Wolves make it 3 in a row

Wolves Streaking...kind of

Last night the Wolves knocked off the Grizzlies 94-87. Mayo got the better of Kevin Love again but like last Monday the Wolves came away with the W. This win gives the Wolves their biggest win streak of the season. Three wins in a row typically isn't anything to brag about even if your just playing pick-up ball at the YMCA. However, I have to give the Wolves a little credit, they aren't doing everything wrong. Moving Foye to the two guard has really improved his play. Although it does make it official that this guy is never going to be a point guard in this league which was Michale's vision for Foye when we got him for Brandon Roy.

Foye is averaging 18.8 points per game in the 8 games the Wolves have played since moving him to the two guard. Foye has also shot over 50 percent from the field in 7 of the 8 games since being moved to shooting guard including 46 percent from three point range. Seeing Foye playing good basketball eases a lot of the pain Wolves fans have every time we see Brandon Roy drop 52, hit a game-winner, or participate in an all-star game.

Changing Foye's role to a scorer rather than a setup guy along with the sudden ease of our schedule has allowed the Wolves to slap this little three game win streak together. The combined record of the Wolves opponents during this streak is 36-70 and the schedule isn't getting much tougher with games against the Thunder and Bucks. The Wolves really aren't in any position to be picky about who they get their wins against with their 9-25 record. Even with the Wolves playing a soft part of their schedule, it's good to see this team actually winning games. Early in the year the Wolves couldn't salvage wins against the leagues worst with losses to the Thunder and Clippers. The bad news about this streak is the Wolves now have the 5th worst record in the NBA. Come lottery time Wolves fans would ideally like to be one of the league's 3 worst teams especially with the team's history of bad luck on lottery night.

McCants DNP

What is the story with Rashad McCants? He has DNP's in 2 straight games and the game before that against the Warriors he got the hook early only playing 6 minutes. It's unclear what McCants did to get in McHale's doghouse but rumors are starting to spread. One rumor going around is Rashad went to Vegas to party with his girlfriend Khloe Kardashian on New Year's Eve. McHale might not have approved of this decision by Rashad and decided to relegate him to the bench. This benching has unique timing to it. Sitting McCants during one of the easier patches of their schedule allows the Wolves to win games without McCants and send a message to him that this team can win without him. Rashad has never been a coaches favorite dating back to his days at North Carolina. He never got along with Randy Whitman and it appears hes torched his bridges with Kevin McHale. McCants is running out of chances with this team. He will have to make the most out of his next opportunity with the Wolves because it may be his last.

Fantasy Football

Tis the season and what a damn good one it is. Fantasy football season is back and it couldn't return soon enough. Hopefully everyone got something productive done on Sunday because free time on Sundays coming up will be scarce . If you're anything like me, every Sunday until 2008 is over you will wake up slightly before noon, set your fantasy lineup, watch football for over ten straight hours and then cap off the day by watching sportscenter. If that schedule doesn't sound appealing to you than you must not play fantasy football. If that routine sounds familiar than you are as addicted to fantasy football as I am. I am proud to be addicted to a sport/game that I will never actually score a point, doesn't require any sort of athleticism beyond being a skilled channel changer and will actually make you fatter by playing. I love this game.

Despite doing nothing other than organizing a dream team, there is plenty of skill and maneuvering that goes on within a typical fantasy football league. Here are some tips and my personal top 12 that should help you when you draft your team:

• Draft running backs first. You've probably heard this a million times but there's a reason for it...IT WORKS! Running backs touch the ball the most and they are rare as you go deep into drafts. You can find a solid player in the later rounds at all positions if you draft right.


• Draft a Kicker and a Defense as your last 2 picks no exceptions. Don't waste a pick on a Defense or Kicker in the 7th or 8th round when you could be building depth on your bench which is important in the NFL given all the injuries.


• Understand how your league is drafting. If people are taking QB's early and often hold back and pick a QB later. While everyone is picking QB's you should be able to get RB's or WR's you like. The same theory applies for most positions besides RB's which should take up most of the first round.


• Make your first pick count. You have got to get a solid contributor with your first pick. You can't win your league in the first round but you sure as hell can lose it. Do your research and be prepared as to what players will be available where you draft and have a shortlist of players you think will be available and draft the guy you feel good about.

Top 12 (Since most leagues are 12 deep)

1. LaDainian Tomlinson - easiest pick in the draft. He stays healthy and is consistent. Not only is he an outstanding runner, he also catches the ball and will even throw you a TD every once in a while.


2. Brian Westbrook - another solid running back who both runs and catches the ball well. He should be the center of the Eagles offense even more so now that Kevin Curtis will be out for a significant amount of time with an injury. Westbrook should only be taken this high if your league values yards.


