Category Archives: Minnesota Timberwolves

Wizards win the John Wall sweepstakes

Posted on May 19, 2010 by epohnl| 3 Comments

Wall could take the embattled Wizards franchise to new heights. (Pic via Cleveland Plain Dealer)

The Washington Wizards have had an amazing run of bad luck in recent years.  An onslaught of injuries coupled with the antics of one Gilbert Arenas had the franchise spiraling downhill–with no end in sight.

Things are about to change.

The Wizards secured the top-overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by winning the lottery Tuesday night, leaving the New Jersey Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves shocked and saddened.

Irene Pollin, who represented her late husband’s franchise at the lottery, was simply overwhelmed with joy.

The Wizards had just a 10.3 percent chance of landing the top pick.  The Nets, represented majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who hoped to help lure LeBron James to Brooklyn by drafting John Wall, had the best chance of securing the first pick after a 12-win campaign.

Prokhorov had a creepy expression on his face when the Nets landed the third overall pick–he looked like a guy who just caught his wife sleeping with another man.  He will certainly make overtures to the Wizards in hopes of swapping first-round picks.

The Wizards have made mistakes in recent years, including the selections of Nick Young and problem-child Andray Blatche.  They need to get this one right by keeping the pick and selecting Wall.

The Philadelphia 76ers landed the second pick and face an interesting decision: draft the best player available or draft for need.  The Sixers need inside help and already have Andre Iguodala, a player with similar skills to Evan Turner.  Selecting Derrick Favors over Turner would take guts, but might make the most sense.

The Sixers rise to the second spot came at the expense of the Timberwolves and Warriors, both of whom are prone to making questionable draft decisions.

The T-Wolves would be wise to target Wes Johnson at No.4, while the Warriors–who the hell knows.  DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe would make sense at No. 6, but anything is possible given Don Nelson’s obsession with small-ball.

A complete mock draft coming later today here on ToTheTin.

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Posted in 2010 NBA Draft, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards

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Screw The Odds, Which Team Needs/Deserves To Win The NBA Lottery?

Posted on May 18, 2010 by evandril| Leave a comment

Because it lacks the transparency that would dismiss most rumors of it being rigged, there are boundless conspiracy theories associated with the NBA Draft lottery selection.

Tonight’s selection, for a number of reasons, is the same way.

Wall will most likely learn where he will be drafted tonight.

First, there are a number of franchises who have seen their attendance and, as a result, revenue, drop steadily for a long period of time. A top two pick in this year’s draft could be the most important step in stopping that trend for that particular team.

Second, it could have major implications on this year’s draft. Most mock drafts have John Wall going first in the draft. Wall is an electric playmaker who looks like he is destined to be a premier point guard in the league for years to come. Many mock drafts have DeMarcus Cousins, Wall’s teammate at Kentucky, going No. 4. Cousins has been described as an immature, unathletic big man.

The difference in this year’s draft between the No. 1 and No. 2 picks — most likely Wall and Ohio State’s Evan Turner — and No. 3 and No. 4 — projected by multiple mock drafts to be Georgia Tech forward Derrick Favors and Cousins — is enormous.

With that in mind, let’s rank the lottery teams 1-14 in reverse order for who needs to get one of the top-two picks in tonight’s lottery. The tiebreaker in this exercise will be the team who deserves to win.

Let’s get to it… Continue reading →

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Posted in 2010 NBA Draft, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, College Basketball, Detroit Pistons, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Kentucky Wildcats, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, Sacremento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, indiana pacers

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This is Corey Brewer dunking on Robin Lopez

Posted on March 17, 2010 by epohnl| Leave a comment

Brewer has quietly put together a solid season after sucking through two injury-plagued years.  This dunk over the Suns’ Robin Lopez wasn’t quite as good as his dunk over Derek Fisher early this season, but it was still pretty damn nasty.

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Posted in Dunks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, This is..., Videos

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Recapping latest NBA Trades: Jamison to Cavs, Salmons to Bucks, don’t forget about Darko

Posted on February 18, 2010 by epohnl| Leave a comment

Jamison is leaving basketball hell and heading to basketball heaven. (Pic via isports.wordpress.com)

The NBA trade deadline is fast approaching, with only, let’s see, 15 hours remaining. As the rumors continue to fly, here’s a look at the deals that went down Wednesday evening.

