Sweetpants, I got what he was trying to say, it just seems so ridiculous to me having watched the interview in question that I feel a "what the heck is he talking about?" is deserved. I had his back on that Vegas interview, but blaming Webber was just stupid.

Also, why the hell would he talk about Beasley's drug issues for him? Isn't it blatantly obvious that that's the sort of thing that you leave to the druggie in question?

good. it's none of kahn's fucking business to be talking about that. idiot.

agreed.

Word. I'm a fan of Kahn, but those Beasley comments were beyond stupid.

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced the team has traded center Ryan Hollins, guard Ramon Sessions and a future second-round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for the player contracts of guards Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair.

"I want to thank Ramon and Ryan for their time with us last season," said David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. "With the arrivals of Luke Ridnour, Michael Beasley, Nikola Pekovic and the signing of Darko Milicic, it was clear that Ramon and Ryan would have lesser roles this season if they were to remain. This move provides them a better opportunity in Cleveland and adds to our flexibility both this season and beyond in relation to the salary cap."

West, the 24th overall pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2004 NBA Draft, has played six seasons in the league with Boston, Seattle and Cleveland. He owns career averages of 10.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Telfair, the 13th pick in the 2004 NBA Draft by Portland, also has six years of experience in the NBA. He owns career averages of 7.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists in stints with Portland, Boston, Minnesota, the L.A. Clippers and Cleveland. In his two previous seasons with the Wolves, Telfair posted career highs in scoring (9.8 ppg in 2008-09) and assists (5.9 apg in 2007-08).

Both Hollins and Sessions spent one season in Minnesota after signing as free agents during the 2009 offseason. Hollins appeared in 73 games for the Wolves, averaging 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Sessions was one of two Wolves players to appear in all 82 games last season, averaging 8.2 points and 3.1 assists per game.

Someone splain me this

flynn out 3-4 months per msnbc

oh my god.

West can be waived and they only have to pay 500k of his salary. Telfair is an expiring if he even stays with the team. Purely a cap clearing move.

wow, if that is true about Flynn then the curse holds up. Someone better start working on Johnson to make sure he does something after his rookie year to stay healthy. Glad they ditched Hollins and Sessions. When you have the tied for worst team in Wolves history, there is no reason to bring a lot of them back. Funny enough, The Clippers right now have Gomes, Foye and just re-signed Craig Smith.

Who do the wolves have left over still? Darko, Brewer, Flynn, Ellington, Love. Good for them. This team needed a facelift and the very least it got that.

So now we only have one healthy PG? WTF

Nah, man, we got Bassy!

;-)

from canis hoopus:
From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

The deal further pares the Wolves' payroll.

Expect them to sign a veteran point guard to a one-year minimum contract as their next move.

Available players who fit that profile: Earl Watson, Anthony Johnson, Rafer Alston, Earl Boykins and maybe Chris Quinn or Jamaal Tinsley.

The last one is the one Crowds is going to be all about. I like any of those point guards for one year. I have to figure one of those guys will get snatched up by Miami too.

@canishoopus Delonte is an immature kid who had too much sex with Gloria James and has told me he won’t have sex with my mother, and I trust him. #kahn

lol

The Pekovic signing is official.

This is an awesome scouting report on him (complete with lots of video) for those that are unfamiliar with his game. I'm super excited to watch this guy bully guys around in the post or as Kahn said "kick sand in the faces of wimps on the beach."

Rubio Vs. Canada

god damn what a passer. looks like he's put a little muscle on too.

He's so Pete Maravich-y
The Ivory Coast videos are good too.

he should play for the Heat. they'd be like the Harlem Globetrotters.

IF Kahn thinks he can get Rubio to come here, I understand why he's loading up on athletic dudes who can pass well and defend.

The wolves have never had a player who can make those kinds of passes. They need to just get him over next year and on the court.

...in a heat uniform.

I know this team needs a lot more than two good players, but we're gonna have another high first round pick next year AND hopefully Rubio, which could make a huge difference on how this team plays in 2011-12.

Dude, if we could get that Barnes kid next year.....holy shit!

still life, I am thinking the same thing as you. This team should be in a good position to get a high lottery pick after this season. If somehow we can sneak out the top pick and bring in Rubio, then we're cooking.