3. Adrian Peterson - Peterson is a flat out beast and an argument could be made that he could produce the best fantasy season of any player. However, he hasn't played an injury free season at the college or pro level. Add to that the fact Peterson will be facing 8 man fronts until Tarvaris Jackson can show he can stretch the field.


4. Joseph Addai - with Peyton Manning dealing with knee issues it would make sense that Addai would see more touches in that potent Colts offense. He showed last year that he can also receive the ball out of the back field which makes him all the more valuable.


5. Marion Barber - Barber had an excellent season last year and made the Pro Bowl as a backup so having Felix Jones come to town shouldn't affect him too much. He will be in a very good Dallas offense and is as much of a sure thing at RB as you can get after the top 4.


6. Clinton Portis - this is the point in the draft where uncertainty comes in when it comes to RB's. Portis, however, has shown that he can be a very productive RB when he stays healthy. Jason Cambell should continue to improve and open things up for Portis and the running game.


7. Tom Brady - the reason Brady falls to 7 is due to my strong belief that RB's will win you fantasy football championships. He will without a doubt get your team into the playoffs and maybe even win your regular season but when the weather turns cold, as it did last year, the Pats passing game slowed down and cost many Brady owners a title. Brady won't have 50 TD's again but he should be in the high 30's at least and be the #1 QB.


8. Marshawn Lynch - a good young RB that put up solid numbers last year on a bad Bills team. The Bills should still be bad but Lynch should be able to get his. an important note that you may have heard on ESPN about 2nd year RB's, they tend to improve in the 2nd year.


9. Randy Moss - he's a sure thing. He may not be a RB but he will get you a ton of points out of the receiver position. The RB's at this point in the draft could be hit or miss and you don't want to roll the dice with your first round pick. Take Moss and then hope a Ryan Grant or Willis McGahee are available on the way back.


10. Steven Jackson - he has potential to be a top 5 RB. However, he is on a bad team that has a very weak offensive line. Jackson is also coming off a holdout which kept him off the practice field for the majority of training camp. It takes time to get back in the swing of things after a holdout, just ask Larry Johnson owners from last year.


11. Larry Johnson - speaking of LJ, he and Jackson are very similar fantasy players in very similar situations. Both will be on bad teams with bad offensive lines. However, both have shown that they can be very productive fantasy RBs. I give Jackson the nod because I feel the Chiefs will be the NFL's worst team this season.


12. Ryan Grant - Grant has a good offensive line to run behind and when he was the starter for the Packers last season put up some of the best numbers by any RB. If Aaron Rodgers can provide a reliable passing attack I see a solid season from Grant.

Keeping those tips and ranking in mind, you should be able to survive your first round pick and go on to have a solid draft. Best of luck to everyone this season, unless your in my league, and if that's the case I hope all of your RB's get turf toe.

"I started off starvin', now they got me out here Brett Farvin' " - Andre 3000 -

You can put it on the boooooooard.....YES!

Pauly Konerko, big Jim Thome, Carlos Quentin and the Sox now lead the Twinkies by 2 and a half games in the central division. Enjoy it now Sox fans because you won't be atop the division for long. After a 3 game set in Detroit this weekend followed up by a 4 game series at the Humphrey Dome the good guys may be enjoying their last week as a first place team. The Sox are beginning to look more and more like the Sox of old that the Twins have had so much success against in the 2nd half of the season. The Sox have once again turned into a team that relies almost completely on the long ball to produce runs despite having success and even winning a world series when implementing "small ball" in 2005. The Southsiders are also having trouble in the pitching department getting few quality starts. Add to that a struggling bullpen and closer Bobby Jenks being on the DL and there is some serious cause for concern in Chicago. Strong starting pitching and a lights out bullpen were huge in the Sox World Series run in 05. The only starter that has shown consistency on the bump for the Sox has been Mark Buehrle. You would have thought the Sox learned their lesson in 05 that you can't always rely on out slugging the opponent. Here we are 3 years later and the Sox look like the same old Twins whipping boys of the past. The Twins, on the other hand, are looking like the team that unleashed the Piranhas on the world in 06. Players like Alexi Casilla and Denard Span have come up from Triple A and given the Twins a spark. So although the Twins just got swept by the Yankees, all is not lost. There is plenty of season left and this will be a huge 7 game stretch for the Twins that could ultimately position them for a playoff run.



Sign Twins fans should be worried: The Twins over the last few weeks have shown that they struggle against playoff caliber teams. The team really struggled on the east coast getting swept by New York and Boston. The Twins record against possible playoff teams the Angels, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox and Rays is a combined 11-20 and most importantly 4-7 against the White Sox. So should the Twins make the playoffs the expectations need to be realistic. But hey, this was supposed to be our rebuilding year and to make the playoffs should be considered a hell of a season.