Cavs strike it rich with Jamison, Wizards get Big Z, Drew Gooden traded (again!!!) to Clippers

Details: Cleveland pulled off the big trade it failed to execute at this time a year ago, and it could provide the spark needed to propel the Cavaliers to an NBA Title. Antawn Jamison heads to Cleveland, headlining a six-player, three team deal. The Wizards received Big Z, the draft rights to Emir Preldzic, and a first round pick from the Cavaliers. The Wizards sent newly-acquired Drew Gooden to the Clippers in exchange for Al Thornton and Sebastian Telfair–yes, the young, immature gun-toting NBA bust. Don’t worry Wizards fans, Telfair won’t be staying–he will join Jamison in Cleveland.

Analysis: A superb deal for the Cavs and Wizards and a decent deal for the Clippers. Jamison will be a perfect fit in Cleveland for several reasons: He moves well without the ball, something few NBA stars today even bother attempting, and is able to put up very productive numbers without being a ball-stopper. He can score without having plays run for him–sort of like a younger Shawn Marion with a much better jump shot. Jamison is adequate defensively and can play inside and outside. He is the perfect player to defend against Orlando’s Rashard Lewis, who gave the Cavs fits last year during the Eastern Conference Finals. The Magic once again appear to be the primary obstacle between Cleveland and the NBA Finals.

The Wizards are going nowhere and management knows it. Josh Howard won’t be a Wizard for long, and unloading Jamison and Gooden opens the door for Andray Blatche and Nick Young to get minutes they might not deserve but need in order to develop. Who knows about Preldzic and the first round pick probably will yield a decent player but not much more. Al Thornton (another guy who should have been in the dunk contest instead of the crappy selections) is young and has shown tremendous potential. He had fallen out of favor with the Clip Joint, but that’s likely the result of being coached by the idiotic Mike Dunleavy. The Clippers might have given up on Thornton too soon, and add another weird dude to play alongside the NBA’s weirdest dude Baron Davis. Gooden has played for nine teams during his eight years in the NBA–that should probably tell you something. The Clips won’t keep Gooden for long and will most likely turn the small forward spot over to newly-acquired Travis Outlaw.

Salmons to Bucks for next to nothing

Details: The Bulls are probably not done yet. The team freed up cap space this season and next by sending John Salmons to the Bucks for Francisco Elson and/or Kurt Thomas.

Analysis: Salmons provided the Bulls with something they hadn’t had since before I started college long, long, long ago–a shooting guard taller than 6’2″. His poor shooting caused him to lose his starting spot earlier this season, but Salmons has played better since mid-January. The Bulls will miss his scoring ability and size, but in reality his nothing more than a decent NBA player. Salmons should help the Bucks dramatically this season and maybe next–his player option for the 2010-2011 season was the primary reason the Bulls wanted to move him. Thomas and Elson would provide exciting 2-on-2 matchups with Lindsey Hunter and Jerome James during Bulls’ practices.

Darko to Wolves for…Brian Cardinal!!!

Details/Analysis: In terms of salaries, this was actually a fairly significant deal. In terms of basketball value, it is basically worthless. We forget that Darko is still only 24 and might, possibly…not totally suck if he gets minutes and takes the game seriously. I’m not sure if both of these things will happen, but you never know. Darko will most likely return to Europe once his contract expires following this season. Brian Cardinal got arguably the worst contract in NBA history from Jerry West and is still making tons of money for doing nothing. He offers no value whatsoever. None.

Stay tuned for the latest updates and rumors, including the possibility of T-Mac going to the Kings…

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Posted in Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Features, Los Angeles Clippers, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Trades, New York Knicks, News, Washington Wizards

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This is Damien Wilkins jamming on the Thunder

Posted on January 21, 2010 by epohnl| Leave a comment

Damien Wilkins channeled his uncle’s dunking prowess and broke off a nasty dunk on Nenad Krstic in the Wolves loss to the Thunder Wednesday night.

Corey Brewer has finally started ballin’ for the T-Wolves; he scored 25 points and made five steals last night, but had a potential game-tying layup swatted at the buzzer.

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Posted in Dunks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, This is..., Videos

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July 21 NBA News & Notes

Posted on July 21, 2009 by epohnl| Leave a comment
Richardson was traded for the third time this summer, this time to the T-Wolves.

