Welcome to part 2 of the draft preview. If you missed the first part, click here.

A quick reminder of some of my logic:

1. I hate the Big East with particular vitriol for Georgetown and Syracuse. Thank you “Weak” Wes Johnson and Jonny Flynn. I don’t know why I hate Georgetown, I just do. Not much as these guys though.
2. I am partial to players I have seen. Living in Tempe, AZ, I catch a lot of Pac 12 games in person, hence I probably have an admittedly inflated opinion of some of these guys.
3. Basketball talent is more important than positional fit. Positional fit makes you wind up with Wes Johnson when DeMarcus Cousins is staring you in the face. Conversely, sometimes you’re KAHNNN-vinced that you can play players of a certain position together…and you get Jonny Flynn. One last tip of the hat to Kahn.
4. Certain skills translate well (shooting, rebounding) to the NBA, while others do not. As such I value specific traits highly.
5. This draft sucks. The players suck. I suck. You suck. Kahn sucks. There is just not much to work with aside from 2-3 players like McLemore and Noel.

Now, a few guys I would like the Wolves to target, specifically at 9, but later on as well (in addition to KCP):

Shabazz Muhammad – G/F – UCLA, Fr.

I saw Shabazz once in person and on television often. He’s just a good basketball player. His slightly unconventional play makes him a tough guard. One thing the PAC-12 has had a lot of in recent times are good wing defenders. Guys like Solomon Hill, Carrick Felix, and Andre Roberson can all really get after it defensively. Shabazz never really looked troubled by those players. He has NBA range, he rebounds and gets easy buckets. He played much of the year injured as well after missing the first three games due to questions about his eligibility. Only one game with single-digit scoring. The guy has an elite skill, so I think he will be one of the best players from this weak draft.

Shabazz had roughly 27 more assists for UCLA than I had last year. If he gets the ball you can bet it is going up. Being a chucker is fixable however. He does not have elite size, but he’s big enough. He’s 20 years old. Which is roughly 8 months older than McLemore. It just doesn’t matter…they’re not 23 a la Wes Johnson. As many know his father altered his birth certificate. When he was asked about lying about his age, Shabazz said something along these lines, “I never said I wasn’t 20 years old”. I wonder what birthdays were like at his place. Was his age altered there? Did some of his friends know and others were in the dark? Many questions, few answers.

Verdict: I am a big fan of taking players who were considered truly elite prospects coming into college. You look at guys like Avery Bradley and Lance Stephenson, who while not stars in the NBA are both trending upward. I really think he can be like a poor man’s James Harden, scoring at a similar level but never getting his teammates involved. I think at minimum he is a NBA starter with maybe as much upside as anyone in this class.

Barring Oladipo or McLemore falling into the Wolves laps, Shabazz is a good consolation prize.

Tim Hardaway, Jr. – G – Michigan, Jr.

A fine combination of skills and attitude, Hardaway can be of use in the league. He can be a serviceable catch and shoot 3 point threat, provide depth, and bring an understanding that goes with being the son of a former NBA player. I am a firm believer that the NBA pedigree has a big impact on contributions, especially early on.

He is another player who is just not able to consistently create his own shot. He doesn’t have the strength or athletic ability to work his will. His handle isn’t elite.

Verdict: NBAdraft.net says his comparison is Aaron Afflalo. I think he is at minimum 15% better than Wayne Ellington, who unfortunately he remind me of. Given how he was used in college (spot-up 3 pt shooter, 5 attempts a game), I think that will also aid his transition to the NBA, as I expect that will very much be his role at least early on. Similar to our recent upgrade at GM, I can see him fitting in on the Wolves mainly because almost any player we bring in at the 2 spot is an upgrade from any player we have had over the past 3 years.

Glen Rice, Jr. – G – NBA D-League (Formerly at Georgia Tech, kicked off the team)

GR Jr. has pretty good size for the 2 guard position at 6-6, 211 lbs. Nearly doubled his production in the D-league playoffs, leading the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to the championship. He averaged 25, 9.5 and 4.3 in the playoffs. Yes it is only the D-league, but those guys are pros and to hang big numbers on them must say something, especially in the playoffs. NBAdraft.net says that the final straw of his getting kicked off of the GT squad was allowing a friend to drive his vehicle while impaired, resulting in a DUI for the driver. There were multiple other issues as well. Not the smartest move of course, but it isn’t like he was shipping 4-5lbs of weed to his home address and getting caught like our favorite Vikings WR, Jerome Simpson. Jerome’s quote regarding his subsequent suspension for the incident, “man, that’s the just technicality of my situation”. High (get it?) comedy. Anyway, back to hoops.

Relative to Tim Hardaway Jr, I think Rice has a higher ceiling as he is a more capable individual scorer. However, I do believe that he can definitely be a true knucklehead, and possible distraction. So there is a bit of tradeoff. He’ll never be better than an average defender.

He’s currently 22 years old, so I think physically, you can’t expect a ton growth/development.

Verdict: Player comparison: Morris Almond/Anthony Peeler. Full disclosure; I have no idea who Morris Almond is. I had to enlist my tracking service (Google) to become an informed individual. Looks like he was out of the league in 2010 and then back for a year and then out again. This is concerning to me. Let’s focus on the glory of AP, who I remember chucking crap shots and getting undressed on defense. No matter. AP was a serviceable player for a long time in the league. If you can get Rice any time after pick 20. I think you’ve got a rotation guy, who can get you some scoring and stretch the d a little with his spot shooting.

Worth a 2^nd round flyer:

Jamaal Franklin – G – San Diego State, Jr.

Not to be confused with LaBradford (The parents liked the name Bradford, but thought it could use a little oomph) Franklin, also of SDSU. Best player on his team for 2 years. Doesn’t shoot it super well, but he was relied on for so much on those teams. I presume this dragged his percentages down substantially, so his efficiency suffered. He boards the heck out of the ball, average 9.5 boards from the guard spot (damn, shawty, damn). He also averaged 3.3 assists per game. I just really like what he brings to the table. He’s a solid defender to boot, should be able to guard 3 positions. Good size.

He’s not an elite athlete, but he’s better than most 2’s in this draft. I worry because I don’t see the elite skill that I desire. He does many things well, but I don’t see the saving grace. That’s why I think he’ll go in the 30-40 range, which is very reasonable.

Carrick Felix – G/F – Arizona State – Sr.

I wouldn’t be a proper homer if I didn’t pull for this guy. Carrick has solid size and is a great athlete who tested very well at the combine. The strength of his offensive game is the catch and shoot three which he hits at a very consistent clip. He is a limited ball handler and doesn’t do well creating his own shot. Even in college he was tentative going to the rim, which was odd because he was such a great athlete and could use a pump fake from 3 to open driving lanes. He is a great team player and he is a great defender (should have been Pac 12 defensive player of the year, but he settled for first team). He nearly averaged a double double in conference play and averaged 14.1 ppg and 8.1 rbs overall, while shooting 50% from the field. He hung a monster 16 pt 18 rb game on UCLA toward the end of the season. He might have led the county in blocks where guys thought they had a layup, but he tracked them a la LeBron.

I think his ability to catch and shoot, willingness to defend, and genuine effort will mean he finds a way to carve out a decent career. His athleticism should allow his game to continue to expand, this is especially true if he has a quality PG, like he had his senior year at ASU.

Other worthwhile flyers (in general, not Wolves specific):

Nate Wolters – G – South Dakota State – Sr. – St Cloud, MN product with Steve Nash game (mandatory comparison for tall white point guard).

Ray McCallum – G – Detroit – Jr. – Reminds me of Eric Maynor.

CJ Leslie – F – North Carolina State – Jr. – Another major recruit who didn’t pan out, but has substantial tools.

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Hello again, everyone! It is almost time again for the National Unintentional Comedy Night (also including some intentional comedy). It’s the NBA draft. Whether you’re rooting for ridiculous outfits (a certainty), crazy families and posses (a near certainty), incompetent team management (moment of silence for the departed David Kahn…and now a round of laughter), hilarious interviews with Euros or you’re interested in the next generation of NBA hoopsters, the NBA draft is sure to please.

In anticipation of the draft, and as a self-proclaimed college hoops expert, I am going to breakdown a few players that are in play for the Wolves as well as some others I either like or dislike. First, a few premises:

1. I hate the Big East with particular vitriol for Georgetown and Syracuse. Thank you “Weak” Wes Johnson and Jonny Flynn. I don’t know why I hate Georgetown, I just do. Not much as these guys though.
2. I am partial to players I have seen. Living in Tempe, AZ, I catch a lot of Pac 12 games in person, hence I probably have an admittedly inflated opinion of some of these guys.
3. Basketball talent is more important than positional fit. Positional fit makes you wind up with Wes Johnson when DeMarcus Cousins is staring you in the face. Conversely, sometimes you’re KAHNNN-vinced that you can play players of a certain position together…and you get Jonny Flynn. One last tip of the hat to Kahn.
4. Certain skills translate well (shooting, rebounding) to the NBA, while others do not. As such I value specific traits highly.
5. This draft sucks. The players suck. I suck. You suck. Kahn sucks. There is just not much to work with aside from 2-3 players like McLemore and Noel.

Let’s get started…first a few guys I like (just in general, but I don’t think the Wolves will have a shot at). Also all stats are obtained through statsheet.com.

Ben McLemore – G – Kansas, RS-Fr.

Played on an upperclassmen dominated team, so sometimes he struggled to assert himself, but he was the best player on his team when the mojo was working. Had 11 games of 20+ points with 3 games of 30+, with all but one of these games coming against BCS conference competition. If we was hanging big scoring numbers it was because he was casting threes, where he shot 42% on the year from deep. NBAdraft.net compares him to Ray Allen (high praise). Also 87% from the FT line. Solid, not elite size.

I have some concerns about his ability to create his own shot (mostly catch and shoot from 3), so he will need to be a 2^nd or 3^rd wheel at least to start. More worrying is his sometimes startling tendency to drift out of games. Specifically there was a game KU won in OT and scored 108 points. McLemore played 36 minutes and scored only 7 points. This can be forgiven, but he didn’t contribute much else in terms of rebounds/assists.

Verdict: I think he could have a career along the lines of Joe Johnson as a best case scenario. At minimum he can be a quality shooter off the bench for 10 plus years. Well worth a top 3 pick in this watered down draft. No way he lasts for the Wolves barring a trade (highly unlikely in my esteemed opinion). He would look dandy in wolves duds.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – G – Georgia, So.

A favorite of a certain M. Reynolds, KCP certainly seems to fit the NBA 2-guard bill to me. He languished in obscurity at football powerhouse Georgia, but put up reasonable numbers on a team with few other options. Never scored less than double digits in any game his sophomore year. I think he could score and contribute, but I also think he could be Nick Young. However, he made substantial strides between his freshman and sophomore year which I think indicates physical maturation and work ethic. He improved in every statistical category, sometimes substantially.

I really like rebounding from the guard spot. 7 boards a game is nothing to sneeze at. Similar to McLemore if he finds a team with a good facilitator he will mature quickly and contribute to the cause. Lacking the creator, he might be able to be a scorer from the bench on the second unit. Seems to be the case with many players.

Verdict: NBAdraft.net says his comparison is Kerry Kittles. There is no possible way I can do better than that comparison. Sometimes, you need to know when you’re beaten. Overall, KCP will contribute and possibly be a quality starter for a playoff team. If the wolves were to pounce at 9, I don’t think there can be much for qualms. I think he can play, which is more than can be said for a lot of players in this draft.

Player I dislike

Otto Porter, Jr. – F – Georgetown – So.

GOOD GOD, THAT’S WES JOHNSONS THEME MUSIC!!!!

Ahhhhhh, yes friends. Big East? Check. Player of the Year in conference? Absolutely. Massive failure in NCAAs? Without a doubt! He’s probably receiving more hype than our beloved Wesley did, but he certainly should not be. They’re the same player. They nearly have the same body too (Porter 6-8, 205lbs, Wes 6-7, 205lbs). However, you can spell Otto the same forward and backwards, which you clearly cannot with Wes.

Wes Johnson 2009-10:

Otto Porter 2012-13

Porter lacks elite athleticism and simply cannot create his own shot against a quality defense. He looked completely out of sorts against the legendary Florida Gulf Coast powerhouse as the Hoyas were completely run out of the gym. I am pretty sure not a single one of the FGCU players will be selected at the draft, so it is alarming to me that he was so thoroughly outclassed. NBAdraft.net states he gets a lot of points from long distance 2’s and some threes. If he does not consistently hit NBA threes he will be worthless offensively. He has no post-up game and is only a OK rebounder, minimizing garbage buckets. I think he will be able to guard his position in the NBA, but only at a league average level. He might be able to gather additional value if he can play the small-4 position, where most teams in the league couldn’t truly expose him defensively, but he will never score the ball effectively on a consistent basis.

Verdict: 15% better than Wuss Johnson. He just can’t possibly be worse than Wuss. He is substantially younger and could well put some lbs on his frame, but I just can’t see him doing anything noteworthy. He doesn’t have a discernable elite still. He’s good at most things, but what can he hang his hat on? I am firm believer you need at least one elite skill to be a decent NBA player. I just don’t see it with this guy.

All for now….Will try to crank out a part 2 of this bad boy in the coming days to discuss some more guys I like and a guy or two worth a second round flyer.

On Tuesday evening, the Wolves solidified the inevitable and secured the 9th pick in the draft. As lottery non-winners for the 15th-ish time, this likely came as no surprise to a team that had roughly a 95% chance to not move up. The Cavs won pick #1 again. Life goes on. The only real solace we can gain out of this is not having moved back a spot. So what should the Wolves do at pick #9? The immediate gut instinct is to push for a trade-up, right?  Sorry to burst any bubbles, but it may not even be worth the time to consider the possibility.

Look, as soon as the lottery results are revealed, the fact of the matter is dozens upon dozens of folks, including myself, start spewing out fake trades on how the Wolves could move up in the draft. It is sort like a new "season" of sorts, similar to hunting, fishing or intramural badminton, with the ideas generally becoming more and more preposterous, unlikely, impossible, homerish, or even anti-homerish (such as trading Kevin Love to move up, just wait, someone will come up with the idea) as time goes on. 

Let's think of things this way. Why would the Wolves move up in the draft? I can think of only one player truly worth moving up for that might be an option due to draft positioning: Victor Oladipo. Victor has shot up the draft boards and at the very least is all but guaranteed to be drafted in the top 5. Otto Porter? Perhaps, but he may go even higher than Victory O.  So, let's play a little game. Since 2005 (when I stopped looking or trade records were getting harder to find or decipher from internet 1.0 pages), see if you can take a guess on how many trades have been made  involving a team moving from pick 6-10 into the top 5?

....

Hint: It rhymes with "Euro"

....

Yup, zero times! No team has done it in at least the last eight drafts, and probably more. What we have seen are only two post-lottery transactions involving top 5 picks, coincidentally both involving the Wolves and both being arguably two of the top 3-4 moves in franchise history: Kahn sending Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Wizards for the #5 pick in 2009, and in 2008 the Wolves moving back from 3 to 5 and acquiring Kevin Love for OJ Mayo. Aside from that, there have been a total of zero moves involving top 5 picks after the lottery, and a total of zero moves involving a team moving into the top 5 by packaging an inferior pick with players. 

Why might this be the case? It takes two to tango. The team with the higher pick is usually young, bad, and wants to build its roster with a potential stud/unknown and will only move back if it gets a legitimate stud/star-level veteran in return (unless of course you are the 2009 Wizards, and let's just pretend Flip didn't have a say in that move). The team with the lower pick, in turn, sees value at their poorer position but is unwilling to part with a key rotation player since it was a better team to begin with, perhaps on the cusp of a playoff berth the previous season but plans were derailed for whatever reason (such as your Wolves). This, in turn, is a dreadful matchup in trade and, thus, it almost never works. The only real move-up and move-backs involve picks that were both higher to begin with, among teams completely rebuilding.

Needless to say, it remains exceedingly unlikely we will see the Wolves move up. The slightly more likely (yet still pretty unlikely) scenario would be the Wolves trading some existing players and acquiring a new pick outright, or trading out altogether. We have seen a few of these moves over the years (Rubio, and Ray Allen to Boston for Jeff Green the 5th pick in 2007), but the fact of the matter is outside of Kirilenko the Wolves don't exactly have a good package to put together to make such a move, nor does it fit at all with the current strategy of the front office. And if anyone thinks D-Will is worth a top 5 pick in any draft....well, yeah. Get real.

But let's pretend the Wolves were going to take a crack at altering modern draft history; I mean we have to at least go there right? It's "preposterous fake trade season" after all. The most likely trade partner would probably be the Charlotte Bobcats, currently with the #4 pick. Charlotte is rumored to be open to dealing the pick (as always) despite the fact that Victor Oladipo would be a really good fit for them with Gerald Henderson entering free agency. In order to make a trade worth it with Charlotte, the Wolves would have to offer up two players at the very least in order to make the inevitable occur: acquiring the pick while absorbing the contract of Tyrus Thomas, who has two years and $18 million left on his deal. This would mean the most likely package would be something along the lines of pick #9, Derrick Williams and Greg Stiemsma's non-guaranteed deal in exchange for pick #4 and Tyrus Thomas. And I don't know about you, but I can totally see why neither team would be overly excited about making that trade. 

So, the inevitable remains: the Wolves are more than likely standing pat this draft, as that is simply just what happens with teams in the top 10. Prices are too high for buyers and offers too low for sellers. A spiral that typically ends with a perfectly clean top 10, and a dozen or so trades involving cash and future picks after the lottery. This is why it may make sense for the Wolves to simply go after bench help this draft and round out the shooting guard position through trade and free agency. Or simply trade out of it outright (Arron Afflalo, anyone?!?). We will discuss early draft options at #9 and other offseason stuff next week. 

Until then, enjoy your Memorial Day weekend. 

Thanks to @DoubleDrivel for sending this fitting tribute.

Steve Aschburner reported first. I think.

Still awaiting formal confirmation. This could still all be some kind of sick joke. Who knows at this point. But all signs report to Kahn being ousted as Wolves GM (or, his contract not being renewed), with Flip Saunders signing a 3-year $5 million deal to take the reigns. Some scattered thoughts that will be difficult to write without hiding any elatedness right now:

1. A gutted 1989 Honda Civic would have been an upgrade over David Kahn. This is an addition by subtraction move on the highest of levels. While Flip's return is bound to irk many still haunted by the mediocrity of the KG era, and Taylor's knack for running things to a higher degree than meets the eye,  what we have done here is replace one of the worst NBA executives in league history (not hyperbole) with someone who, at the very least, is a respected, experienced NBA executive who couldn't possibly do any worse even if he tried. And tried very hard. It's like upgrading from Jonny Flynn to someone like...Luke Ridnour. Yeah, we'll go with that analogy. Except if Flynn were even worse. And somehow did far more damage...yeah, bad analogy

2. No one knows how Flip is going to do at this point. No one knows the dynamics between him and Adelman. We can speculate. Usually things with this franchise end poorly. Does it signal the end of the Adelman era? Possibly. Give it time to fester before jumping to "country club" conclusions. But to be fair, I raise caution to the rejoice of firing McHale. When that occurred, we ended up with Kahn, who was worse. Then again, you can't really get much worse than Kahn. 

3. Even if there weren't a replacement, Kahn's departure is a huge morale boost for Wolves fans coming into a pivotal draft where we will have a top 9 pick at the worst, and have to make a big decision on Nikola Pekovic, among other things. Check Twitter. It is amazing to see the response. I mean, you are talking about one of the more detested figures in the history of this town. Exemplary Riddance. 

More to come as this develops. While Flip wouldn't have been my 1st, 2nd, 3rd or even 10th choice,  ridding this FO with the stink of Kahn is a fantastic development at the very least.

31-51. Think about that relative to the stink of a team that meandered onto the court in 2009. More than twice the wins. It still boggles the mind how we all followed a team that won at half of the rate as this season's Wolves. Considering how difficult it was to remain interested in the team these past few months, and how horrendous this season seemed, it has once been far, far worse. Alas, with expectations that rise, when they are not met, apathy strikes at varying degrees. It (hopefully) will not be long before making the playoffs alone becomes inexcusable. Just ask the pre-Sam/Spree Timberwolves. The point is, remember when 30 wins seemed like a godsend? Expectations have risen and apathy strikes yet again. And there is no reason to really blame anyone for it. With this dreadfully-run franchise quadrupling ticket prices for next year, they will have a lot to answer to justify that kind of expenditure from fans moving forward.

But all in all, when you put things into perspective, The Wolves losing their top 2 shooting guards within the first 6 games of the season, Love breaking his hand twice and missing 64 games, the Yahoo interview incident, Rubio missing the first chunk of the season, AK47 and NIkola Pekovic each missing significant time, Coach Adelman missing several weeks for personal matters, Josh Howard and Malcolm Lee tearing ACLs, year 2 of Ridnour as a starting 2, etc., etc., etc. I find it absolutely remarkable and admirable that this team was able to win 31 games, the best non-Garnett season in franchise history. Without our best player in the lineup, while shooting a league-worst clip in 3 point shooting, while battling the above secondary factors. It is very impressive in a conference that is stacked to the brim with quality NBA teams. 

So, rather than recount specific events that transpired throughout the season (injuries, Love f-ed up, Roy flopped, we all know these things), the above summary should suffice for those who either paid attention or did so casually. The burning question remains, where do we go from here? With the news that Adelman is still on the fence about returning, we could face a watershed moment for this franchise. 

1. The Front Office Dynamic.

Despite recent rumblings to the contrary, count me as someone who would be stunned if David Kahn were not re-signed. That would be the most un-Taylor like move imaginable. Despite the fans, city, President of the United States (maybe), players, minority owners and national media imploring Taylor to dispose of this clown, he sticks to his guns and continues to allow the fish to rot from its deformed head. This guy is exponentially worse than McHale and every day he is in the front office, the odds of the Wolves EVER making the playoffs again dwindle. He needed to go the second he drafted Jonny Flynn over Stephen Curry, a move that still stings and irks anyone who has attempted to follow this team over the past four seasons. However, Taylor has surprised in the oddest of times before, but I wouldn't get any hopes up.

This brings us to Adelman. What a bloody warlock. 31 wins despite what went down. It still hasn't registered fully with many fans how remarkable this is. Sure, he doesn't play Chris Johnson. Sure, he doesn't change his starting lineup even when things continue to fail. But this guy got this team to play their butts off for most of the season. Let us hope that Rick is back next season to lead a healthy version of this team. Gut opinion? Adelman returns.

2. Nikola Pekovic

It is absolutely pivotal to re-sign him. 60 games of Pek is immeasurably better than 82 games of the alternative. The difference between 10 and 12 million per year is arbitrary on an annual basis. Who cares? We as fans shouldn't give two flying Oliver Millers. Get him locked in. He is absolutely fundamental to what the Wolves are trying to do as they compete in the ridiculous Western Conference, and imagining a season without his interior scoring and offensive rebounding is not pretty. Talent costs money. When you have a gem, polish it. Keep it. Don't sell it to a pawn shop or let another person reap the rewards. Keep your gems. Pek is a gem. 

3. The Draft

As of now the Wolves will hold the 9th slot barring a lotto miracle. For once, I would like to see this franchise value its draft picks. I know adding another rookie to the regular rotation isn't supremely ideal, but for the Wolves to ever advance far into the playoffs long-term, another home run must be hit in the draft. The team without the addition of an unknown prospect is likely close to reaching its ceiling talent-wise. Sure, Rubio will get better, but until he can hit a shot consistently, well...I won't go there right now. Trade Derrick Williams and our #25 to get into a position to get the player you want if you have to. It may sound like a lot to give up, but such a move would not be regretted if we landed someone like Victor Oladipo, et. al. Value the picks. Get the best possible shooting guard you can get your hands on, and reap the rewards. Tanking is for schmucks, Pistons, Blazers and Bobcats. While the recent news that many quality draft prospects are going back school stings for a team picking 9th, getting a pick in the top 10 is suitable compensation for an under-whelming season. There are ALWAYS good players to be had no matter how "weak" drafts are. 

4. Misc.

As of now, I’d rather not begin to speculate on free agency/trades until we are out of Front Office purgatory and the draft is completed. So much could change or stay the same over the next month or two. With Adelman gone, it could influence Budinger's status. Kahn leaving could change things (such as ticket sales). Whether we decide to actually re-sign Pek could have a huge impact on who we draft, etc. So many variables. The Wolves will have a few logjams to clear out. Derrick Williams will probably have to go. Luke or JJ will have to go. Maybe even Shved (who had a miserable final two months of the year while displaying an on-court demeanor rivaled only by Darko Milicic), will be moved if the rotation becomes too blogged. The team obviously needs to add a couple of three-point shooters. We can discuss those possibilities when the time is right. 

For now, we have several excellent playoff series to enjoy. The West matchups are sterling in entertainment value. The East...well...wake me up when Miami is 12-0 going into the finals. Forget about the Wolves for a bit and enjoy playoff basketball. There will be plenty that goes on this summer, but each decision will have a profound butterfly-effect on the rest of the offseason and next year. It all starts with the lottery and any news on the FO we hear before then. 

Rubio, after being mauled by Kobe Bryant on a non-call that would have netted JJ Barea a 30-game suspension if the roles were reversed

Too bad so sad. It is becoming increasingly difficult to exhibit anything but the highest degrees of apathy towards this team right now. About the only thing worthwhile remains watching Ricky Rubio give everything he has night in and night out. The Wolves are generally remaining competitive in games and with Chase Budinger back in the lineup, you can begin to see glimpses of the team that never was.

One positive thing: Chase Budinger is great. Quick, surprisingly decent handles, athletic, actually not a bad man defender, and can shoot. I was  a fan of the trade to get him at the time and hope we re-sign him. 

Sadly, the Wolves were eliminated from playoff contention last week, not that it was ever really in question. Another draft and offseason await, this time with the flexibility at its bare minimum. Barring a salary shvedding deal or two (here's looking at you, Barea), Kirilenko opting out and bolting, or a from-left-field investment from the minority ownership, the opportunities for the Wolves to make noise in free agency are basically null. It would be surprising to see the Wolves use the midlevel exception given the cash needed to re-sign Pekovic, Budinger, and sign a top draft pick will put the Wolves well above the cap and inches from tax territory. There will be plenty of time to debate the offseason moves when the time comes. 

But I do want to stress one thing as the fake trades begin again in full force: keep the draft pick. Don't trade it. The "win now" approach exploded back in our faces and it is time to err on the cautious side of simply rebooting our Windows XP-based system, making a trade with the pick and trying again. Now, certainly a trade involving a pick could largely depend on the players available, but I would much rather see a pick made for the future of this team. A 2 guard, of which there are many slated in the top of the draft. Someone gifted offensively, for there is no arguement that exists where this isn't the Wolves greatest weakness: shooting and scoring. The teams you see winning year-after-year-after-year were built through  the draft (Miami the exception, but, yeah, Wade). Young players on the cheap. Develop alongside a playoff-level team to mortgage the future. No low-ceiling bigs (unless perhaps Noel is involved). Develop Chris Johnson, instead. No Zeller. No Plumlee (Kahn retort: "but Donnie Walsh likes him!"). No Len. CJ is more than a capable backup center. Get a young 2-guard. The position has haunted the Wolves since 1989. No big contracts or risks. Play it safe.

Meanwhile, watch closely tonight a team that was built exclusively through the draft. Watch them win easily. To be fair, the Wolves were built through the draft themselves (Love and Rubio), but the subsequent failures made by David Kahn have kept this team from reaching its full potential. I would be fine if he never made a Wolves-related decision ever again. I would rather a container of expired toilet bowl cleaner made the decisions (of which, there are many big ones this summer).

Speaking of drafts: to tank or not? Should Love play the last few games? I think he should. While playoffs are out of the picture, it would be somewhat redeeming for me, and hopefully others, to see some of that magic that defined January-February 2012 shine again, even if it is meaningless. Make the guy get back on the floor and earn some of his paycheck after the "knuckle pushups." Now, if this happens and the Wolves miss out on Oladipo/someone awesome as a result, I may come back and delete this sentence if I can still see after the fork shoved in my eye rears it's sterling silver head.

Random question: Should the Wolves draft a two guard and re-sign Chase, what does that mean for Shved?

Apologies for the lack of content on the front page. When all there really is to write are repetitive, filler comments like the above, it becomes difficult to really come up with new and creative things to say. The Wolves' performance has been on this level for most of 2013. Things will pick up during the playoffs (always exciting, although "blah, blah, blah, Heat/Thunder Finals, Heat win again" is the official new formula for the next 2-3 years in the NBA at least) and near the draft, when hopefully excitement will creep back into the forefront, and fan apathy will cease. Maybe Kahn has a few tricks up his sleeve with the Memphis pick (why, hello, cash considerations). Who knows?

In the meantime, we encourage readers to always remain active in the forums on the right side of your page.  

Also, f*ck you Kobe Bryant.

Well team, we apologize for the lack of game previews and content. Like you may expect, it is exceedingly difficult to spend time writing original, non-repetitive content about meaningless games when guys continue to sit out long stretches of games. Perhaps this season will become at least slightly interesting when Love and Chase are back likely later in the month, but until then we should expect more losing and more well-deserved apathy from the fanbase.

The Wolves are far and away the worst team in the NBA right now. With the way this team shoots the basketball, there is no discernible way it can beat a single team in the league unless said team is on its 4th game in 5 nights on the road, gassed, somehow shoots worse than the Wolves, commits more turnovers, fails to score off of Wolves turnovers, can't complete a fast break, misses about half of its free throws, loses the rebounding battle, and doesn't score any 2nd chance points. Think that Houston Rockets game a few weeks ago. This is the only way the Wolves can expect to win. Sad.

BUT, I must say, watching Ricky Rubio on a nightly basis somehow continues to be somewhat worth your time in my opinion (aside from watching him deteriorate mentally). And while the playoffs are long an afterthought, you can see what this team could do with dependable, NBA-level scoring added to its roster. But a key question we need to ask ourselves is, will that ever happen? Kirilenko and Pek have proven throughout their careers to rarely be dependable for consistent health. I said last week that re-signing Pek was an absolute must this summer and I still feel the same way, but I think acknowledging the viewpoint of the front office/some fans, that a player of his durability may not be worth re-signing long term, should be considered a very valid POV. This team needs players who can play 75-82 games per season and have proven as such. Signing players who have a documented injury history is not the way to correct these problems. Signing Brandon Roys and taking risks is not the solution.  Luckily, Love has no chronic problems and his injuries are mostly flukes (hands and concussions), but guess what? Kirilenko will miss 20 games again next year. Pek will miss 20 games next year. With the way this team seems to be prepared physically for games by its training staff, with a repeat roster of this season I am starting to think we will see similar results from a health standpoint next season. Now, with Love back in the lineup, periodic losses like this will be much easier to sustain, but this season has sort of etched this sad point into stone: this team is a fringe playoff team at its maximum potential. And when that is the case, fan expectations rise and that becomes unacceptable very quickly. As I have said in other write-ups: making the playoffs is not hard. More teams do it than do not. Unless you can compete in the playoffs, it is hardly an accomplishment and only brings about negative long-term events with personnel, more fan apathy and a quick trip back to rebuilding unless the team can add more players and grow.

Which is why hitting a home run in the upcoming draft is critical. This will be the Wolves’ only chance to add an impact player with star potential that can help boost our rankings in the standings. Who this player may be is a subject for future posts, but the Wolves will most certainly have a top 5 pick in this draft barring a series of meaningless wins, and there remains several shooting guard prospects who can fill that hole permanently for years to come. Trading away the pick for anything less than a tier 2-3 player would be a massive mistake. Value your picks.

As for tonight's game against Washington, Randy Wittman and Martell Webster return. The Wizards at full health were always going to be a fairly good team and they are starting to prove as much. Don't let their net record fool you, unless the Wolves put together a high-octane eff-you game after the Miami debacle, they will likely fall short again. The team just cannot win going on 4-5 minute stretches without a field goal in games and relying on inconsistent Dante Cunningham elbow jumpers to run an offense. And the only silver lining we can hope for is excellent draft position and a crack at it again with full health and adding players to the roster with a history of being dependable.

Until then, expect more of the same.

Today marks 2nd trade deadline in a row in which Kahn was silent. However, if you observed the kinds of deals that were made, it might become clearer that this wasn't the time where the Wolves were going to make some noise. Disappointing? Sure, of course. The season is over, basically. Whenever Kahn fails to make a forward move, it brings about an immediate (and, frankly, deserved) high quantity of cynical outcry from the fanbase. The Wolves are playing a PG at the 2 spot for the 2nd year in a row, and there seemed to be some deals out there that may have helped the team. But aside from the Houston Rockets adding a top 5 pick for role players and the Suns reuniting the Morris twins, today marked a series of trades that were by and by more about cap savings and teams maximizing the return on players they knew they could not afford to retain in free agency next season; or shopping them and failing to net said return because the asking prices were too humorous for print. In other words, the players available did not fit with the Wolves' payroll, nor the opposite (the exception being Brandon Roy's now wasted expiring deal. We thank Brandon Roy for getting paid $1 million per game of organized sport  and being a resident Arby's/AT&T spokesman so he could have his Moonlight Graham moment. Now please leave).

For a team such as the Wolves, facing 2 players in need of raises (Pek and Chase), the prospect of adding a 3rd player in need of a notable extension that would double or perhaps triple his 2012-2013 salary was not overly appealing. Gerald Henderson and JJ Redick come to mind, here. Again, does this make the fact that a script was almost formulaically written for the Wolves to send Barea to Boston for Courtney Lee any less disappointing? Of course not. Paying customers shouldn't have to suffer through money moves/non-moves and gift wrapped talent being shipped off due to cap rules, and then listen to ridiculous bull&%*@ from ownership that "winning is priority #1." The purpose of this is not to come up with some kind of excuse for management to continue to sit on its hands, or justify/warrant the lack of activity when the needs are so mind-numbingly obvious. It is merely to say that, based on what we saw transpire with other teams (Houston being the usual and obvious exception of course), does it kinda/sorta surprise you that the deadline came and passed with no trade? It really shouldn't. This was the most boring trade deadline since the 2000 deadline that saw only a single deal made. Sebastain Telfair was trending on Twitter today.

The big, burning question mired in speculation and rumor quietly impacting all of this is the fate of Nikola Pekovic. As Zach over at AWAW astutely noted the other day, with a Pek and Chase extension looming, the Wolves are very soon going to find themselves inches from luxury tax territory. Sure, a few moves here and there and getting rid of Luke or Barea will change this quickly, but the incoming future salary commitments are poised to increase the Wolves' total payroll anywhere from $10-16 million over what it currently is today. What the big worry is at this point, is that the Wolves are not going to re-sign Pekovic and will instead make a move to acquire a wildly inferior player to replace him this offseason such as the laughably terrible Timofey Mozgov. And there is no defending his level of awfulness. Please, spare the "well he was good in the Olympics!" talk or the "if he reunites with the Russians he will unlock his powered up version!" No. Just no. Stop. He is awful. Pekovic may get hurt from time to time. He may miss some bunnies. But re-signing him is an absolute must-happen this summer and if a lack of move today helped solidify his future in Minnesota by virtue of salary implications, I am absolutely fine with us not making a panic move for an average shooting guard who likely moves nary a needle for us in the future. As for who that guard will be down the line, I again point to the pool of quality guards slated to go in the top 10 of this draft: McElmore, Mohammed, Smart and Oladipo. Any of these guys would be great additions to the squad. But in all reality, Chase Budinger is your starting 2 with Shved and perhaps a FA pickup such as Anthony Morrow off the bench to nail 3's. Who knows what happens with the pick with Kahn involved and a Plumlee brother waiting to be selected.

So, while the lack of move is disappointing, it is not surprising. The market was as dry as can be and the prices were too high. Sure, the Wolves could have overpaid for a rental of JJ Redick (rumor was the Wolves could have had him for the improving D Will and a 1st rounder), but then what? Watch him sign elsewhere for $7-8 million per year? A tough pill to swallow that likely doesn't end favorably for the Wolves, as very, very, very, very, very, very, very...........very few things do.

The ominous upcoming offseason is what should be of greater concern. Are the Wolves going to pony up for Pek? Will Adelman even continue to coach this team given his age and family issues? What on earth do we do if he leaves given this team was built to his wishes? Terry Porter as the Wolves coach? How will this failed season impact not only Glen Taylor, but his even-more-penny-pinching minority owners' willingness to improve the hole at shooting guard from a  financial standpoint? Just what is there to this Timofey Mozgov stuff? Not to paint a doomsday scenario here, but this trade deadline may soon be the least of our worries. Let us hope that Glen surprises again as he did last summer.

The All-Star break has come and gone. We learned Alexey Shved is a quiet leaper who can throw down Shawn Kemp-esque in-game dunks (reverse alley-oops, anyone?) and Ricky continues to be awesome. Tonight the Wolves awkwardly resume their season against Philadelphia in what is a very winnable game. However, at this point, do we want meaningless wins? Is it better to ride some positive momentum into the offseason, re-tool, hire a new training staff and try again? Or is it best to hope for the ping pong balls in a draft class with many a talented 2-guard available to help the Wolves fortify their future in a position of weakness since the dawn of time? It is always a burning question, generally asked by an abused fanbase, and with the playoff hopes all but dead, a top draft prospect never hurts (unless you are Kahn drafting, of course...hahahah! #first #newjoke #hilarious #creativity).

In terms of Philly, most of their scoring comes from the backcourt which is going to be a concern for Minnesota. Luke Ridnour vs. Evan Turner is going to be another one of those matchups where you just feel sorry for Luke. It isn't his fault. He tries. He is perhaps the most dependable scorer on the team (and with that said, I have no idea why we are trying to unload him), but as a starting SG by proxy, he has no choice but to get eviscerated by his matchup, and as a result his reputation defensively has, perhaps falsely, suffered.

The other necessity for the Wolves to end the season strong, is Pekovic getting rid of the inner-Darko that has been unleashed onto his game this past month. So many missed bunnies. So many non-dunks. Pek, you are enormous and are supposed to be intimidating. Destroy your competition and unleash some nasty dunks and finish strong. It was Pek's misses throughout the game that essentially cost the Wolves a win against the Jazz last Wednesday evening.

A final team note: Chase Budinger is likely very close to a return. It is going to be extremely pleasant to have him back in the lineup.

And now, on to fake trades! I hate fake trades. They typically are a manifestation of homerism, primarily from insane fans of teams such as the Lakers, Blazers and Knicks, rarely come to fruition, and more often that not approach such a level of absurdity on message boards where upwards of 6 teams and 37 players are involved in a potential mid-season transaction, and yet they are labeled by the poster as realistic. Fans typically overvalue their home-team players to such insane degrees, that it makes the discussion moot, and laughable especially from an outsider's perspective (e.g. Pau Gasol for Kevin Love, as offered by Misc. Lakers fan X). However, given the Wolves are active in talks, I thought it might be worthwhile to look at some potential deals the Wolves may actually be after with their current set of "assets" and apply some of the rumors that have circulated throughout February.

Please click "Read More" for all the fake trades of awesomeness...