Re: 30 teams in 30 days - Timberwolves
Finally, the Timberwolves walked away from the NBA Draft without egg on
their face. In fact, they look to have a legit candidate for Rookie of
the Year sitting in their backcourt in Randy Foye, and that has to make
Kevin Garnett smile.
I've never been a big fan of the moves that the Timberwolves have made
as an organization since acquiring Kevin Garnett, but I can find little
fault with what they've done this off-season. Coming off of two years
outside of the playoffs, the Wolves nabbed themselves a very strong
backcourt in Foye and Mike James.
James is like a poor-man's Sam Cassell in a lot of ways in that he can
hit shots and keep a team's offense chugging when the rest of the team
bogs down. Of course, at times that offense bogs down because James has
taken over the offense, but that's an issue for the coach to keep under
control. Ultimately, Mike James could do a lot to help take some of the
scoring burden off of Garnett and open up the floor for him to maneuver
like Cassell and Sprewell did in the only year Garnett saw the other side
of the first round.
Foye is the x-factor here, though. He has a very strong all-around game
that he showed off this summer at the Vegas Summer League and if coach
Dwayne Casey feels he's ready, he could easily become the 2 in the 1-2 punch
of Minnesota's offense. He can slash, he can shoot, he can pass and he
can run the floor. This guy could be something truly special for the
Timberwolves, and it only helps that he'll be playing the off-guard and
he won't have the responsibility of running the point because of Mike James'
acquisition.
So what's left now is finding out where the remaining Timberwolves fit
into this picture. Ricky Davis had probably his best professional season
coming off of the bench in Boston, and it says here that a similar role
in Minnesota would do wonders both for his game and for the team. He is
an explosive scorer who at times needs to be reigned in because he
doesn't have the highest basketball I.Q. Bringing him off the bench
allows him to be the main focus of the offense on the second unit while
at the same
time allowing Casey to keep him on a tight leash if he should deviate
too much from the team's game plan. If he's willing, he could easily nab
the league's Sixth Man award, but he has to commit to the job like he did
in Boston, and really there is no reason to expect he won't. He's matured
a lot since his days in Charlotte and Cleveland and his game is ideally
suited to igniting a team's offense from the bench.
The other important cog in this puzzle is centre Mark Blount. He's another
one of those centres who was awarded a fat contract after a good year and
has yet to live up to it. No one is expecting him to all of a sudden turn
into Bill Russell, but he has to take some of the pressure off of Garnett
on the glass, because right now Garnett is wearing himself out trying to
do everything for this team, and Blount's 4.8 boards a game last season
just doesn't cut it. Garnett isn't a kid anymore, he's 30, and his
all-out style of play is going to start catching up to him. It's up to
players like Blount and forward Mark Madsen to do some of that dirty work
so Garnett can focus on leading this team more efficiently during his
40 minutes on the court per night.
The bottom line is that this team still has the depth issues they've
always had because of Garnett's massive contract, and it'll probably
keep them out of the playoffs for another year with the improvement
around the Conference. What this team is doing is giving it one last
go with Garnett at the helm because to think that the best they could've
done with a talent like Garnett is one Championship run is laughable.
They've got a decent core rounded out, now it's up to the Wolves' brass
to flesh it out quickly before Garnett demands to be relocated to a
team more able to surround him with talent.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
PG - Mike James
He had a very up and down year with Toronto last season, despite his
career numbers. He grew increasingly unrealistic with what he felt his
role was on the team and it ultimately cost him what should've been a
bigger payday than what he got. Fortunately for the Wolves Garnett is
a much more vocal leader than Chris Bosh is in Toronto, and James will
be put in line a lot faster if he starts milking the clock looking for
his own shot. James got a chance to show how much talent he has last year,
now it's up to him what he wants to do with it.
SG - Randy Foye
There isn't a rookie I'm more excited to watch this year than Foye.
Absurd comparisons to Dwyane Wade aside, Foye found himself in the
perfect situation with a team that needs him to perform but doesn't
need him to take over. His explosiveness will do wonders for this
often-stagnant club, and should help put some excitement back on this
team that often looked bored to tears to be playing basketball last year.
How quickly he comes on will do a lot to determine how satisfied Garnett
will be with the team's moves this summer, but if he does decide it
wasn't enough, at least they'll still have Foye to fall back on.
SF - Trenton Hassell
When the Timberwolves were trying to execute a sign-and-trade to land
Mike James without cutting into the luxury tax, they offered up any
player on their roster to the Raptors except Garnett, Foye and Hassell.
That should shed some light onto how highly they regard Trenton Hassell.
He is a glue-guy for this team, playing excellent perimeter defense and
knocking down open shots, he doesn't do anything spectacular except play
his game to the best of his abilities. He might not be as flashy as
Ricky Davis, but he's far more dependable and that should keep him rooted
in the starting five for the foreseeable future.
PF - Kevin Garnett
By his own admission the clock is ticking on his time in Minnesota.
He's not getting any younger and he has given everything he has to
this team and he feels they have not returned the favor (of course it
isn't like his contract is helping matters much, but you don't hear him
bring that up too often). All in all Garnett is irreplaceable and they
are going to do whatever they can to make him happy until the day he
says "trade me". He can score, rebound, pass, run, jump, defend, pretty
much do anything a basketball player is capable of doing, including
being 7'0" tall, but he can't elevate his team to win. He's just not
that type of player, and so it's up the Wolves' management to satisfy
his cravings before he decides he's done waiting and asks to be traded.
C - Mark Blount
Okay, let's face it; he's really not that good. He's probably not even
as good as Michael Olowokandi, the much-maligned centre he's replacing,
but he's all they've got, so this is what they have to work with.
How do you coax a performance out of him like the one he had in 03-04?
Who knows, but the Wolves will have to try something because they are
going to need a solid year from Blount if they hope to make any noise
in the West without killing Garnett in the process.
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09/20 19:51, , 1F
09/20 19:51, 1F
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