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Summer League: Wolves 91, D-League Select 96 E-mail
Written by SG   
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 01:01
The NBA D-League Select, the NBA Development League’s entry into the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA SPORTS, defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 96-91 in the first game of the fourth day of action on the campus of University of Nevada-Las Vegas...

The NBA D-League Select dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Timberwolves 30-10 in the period.




– Wayne Ellington quit trying to do too much, as he had in Sunday’s opener, and did much more by trying to do less. He show a nice chemistry with Jonny Flynn, finding open spaces off Flynn’s penetration. He made eight of 13 shots (including seven of his first nine, I believe), went 4-for-7 from three-point range and scored 22 points after Sunday’s 2-for-12, 4-point debut.

– It sure will be interesting to see what Flynn can do in the pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop games with Al and Kevin Love. He certainly is quick, strong and today showed excellent vision finding teammates not nearly, of course, as talented as those  he’ll be playing with come October.

He followed Sunday’s 7-assist, 7-turnover game with a 14-assist, 6-turnover afternoon today, scored 12 points and shot 4-for-9 from the field.

– David Kahn certainly seems committed to youth and taking additional steps backward before the Wolves go forward. Let’s see what he does with guys with guaranteed contracts like Brian Cardinal and Mark Madsen and instead makes room for young front-court players like Oleksiy Pecherov and perhaps free-agent Rob Kurz.




The summer league exists not only for fringe NBA guys to try and earn a training camp invite, but for rookies to make their mistakes when it doesn't really count. You know, get 'em out of the way.

Jonny Flynn just had one of those moments.

Against the D-League Select -- a group of veterans who fit in that first category -- a series of missed free throws gave Minnesota a shot to tie things up with just under 20 seconds to play. Trailing by three, Flynn got trapped just beyond the right wing, attempted to fire a pass to teammate Rob Kurz, but it was picked off, and two D-Leaguer free throws sealed it up.

Minnesota dropped its second straight contest to open the summer league, but don't let that one mistake erase an otherwise stellar afternoon from Flynn, the sixth overall pick in last month's draft. The Syracuse product had 12 points and 14 assists in the losing effort.

Fellow first-rounder Wayne Ellington led the Wolves with 22, including a 4-of-7 showing from 3-point range.




The Timberwolves Gerald Henderson did not score in 18 minutes in his debut. And if you don't remember Henderson getting drafted by Minnesota, he didn't. He is a loan from the Charlotte Bobcats, who did not field a summer league team. ...

Jonny Flynn scored 11 points with seven assists and seven turnovers.




The Charlotte Bobcats drafted Gerald Henderson last month. So what was the former Duke star doing playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday?

David Kahn, the Wolves' president of basketball operations, said he was doing Bobcats coach Larry Brown a favor.

''Charlotte didn't have a summer league team, and Larry wanted the kid to have a summer league experience," Kahn said. "We're glad to have him with us."




Garret performed well in Minnesota's second game Monday afternoon, though the Timberwolves lost again, 96-91, to the NBA D-League Select.

Garret did not get the start. The team is probably rotating guys around so everyone can get showcased. Garret played just 13 minutes and again put together a solid stat line.

He shot 2-for-3 from the field (two dunks) and 2-for-4 from the line for 6 points. He also added 7 rebounds (second-most boards on team) and a game-high 3 blocks.

Minnesota is now off until Friday, when it plays three days in a row. If Garret can continue to play well, it will just be a matter of time before he's signed by either Atlanta or Miami.




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