Also, watched that Harrison Barnes highlight reel. This lineup would be ok with me
Rubio
Barnes
Beasley
Love
Darko/Pek

Webster, Ellington, Johnson, Ridnour and Flynn off the bench. Sign me up.

Man, those Rubio passes are slick. Let's just hope he's got the size and the brains to be the next Maravich/Magic. In my skeptical moments, I fear that he's the next Jason Williams. Not that JWill's a terrible player, but he ain't no franchise.

For PeeYay:

Per Chris Tomasson at AOL Fanhouse:

Forward Anthony Tolliver, one of the top free agents left out of a very thin crop, has reached an agreement to sign with Minnesota.

Tolliver's agent, Larry Fox, told FanHouse on Friday his client will join the Timberwolves. While Fox wouldn't discuss terms, sources said he'll get a two-year deal that could be worth as much as $4.8 million over two years.

"He's really excited,'' Fox said. "He can play (power forward) for them and be a stretch (small forward).''

Tolliver, 25, averaged 11.7 points and 7.0 rebounds last season in 46 games with Portland and Golden State. Take away a scoreless two games with the Trail Blazers early in the season and he averaged 12.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in 44 games with the Warriors.

Golden State had strongly considered re-signing Tolliver. But in the end the Timberwolves, which had cleared a spot for Tolliver by trading Ryan Hollins last week, were thought to be the better option.

hahaha

LOVE IT! I like this guys sense of humor. Looks like we are set for the year then.

Wow! My new favorite Wolf?

You guys: I ordered my jersey already.

So with Tolliver, Ridnour, and Beasley being signed, I'm sky on the Wolves... but then I realize two things:
1. They waived Delonte West to avoid paying his contract... of 4.6 million! They won't have Flynn for a month or two to start the season, but they traded Sessions for Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair (a decent trade) and kept the worse of the two players! WTF?!
2. They're paying Brian Cardinal 6.75 million dollars this season! That's the second highest paid player on the team, and he sucks! If they had Delonte West and didn't have Cardinal, they'd ALSO be up 2 million dollars wtf

A lot of really awful moves and a bunch of great ones. one more terrible season coming up and then we'll see if Kahn can resist anymore Brian Cardinal/Delonte West/Luke Babbitt disasters

how are they paying Cardinal 6.75 million this year?

if they are, it's that bad contract that memphis gave him that mchale picked up.

they traded cardinal to the knicks who waived him - the wolves resigned him at the end of year - how is he on the books for this year?

Cardinal is not on the team, let alone getting paid by the Wolves.

He's still listed on the payroll under 6.75.... I DON'T KNOW I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S TRUE but that's what it says

We got Darko for Cardinal. They waived him and we resigned him for the league minimum. He's now off the books, as the season is over. I'm not sure where you're looking at roster salaries, but he's not listed on RealGM.

Yeah I was just looking at Yahoo, big mistake. It's weird because they list Beasley on there, so I assumed it was current. I fear even the slightest mention of the custodian, I've hated him since he played at Purdue.

Yeah, I'm extremely excited to never have to watch Cardinal play in a Wolves jersey ever again.

I'm going to USA - France on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. I guess Love is on the squad?

He sure is. USA gonna kill them frogs !

I'm expecting at least one Vince Carter style dunk.

Coach K likes that kind of thing, right?

Schedule is up.

I don't see a loss.

The roster currently is:
Chauncey Billups
Tyson Chandler
Stephen Curry
Kevin Durant
Rudy Gay
Eric Gordon
Danny Granger
Jeff Green
Andre Iguodala
Kevin Love
JaVale McGee
Lamar Odom
RajonRondo
Derrick Rose
Russell Westbrook

And then they trim it to 12 after the game in NY.

Team USA is gonna kick ass unless they have to play the Miami Heat

Back to back in Miami and Orlando. Dang. Looks like 18 back to backs all together (I might of missed a couple).

I don't know if we'll be that much worse, but I do think we'll have a worse record than all those you mentioned, with the possible exceptions of Indiana and Toronto. You could throw Golden State in there too. We have less proven talent and/or coaching than all of them. But if everything really comes together for us, who knows.

I would have to agree that I don't know if we are that much worse than those teams. I do think a lot has to go right for our team to be not at the very bottom. I think the Knicks are going to be better and were already last year but they aren't great. NJ improved a little but them, Cleveland and Toronto are the ones that I see at the bottom with the Wolves. If you look at the "bad teams" in the league, it puts the wolves in better perspective. We have a bit of a way to go yet. We have potential but no real start in place right now. Love is good but he hasn't shown he is an all-star..yet.