Sign Twins fans should be optimistic: The Twins have plenty of chances to surpass the White Sox with 7 games left with the southsiders, all of which are home games. Also, the Twins should have Francisco Liriano back in the rotation soon. If Liriano can return anywhere close to old form the Twins should get a huge boost and will likely be able to pass the Sox.



Links



Possibly the most infamous moment in WNBA history. Even the brawls in the WNBA aren't as good as the men http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3501154&categoryId=2378529&n8pe6c=2



Rashad McCants getting his balls broken by some nerd at the Gamespot C List Celebrity Party http://youtube.com/watch?v=K3YPcvSU7sk



And you thought Twins commercials were bad http://youtube.com/watch?v=0AJEXpEdCNA

Here's Hawk Harrelson at his finest http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200807233182512&c_id=cws

here's another gem http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200807233182512&c_id=cws

One of the many reasons Chris Paul should be starting for the Olympic Team http://www.timberwolvestoday.com/visual/jkidd.JPG

Awkward moment on Baseball Tonight http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qrlp_8tXxes

I'm sure most people have seen this classic Chris Berman rant, but in case you missed it http://youtube.com/watch?v=3TLG_LtWhj4



"Pitchin' yayo like Dontrelle Willis, we the trillest." Bun B

All-Star Game, Kevin Love

Of all the All-star games, baseball seems to be the only game that is taken seriously. The Pro Bowl takes place in Hawaii after the season is over so it serves as more of a vacation than a serious football game. An And-1 mixtape usually breaks out in the NBA All-star game until the 4th quarter, and even then the game is only played seriously if it happens to be close. The MLB All-star game is hands down the most seriously taken of all the All-star games. Then why is it that the mid-summer classic always ends up being the biggest joke of them all?

Every year I get excited to watch the baseball All-star game, especially if there are multiple Twins players playing in the game and every year I get turned off before the game even starts. MLB always has to have a big history lesson before every All-star game. We know who the legends of the game are. We don't need to be reminded who Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Yogi Berra are. Yet every year Fox and Major League Baseball try to honor the legends of the game and it always ends up being awkward and boring as hell. I was ready to watch this game at 7 o clock when it was supposed to start. 45 minutes and countless amounts of man-on-man hugs later, the game finally started. They put us asleep for 45 minutes and then expect us to wait up and watch a 5 hour game? Ridiculous!

The game itself, once it finally started was actually horrible boring. The game was uninteresting from innings 1-6 and then from 12-15. There were a lot of 1-2-3 innings and a lot of pitchers used. There were not a lot of hits or exciting plays. The only thing that kept me watching were the awkward but hilarious comments made by Tim McCarver every time he opened his mouth. My favorite occurred after a hung curve ball by Justin Duchscherer that was hammered for a base hit by Hanley Ramirez. Carver responded with "that was unquestionably the worst pitch so far in this ball game." McCarver carried me through the first 6 innings. The game got interesting after JD Drew tied it up with his 2-run HR. It looked like once again the NL was going to blow another All-star game. The AL seemed in control being able to give the ball to Papelbon, Rodriguez, and Rivera. When Papelbon entered the game in the 8th, home field advantage seemed to be the last thing on the minds of Yankee fans at the game. They let Papelbon hear it when he struggled chanting "Rivera! Rivera!" Papelbon clearly didn't have his best stuff but did a good job of damage control only giving up a sack fly to Adrian Gonzalez. In the bottom half of the inning Evan Longoria tied the game up with a ground-rule double scoring Grady Sizemore who stole a crucial base to be able to tie the game at 3. The 9th was also an interesting inning as Mariano Rivera was able to avoid giving the lead back to the NL. The 10th and 11th innings were also exciting to watch as Aaron Cook and Joakim Soria were able to somehow keep the game scoreless despite allowing tons of base runners. After the 11th, it was all downhill after that. The game became long and drawn out. The match-ups became dull. Nobody is dying to see George Sherrill face off with Adrian Gonzalez. When you see teams choke terribly inning after inning with RISP it starts to wear on you. Add that to the fact that this game was approaching the 5 hour mark and the mentions of a tie began to surface. It looked like a repeat of the Milwaukee game. Every seemed to want this thing to end. Nobody wanted to play, nobody wanted to manage, nobody wanted to commentate. It became a nightmare in a hurry. When it was all said and done, the AL made the NL its bitch for the 12th straight year. Too bad that many of the hall-of-famers honored before the game most likely weren't able to stay awake to see the end of this baby.

Other thoughts on the game

• The honoring of the hall-of-famers before the game came off as very homosexual. Tons of male on male hugs being dished out. To top it off George Steinbrenner was carted on to the field and was greeted with kisses from the Yankee hall-of-famers. Could this little celebration been any weirder?



