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So, the Cavaliers got their asses handed to them at home to open the season by the Celtics. No big deal, right? It's not like the Cavs were 39-1 at home until a meaningless loss to Philly in which Bron-Bron didn't play to end the season last year. And losing a second game to Toronto ain't no big deal. After all, Cleveland has their stars locked up for a long time and they absolutely will be playing for a title this year and for the foreseeable future.
Gulp.
Okay, Cavs GM Danny Ferry might think that all of his shirts are about 2 neck sizes too small these days, but I'm not ready to jump off the Cleveland wagon. This is a good team. They have the best player in the world and what remains of the best big man of this generation. Sometimes teams get off to slow starts. Did you remember that the Dallas Mavericks started 0-4 in 2006-07? They were able to right the ship a little, finishing 67-15, the best record in the NBA. Of course, they lost to Don Nelson's GSW club in the first round of the playoffs, but let's not let that get in the way of a larger point. This Cleveland club is adjusting to the new dynamic of The Big Frozen Popsicle and I think they'll be just fine. And I think that schedule has just what the doctor ordered tonight.
The Wolves won a thriller in the opener and I have to admit that I got a little giddy. It was fun, dammit, to watch Jonny Flynn take over down the stretch and will this club to victory. There have been many nights when a game like that has even the die hardingest Wolves fan wondering why? why do I follow this club. The Wolves were atrocious against a bad club for most of the game. But, they mounted a comeback and showed that maybe, just maybe, there are a couple of building blocks here.
But. But, the Wolves shot terribly and they got killed on the boards for most of the night. Their interior defense was as soft as a fresh marshmallow. I shudder to think what might happen if Brook Lopez can look like Tim Funcan Duncan against this club. Will we see Shaq just crush the warm bodies that are matched up against him? Will he look like the dude who powered the Lakes to 3 titles? I think there's a good chance.
Plus, I think it's clear that while BAJ's knee may be healed, he's not ready to play at this level. His explosion had all the power of a lady finger against the Nets and he was unable to do anything at all offensively or on the boards for that matter (he did have that hee-yuge block at the end of the game, though!). I expect Shaq to hang about 20 on the Wolves tonight. And Big Z will do whatever he wants, too. And hey, maybe we'll see them both out there simultaneously eating the cake that is our interior defense.
And there's LeBron. I don't expect that Mr. Brewer will be able to handle this monster. Nor will anyone else.
The Wolves aren't really ready for this. Their best player is hurt, their best scorer is lacking the physical gifts that make him so special, the club is relying on a couple of rookies for significant contributions. And Brian Cardinal is DEFINITELY in the rotation. Oy. expect a full beatdown tonight. LeBron & Co. are much better than the Wolves and they are like a wounded bear, all pissed off. Too bad there isn't a World Series game to distract us tonight.
It's Opening Night #21 for the Timberwolves. Expectations in terms of wins and losses are low, but it's not like this team has nothing to look forward to.
Wolves end up 22-60. Boy, was that fun.
Well, in my old age, I’ve forgotten to post a conversation that GH and I had about the Wolves at about the 60 game mark or 3/4 the way through the season. I don’t know how well it’s worn over the last week or so, given the foot in mouth statements by Glen Taylor, but here goes:
Click here to continue reading 2007-08 Wolves 3/4 Pole...
Better late than never, right? GreekHouse and I had a conversation about the Wolves via e-mail regarding the Wolves first half of the season. Then, we scrapped it when they started to play better and started over. By the time we got this done, they stopped playing better. Heh. Anyway, here’s a little take on the local five.
Click here to continue reading T-Wolves Half Pole...
GreekHouse and I had a little conversation over the past few days regarding the Timberwolves at about the quarter point of the season.
Click here to continue reading T-Wolves at the 1/4 Pole...
I am going to be gone this evening and so I'm delaying posting of The Nation Has Problems until tomorrow. Also, I haven't written it yet.
Instead, I thought I would pose a different kind of question to The Nation. Ratliff was included in the Garnett trade almost entirely on the basis of expiring contract. In fact, Ratliff's contract was probably necessary to complete the trade due to the NBA salary cap rules.
In the 2000-01 season, Ratliff averaged 12.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 3.7 bpg—all career highs for seasons in which he played at least 50 games. He got injured in 2001-02 and only played 3 games. He rebounded and had a fantastic year in 2003-04 which earned him a monster contract with Portland. Unfortunately, he got injured again and when he was traded to the Wolves, his primary virtue was that his contract was expiring at the end of the season.