Speaking of Love.

My only thought is that Kahn wanted to bring up the value of Jefferson by playing Love less knowing that Jefferson is a dud and needs to be moved. Fingers crossed that it works out that way but I definitely didn't get the sense the team showed enough value in Love last year.

My only thought is that they were tanking. Definitely the hardest part of last year was having to watch the likes of Gomes and Hollins play over Love. It made me sad. That's one thing about this new team, I'm pretty excited to watch them all. Get ready for B-Easy!

HELLO ANT MORROW INTO MY KEEPER CIRCLE

I'm guessing Watton will probably be keeping Collison now too.

Dallas and Orlando are wayyy overrated by ESPN, and Sacramento is wayyy underrated. We're right about where I'd put us though, we're in total agreement there.

Why wouldn't that trade just be Troy Murphy to the Rockets, Collison to the Pacers, and Ariza to the Hornets? Bringing the Nets into it seems unnecessary.

I was probably already going to keep Collison over Jameer Nelson. He was outplaying Nelson even as a backup to Chris Paul, and Nelson has health issues. But I'm way happier about it now. I may even take a big chance and keep Marcus Thornton.

New uniforms revealed

I like them better without the green. I guess it makes sense since they aren't spending much "green" on this team either or maybe they want to get rid of the "green" to keep Beas from thinking about smokin' up and eating candy.

Yeah, definitely better, but still kinda boring. They should just wear the retro jerseys all the time. Those are bad-ass.

Agreed. I would say that for a lot of teams. Also, those gold and black Wizards jerseys were the worst. Were those throwback or just some new ugly thing they did?

Those Wizard uni's are just a fabricated ficticious throwback uniform. Its really ugly, almost as ugly as the Wizards logo.

The removal of the green on this just makes it look like they have arrows on their shorts even more-so. These were crummy to begin with but now they are a bit more generic. They should have switched to the throwbacks, and kept the green color in the scheme.

I actually kind of like the black in them. The font is much better. I think they reveal the black alternate jerseys in January.

While I don't think he wolves will finish very well, I am in the benny profane camp. I think there is a nice chance of some things coming together with this team to build on for the future. We didn't have that much in the way of assets to start and we just have to play the hand that we have been given us.

Hey thanks. I'm just glad the numbers no longer look like cave paintings. Now all they've got to do is get rid of that "forest blue" main color (or whatever it is).

We could be the Clippers:


Clippers owner unimpressed w/ team’s summer – Randy Foye (G) Los Angeles Clippers
17 August 2010 @ 11:55 AM PST
Clippers owner Donald Sterling doesn't sound too impressed with his team's offseason additions, saying, "If I really called the shots we wouldn't have signed Gomes and what's the other guy's name?" (Rotoworld.com)


E. Gordon: Baron needs to stay motivated – Baron Davis (G) Los Angeles Clippers
17 August 2010 @ 11:46 AM PST
Eric Gordon said that playing with Baron Davis has been "good," before adding, "We just need to get him motivated to really play." (Rotoworld.com)

ha, I"ll still take their team over ours. They have some potential at least despite the ownership.

just read that "team turmoil" piece by benny. very, very, very well put, sir. couldn't have expressed my opinion of this team at this point in time any better than you did there.

Hey thanks 9/11 LAWM, much appreciated.

Benny Profane on Rubio.

I'm definitely gonna be rooting for Spain in the World Games this weekend.

By the way, Love had a nice showing against a big Greece team with 10 points, 12 boards, 3 steals and an assist in 12 minutes.

And here's a little something for Tom, Kelly Dwyer did a top 30 at each position and look where Love was rated:

10. Kevin Love(notes), Minnesota Timberwolves (last year: 15th)
This man was sixth in rebound rate last year. Sixth. Two of the players ahead of him combined to play just 51 games (clearly, they played for the Trail Blazers), and all the men ahead of him played the center position. If I'm starting a team from scratch tomorrow, there might not be another player on this list - 1 through 30 - that I'd rather have starting at power forward.
As it is now, the guy averaged 14 points and 11 rebounds in just 28 minutes a game last season. At age 21. And I'm feeling pretty ridiculous for ranking him this low.
link

I hope he is right about Love being a top 10. As of right now, I wouldn't necessarily put him as being better than a couple of the guys from 11-20. The ranking of PGs and SGs were really weird. I have my hopes for Love but he needs to show he can be more consistent scoring and play better defense to make the top 10 for me. I think the Team USA thing is great for him though and hopefully for his confidence.