• There seemed to be a ton of missed tags in this game. Very unusual but it appeared the throw by Ichiro was a blow tag, the McClouth throw to Martin was a poor tag, as well as the tag Miguel Tejada put on Ian Kinsler, it appeared Tejada completely missed Kinsler. All of these calls were blown.



• The MVP of this game should have been the fans of New York. Not because I like New York fans, but because you would have to be insane to sit through this entire game. I was getting uncomfortable watching this thing from my couch. I can't imagine what it would be like sitting in bleacher seats.



• Could Dan Uggla have had a worse game? He did his best Chuck Knoblach impression while at Yankee Stadium. Throw in an 0-4 with 3 strikeouts and a double play and you have the unanimous least valuable player of this game.

Kevin Love

The Wolves lost to the Lakers tonight 95-93. Wins and losses in Summer League mean nothing. Actually, come to think of it, pretty much everything in summer league means nothing. The only thing Wolves fans should be concerned with is the play of Kevin Love, Corey Brewer, Chris Richard, and Rodney Carney. Here are some thoughts on how these guys are doing:

Kevin Love - In his debut Love posted a nice debut with 18 points and 13 rebounds. He followed that up in his next game with a 18 point 17 rebound performance. What can we make of this? There is no doubt in my mind that Kevin Love with be a force on the glass in the NBA for years to come. The way he attacks the offensive glass should make Wolves fans very excited. Al Jefferson was one of the best offensive rebounders in the NBA last year and with him and Kevin Love the Wolves should be able to dominate opponents on the glass. An offensive rebound is often the best way to get opponents in foul trouble as well as a perfect time to put up a 3 pointer. I expect Mike Miller to get a lot of open looks from 3 due to the great offensive rebounding I expect from the Wolves. Love has also displayed very solid post moves. His jump hook has been very impressive and his face up game has been solid when he stays within his range. He does not posses NBA range at this point. Love's passing has also been as good as advertised. In the Wolves first game he had 2 horrible outlet passes but he also hit Corey Brewer in stride twice resulting in Brewer getting a lay up and 2 free throws. Some problems Love has been having were the very problems that were expected when the Wolves drafted him. His lack of height has resulted in him getting his shot blocked many times per game. However, Love has extraordinary hands and is usually able to recover his blocked shot and either make a put back or get to the foul line. He plays below the rim which is a concern for a player who is expected to play on the frontline of an NBA team. The biggest concern is Love's defense. He has been horrible on pick and roll defense not being able to move his feet and show help on the screens. His lack of lateral quickness has resulted in the foul trouble he's found himself in. He will compete with Rashad McCants for worst defensive player on the Wolves. The reason Love won't be able to dethrone McCants from this honor is the fact that he is interested in playing defense. He seems to be willing and eager to improve his defense. McCants will always be thinking about the next shot and has no interest of playing any kind of defense. After two games I like Love's prospects with the Wolves.

Corey Brewer - Brewer had a horrendous opening game in the Summer League going 5-18 shooting for 11 points. He was really forcing the issue in this game which is very out of character for Brewer. He is not known for his offense so he is in an unusual position playing on this team and most likely feels the need to score. In game two Brewer settled down going 7-10 for 19 points. Many of his points resulted in fast break situations and Kevin Love outlet passes. I like the fact that he immediately stopped forcing the issue on offense after just one game. He focused on being a play-maker instead of a shot taker which fits his game better.

Chris Richard - No one has looked worse in the entire summer league. Richard had a mediocre first game with 4 points and 7 rebounds and in game two he was dominated by none other then Lorenzo Mata-Real. He has no real offensive skills, he is undersized, and really doesn't play with a lot of energy. These 3 traits add up to a brief NBA career. He's actually lucky to have a career because he wouldn't be on any other team besides the Timberwolves.

Rodney Carney - Carney is sidelined with an injury and it is uncertain if he will play at all in Vegas.

Favre, Liriano,Summer League

As Brett Favre cried like a little girl during his retirement speech earlier this year, all I could do was laugh. I know what your thinking, what kind of sick bastard would laugh at a moment like that? A legendary quarterback is finally saying goodbye forever to the game he loved and you sit there and laugh? Well, #1 I'm a Vikings fan and #2, if you believed for any second that Brett Favre was going to stay retired you are a MORON! How many years in a row have we gone through this same BS? He's going to play this year and when he retires this summer, I hope you don't believe when he tells you that he's retiring. As a Vikings fan I'm hoping he has another press conference announcing yet another retirement. Who's going to take that seriously? That would be the biggest joke of all time besides Favre's Wrangler Jeans commercials.