In the Wolves first couple games he looked tremendous and I posted a comment in the game thread about what the Wolves should do with him if he continues to play well. SBG commented that instead of resigning him, he might be valuable in a trade instead. He missed the next game with the flu but has come back strong in the last two games and is averaging 10.0ppg/5.5rpg/3.5bpg over 4 games and is a great compliment to Al Jeferson.
It may be jumping the gun a little bit, but if he keeps playing like this, I wonder what the Wolves should do with him. Given his history of injuries, I'd be hesitant to give him anything more than a 1-year deal. Giving him a big deal and then losing him to injury would be catastrophic to the Wolves rebuilding phase.
With that in mind, it seems like it might be a good idea to trade him. Unfortunately, due to the salary cap, no team can acquire more than 125% of the salaries that they trade away. This means that the Wolves would need to get a player (or group of players) whose salaries sum to at least $9.3 million in return for Ratliff. I'm not exactly sure how they could make that work. Any team in contention wouldn't be willing to trade another good player who is making that much. A good young player that isn't contributing to a team's playoff run wouldn't be making nearly enough.
To me, it seems like the only way to make it work would be to trade him to a team who had a good player that got injured during the season. The Wolves could then either trade for this player straight up (if he was a decent player with a few years left on the contract), or trade for somebody else who has an expiring contract plus a good, but not great prospect.
Thoughts?
Some thoughts on tonight's opening night loss to the Denver Nuggets.
It's early, but Al Jefferson showed some signs that he's a player. He moves to the center of the lane well with the ball and he has an extremely quick jump hook. He's not KG or anything, but he's a good player. He's probably better going to the basket, but KG is/was (at Jefferson's age) better at pretty much everything else.
Craig Smith had a disappointing game. He shot poorly (actually he took only three shots, but the two misses stuck out in my mind) and didn't defend particularly well. Smith had a -15 rating in just 18 minutes.
Denver won the game at the free throw line. They shot twice as many free throws (38) as the Wolves did and made twice as many (28). Alley-I didn't shoot worth a crap from the field, but a 15-16 performance from the line was a killer for the hometown squad. The free throw disaparity was not unexpected, what with Denver having AI and 'Melo.
The Wolves got outrebounded by Denver with Denver getting 81.6% of the rebounds on the Wolves end while the Wolves managed 77.5% of the boards on Denver's end. (I much prefer talking about percentages of boards on the defensive end as opposed to total rebounds. If more missed shots are on one end, the total number of rebounds will be skewed by that reality.) Marcus Camby had a terrific game tonight with 21 rebounds and six blocked shots. Plus, he chipped in 14 points. He's a tremendous difference maker for Denver inside.
Theo Ratliff is more than an expiring contract, as he chipped in 14 points, six boards, and 3 blocked shots in 29 minutes. However, Ratliff had several opportunities to finish plays around the basket that he failed to convert. In a close game, his inability to dunk the basketball in traffic (or at least make a two-footer) was problematic.
Four of the five starters came in the KG trade. The other player, Gerald Green got himself a DNP-CD. Twins Geek reported (and bemoaned the decision) that the Wolves declined his option for next year, making him an unrestricted free agent after this season. I think that it's clear that the Wolves are not hot on him if he didn't even get his warmup off. Second round pick Chris Richard also failed to see action. Michael Doleac was inactive (I believe), along with Randy Foye and Mark Madsen, both of whom are hurt.
First round pick Corey Brewer looked overmatched. He's skinny and had some trouble defending. I think he's got a ways to go before he's a quality NBA player. I'm basing that on one game, so maybe I'll change my mind, but I wasn't impressed.
Watching the collapse in the fourth quarter reminded me of the first couple of years of Wolves ball under Bill Musselman. I wasn't the only one who noticed that.
In 13 scoreless minutes, Marko Jaric did not take a shot. There's another buyout candidate, if I've ever seen one. Except that he's got a ton of years and money left.
I still remember when it hit me. I was sitting at my computer last season, looking at the Twolves payroll on hoopeshype.com and getting depressed over how terrible it looked. I had a revelation. It was one of those moments of total clarity. The Wolves will never win a championship with Garnett. It was a tough thing to accept and maybe that's why it took me so long. Once it happened, I was surprised it didn't occur to me sooner.
So why couldn't we win a championship with him? Simply put, the Wolves would never be able to get enough talent around him. They had a few good young players, but they were also laden with terrible contracts. Some of our young players could develop into potential all-stars, but it wasn't going to happen in time. Because of all the terrible contracts the Wolves had, there was really no hope of signing a good free agent either. By the time our young players were ready and we had some money for free agents, KG would be in the decline of his career. In the meantime, he will have wasted years of his prime on a team that never had a chance.