We HAVE to get Rubio next year.

I'm not too worried about Love's scoring. He probably gets to the line at better rate than any post player we've ever had. Yes, his defense needs to be worked on and he knows that. Via recent SI interview:
SI.com: Speaking of your development, what have you been working on this summer?

Love: Coach Rambis and I talked about trying to get more consistent from distance, especially on three-point shots. He wants me to be able to shoot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three-point line and 85 percent from the free-throw line. That's a realistic goal after last year. And on the defensive end, he wants me to take a lot more charges and be a lot more team-defense-oriented.

Anybody post Kevin Durant's quote about Ricky Rubio being particularly good on defense?

Here's all the quotes:
Derrick Rose- "It was great just to test him. He's a young player and he played great," Rose said. "He really runs the offense well ... I think he's ready for the NBA."

Coach K- "He's gotten bigger and he plays outstanding defense, and because he's a pass-first guard he's going to be liked by everybody who plays with him," said Krzyzewski, whose U.S. team came up against Rubio in the Olympic final two years ago. "He's improved his shooting and he's not afraid."

Durant- "He's an amazing defender, that's one thing that stood out to me is how well he pressured the ball and disrupted our offense," said Durant, who led the game with 25 points. "He's flashy, he's crafty as well and the passes he did tonight were kind of amazing."

And here's Ronzone's take:
Jonah Ballow:
Let's focus on Ricky Rubio, the Wolves draft pick a couple of years ago, this is one of those times where I really wanted to focus when he got on the floor on how he competed not only offensively against American players, NBA players, but defensively. I came away pretty impressed with his speed, his ability to really work around screens, I thought Ricky Rubio really turned in a solid performance.

Tony Ronzone:
He did a phenomenal job. I was so proud of him. In one eye, we had to win for the USA, but in my other eye I was cheering for Ricky. Of course he's property of the Minnesota Timberwolves. But Ricky handled himself very well, we're very guard-dominated with our USA team, we have Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, Rajon Rondo, Chauncey Billups are very athletic. Our whole situation here, getting ready to win this World Championship is that we got to pressure the guards internationally. We put a lot of pressure on Ricky, and it did not bother him at all. He handled it very well, he drove on us, took it to the basket. You kind of look at him and you think to yourself, if he would of been put on our team with USA, how many more assists and opportunities he would've had because the Spanish team is not as athletic as we are. They don't have Rudy Gay and Kevin Durant on the wings, they have good players, but they're more of an organized structure type of game to their system. So what Ricky did out there was phenomenal, I'm very happy for him. It's exciting times knowing that we have this kid under our name.

Jonah Ballow:
Now looking at Ricky Rubio from an X's and O's standpoint, what do you see out of him as far as what his game will translate at that next level. What will Ricky Rubio do in the next couple of years in the NBA that you saw maybe of glimpse of in that contest against the USA team.

Tony Ronzone:
One to handle pressure, the pressure is not going to bother him. He started when he was 17 years old in the Olympic game against us in 2008 in China. He has a skill as an NBA player to handle pressure, to create opportunities for scoring opportunities. That's his job to create opportunities for his team to be successful. His plus-minus in that game was at plus-22, which is pretty amazing. As soon as he got in the game, we were up, and he totally took over the game. That's the skill level he has. He got bigger, he got stronger in that last year or two, he shoots the ball well, he's got a great release. Probably the one thing he has to get better on is he just has to be more consistent knocking down that three-ball.

Jonah Ballow:
As far as how he fits into an NBA game, that up-tempo style. He could probably thrive in a fast break type of offense that Minnesota would like to execute in the next couple of years.

Tony Ronzone:
No question, he's got that skill and talent already. If you think about it, you put any kid in college or anybody right now to go against Derrick Rose, the No. 1 pick in the draft, Stephen Curry, and Rajon Rondo, who has won an NBA championship, you think about it, how many people can compete at that type of level. Ricky Rubio competed and played well, and never backed down, and defensively he was a warrior. He had four steals against us, that's pretty amazing.