Now that Favre has asked for his unconditional release from the Packers the speculation will begin about where Favre may end up. The Vikings are already a popular choice. Vikings fans must make their voices heard. We want no part of Favre. True, he is probably everything the Vikings would need to reach and possibly win a Super Bowl. Vikings fans, let's not forget who our enemies are. For years and years we've hated everything about Brett Favre. He has led the Packers to more wins over the Vikings than I want to even think about. So in the event we do acquire Favre, why should Vikings fans be asked to embrace him as our quarterback? The day I cheer for Brett Favre is the day I stop being a Vikings fan. Also, there is no way I could sit through 16 Vikings games listening to the ass-kissing Brett Favre will get from announcers, I don't care if he is on the Vikings, there is nothing more annoying than hearing an announcer compliment Brett Favre and say "That's just Brett Favre being Brett Favre. Does anyone have more fun playing football? What a gunslinger!" Quotes like these will have me watching bowling on Sundays.

Twins Update

The Twins defeated the Tigers tonight 3-2 and are now only 1.5 games behind the White Sox in the Central division. I doubt many Twins fans, if anyone, would have predicted that the Twins would be this close to a division lead at the all-star break. Even with the surprising first half the team has had, fans should expect the Twins to only get stronger as the season continues. One of the reasons for Twins fans to believe a division title is attainable is Francisco Liriano. He appears to be ready to return to the big leagues after pitching 21 and 1/3 scoreless innings for Triple A Rochester. With Livan Hernandez struggling, don't be shocked if Liriano is called up shortly after the all-star break.

Another issue that the Twins may face is the dilemma in right field. Denard Span has played great since Michael Cuddyer was placed on the DL. Would the Twins consider dealing Cuddyer at the trade deadline on July 31st. I wouldn't be surprised if the Twins went ahead and made that move. Span appears to be a player the Twins want in their future and Cuddyer has had a disappointing year, even though much of that is due to injuries. Also, the Twins would be able to unload Cuddyer's 3 year $24 million contract. The Twins might want to add a starter or possibly some bullpen help if they do decide to move Cuddyer.

Summer League

The Wolves will tip off their summer league on Monday against the Dallas Mavs. This will be the team's first of 5 games they will play in Vegas this week. The Wolves roster can be found here, http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/wolves_announce_summer_league_roster_080707.html
Rodney Carney was also added to the roster after he was acquired in the trade with Philadelphia.

What to Watch For

• Nothing, it's fricken summer league. As sad as some of the games are, die hard basketball fans should still be able to enjoy these games. Most of the top picks in the draft are featured in the games as well as some of your favorite forgotten college stars who haven't had much success in the NBA.



• Wolves fans obviously need to keep their eye on Kevin Love. McHale's man-crush will most likely be the go to guy for the team out in Vegas. Love is going to score and get rebounds against anyone in Vegas, but I want to see him fill the stat sheet. He should rack up a decent amount of assists, if his crappy teammates can make shots that is. Love should also be able to block shots against the smaller front lines he will match up against in Vegas. Love's IQ should allow him to have a very successful summer league since many of the players in the summer league failed to make the NBA due to their lack of intelligence on the court.

Sucks to be You...

This is a brief list of guys who are having rough weeks.

• Aaron Rodgers - He thought he was finally going to get the starting job after riding the pine his whole career. Then, as expected, old man Favre came crawling out of his hole looking to add on to his legacy. How can this guy not hate Brett Favre?



• Travis Henry - Henry tested positive for marijuana...again. He will now be forced to serve a year long suspension. Looking for something to do during your time off? Maybe join the Argonauts or take a backpacking trip in Australia. Maybe even stop smoking weed. It's your call.

Links

• Article by ESPN's Jerry Crasnick about what the Twins need to do to stay in the Playoff hunt http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=3479557



• With all the trading of draft picks the Wolves have been doing lately it's easy to forget what picks we have and don't have. Here's a listing of our future draft picks http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/future_draft_pick_breakdown_080709.html



• Just in case you missed it, or just haven't seen it in a while, here is the Brett Favre retirement speech http://youtube.com/watch?v=kACbVGsWN74

Rap Lyric with Random Athlete Mentioned of the Week

I'm not going to lie, I listen to a lot of rap. I don't know about you but whenever I hear a rapper use some random athlete to make a rhyme I just find it hilarious. Here's a gem...

"The most underrated Artist in this whole industry, if rapping was the NBA I'd be Michael Finley."
-Twista-

Apparently Twista feels Michael Finley is underrated. Who Knew?

