TWolves Blog - Minnesota Timberwolves News and Articles
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Written by SG
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Monday, 08 October 2007 |
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There was a respectful distance Monday between Kevin Garnett and the team for which he used to play, a moat of sorts in this land of castles and towers and palaces.
It was an attractive, cordial moat, replete with smiles, handshakes and man-hugs as the Boston Celtics walked into the magnificent O2 Arena in North Greenwich a few minutes before the Minnesota Timberwolves left. Andre Deloya, the Wolves' beloved physical therapist, visited for a couple of minutes as Garnett pulled on his sneakers. Trainer Greg Farnum, too. Coach Randy Wittman. Rashad McCants. Even Kevin McHale, the man who traded Garnett and ultimately let him down, stopped by.
Check out new Wolves blog Timberwolves Today for a podcast on the team's offseason and preseason.
Click here for a transcript of Coach Wittman's conference call with the media.
Three of the Wolves' four injured players who did not play against Efes
Pilsen did participate in practice. Craig Smith, Rashad McCants and
Marko Jaric all participated throughout the almost three-hour session.
All three looked good and showed no signs of slowing down due to
injury...once again at least in the eyes of this bystander. However,
Ricky Davis sat out the last quarter of practice due to a sprained
right ankle.
Click here for video of Sebastian Telfair on media day.
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Written by SG
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Monday, 08 October 2007 |
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"A lot of players are gone now," Garnett said. "It makes it a little
more easy just knowing that a lot of people I did grow with are not
there."
Prediction: The T’Wolves have the talent to compete
with the second tier of both Conferences, but they’re outmatched
against just as many teams...
At least four teams, including the Bulls, were said to have offered superior deals to the one Boston made, though McHale is telling people Al Jefferson will be a superstar. Of course, McHale is also telling people he's the Timberwolves' general manager, which few believe. ...
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Written by SG
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Monday, 08 October 2007 |
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Staying in the same London hotel with employees from the company that
recently sent you packing may seem odd, but the former Celtics who were
packed off to Minnesota seem to be enjoying it...
"It's not really weird," said Timberwolves guard Sebastian Telfair, who
played for the Celtics last season. "It's business. It's good to see
some of the old guys. A lot of those guys took care of me. I bumped
into a lot of the old staff. It's been pretty cool."
The setup here is that we're at a Marriott Hotel and the Celtics are here as well. The meal room setup is basically one huge ballroom for both teams with a partition in the middle. And, the partition is a black cloth hanging down from a little cable. So, it will be interesting to see how that works out.
Gerald Green was sitting there for the Timberwolves to draft in 2005.
Instead, Minnesota's selection was Rashad McCants while four picks
later Boston took Green. Now, two years later, Green joins McCants in
the Twin Cities and is the better player with more potential for the
future.
Who the Wolves will start this year has been a question we’ve gotten a lot. Yesterday it was Randy Foye, Rickey Buckets, Ryan Gomes, Al Jefferson and Mark Blount. However, we think Corey Brewer will crack that five before long and send Gomes to the bench …
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Written by SG
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Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
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During the interview process, the Timberwolves told one candidate that
they were looking for a young coach who could specifically help players
avoid off-court troubles before they end up on the police blotter.
"The league is backing this in hopes that these guys can prevent
problems before they happen," said one Eastern Conference GM. "It's
also a way to get former players back into the league. Pinckney's got a
real gift for relating to younger kids, and maybe he will help keep
them focused on basketball."
Sebastian Telfair isn't going to have an easy time sticking with the Timberwolves. Owner Glen Taylor confessed to an associate that he didn't want the former Lincoln great, but had to take him to get Boston to do the Kevin Garnett trade.
According
to Turkish newspapers, Fenerbahce Ulker is interested in signing
Serbian NT guard Marko Jaric (198-G-78). Although his signing with
Turkish champion is not realistic at the moment, the same source wrote
that Jaric is not happy in Minnesota and is looking to come back to
Europe.
"It feels great. This is like a dream come true," Hudson told HOOPSWORLD. "I've been on a couple of teams in this league that have let me play the way I want to play, but everybody here plays the style of basketball that I was born to play."
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Written by SG
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Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
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Timberwolves forward Mark Madsen said he is
progressing well from surgery on his right shoulder and pectoral
muscle. Madsen estimated he will return to action in "probably five or
six weeks."
In his latest diary post, Madsen writes about the team and the league helping to distribute hearing aids to over 1000 kids in Istanbul.
Theo Ratliff, the veteran center who came to the Timberwolves in the Kevin Garnett trade, said he is 100 percent healthy after missing most of last season with the Celtics. "Of course, it's a new day for me, after coming off an injury. I got with a great strength coach, great basketball coach, and I'm ready as ever," he said. "I only played a couple of games last year, I had the herniated disk and then I had to have surgery for it."