France vs. Spain online on ESPN right now if you are interested. Caught the end of the USA game. Love had a great outlet pass and hit a nice three. Let's hope he can come in to this season with more confidence and kick some ass.

Sam Amico of NBA.com is reporting that the Nuggets are looking at three teams as destinations for All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony -- the Nets, Kings and Timberwolves.

"Early word around NBA is Nuggets will try to trade Carmelo to 1 of 3 teams: Wolves, Kings, Nets. In other words, careful what you wish for," Amico wrote on his Twitter page.

Ha, that would be funny. They must really be pissed at him. Like when Washington traded Webber to Sacramento. I doubt we do it though, we have to know he wouldn't sign an extension here so we wouldn't give them much of anything for him. Not happening.

I don't think it's because they're pissed at him, it's because those are the teams that have the most assets to acquire him. Young players, draft picks, and cap space. I honestly don't know if I would really be into giving up much for Melo, especially if he doesn't sign his extension first. You're right, the Wolves are a long shot and it would probably cost them Love and Johnson and draft picks, etc. Maybe New Jersey, but they probably wouldn't have a whole lot of talent left to surround him with after they traded for him. Now Sacramento, that makes sense. They should be willing to give up pretty much anything besides Tyreke Evans and still have enough talent left to have a solid team. I'm guessing Denver wants to try to include Kenyon Martin or JR Rider (Um, I mean Smith) in any possible deal. I hope Melo goes East, further advancing the power shift.

I don't know about us being one of the teams with the most assets to acquire him. Not that Love and Johnson are worthless, but lots of teams around the league could match that. Maybe if you include Rubio, but they have Ty Lawson and we're not giving Ricky up for one year of a superstar to boost ticket sales.

I heard about that Rubio quote. I love it. I was surprised though that Spain blew it yesterday against France. Rubio did look good though.

I don't want anything to do with Melo. I feel like he is like AI. He is great and score a ton but doesn't have enough unselfishness in him to win it all. I would rather try to build young. I also can't imagine us getting Melo to extend his contract. If we trade for him to then trade him along to someone else for better assets, then I am fine with it.

You're crazy. Not many teams have the cap room that the Wolves and New Jersey have. Not to mention the draft picks that Kahn has collected, and also a ton of young players in Love, Rubio, Beasley, Brewer, Flynn, Johnson, Webster, Pek, etc. Denver's main focus in trading Melo would most likely be getting themselves under the cap while getting some young talent and draft picks. And you're right, they're not trading Rubio or probably anyone of worth for a one year rental and I'm glad, but to say they don't have more assets than most teams is a little short-sighted.

If you include Rubio, yes, I agree. And you're right about cap space. But I don't think most of the players you named are going to get anyone outside Minnesota too excited, aside from Love. Look what Miami traded Beasley for. Brewer is a role player off the bench. So is Webster. Flynn had a disappointing year and is injured now. Pek is a European big man with questionable athleticism who hasn't proven anything. And most or all the draft picks Kahn has collected are way outside the lottery.

Living in CO and watching a lot of Nuggets games, Melo became one of my favorite players. I would offer anything on the Wolves to get him. I'd prefer to keep Love and Rubio, but they aren't untouchables to me. Melo is fucking amazing and he's a cool dude too.

Rubio looked good against New Zealand today. I can't wait to show him around Uptown.

ahahaha

man, there is an article on NBA.com that talks about how Louis Amundson being a great role player without a team. I always thought the wolves should have persued him before they stocked up and tehy would still be good to find a way to put him in the picture.

I want some T-Wolves toast !

I'm guessing Amundson will end up with the Hornets. He'd be great for them. I remember hearing that the Wolves had interest, but I think they ultimately chose to go with Tolliver.

Spain is out of the World's. Rubio had an awful game. 3pts. 3 turnovers.

Rubio hasn't had any mind blowing games but then again, his team didn't seem to be really putting it together as a whole. I mean, it's not really Rubio's game to score a lot (although frankly, thats a concern if he isn't a threat to score. Nash and Kidd were far bigger threats to score and he is put in the same category).

Hornets would be smart to get Amundson.

So in the Worlds, is anyone besides Argentina a real threat. And are they even that big of a threat? Watching the highlights of other teams, the USA team should run right through it.

Turkey is definitely a threat.

I was just reading about the Melo to the Bulls rumors. Seems way more likely than the Knicks as Chicago has a lot more to offer without gutting the team.