Love Era Begins

The Kevin Love era began in Minnesota with a great deal of disappointment. The majority of Wolves fans were excited about the possibility of OJ Mayo teaming up with Al Jefferson as the two key building blocks for this franchise. So when people got word in the middle of the night that Mayo had been sent to Memphis in an 8 player trade, those of us that were Mayo fans felt like McHale pulled the rug out from under us. Why would he make this deal in the middle of the night? He had to have known that Mayo was the consensus pick at #3 by Wolves fans. So he decided to pull the trade off in the dead of the night once the draft party was concluded and the fans had headed home. Did he think that if he made this trade late enough in the night we wouldn't notice or wouldn't still be pissed off the next morning? And don't try to tell me that the Grizzlies changed their minds at the last minute and decided put that offer on the table. Whens the last draft night trade that happened at 12:45 eastern time. Gimme a break.

Breaking Down The Trade

We'll just go with straight up Pro's and Con's to evaluate this trade so here it goes:

Pro - The Wolves acquired a great 3 point shooter in Mike Miller, who fills a huge need for the Wolves as a 3 point threat.

Pro - The Marko Jaric days are over!





Pro - The Antoine Walker days are over!

Pro - The Greg Buckner days are over!


Con - The Brian Cardinal era is just beginning.


Pro - There is a good chance that during warm-ups, as well as during halftime, Wolves fans might get treated to a hilarious game of one-on-one between Mark Madsen and Brian Cardinal.


Con - We are the only team in the NBA with 3 white PF's.

Con - The Wolves gave away the best player in this trade, OJ Mayo.


Pro - Kevin Love will have a solid career and be a nice role player for the Wolves.


Con - You don't waste lottery picks on role players.


Pro - The Wolves were able to create cap space for the 2010 off season by dumping Marko and Greg Buckner.


Con - There's little to no chance we will be able to lure Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, or Chris Bosh to MN in 2010.


Con - The Wolves were able to trade down and get the player we wanted. Sounds good right? WRONG! Here's a list of guys we wanted over the years ( Christian Laettner, JR Rider, Donyell Marshall, Williams Avery, Wally Szczerbiak.) We got all those guys we wanted. How did that work out for us?


Con - The Wolves were already an improving team even as the season ended and the Mike Miller and Kevin Love additions will only help the Wolves. However, as Stephen A Smith would say, they won't make us good enough to reach the playoffs but they will make us good enough to miss out on a high lottery choice in next years draft. And unlike the Chicago Bulls, i don't see David Stern fixing the draft when we have a 1.7 % chance of winning.


This deal seems to be fairly even. If you have read reviews of this trade by experts even they are on the fence. Chad ford and John Hollinger from ESPN both think McHale and the Wolves made out in this trade. On the other hand, Yahoo Sports Dan Wetzel along with experts at NBADraft.net have the Wolves as draft day losers. So what can be made of this madness? The answer lies with OJ Mayo. His career will be the deciding factor in determining who wins or loses this trade. However, unlike the Brandon Roy trade for Randy Foye, it will take more time to see which team bettered themselves in this 8 player blockbuster.


Assessing the Rest of the Wolves Draft


The Wolves 31st selection was Nikola Pekovic, a Center from Russia. I really don't know much about this guy except that he was the EURO League player of the year. And from what I've heard, the EURO League is actually a step above college basketball. He was said to be a certain first round pick had he not just inked a lucrative 3 year deal with his team in Europe. He is said to be an aggressive center with a mean streak. Everything that I've heard about this guy sounds good except for that fact that we will most likely have to wait 3 years before he plays a regular season game with the Wolves. He is rumored to be playing on the Wolves summer league team so I am anxious to see his game for the first time when that league starts in a few weeks.


With the 34th pick the Wolves drafted Mario Chalmers, PG from Kansas. I was loving this pick by the Wolves for about 15 minutes until we traded it to the Miami Heat for 2 future 2nd round picks and a new sweater for McHale. Whether you like the Love trade or not, this is unquestionably the typical huge McHale blunder and it has shocked me that no one is talking about this catastrophe. I feel like Pat Riley got McHale on the phone and said "look Kevin, I took Ricky Davis off your hands to start last season. He came in and ruined a team that won the title just 3 years ago and he was such an A-hole that I had no choice but to give up my coaching duties just to get away from the guy. You gotta' give me Chalmers. It's the least you can do. I'll give ya' two 2nd rounders and also I'll throw in that sweater of mine you like so much."A new sweater was simply too much for the Big Ostrich McHale to turn down. As for Chalmers, he was the 3rd rated PG in this draft and was predicted to go as high as #12 in a recent ESPN mock draft. He slips all the way down to 34 and we just give him away for nothing. The future 2nd round picks we get won't be anywhere near 34th overall. Not after the Heat start rebuilding with Wade, Marion, and Beasley. Chalmers will be a major contributor for the Heat and I expect him to be there starting PG midway through the season at the latest. The only good news that can come out of this blunder by McHale is we have the Heat's first round pick in next years draft, which is lottery protected. I don't envision the Heat missing the playoffs in the East with that nucleus of players. So assuming that happens, the Wolves are looking at potentially 3 first round picks next year, their own, assuming they miss the playoffs otherwise that pick would go to the Clippers, the Heat's pick, and the Celtics pick. I would guess the Wolves selections would be about 10th, 19th, and 29th making the 2009 draft even bigger than this past weeks draft.