Once it became obvious that we couldn't win a championship with Garnett, there was only one thing we could do. We needed to trade him. Because he's one of the top players in the game we should be able to get a lot for him. The longer we wait, the less we'd be able to get. Plus, it would be in KG's best interests if we could move him to a contender. Although it might be a depressing though, it was the best option for both KG and the Timberwolves.
Click here to continue reading Rebuilding a Franchise...
This is a story of my basketball life. It is a story of how I have become accustomed to losing. It is a story of how I have been conditioned to be a Timberwolves fan. Warning, it is long and rambling.
Click here to continue reading How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Wolves...
I mentioned this when it was a rumor in the Cup of Coffee, but the Wolves have dealt Rickey Davis and Mark Blount to the Miami Heat for Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien, a future first round pick (It is lottery-protected in 2008, protected through the No. 10 selection in 2009, through the No. 6 slot in 2010 and not protected thereafter), and "financial considerations".
Blount had three years left on his deal and Davis's contract was expiring at the end of the season. Walker has four years left on his deal, but apparently his contract has a team option on it after the 2008-09 season. Doleac and Simien make a combined $4 million and each will be a free agent at the end of the season.
Walker is a freaking cancer. He is fat, he's a black hole on offense, and he can't shoot -- not that he doesn't try. A lot. But, he'll be gone before Blount would have been. Perhaps the Wolves will package him in a deal or just buy him out.
Doleac and Simien are dead weight and might get cut as the Wolves are over the maximum roster limit.
I would have thought that Davis could have brought a decent player, but I guess I was wrong. Antoine Walker. I hate him.
Perhaps the Wolves will get a player with that draft pick (I really like that there's a pick in there, although if Miami makes the playoffs this year, it won't be that great). Shedding Blount's contract is a positive, too. But, man, I hope "Employee #8" never actually plays for the Wolves. And by the way, has anyone else noticed that the Wolves are where Celtics rejects come to die? (Let's hope that Al Jefferson isn't one of those.)
The Timberwolves have traded Trenton Hassell to the Dallas Mavericks straight up for Greg Buckner. Buckner makes about a million less than Hassell, but at 31 is three years older and his contract runs through 2011, one year longer than Hassell's.
This is a head scratcher for sure, and the explanation offered by Kevin McHale has those around me thinking that I'm suffering from psoriasis.
The Timberwolves traded guard Trenton Hassell to Dallas for Greg Buckner on Friday night in a swap of veteran defensive specialists that clears the way for the team to sign second-round draft pick Chris Richard before it leaves for Turkey today.
Richard, a bruising 6-9 forward who, along with Wolves first-round pick Corey Brewer, won two NCAA titles with Florida, missed Friday's season-opening media day because he had not signed a contract. Wolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said a pending trade that would clear more salary-cap room for Richard's contract was responsible for the delay.
Richard is likely signing for $427,000, the league minimum. The Wolves are way over the cap. I don't see how making this trade clears room to sign Richard or how it was necessary to clear cap space -- if you are over the cap, you can sign any number of players to league minimum contracts. And why would the Wolves want to extend their obligations to another marginal player by a year? And an older one, to boot?
Kevin McHale, the best general manager in all of sports.
Just thought I'd take the T-Wolves temperature out there. Yeah, the season doesn't start for over a month and it doesn't start in earnest for about three months. And yeah, there's not much chance of a playoff run (okay, there's zero chance of a playoff run). I was thinking, though, that I might actually follow the club a little -- and maybe, just maybe, some day they will be okay.
Then, I read this today...
The Wolves have until Oct. 31 to reach an agreement on a contract extension with [Forward Al] Jefferson if they want to prevent him from becoming a restricted free agent after the season. McHale said there have been preliminary talks with Jefferson's agent.
"That'd be something we'd like to get done," McHale said.
So yeah, before the Jefferson era even starts, it could be problematic. T-Wolves basketball. Attracting masochists as fan base since 1989.
Yes, I have crawled out of my rock over here in Utah. Despite my total lack of posts and responses, I have been regularly reading.
The latest update over at ESPN has prompted me to actually post.
Im sure quite a few of you are like me and totally agree with what Santana says in the article.
A few questions -
1. Do the Twins have ANY chance to keep Santana long term IE - signing him beyond 2008?
2. If Liriano returns at 100% next year (and who ever has after Tommy John surgery) what are the Twins chances at winning it all next year and what if any effect does that have on Santana?