Who were the players talked about being moved? Deng I assume had to be in the mix but if they were able to keep Boozer and Rose and have melo....well, the balance of power of the east and west would be much better and I would see Denver Falling out of the playoffs. The west may have lost some players but there were some good players to head west but Melo moving would really stack the decks at the top of the east.

Something like Deng, Taj Gibson, James Johnson, and draft picks. Yeah, Chicago would still have Rose, Noah, Boozer, Brewer, etc. Not to mention they got Thibodeau coaching this year. Melo or not, I think Chicago is gonna be good if Boozer stays healthy.

makes sense. They need to get someone serious out of it. Could they dump K-Mart too in the deal? Who else would be moving with Noah? It could be them obviously straight up or be draft picks with it. That wouldn't seem to match up as far as contacts go.

Beasley VS. The World

After dominating the college scene in his lone season at Kansas State — averaging 26.2 points and a nation-leading 12.4 rebounds per game — Michael Beasley had the look of a potentially unstoppable talent destined for NBA greatness. But the same can’t be said about his brief time in the pros so far.

Beasley wasn’t exactly a bust for the Miami Heat, but he wasn’t the future All-Star force the team envisioned when they took him No. 2 overall in the ‘08 Draft, ahead of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Brook Lopez, to name a few. (With Dwyane Wade holding it down at two-guard, Miami likely wouldn’t have drafted O.J. Mayo or Eric Gordon anyway.) Beasley averaged 14.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 78 starts with the Heat during two years, but he never seemed to be completely comfortable playing in the shadow of Wade, and was a distraction off the court from the time he ran into trouble at the NBA Rookie Symposium to when he checked into a substance-abuse treatment center last summer.

But don’t think for a second that Beasley’s career is over. He might not have averaged the double-double that everyone expected him to coming out of college, but his stats were still good. Beasley was the main scorer at K-State, while Miami’s offense runs through D-Wade, and it wasn’t his fault he was drafted into the wrong style of offense to fit his game. Even though Beasley left a team that had just acquired two superstars in LeBron James and Chris Bosh for a Minnesota Tiimberwolves team that managed to win only 15 games last season, a change of scenery will be good for him.

Starting this season, fans are going to see a kid with untapped potential become the machine he was supposed to be. Heat fans wanted Beasley out of Miami, while he thinks he deserved a little more credit. It’s safe to say that Beasley is out for a little revenge this season.

Beasley recently did an interview with Timberwolves’ website writer Jonah Ballow. Ballow asked Beasley if he had put a circle around Miami’s name on the NBA schedule, and Beasley had this to say:

“I’m going to put a big circle around the whole NBA. You know I feel like I was counted out you know my first two seasons in the NBA, they might not have been perfect but I’m proud of them. I went to a 15-win team (in Miami) to averaging 45 wins in my short career. So I’m proud of that you know. And I feel like I should get a little more recognition for that but you know it’s life. You know I’m just going to come out and show everybody who Michael Beasley really is, I’m going to show them who I am you know the Great 8, the new me.”

Beasley means business this season. He’s going to play angry, and why shouldn’t he? Miami left him in a situation where he would fall further down the “bust” category. Although Heat president Pat Riley apparently didn’t want to let him go — he also wanted to win. Beasley had to be moved to create enough cap room to sign LeBron and Bosh and put a decent collection of players around the new Big Three.

There’s an old saying that goes if some bad luck or misfortune ultimately results in something positive, it’s a blessing in disguise. While Minnesota lost a double-double player when they traded Al Jefferson to the Utah Jazz, Beasley could be the blessing in disguise that resulted from that deal. Jefferson might have the height advantage at the four/five position, but Beasley is much more aggressive and a quite possibly a better defender. And yes, Beasley is a solid defender.

This is Beasley’s team now. Kevin Love has the chance to shine now that Jefferson is gone and Corey Brewer and Jonny Flynn are at the stages of discovering how to match their athleticism while being well rounded. Beasley will do whatever he can to keep the Timberwolves’ name out of the “Worst team in the League” conversations. It’s going to take patience and teamwork, so in the meantime Wolves fans, just B-Easy.

http://dimemag.com/2010/09/michael-beasley-vs-the-world/

If you're watching the FIBA World Championship game between the US and Turkey, you know that Kevin Durant is phenomenal.