Richardson was traded for the third time this summer, this time to the Timberwolves.

Here are some recent news & notes you may have missed in what has been a very boring NBA offseason thus far:

Q-Rich to T-Wolves, Telfair to Clip Joint

Quentin Richardson has been traded – again. Shortly after acquiring Richardson from the Grizzlies in the Zach Randolph deal, the Clippers sent him to the Timberwolves in exchange for Craig Smith, Mark Madsen, and Sebastian Telfair.

This was another puzzling move between two of the dumbest franchises in the NBA. Telfair played well at times for the Wolves last seen and would have added depth. Ricky Rubio is still way out of the picture, leaving Minnesota with Jonny Flynn as the only point guard on the roster. The Clippers certainly didn’t need Richardson, but probably don’t need Telfair either. L.A. is in hot pursuit of Bucks guard Ramon Sessions and already has Baron Davis and his huge contract.

This trade would seem to signal the end of the Allen Iverson courtship, but you just never know with the Clippers.

Jarrett Jack heading to Canada

The Raptors offseason has been very impressive to say the least. The signing of Jarrett Jack to a four-year, $20 million deal is the latest solid move. Jack provides insurance behind the aging Jose Calderon, who battled injuries throughout last season. The former Georgia Tech point guard averaged a career-best 13.1 ppg for the Pacers last season.

Meanwhile, Larry Bird’s puzzling moves continued Monday. He signed Earl Watson as a replacement for Jack, adding to a dismal free agent class of Dahntay Jones and Josh McRoberts. Yuck.

Heat poised to add Boozer, Odom?

With Lamar Odom at odds with the Lakers, Miami appears ready to offer a five-year deal to the versatile forward. Financially, this move is a no-brainer, but it’s not that simple. Odom’s maturity (who would have thought) makes staying in L.A. to win another title his most desirable option. This could drag on for a few more weeks.

Carlos Boozer spoke highly of playing in Chicago last week, and now he is talking about how he would love to play in Miami. Boozer told the Miami Herald the Heat are his “Number one option.” He lives in Miami during the offseason and is close to Dwayne Wade. Boozer spent last week talking about how he would love to play in Chicago and seems ready to play just about anywhere – except Utah.

Misery in Memphis? Grizzlies appear to be A.I.’s only option

Allen Iverson might be seriously considering retirement. The Clippers aggressive pursuit of Ramon Sessions (sources say they are poised to offer a five-year, $34 million contract) suggests that talks with Iverson have stalled. Last week, ESPN reported the Clips wanted to speak with AI about coming off the bench before offering him a contract.

Miami would be a decent fit for AI, but is focused on signing Lamar Odom and working out a deal for Carlos Boozer. Iverson is merely an afterthought at this point.

That leaves Memphis as the one remaining team interesting in signing Iverson. The Grizz would likely offer Iverson the mid-level exception, meaning a one-year deal at around $5.6 million.

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Posted in Features, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, News, Summer 2009 Free Agent News, Toronto Raptors

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NBA draft winners and losers

Posted on June 26, 2009 by epohnl| 2 Comments
Kahn had nothing to smile after Thursday night's draft.

Kahn had nothing to smile about after Thursday night's draft.

The 2009 NBA draft may not have been as interesting as some expected, but there were certainly some head scratchers. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly of draft night.

The biggest loser

Minnesota T-Wolves – New team president David Kahn spent the days leading up to the draft running his mouth, then promptly dropped the ball. The selection of Ricky Rubio made sense, but using the ensuing pick on Jonny Flynn didn’t. The news that Rubio wants out makes this deal look a bit better. Then Ty Lawson came along and the Wolves nabbed him too.

Kevin Love on Twitter: “What are we doing????? We better trade. I don’t even know.”

Lawson was traded to Denver, making the Wolves look a bit smarter. Wayne Ellington was the final first round pick and could end up being a very good NBA player.

In the end, there is a strong possibility only two of the six players drafted by Minnesota will ever suit up for the club – those players being Flynn and Ellington. Lawson and Nick Calathes were traded, Rubio probably will be dealt, and some guy named Henk Norel won’t be in the lineup next year. Kevin McHale could have done better.