You can bash everything about the operation, except this: Kevin McHale
has tried goofy things, such as firing Dwane Casey as coach, but he
hasn't made outrageous excuses when those have failed. His basic
message has been, "We're bad, and that falls on me."
"[Garnett] loves being in Boston, loves his teammates," said Mitchell,
the winner of this year's Red Auerbach Trophy as Coach of the Year. "He
said if he knew the NBA was like this, he would have wanted to be
traded a long time ago . . .
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Written by Anthony Hall
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Saturday, 06 October 2007 |
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A few observations from today's game:
*It was easy to see that this group hasn't played together much. The half-court offense looked rough...the ball movement could have been better, and the Wolves forced too many shots (they ended up shooting 33% from the field).
*The transition defense also needs work. Efes Pilsen got too many easy baskets on the fast break.
*On the plus side, the Wolves were solid on the boards. They outrebounded Efes Pilsen 68-47, with Gomes and Big Al combining to grab 30 of those boards. Gomes, especially, looked great on the offensive glass...hopefully, his six offensive rebounds are a sign of things to come.
Last year, I thought one of the Wolves' major weaknesses was their lack of second-chance opportunities, so Gomes' performance in today's game is pretty promising.
*I can definitely see why Gerald Green is described as being extremely athletic, but having a low basketball IQ. He made a few impressive plays in transition, while also making plenty of boneheaded decisions. I mean, he took 15 shots in his 14 minutes of playing time. Holy crap!
*Foye had a rough game. Both of his baskets came from beyond the arc...he didn't have many opportunities to penetrate and create his own shot. He also only had three assists. As the team plays more games together and the chemistry grows, though, Foye's effectiveness will increase exponentially.
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Written by Anthony Hall
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Saturday, 06 October 2007 |
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Pregame:
*The game will be broadcast on NBA.com at 1:00 pm CST (sorry for the confusion about the start time of the game, the NBA press release was inaccurate)...should be a fun one.
*The crowd's giving a nice ovation for our guys...Turkish people = classy. Or just excited that an NBA team is actually playing in their country.
First quarter:
*Uh...this is awkward. NBA.com is showing the feed of the Celtics game instead of the Wolves game, for some reason. The Wolves are trailing 10-7, with Foye, Gomes, and Ricky Buckets putting up points, thus far.
*Click here to see live stats from the game.
*Well, as long as they're showing the Celtics, let's make this a live blog of Garnett's debut with his new squad.
Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics
Pregame:
*Man...seeing Garnett at the Celtics press conference is one thing, but actually seeing him in a Celtics uniform is even stranger. We miss ya, KG!
*The Wolves, meanwhile, trail 21-18. Foye leads the team with six points, with Gomes and Blount adding four each, and Big Al on the board with a basket. Al, by the way, aleady has six rebounds, as the first quarter winds down.
More after the jump...
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Written by SG
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Saturday, 06 October 2007 |
Click here for the television/webcast schedule for today's preseason opener against Efes Pilsen in Istanbul.
Click here for the game thread in the forum.
Anthony will be liveblogging the game at 2pm CST so check back for updates.
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Written by SG
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Saturday, 06 October 2007 |
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Efes Pilsen is one of EuroLeague basketball's
most consistent teams having made the Final Four in 2000 and finishing
one step short of the Final Four from 2002 to 2006. The team is often
called the “Pride of Turkey.” Efes has won 12 Turkish league titles
including four consecutive titles between 2002 and 2005. They are
seven-time Turkish Cup winners and became the first Turkish club team
to win European silver when they won the 1996 Korac Cup.
Meanwhile, the NBA's crusade in Europe is not all about playing, but
also in line with the league's social responsibility policy. The
cooperation by the NBA Cares institution and Adidas resulted in the
opening of a couple of new basketball courts in Istanbul. One of them
was in Fındıkzade Educational Park and was opened with the
participation of Ryan Gomes and Theo Ratliff.
"I know the pleasure of playing at a brand new court," said Gomes. "Hope you enjoy it, too." The forward advised young players to work hard in order to realize their dreams and then, alongside Ratliff and former NBA stars BJ Armstrong and Fred Hoiberg showed a handful of basketball moves to them.
Also from the Star Tribune:
Third-year guard Rashad McCants participated in Friday morning's
workout -- the team's only practice of the day -- but he is not
expected to play tonight as a precaution. He has been bothered this
week by cramps and a sore hamstring.
The Minnesota Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett for Al Jefferson and Gerald Green
In one fell swoop, the T-Wolves bagged someone who'll at least be
pretty good for many years and another kid who may provide some cred in
the slam-dunk contest.
Green, the reigning NBA Slam Dunk Champion, has been one of the most requested players for interviews while here in Turkey.
"It ain't a big
deal for me to get traded," said Hassell, who is as down-to-earth as
they come. "I'm just one of those guys who can help a team defensively
with energy. I'm not one of the players that you might read about or
talk about all the time. For Garnett, that shocked me because ... all
that I know about Minnesota is Big Ticket."
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