Free Agency


Most of the key players on the Wolves are under contract. Ryan Gomes is really the only player the Wolves cannot afford to lose. As of today, the Wolves have extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, and Chris Richard. This means that the Wolves can match any offer to these players by another team. Tough to see teams lining up to offer Chris Richard anything so expect him to stay with the Wolves. Craig Smith has a chance to have a decent offer come his way and if that should happen the Wolves need to let him go. Craig Smith's are a dime a dozen in this league and the Wolves need to make their priority keeping Ryan Gomes.


The Wolves unrestricted free agents are Sebastian Telfair and Kirk Snyder. Nobody would be heartbroken if the Wolves let both of these guys go. The fact of the matter is the Wolves are thin at point guard so bringing back Telfair might be a necessity. Kirk Snyder is a poor man's Corey Brewer, but someone in the Wolves organization has to love Kirk Snyder. The guy started most of the games down the stretch for the Wolves. Who knows if the Wolves will bring him back, trying to predict anything this franchise does is a waste of time.


In the Pioneer Press over the weekend it was reported that the Wolves will have $6 million to spend on a free agent this off season. With the Wolves being thin at PG could Beno Udrih be a possibility? Udrih, the man we cut less than a year ago, went on to have a breakout year for the Kings averaging 12.8 points per game and 4. 3 assists. Another glaring need for the Wolves will be a defender but someone who can also knock down open jump shots. The first name the comes to mind is James Posey who is an unrestricted free agent and coming off an amazing playoff run with the Celtics. He could potentially be a nice fit with the Wolves but is an unlikely choice because Posey would most likely want to play for a playoff team. One would think the Wolves free agent would be someone in the back court. The Wolves roster will be loaded with front court players (Jefferson, Love, Mad Dog, Cardinal, Collins, Smith, Gomes) so a guard seems to be the way to go. Some notable unrestricted free agent guards in the Wolves price range include:


- Matt Barnes
- Jarvis Hayes
- James Jones
- Jannero Pargo
Along with a few familiar faces such as Gerald Green, Sam Cassell, and the one and only Ricky Davis.

The Wolves might be better served to make an offer to a restricted free agent guard. Here is a short list of some possible restricted free agent guards in the Wolves price range.

- Louis Williams
- Daniel Gibson
- Delonte West
- JR Smith
- Kelenna Azubuike


Summer League
The Wolves start the Las Vegas Summer League on July 11th. No official roster has been released yet but some players have been named in the paper such as Drew Neitzel and John Lucas Jr. Here is an estimation of what the roster may look like.


G - Drew Neitzel
G - John Lucas III
F - Corey Brewer
F - Chris Richard
F - Kevin Love
C - Nikola Pekovic
G - Jonte Flowers


Links


Hilarious Timberwolves parody of the NBA, where amazing happens, commercials
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jPlw31lK0N0







Interview of McHale in March, McHale already appears to be in love with UCLA and Kevin Love
http://youtube.com/watch?v=geJsTZmCwck

Kevin McHale: A Sick Mind at Work

June 26, 2008. Minnesota Timberwolves fans will always remember this day. Years from now we will look back on this day and say that was the day we finally turned this car in the right direction. Or, we will look back and see another flat tire on our road to respectability. Many experts believe that the Wolves hold the keys to the draft this year, with the almost certainty that Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley will be drafted 1 and 2. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Can you picture Kevin McHale shaping an entire draft? Well ladies and gentlemen, mostly gentlemen who will probably be reading this, he will have the keys to this draft and he will most definitely be drunk behind the wheel.


What We Know

• 
  As has been reported by several media sources the Wolves have a short list of about 4 players that they like. Those players are OJ Mayo, Kevin Love, Brook Lopez, and Danilo Gallinari.







• It is no secret that Kevin McHale has a huge chubby for Kevin Love.







• The Wolves are also very actively exploring the option of trading down in this draft to add another player to their team while still being able to draft the man they want.