The biggest winner

New York Knicks – The selection of Jordan Hill drew boos from the crowd, but he is a perfect fit in D’Antoni’s system. The Knicks resisted the temptation of Jrue Holiday, Brandon Jennings, and Ty Lawson to take a big who can score. Hill’s presence allows the New York to shop David Lee to clear up space for the potential contract of one LeBron James. The Knicks acquired G Toney Douglas from the Lakers, providing stability and toughness in the backcourt. He isn’t a true point, but he is probably better than Chris Duhon right now. Douglas is very underrated and should have a nice NBA career.

Biggest drop

DeJuan Blair, Chase Budinger and Jack McClinton – Blair was projected to go anywhere between 13-20 in almost all mock drafts I saw. He promptly lasted until the No. 37, ending up in San Antonio. Concerns about Blair’s lack of ACL’s may have had something to do with his drop. Watch him be better than Tyler Hansbrough, Taj Gibson, Jeff Pendergraph, and certainly Dante Cunningham.

Budinger and McClinton were considered late first-early second round prospects. Budinger is soft and tends to drift, so he drifted all way to No. 44. McClinton is a specialist – a pure shooter with few point guards skills at 6’1″. McClinton and Blair fit in well with the Spurs.

Biggest rise

Brandon Jennings, Tyler Hansbrough – Jennings was expected to fall into the 20′s, but the Bucks took him at No. 10 despite concerns of immaturity. Scott Skiles will be very, very angry next season.

The Pacers added another white player to the roster, taking Hansbrough at No. 13. Productivity in college doesn’t always translate to productivity in the NBA – 13 is much, much too high.

Strangest moment

Brandon Jennings bolted the green room after watching his stock plummet. The Bucks passed on Jrue Holiday and nabbed Jennings at No. 1 – come back Brandon! In a nice and somewhat odd gesture, Stern let Jennings come on stage after announcing the Earl Clark selection since Clark wasn’t in attendance. Jennings appeared, blew kisses to the crowd, and looked tiny in his giant suit.

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Posted in 2009 NBA Draft, Features, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, New York Knicks, Nightly Round-Up, indiana pacers

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Report: Rubio may stay in Spain

Posted on June 26, 2009 by epohnl| Leave a comment
Rubio might not be headed to the NBA just yet.

Rubio might not be headed to the NBA just yet.

Minnesota’s once puzzling selection of back-to-back point guards is starting to make sense.  News today that Ricky Rubio might spend another season or two in Spain.

The Spanish sports site Marca.com is reporting Rubio plans to talk to Minnesota’s brass about his future, possibly to request a trade to a bigger market – i.e. New York.

Minnesota will still get a backcourt out of the draft even if it loses Rubio, but has to be disappointed in what is unfolding.  The T-Wolves wanted to make a big splash in the draft – this is more of a small patter.

I’ve had just about enough of this kid and his family already.  He had better worth all of this hype.

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Posted in 2009 NBA Draft, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, News, Nightly Round-Up

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T-Wolves acquire No. 5 pick from Wizards in exchange for Foye, Miller

Posted on June 23, 2009 by epohnl| Leave a comment
Foye and Mike Miller are headed to D.C.

Foye and Mike Miller are headed to D.C.

David Kahn promised the Timberwolves would make a splash in the 2009 NBA draft when he was named the team’s president of basketball operations in May. It looks like he is going to live up to his bold statement.

The ‘Wolves shipped former lottery pick Randy Foye and veteran G/F Mike Miller to the Wizards in exchange for the No. 5 pick, F/C and aspiring poet Etan Thomas, F Oleksiy Pecherov, and journeyman Darius Songaila. The deal isn’t official as of yet, but should be completed by Wednesday.

The trade doesn’t seem to make much sense for the Wizards on the surface. But with the team struggling financially, this could be the first move to get younger and unload salary. Veterans Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Gilbert Arenas could be on the move this summer.

The Timberwolves now control the Nos. 5 and 6 picks in the draft and has a total of four first round picks. Tyreke Evans will almost certainly be one of the players selected, with Stephen Curry, Jonny Flynn, and even possibly Brandon Jennings also in the mix.

Minnesota could also look at DeMar DeRozan if it decides to give up on Corey Brewer, who is recovering from a knee injury.

Kevin McHale may soon be only a distant memory in the Twin Cities.

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Posted in 2009 NBA Finals, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Trades, News, Rumors, Washington Wizards

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