I just watched the replay of the game. Durant is absolutely incredible to watch. I said it on the board years ago when I saw that guy play in college I knew he was the player of the draft to be had. He has such an amazing shot and his size, agility and head for the game are ridiculous. He can play great D and rebound. I hope Harden and Green can make big strides with Durant and Westbrook to put them on top of the west.

Also, it was interesting watching a lot of the international game. The flow and the pick and rolls were interesting to watch. There was a lot more team basketball and it makes it easy to understand why it has been tough for the US to adjust. The highlights of the end of the Serbian vs. Spain and Turkey vs. Serbia games are amazing to watch. I wish there was a way the NBA would go to a single elimination tourney of some kind. Hell, even just with the teams that don't make the playoffs. It gives teams a lot more of a chance in a one game situation.

i had a dream last nite i went to a timberwolves game. kevin love had an amazing game in my dream

In case anyone missed it:

Dear Fans:
As training camp approaches, I know many of you are anxious to see what this coming season will bring. We'll be better this season, but you're no doubt wondering: How much better? Fair question. And because you are vested partners in our organization and members of our Pack, I feel it's important to share with you how this busy offseason has helped our team.
At this point, I can safely say that the rebuilding of the Timberwolves roster is, at long last, nearly complete.
Well, come to think of it, it hasn’t taken that long.

But I recognize it’s been several seasons since our team contended for a playoff spot and you’d like results now.

Me, too.

Nevertheless, to build a team to win at the highest level, it takes time. Band-Aids and shortcuts typically aren’t lasting in the NBA.

During the last 14 months, we have added several pieces to our ballclub: perimeter shooting, athleticism and length to the roster, and all while maintaining our youth. Just as important, we have done so with an eye toward adding more talent by choosing to operate under the salary cap.

The reality is, we are still lacking a dominant player – our version of Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade or Kevin Durant – and that will remain an item at the top of the To-Do list.

It’s possible this player could emerge from within the roster. Nearly every player on our team has his best days ahead of him. Some could make an All-Star team during their careers and one has already become an impact player on the USA Men’s National Team in this year’s FIBA World Championships. We also have eight players currently on the roster who were selected in the top-seven of their respective drafts: Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Wes Johnson, Jonny Flynn, Darko Milicic, Corey Brewer, Martell Webster and Ricky Rubio.

The average age of those eight players is 22.

However, if one of our players fails to emerge, we will be prepared to find more talent for our team – and we will seek a singular move rather than a series of moves, as we did these last 14 months.

Hence, the desire to operate under the salary cap.

Just as we took advantage of Miami needing to move Michael Beasley to a “room” team on short notice, I am hopeful other opportunities will come across our desk at three specific periods during the next several months:

• Before the 2011 trading deadline, when teams that are over the tax line and not playing up to their capability seek to move a star player as the first step of a rebuild;

• During the 2011 draft period, when some teams will be seeking to move salary to create room for free agency (although the class of 2011 is not nearly as attractive as the class of 2010); and

• Immediately following the announcement of the new collective bargaining agreement, in whatever form it may take.

It’s been about 14 months since I took the job as President of Basketball Operations. Upon my hiring, I laid out a plan.

First, we would become a running team – it’s what the fans want to watch and the players want to play. Every player we have considered adding to our roster is first evaluated based upon his ability to play an up-tempo style, and then we look for the attributes that we have been lacking: size, shooting and athleticism.

Second, we would in all likelihood become younger – that we might have to take a step backward before moving forward in order to build a team that could compete for a number of years. The decision in particular to trade Randy Foye and Mike Miller for the fifth pick in the 2009 draft no doubt cost us a handful of wins last season, but it also presented us the opportunity to draft Rubio, who doesn’t turn 20 until October and who we expect to have join us in 2011.

Third, we wouldn’t be outworked – that we would instill a culture in basketball operations where management, coaches and players were accountable and expected to work around the clock -- around the year, really -- on reviving this franchise.

Fourth, we would be as transparent as possible in making these changes and explaining the reasoning behind them. Hence, this latest letter.

Without exception, every personnel move that was made this past summer was in keeping with the vision I described in late May 2009. On the night of the draft, we added young, athletic wing players who can run and shoot in Wesley, Martell and Lazar Hayward, to complement Corey Brewer and Wayne Ellington.

