Timberwolves Blog
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 2:46 pm
Since the majority of OT sports discussion in this league seems to be centered on New England sports teams, and your preference for or against said teams, I figured I could at least attempt to start a conversation on a team that nobody's talking about: the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota might be Boston sports' whipping boy, but suddenly, we have a fresh, new, young, exciting team to follow, even if we are a few steps behind in the talent dept. The KG trade may turn out for us better than expected, if a few things break our way. (And since this is MN sports I'm talking about, I'm not really crossing my fingers for anything to break correctly...especially with Kevin McHale prominently involved.)
The Wolves have a nice young nucleus they are building around right now:
PG: Randy Foye - has yet to play this season with knee troubles, and I feel he may be the most expendable of the group. See below. I also hold out for Sebastian Telfair to turn things around and be a change-of-pace style backup PG
SG: Rashad McCants - Looks to be a legitimate scorer, has had attitude problems in the past.
SF: Corey Brewer - Energy guy that needs to learn to score, but seems like a good defender.
PF: Al Jefferson - People keep saying Moses Malone in the Twin Cities. I look at him and see Elton Brand. Either way, I can't complain.
C: Large glaring hole. Big Al has played some 5, with Craig Smith and Ryan Gomes rotating in the forward positions, but I view both of them as bench guys. Chris Richard has also spent some limited time in this rotation.
Need to go: Antoine Walker, Theo Ratliff, Marko Jaric - Varying levels of usefulness amount to stealing minutes from guys who need to be learning the game instead of watching from the bench.
There are a couple ways I can see the Wolves heading in the next few years:
Ideal Situation - the Wolves luck out and land Derrick Rose in this years draft, giving them a true, game-changing PG. If this happens, I would advocate moving Randy Foye and maybe a draft pick for a big man.
Less than Ideal Situation that is still acceptable - The Wolves pick up their big man in the draft. I really think Kevin Love at UCLA would fit on the Wolves, but I've read in more than one place that his game might not transfer well to the NBA - think Tyler Hansbrough. Roy Hibbert would be alright, however not for as high as I anticipate the Wolves drafting. That pretty much exhausts my knowledge of college big men. Have to spend some quality time with the TV to do some research.
It's nice to be excited about the NBA again, even if I'm staring at a 70 loss season when it's all said and done.
Minnesota might be Boston sports' whipping boy, but suddenly, we have a fresh, new, young, exciting team to follow, even if we are a few steps behind in the talent dept. The KG trade may turn out for us better than expected, if a few things break our way. (And since this is MN sports I'm talking about, I'm not really crossing my fingers for anything to break correctly...especially with Kevin McHale prominently involved.)
The Wolves have a nice young nucleus they are building around right now:
PG: Randy Foye - has yet to play this season with knee troubles, and I feel he may be the most expendable of the group. See below. I also hold out for Sebastian Telfair to turn things around and be a change-of-pace style backup PG
SG: Rashad McCants - Looks to be a legitimate scorer, has had attitude problems in the past.
SF: Corey Brewer - Energy guy that needs to learn to score, but seems like a good defender.
PF: Al Jefferson - People keep saying Moses Malone in the Twin Cities. I look at him and see Elton Brand. Either way, I can't complain.
C: Large glaring hole. Big Al has played some 5, with Craig Smith and Ryan Gomes rotating in the forward positions, but I view both of them as bench guys. Chris Richard has also spent some limited time in this rotation.
Need to go: Antoine Walker, Theo Ratliff, Marko Jaric - Varying levels of usefulness amount to stealing minutes from guys who need to be learning the game instead of watching from the bench.
There are a couple ways I can see the Wolves heading in the next few years:
Ideal Situation - the Wolves luck out and land Derrick Rose in this years draft, giving them a true, game-changing PG. If this happens, I would advocate moving Randy Foye and maybe a draft pick for a big man.
Less than Ideal Situation that is still acceptable - The Wolves pick up their big man in the draft. I really think Kevin Love at UCLA would fit on the Wolves, but I've read in more than one place that his game might not transfer well to the NBA - think Tyler Hansbrough. Roy Hibbert would be alright, however not for as high as I anticipate the Wolves drafting. That pretty much exhausts my knowledge of college big men. Have to spend some quality time with the TV to do some research.
It's nice to be excited about the NBA again, even if I'm staring at a 70 loss season when it's all said and done.