Rumors

• There have been many disturbing rumors circulating around the Wolves going into the draft, but the most disturbing has to be the possible trade between the Wolves and the Bobcats. The Wolves would trade the #3 pick to Charlotte for Adam Morrison and the #9 pick. I'm getting sick just thinking of this possibly becoming a reality. The Wolves thinking in this possible scenario is clear, "we know Love isn't worthy of the #3 pick but we're gonna do whatever it takes to justify drafting him." Kevin McHale has a sick fantasy of Kevin Love making Wes Unseld like outlet passes for years to come in a Minnesota uniform. In fact many people compare Love to Wes Unseld the way he makes those outlet passes. Here's the problem, Unseld wasn't firing those babies against athletes like Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. When Love enters the NBA the league is going to have to start keeping interceptions as a statistic because Kevin Love is going to be a turnover waiting to happen. Another problem I have with drafting Kevin Love is the fact that he plays the same position as our franchise player Al Jefferson. I'm not a fan of drafting based on need especially with the wolves roster which only has one all-star caliber player, that being Jefferson. So Kevin McHale, don't draft a player who plays the same position as the cornerstone of your franchise please. Also, don't try to tell me that Kevin Love is a center in the NBA. That idea is absolutely asinine. The guy is 6 foot 8 without shoes on, can't jump, and is overweight. I mean cmon, this guy is no center. Finally, lets get to the other end of this trade, Adam Morrison. As if drafting Kevin Love was bad enough, the cherry on top in this deal is Adam freakin' Morrison. I'd pay good money to hear McHale explain this one. Why does he feel the need to have two scrawny 6 foot 8 185 pound small forwards (Corey Brewer). Neither one of those two could post up Lisa Leslie and they bench less than Janelle McCarville. At least Brewer is an athlete, two time national champion, and doesn't have the same haircut as Pat Summit. So I'll go with Brewer, he has the chance to be a lockdown defender. Adam Morrison is a ball stopper who can't guard anybody. The Timberwolves already have that position filled with Rashad McCants.







• The Wolves are also believed to be attempting to package their two early 2nd round selections ( #'s 31 and 34) looking to acquire a late first round selection. This idea isn't actually all that crazy depending on who they select. If you look at the players the wolves worked out who are projected to fall in that range it appears the Wolves may be targeting Chris Douglas-Roberts or the French 7 footer Ajinca, although it appears Ajinca's stock is rising as draft day approaches.







• The other rumor that has been floating around in recent weeks is the Wolves possibly being interested in trading their second round picks in 2008 for future 2nd round picks. Nothing in this entire draft would make less sense than if the Wolves pulled the trigger on this. You have picks 31 and 34, that's almost like having 3 first round picks. Why would you trade 2nd round picks that you know will be high choices and risk getting future 2nd round picks that more than likely will be worse than 31 and 34? Most likely its a personnel issue and the wolves really don't have the roster space to add 3 more players. If that's the case than they need to cut a little fat, I'm talking about you Craig Smith.

What the Wolves Should Do on Draft Night

Come Thursday night, after Rose and Beasley are selected, the move that makes the most sense is drafting Mayo. I know the Wolves have Randy Foye and Mccants but the Wolves need a potential All-Star. Take the most talented player. Mayo can play some point, has a great ability to score the ball, and can also defend. I wouldn't be worried about any off court issues. For one, that's USC's problem now, and as a Wolves fan, I'd rather have a talented player who makes the team competitive regardless of what he's been involved with off the court as opposed to the typical wolves first round mistake, which is what we'll probably end up with. As for our 2nd round picks, if Bill Walker is available he has to be selected. He is an NBA ready athlete and his skills have been steadily improving over the last 2 years. He also possesses a killer instinct that will serve him well in the NBA. With our other pick the wolves need to draft the best big man available and hope they get lucky and find a quality player. Al Jefferson needs a center to allow him to play his natural Power Forward position.

If the Wolves discovered something about Mayo during his workout and interview on Saturday and for whatever reason refuse to select him, they must trade down. However, they better get a respectable player in the process. A Hakim Warrick or a Charlie Villanueva would be decent players to add to the Wolves mix if they must trade down. There will be no excuse for drafting Kevin Love or Brook Lopez 3rd.

What the Wolves Will do

With the 3rd pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select OJ Mayo from Southern California!!!! Does that sound good to anybody? Not me, and here's why. Wolves fans cannot relax after we make our selection because there's a damn good chance that the dealing has only begun after we make our pick. I believe the Wolves will draft mayo 3rd initially and then deal him to the highest bidder. The Wolves have had a history of trades like this and we have been on the wrong end of every one of them. We drafted Ray Allen and you all know what happened after that. Brandon Roy ringing any bells? The karma behind this trade will ensure Mayo of being rookie of the year and having many all-star appearances, and if the Wolves are really unlucky he'll probably be MVP someday. In the second round we'll draft a minimum of one Big 10 stiff hoping he becomes the next Craig Smith and with their other pick draft some International player no one has ever heard of.

Who knows what will actually happen on Thursday night. With Kevin McHale making the calls it's any one's guess. The only thing I can guarantee you is that on Friday morning there is a 100% chance that you will be disappointed.