This just in:  Nelly wants to join the Wolves?

No, not that Nelly.  THIS Nelly:

Please click "Read More" to see what this all means...

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According to the illustrious Jerry Zgoda, Kurt Rambis's firing will be announced at 2 p.m. today. 

Ricky Rubio will be a free man!!!!!!!

Source

As the lockout continues, we decided to get the TWolves Blog staff together to answer five key questions on everyone's mind this offseason.

Please click "Read More" below, for the TWolves Blog.com's Staff answers to such things as, "Will the NBA lose part/all of the 2011-12 season due to the lockout", "Who's at fault", "How this will affect basketball in Minnesota", "What the TWB Staff members will be doing during the lockout", and much more!

Uh-oh... some discouraging news today from The Star Tribune:

Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley was cited for marijuana possession after being pulled over for speeding in Minnetonka, police said Wednesday.

The traffic stop occurred about 3 a.m. June 26 on Hwy. 12 near Carlson Parkway, said police Capt. Scott Boerboom. Beasley was driving 84 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone, Boerboom said.

Officers who stopped Beasley, 22, smelled marijuana in the car and found slightly more than a half-ounce in the vehicle, Boerboom said.

A police report said the marijuana was found under the front seat. Beasley said the marijuana belonged to a friend whom he had just dropped off, according to the report.

Beasley, who was not under the influence, was cited and released, the captain said. Beasley lives in Orono, west of where he was stopped.

Timberwolves team spokesman Mike Cristaldi said Wednesday that the team cannot comment about Beasley's troubles because of "the current labor situation." A management lockout has the league shut down.

In February, Beasley was cited in Hennepin County for driving 70 mph in a 55-mph zone. He paid a $117 fine in that case.

In July 2010, after Beasley's trade to Minnesota from Miami, Timberwolves basketball boss David Kahn said in a radio interview that one of his new player's problems in Florida was that he "smoked too much marijuana." The NBA responded by fining Kahn and the team $50,000 each. The league called the comments "inappropriate."

Kahn, also in the interview on 1500 ESPN, suggested that Beasley would be a changed man once he arrived in Minnesota.

"He's a very young and immature kid who smoked too much marijuana and has told me that he's not smoking anymore," Kahn said, "and I told him that I would trust him as long as that was the case."

In August 2009, Yahoo! Sports reported that Beasley had checked into an unidentified Houston rehabilitation hospital.

In 2008, Beasley was chosen out of Kansas State second overall in the NBA draft by the Heat. Soon after, he was fined $50,000 by the NBA for being in a room where marijuana was found at a rookie symposium.

***

He wasn't under the influence of anything, which is good. But overall though, it was 3AM and he was speeding with drugs in the car, so yeah... doesn't bode well for his "maturity issues." Ugh. I also wonder if this will change his role/place on the team going forward, especially now that we have Derrick Williams?

And just when you thought Beasley's trade value couldn't get any lower...

Well we can't trade him now after this (and drafting Derrick Williams.) We might as well keep him around and see what happens.  Will this humble him enough to accept the role as a Super Duper 6th man?  That would be ideal for everyone.  And after this, at least it won't cost us $8-$10 million per year to re-sign him (presumably.)

At least he is a good teammate, no one has ever said otherwise about that.

Come join us in the TWolves Blog Forums, where discussion about this (and much more) has been raging all day long.

No NBA fan is excited about the lockout, nor are any of the players. Money is something that will always get in the way of professional sports, and it's something we'll all have to deal with.

It's possible that the Wolves could "deal with" the situation better than others.

Obviously everyone would prefer to see the Wolves players develop in a game situation, but it might actually be for the better if some of the guys who will be the core of this team to hone certain aspects of their games.

 

To all you NBA Owners:

 

Well... for anyone that's still around out there, come join us chatting and hanging out in the TWolves Blog Forums. Not like there's anything better to do right now. 

There are plenty of ways for us to deal with the NBA Lockout.

Sure, we could bemoan the possible loss of next season. We could yearn for Rubio highlights and Kevin Love double doubles.

We could try something different and watch baseball or hockey. (Gross.)

Or... we can embrace the lockout. Seriously. Think of the possibilities!

Here are five unexpected positives from the NBA Lockout if a new collective bargaining agreement isn't reached and we lose next season:

Aaaaaaaand the lockout begins. Per ESPN:

 

NBA players are locked out, possibly jeopardizing next season.

Union chief Billy Hunter said Thursday afternoon that owners had locked out the players after failing to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.

"It's obvious the lockout will happen tonight," he said.

 

Obviously this is disappointing news. Let's hope they can settle this and avoid affecting next season!

Per Jerry Zgoda from the Star Tribune:

In a last bit of bookkeeping before Friday's expected NBA player lockout...

The Wolves today exercised the fourth-year contract option for Wayne Ellington and third-year options for Wes Johnson and Lazar Hayward for the 2012-13 season.

Wes will make $4.2 million that season, Ellington $2.1 million and Hayward $1.2 million.

Picking up Wes' option by Thursday's league deadlline was an obvious move?

But why Ellington and Hayward on a roster that's getting mighty crowded?

Well, remember: The options are for the 2012-13 season. They're already committed to all three players for this next season, whenever (or if) that might be.

And also remember that the roster today -- already at the 15 man limit when they sign Derrick Williams and Malcolm Lee -- is not what it's going to look like when a new labor agreement is reached and teams hustle to get ready for the season.

***

I cannot state enough how horrible two of these moves are by Kahn. Paying Ellington and Major Lazer $3.3 million TWO years from now is unexplainable. Hayward should never play. Ever. So you want to sign him so that he can be traded in a deal later?!? Or what?  Because I don't get it. How about just don't sign him in the first place, and keep the raw cap space!

Ellington most likely has the worst overall stats across the board for anyone that played over 1,000 minutes last season:

PER: Wayne was ranked #252 out of 255 eligible players with 1,000+ minutes played.
eFG%: Wayne was ranked #214 out of 255 players.
Win Shares per 48 Minutes: Wayne was ranked #250 out of 255 players.

His only redeeming quality is that he shoots 3's at an ok rate (but nothing special, especially for $2+ million dollars), and brings nothing defensively. He is NOT a player that should be on the court for us, ever. Especially not with all the other young guys we've got that need legitimate minutes.  Nearly any stud D-Leaguer or minimum salaried FA SG signing would replace and/or surpass his "production." This was a total failure extension by Kahn, and there is no sugar-coating it.  I can't get over this.

Wes Johnson, yes... extend him. But there is NO sense in signing those other two guys pre-lockout!

***
This is yet another example of Kahn failing to properly evaluate talent. There's simply no reason these extensions should have been given now, TWO years in advance. They could have been done later after the lockout/new CBA.  Or if Kahn really, really, really loved the smiles that these players possess, he could have let their contracts expire and then re-signed them later as free agents for minimum salaries.  They must try really hard in practice, or something.

Speaking of which, we don't even know what the new CBA/Salary Cap rules will be yet. And he goes and gives two players that should never play three and a half million dollars. If there is a hard cap, every single dollar will count. And every single dollar that we are below the cap will give us an advantage over the rest of the competition... namely when it comes to signing prime free agents.

These extensions for two(!) DNP-caliber players is just simply mind-boggling.

Like most of you, I was perplexed by Michael Beasley last year.

     

There were games, like that one against the Clippers, where he demonstrated the potential to become an all-star caliber talent, a true alpha dog player on a team that desperately needed leadership. Unfortunately, there were also games where he seemingly checked out altogether.

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