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The NBA season is fast upon us, so its time for the Pick and Scroll to begin previewing each team. We're going to go in order from worst record to best. Yesterday was the New Jersey Nets, and today we move on to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the team with the most made fun of GM in all of sports.
2009-10 Record: 15-67
Additions: Michael Beasley (Trade), Martell Webster (Trade), Nikola Pekovic (FA), Luke Ridnour (FA), Wesley Johnson (Draft), Sebastian Telfair (Trade), Anthony Tolliver (FA), Kosta Koufos (Trade), Lazar Hayward (Draft)
Subtractions: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Ramon Sessions, Damien Wilkins, Ryan Hollins, Oleksiy Pecherov, Sasha Pavlovic, Brian Cardinal, Nathan Jawai
The Timberwolves were certainly one of the busier teams this offseason, overhauling much of their roster from last year. The oft-maligned GM of the Timberwolves, David Kahn, said that he wanted to create a young team that thrived on running in the open court and sharing the ball.
By far the biggest move the Timberwolves did this summer was trading Al Jefferson to Utah. Jefferson was widely considered Minnesota's best player, and just a year before appeared to be well on his way to franchise cornerstone, before a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. A rough start to last season and uncertain chemistry with Kevin Love led to his departure for pennies on the dollar, as he was traded for a couple of middling future first round picks and Kosta Koufos.
The other big move Kahn was criticized for was re-signing Darko Milicic for 4 years and $20 million. Many people (myself included) felt he was bidding against himself and overpaid for Darko, and it didn't help that Kahn went and called Darko one of the best passing big men of all time (he's not in case you're wondering. Just thought I'd mention that in case David reads this. Hi David). He also went and signed veteran Point Guard Luke Ridnour to a 4 year, $16 million deal, which made more sense once Kahn traded away Ramon Sessions.
A bit of an underrated pickup was the acquisition of Michael Beasley. This guy was the #2 pick in the draft just two years ago, and the Wolves got him for cash and 2 future 2nd rounders. For a team in search of a star, that's a low-risk, high-reward trade, as long as Beasley doesn't continue to get high himself.
In the draft the Timberwolves had the 4th pick in the draft and decided to take the safe route, skipping over DeMarcus Cousins in favor of 23 year old Wesley Johnson. Mimicing the previous year, where he picked almost all point guards, he went on to acquire two more Small Forwards in the draft in Lazar Hayward and Martell Webster (Webster via a trade of Luke Babbitt). Johnson looks to be a Small Forward in the Shawn Marion mold with his exceptional rebounding ability for his position, as well as his great athleticism. He's also a much better shooter than Marion, and he's touted to be a good defender, although Syracuse's zone doesn't allow for much time to show off those skills, and an injury caused him to miss most of the Summer League so we didn't get to see him there either. The main drawback is his age, but he could also end up needing much less time to grow into his potential.
If there is one thing the Timberwolves did improve this offseason it was their athleticism and shooting. The Wolves were sorely lacking in the shooting department last year, and players like Webster, Ridnour, Johnson and Hayward can all space the floor. They also got a bit tougher inside defensively. Jefferson, despite his skill, was a poor defender. Pekovic, a former draft pick the Wolves signed this summer, is much better defensively.
Still, in losing Jefferson, this team lost a player it can simply dump the ball into for points. Kevin Love is a fantastic player, and one of my favorite young big men in the league, but as excellent as he is, you don't want him trying to carry your offense, you want him to be the perfect supporting player. I suppose this season is an experiment to see if a player like Beasley or Johnson can become that go-to guy, and with all the youth on the roster I can see them getting the chance to try.
I think this years version of the Wolves will be more exciting for Minnesota fans to watch than last years group, but I don't think they'll do much better in terms of record. In fact I think they're going to be fighting for the worst record in the league. This is a team that is wisely looking to the future, and with another top 4 draft pick next year, and the hopeful addition of Ricky Rubio in a year or two (I'm leaning towards him coming in two years, to avoid the rookie scale, which would probably be best, as he's not currently NBA ready) this team could have a bright future. But I'm afraid the present will be slightly more gloomy.
Projected Win Range: 15-25
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