Wesley was the Big East Player of the Year last season for Syracuse and was considered the best pure wing in the draft.

Martell, who is only 23 even though this will be his sixth NBA season, has been a starter for the Trail Blazers in the past. Martell often was used as a spot-up 3-point shooter in Portland but we believe he can do more things when asked.

In July, we re-signed 7-foot Darko Milicic and brought aboard 6-10 Nikola Pekovic, both of whom can change ends quickly and play at the fast pace we want. Darko turned 25 this summer and Nikola is 24 – still young, but with the necessary maturity to compete against other big men in this league.

Last season Darko earned $7.5 million in the final year of a four-year deal. He took almost a 50 percent paycut to return to the NBA. He wants to be here and we want him here. There simply aren’t many centers of his size and athleticism who are capable of playing an all-around game.

Telling Darko how important he could be to our future while offering him a contract that represents a major paycut was a delicate dance. Darko understood this, too, and thus was willing to allow us some financial protection in the final year of his deal if things didn’t work out. But let me be clear: we think they will work out.

Later in free agency, we took advantage of our cap room to acquire Beasley for a pair of second-round picks. Michael was the No. 1 prospect in his high school class of 2007 and averaged 26 points and 12 rebounds in his one season of college basketball at Kansas State. He is only 21, with just two years under his belt, and may prove to be our most talented player – perhaps even a 20-and-10 player. He could blossom here under Kurt’s tutelage.

We also felt the time was right to trade Al Jefferson. We will miss Al. Kurt and I want this team to run and flow into a halfcourt offense that features passing and ball movement, with all five players capable of making plays for others. Though capable of playing in this offense, it doesn’t play well to Al’s strengths. Most important, Al would have impacted the playing time of Love, Milicic and Pekovic (and, as it developed, Beasley).

Finally, we added Luke Ridnour during free agency for a variety of reasons. Luke is more of a push-the-pace player than Ramon Sessions and also has several seasons of experience. He did a magnificent job last season both playing and mentoring Brandon Jennings in Milwaukee. I anticipate him challenging for significant playing time but also having the ability to mentor Jonny Flynn and, eventually, Rubio.

We are now a deep team, with quality backups at nearly every position. But we remain young, perhaps even the youngest team in the league. It’s highly unlikely we will challenge for the NBA championship this season, but I believe we now have a collection of talent that could form most of a core nucleus that has its best days ahead.

We will be a better team next season: better because we have more shooting, athleticism and length. Better because our coaches have a year together under their collective belts. And better because we are driven to upgrade our defense, which, frankly, was abysmal last season.

Our players and coaches have been working relentlessly this offseason. All of them. We are committed to being all we can be, as soon as possible, but knowing that our best days are still to come.

Thanks for your patience.


David Kahn
President of Basketball Operations

My predictions are gonna hold so true for this year.

what are they again? Last year I was certain the wolves would be garbage. This year I am certain that they won't make the playoffs but I can see them either being the worst team in the league or getting close to 30 wins. There is a lot of potential that can go either way but I think they are moving towards the right direction. Let's hope they can play well enough to get Rubio over here. That is ultimately what this season is about.

IMAGE REMOVED - CLICK TO VIEW

is that real?

Interactive Media Day starts in a couple minutes if anyone is bored. Live player interviews every 10 minutes and you can submit questions if you want.
http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/twolves_training_camp_central_2010.html
12:00 Luke Ridnour
12:10 Darko Milicic
12:20 Kevin Love
12:30 Martell Webster
12:40 Wes Johnson
12:50 Michael Beasley
1:00 Sebastian Telfair
1:10 Kosta Koufos
1:20 Anthony Tolliver
1:30 Corey Brewer
1:40 Lazar Hayward
1:50 Jonny Flynn
2:00 Wayne Ellington

Read those quotes too, and thought that if nothing else, he is a pretty self-aware young man that is taking responsibility for his mistakes. This might be the first time in years I am actually interested in the Wolves.

bump for DA HEAT AND KING JAMES

You gonna be home, howie? Want to watch the game with me?

i wish. i gotta work tonite. i'm gonna try and listen on the radio at work. i should go downstairs more to watch games

It's on broadcast TV. I am stoked to watch.

yeah channel 29. 6:30pm

Excited as hell to watch! This is the first Wolves game I've gotten to see so far this year.

yeah this is the first season game I have had a chance to watch and I am thrilled.