3. What if any effect do these comments have on - Mauer and Morneau - I couldn't care less what effect it does or doesn't have on Hunter but if you do, go ahead and comment.
4. What effect, if any, does this have on the front office?
And lastly - which has greater odds of happening first - The Minnesota Timberwolves back in the playoffs or The Las Vegas Timberwolves in the playoffs?
It should never have come to this.
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Cup of Coffee   64 LTEs
Wolves give up 79 points in the first half on Tuesday night (a club record), but they tightened the screws in the second half and only gave up 73. I expect another Korean recipe over at Canis Hoopus.
Retired WGOM Jokes
- "The Twins should have drafted Mark Prior."
Race to the Bottom: Highest Loss Totals in T-Wolves History 67: 1991-92
63: 1992-93
62: 1993-94
61: 1994-95
60: 1989-90, 2007-08
58: 2008-09
56: 1995-96
54: 2009-10
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October 30, 2009, at 6:00 pm 
Recent Letters to the Editor
In Response to Cup of Coffee: March 17, 2010,
sean wrote: she was in the middle of "a really intense deadline" for her new book, Hot X: Algebra Exposed, which hits shelves in August. That would have made math class a whole lot better.
cheaptoy wrote: We haven't gotten to the full state smoking ban yet, so for now its just in Madison. But there does seem to still be a rather large number of bars in the area that…
cheaptoy wrote: You're far more generous with the term you use for the commenters on an SBNation site that I would have been.
bjhess wrote: "I like the authors on Twinke Town, but find many of the commenters inane" Might be perfect, then. :) Thanks again, all!
brianS wrote: Winnie is preggers. Reportedly, Kevin had nothing to do with it.
brianS wrote: Several factors caused Summit’s growth to slow over the last five years from its healthy double-digit growth to under 10 percent: Minnesota lowered the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.1 percent to 0.08 percent in…
brianS wrote: Pinstripes ARE slimming.
brianS wrote: "I did make a mistake and I regret that I did it," Yah. Losing your composure in a game, that's "a mistake." Having Joe Mauer bunt a guy over in the third inning, that's "a mistake."…
frightwig wrote: I'm more appalled to learn that Jon Heyman has another byline and source of income for his reporting. For shame, SI. For shame! Also, I see that their March 15 cover features Orioles Catcher Matt Wieters…
brianS wrote: so, they are working on their rebounding??
In Response to Brought Along, Kicking and Screaming, Into the 21st Century,
E-6 wrote: Absolutely gorgeous films--nearly every frame could be a print hung in a gallery. You really should check out The Double Life of Veronique, next. It was the movie he made just prior to the trilogy.…
E-6 wrote: That was me. Totally dug that book, though the ending seemed rather abrupt. (Might have been because I was so engrossed with the characters that I didn't want it to end.) You'll note that the…
frightwig wrote: I haven't seen Avatar, and don't plan to see it.
frightwig wrote: Not a bad movie, but I don't get why the Academy loved it so much. Didn't think it was anything … war has to have its own … war movie(s). Iraq was just due!
DK wrote: It's been that way from the start. These characters have always been connected to each other; that's part of the basis of the show. You either buy into that or not. Honestly…
sean wrote: I really liked Ender's Shadow. It does get progressively crazier, but not nearly as much as the Ender storyline.
meat wrote: Synedoche, New York. I loved that movie. I haven't seen it in quite some time but as I recall phil Hoffman was excellent, as was his female co-star(I can't look it up from my phone). The…
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: probably, but no plans to for the time being
Milt on Tilt wrote: On my lunch break I saw two individuals dressed up like Na'vi. Their sign said 'Avatars for Peace' so I'm not sure they've seen the movie.
In Response to Jackie Wilson - Danny Boy,
Klawitter wrote: Glad you posted it - definitely worth watching. And I will check out the Orbison version -- he's got the voice that makes dramatic authentic.
E-6 wrote: I played this one as much for the WTF factor as anything. (I love Jackie, too, but this number ain't exactly in his wheelhouse, so to speak.) Roy Orbison does a pretty reading that you…
Klawitter wrote: I love soul music and Jackie Wilson is great. That said, Danny Boy is one of those songs that benefits from understated, simple arrangements to undercut the sentimentality (and I think it's a great…
E-6 wrote: Erin Go Braugh? More like Error Go Wow!
CarterHayes wrote: I'm also a fan of crockpotting the beef, though I have been known to use beer instead of apple juice. I might have to switch things up next year.
In Response to Happy Birthday--March 17,
CarterHayes wrote: A little late (TwinsCards was down for maintenance most of the day today), but better than never: