Today at about 10:30, David Kahn and Rick Adelman will address the media for the final time this season. A couple of bullets to ponder in the meantime:

-Based on Adelman's comments last night after the game, I think it is safe to deduce a couple of things. 1. Kahn and Adelman are not on the same page in regards to the bulk of the roster (the non-core as it were; and assume that is what I mean from here on out when referring to a rebuild), and 2. Adelman and the rest of the fanbase/universe ARE on the same page. Now this is a good thing in a sense. If you want to draw a single positive from the way the season ended, it's that Kahn might finally get a clue that he has assembled a dreadful roster. Hopefully Adelman giving it to him straight will prove to finally be the straw that breaks Kahn's back in terms of building his team around false conventional wisdom and ridiculous fallacies. I'll spare the wet blanket of expounding on that. It's Friday.

-As cynical as we want to be about Kahn getting another first round pick (like giving a knife to a child, like giving a fat person a $1,000 spending spree at a candy store, etc), having a first round pick this year is a good thing. I fully expect it to be moved. In fact, I think most of the team personnel will practically DEMAND Kahn move the damn thing. Now, what value it has remains to be seen, but packaged with some of the players on this team it could potentially net a rotation player.

-Derrick Williams had very few moments that deemed him worthy of a 2nd overall pick this year. However, he showed he has some really nice skills that could prove useful to a rebuilding team. We have slowly seen the value of Kahn's lottery picks deteriorate as he holds onto them too long. It would be within Kahn's best interest to trade D-Will for the highest possible value before it goes even further south. It happened with Flynn (wait and see how pissed everyone will be when Donatas Montiejunas becomes a good player for Houston, and understand he was packaged with Flynn for Brad Miller and a pick) and Wes, and it will happen with D-Will so long as Rick keeps him on a leash. It is just too hard for him to get minutes on this roster, as assembled, and develop into the player he could potentially be. 

-I expect to see plenty of changes to the bench. The Wolves have several free agents, and a decent chunk of cap room. The FA crop this year isn't anything spectacular, but it is certainly full of players who can help this team. However, with Kahn running the helm you just never know. Kahn's body of work can be summed up as this analogy: the man dipped his hand into a jar with 400 pieces of candy in it. 10 were secretly cyanide pills. He picked all cyanide pills. Can he really pull that off again? Point being: Kahn can practically replace ANY of these guys with ANY available free agent and it would probably be an upgrade. He has done THAT poorly as a GM. Worse than McHale.

-This year is a rude awakening in a sense. It hopefully demonstrated to that odd faction of Wolves fans (a group that astoundingly still exists), that potential is a ruse word that means little in terms of the Wolves. If you think this roster (again, non-core) still has potential, you are just plain wrong. The young players assembled are by-and-by busts and have little hope of developing into major contributors in the future. It is time to cut bait and start over on building the bulk of the team. It should also serve as a reminder that even Rick Adelman cannot turn water into wine. A coach is only limited to the talent the GM assembles. And lastly, while injuries derailed the season, injuries effect every team in the league. Good teams step up. No one, other than maybe JJ Barea, really elevated their games when injuries effected key players. 

-This last month proves how important Ricky Rubio was to this team. Having a playmaker, pass first guard in the mix. Without him, the team was completely lost. I am seemingly in the minority on this, but adding a playmaker PG to this team to hold the fort until Rubio fully recovers would be a good move. The last thing this team should do is rush Rubio back to salvage the early part of the 2013 season and risk injury aggravation. In the meantime, Kahn should add another point guard who can run a basic offense that doesn't have a quick trigger finger and/or dribble the air out of the ball. If only Jason Kidd or Steve Nash were realistic....

-As a first time season ticket holder, I was very happy with the purchase. The last month and a half of the year was truly awful, Rambis-esque basketball. But the first 2/3 of the year was a fantastic ride and very memorable. It brought back memories of KG and Steph's first year....16 years ago.

-Anyhow, despite all of this...where to even begin? This team needs a slap in the face in a bad way. Plenty of teams have cap space and better picks to use in trade. Kahn is going to have his work cut out for him this summer. I can tell you this much: Robin Lopez (yuck...but  you KNOW Kahn loves him) and Jamal Crawford will not be enough of a boost. Cut bait on the losers and start fresh on the bench. Kahn: everyone will thank you for it. 'Patience' is no longer a word that applies to Wes Johnson...'awful?' Now we're getting somewhere. Everyone sees it but you.

More to come as the offseason begins....but for now, the playoffs are starting and there are going to be some memorable series' to check out. Time for a break from the Wolves for a bit, eh?

 

Yep, that about sums up the state of this team right now. He's starting the game tonight vs the Pacers, in place of our ineffective second overall pick in the draft. And no, I'm not talking about Michael Beasley.

 
Like AR is wont to do this time of the year, like clock-work, watch him go off for 35 points, 15 boards, 10 assists, and 8 blocks... followed by Kahn immediately resigning him to a $40 million, four-year deal.

Thank goodness for all our sanity that the game isn't on TV tonight. 

No sense telling you all what you already know, namely, that we suck without Kevin Love. (Good job on that roster construction, Kahn!)  

We're currently down 20 at half-time vs. the Nuggets, and like the last dozen games and the reminder of the season... this one is over.

Per Rotoworld:

 

Kevin Love has been diagnosed with both a minor concussion as well as a neck strain, and he will stay at a Denver-area hospital overnight for precautionary reasons.
The Timberwolves have two games left this week, and Love's status is in serious doubt for both of those games. The team has yet to release a timetable for his potential return, but once they do we will let you know. Stay tuned.
 

Kevin Love will not return to Wednesday night's game after taking an elbow to the head while attempting to take a charge.
Love received the elbow from JaVale McGee, and was down for quite a while before being helped to the locker room. It sounds as though he may have suffered a concussion, but there has been no official word yet.

Kevin Love had to be helped off the court after taking an elbow to the head from JaVale McGee while attempting to take a charge on Wednesday night.
Love's teammates immediately called for assistance and he stayed on the ground for a few moments before being helped off. We will update you as soon as we know more.

Who knows yet if he sustained a concussion, or how long he'll be out. There has not been any other official word released as of now. All we know is that he won't be returning to this crapfest the game.  Let's just all hope it isn't a Sidney Crosby or Justin Morneau situation. 

So yeah... as usual:

Sorry folks for the lack of game threads. Feel free to discuss the game tonight here if you wish; otherwise check out our forums on the right side of your screen.

Call me crazy, but I have a good feeling about tonight. Rubio is rejoining the team (allegorically, the day after Easter), secondary injuries are subsiding, Barea might be used to his role by now. A few practices under the feet. This team needs an April win badly. Need to get ahead of Portland to minimize the Hornets pick armageddon as much as possible. 

And furthermore, any damage the Wolves can do to the teams competing with Utah for the final playoff spot is good damage. Should Utah sneak in, the Wolves end up with their 1st round draft pick. So, the Wolves have something to play for in a sense tonight. 

Tonight's contest will be on ESPN2 at a late 8pm start time.

Garnett the Justin Bieber of Minneapolis back Rubio smiling Wes Johnson reminds me of Ducky from Land Before Time Ray Allen playing doom Adelman facepalming no Pek Beasley Barea Malcolm Lee triple dub a must Kevin Love needs a 90 40 for a win Jermaine O'Neal is in a walker not playing Ridnour broken nose and strained groin insert punchline Vanilla Ice what the $&#% how? 

Enjoy. This is one of the best nights of the year. Root for the home team. There is a new Kevin in town.

Kevin Garnett was recently asked his thoughts on his upcoming return to "Sota" and here's what he had to say...

"It’s always special to come back to true fans and your foundation, but as far as that franchise, I have nothing positive to say. So I’ll just let it be that. I think Kevin Love's playing at a high level, I think he’s rejuvenated the city as far as basketball goes. Other than that, nothing else."

So much for my fantasy of Garnett coming back home as a free agent someday to end his career.  I found the comments particularly interesting, considering the fact that almost none of the regime remains from Garnett's days as a Timberwolf.  To me, it seems like a pointed shot at Glen Taylor. 

Regardless, it looks like Wolves fans will need to be content rooting for the "new" Kevin, something I think we're all very happy to do.

Blah blah must win Love beast no more Rambis ball Rubio from Spain next year Biyumbo stud 50 blocks and 2 points Paul Silas looks grumpy Maggete a greek statue. no comments

Sorry for the lack of game threads. Apparently the rest of the TWB staff went on vacation with me last week. I kid, guys. Maybe (slackers).

Tough, tough, tough, tough, contest tonight. But if the Wolves still want to have any hope of making the playoffs, they have to do work. No Pek. No Barea. Love's NBA nemesis in Zach Randolph is back and playing himself back into form. If the Wolves want to have a chance tonight, Wes and Martell are going to have to give us SOMETHING/ANYTHING. Or Wayne can continue his underrated season. Or we can just rest up and destroy Charlotte tomorrow. Who knows? Not much to say about tonight, other than: tough. The Grizzlies are good. Maybe a much tougher team for us matchup-wise than any other team in the West including OKC.

At least Rubio is finally coming over from Spain next year. Super pumped.

 

So who else is still not over the Rubio thing? Such a tragedy. Worse than the Garnett trade. Worse than Adrian Peterson. The fine people of Minneapolis and St. Paul were starting to galvanize around this kid. While Kevin Love is a sure-fire stud, Rubio made him look all the more better. Furthermore, I think we silently saw by what He hath taken away, that this was secretly Rubio's team all along. His loss is a truly gut crushing thing not only for the franchise, but for the country of Spain and their Olympic team, which would have competed mightily (and probably still will). And now we are left with sad pictures taken from hospital beds, and the lingering feeling as to how the young man is doing in the ever-warming city of Minneapolis while his beaten and battered team embark on a 2-week long road trip filled with exponentially increasing challenges. And rather than step up for their wounded soldier in Hollywood fashion Saturday, our favorite team came out flat and was defeated, tails between the legs, by Chris Kaman Your Mouth and a slew of players I had never heard of in my life. 

Pity Party at my place tonight. 9 o'clock Wear your Wolves jerseys.

But it's time to bounce back. Rubio was only 1 man out of 9 in the regular rotation. The Wolves still have a shot as their conference rivals continue to mount losses. Houston was dealt arguably an equally mighty blow when Kyle Lowry fell to a bacterial infection of unknown origins (insert racy punchline). Portland has completely imploded. Denver hasn't turned things around yet since getting Nene and Gallo back into the lineup. And the Jazz, well, we are better than them with or without Rubio and I stand by it.

Bring on the surging Suns. The Wolves had their chance Saturday to show defeat. With a few more days of rest, let's see what they can do down in Phoenix against yet another team we should beat. 

Injuries to Rubio or not, just remember we have one of the best NBA coaches in the last 20 years, or ever, behind the helm. Remember that there have been myriad wins this year where someone else other than Rubio willed us to an unexpected victory. Remember, too that aside from the dramatic photo above, that we will see Rubio back in a Wolves uniform a) yet this calendar year, and  b) before the Mayan Apocalypse in late December. Remember this team needs to reestablish its identity on the fly and will need a few games to do so. Remember that D-Will has been playing great ball lately and this team still has the depth to win games. 

The season isn't over just yet. 

For those that may have missed it, Ricky Rubio went knee to knee with Kobe Bryant coming over trap him in the corner in the final minute. Sadly his ACL did not survive this encounter. It is a day for Wolves fans to mourn. 

per Zgoda