Well the team is just about setup for the 2011 Lottery--and I'm OK with that. The one place you don't want to be is just about a playoff team with next to no chance of getting a top 5 pick and a roster full of bad contracts that you cannot move. We are not in that bad place. At least at the bottom of the western division and maybe the nba we'll get another good pick next year.

LET's face it we're not going to be a playoff team next year anyway. If we're not, then I say we get the best pick we can get and give our young guys lots of experience. Hey we got nothing but young guys here and the bad contracts are all gone. IF we get lucky maybe we can snare a disgruntled free agent mid-season cuz we got cap space. We'll still finish near the bottom.

To build a good NBA team you need to spend a few years 2-3 with top 5 pics to build your base. Last year we got Flynn and Rubio and now Luke so PG should be OK. Johnson will be a star, maybe not an all-star but an NBA caliber starter, something we haven't had a lot of. Kevin Love will have a great year and so will Beasley. Darko and Pekovic will hold down the center position like we've never seen here before. The only position we suck at is the SG with Webster/Brewer/Ellington. They are getting better but not a starter in the bunch. So it is clear what we need in the future, a great SG.

That is the focus for our 2011 Lottery Pick or next FA season. A great SG or SF (move Johnson to SG) wings are interchangeable these days on most NBA teams.

San Antonio tanked to get Duncan and look where it got them. I hope we get the #1 pick next year and get Rubio here to start something special. But don't look for anything great this year cuz we need the pick more than 35 wins and miss the playoffs by 9 games.

Keep the faith, we're due for some good luck. -Pistol Pete

You know, we're not getting that #1 pick, ever. Even if we are the worst team, even if we tank, even if we are 0-82, we're not getting that #1 pick.

And even if we did (which we won't), Kahn will probably draft the wrong guy. Again.

With that said, I don't think that tanking is going to help THAT much in the future. You just need luck. Look at Chicago in 2008, Toronto in 2006, Portland in 2007, Clippers in 2009, most of the years the worst team didn't get the #1 pick.

Your right, I know not to get my hopes up for the #1 pick but I'm pretty sure we are going to get a top 5 pick next year again and that combined with what we have should be a good base when/if Rubio comes over. -Pistol Pete

were never going to get the number one pick because you guys are jinxing it before it even happens. It's like a no-hitter you don't speak of it and that is what is going on. Besides um we just had the lottery 2 months ago and were talking about next year no thank you. And with wolves tradition we have some kind of curse on us when it comes to it so lets worry about this when the time comes which certainly is not now.

Minnesota Polars wrote:


Never too early to plan ahead, besides I don't believe in curses, only bad luck which we have had plenty of in the draft. The worst team in the league only gets the top pick about 20 percent of the time so it's a one in five chance. We don't need the best pick, just the best player. They are not always the same as history shows us (Candy man).

TheBigTicket wrote:




Hahahahahaha.

Minnesota Polars wrote:


Good post.

I, for one, cannot go through another season of complete tanking. The fact that we are already talking about tanking in July saddens me.

College Wolf wrote:


The key to happiness is to lower your expectations. Or in other words, it's always better to under-promise and over-deliver than vice versa- especially with regards to your brain or your and the Timberwolves. Whether we succeed or fail, you end up much happier if you don't expect us to be good. It's all about taking an optimistic view of a pessimistic prognosis. It's way more fun without getting your guts ripped out at every turn- unless you're into masochism. Which we all are, as Wolves fans.

I expect total awfulness from our team. If we are entertaining or play good basketball in any way shape or form, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Not that you can totally distance yourself from an emotional connection, but it helps.

wolfenstein wrote:


Ha.

Not sure you know who you are talking to? I've had some of the lowest expectations around about this team for the past 5 years. This futility is just killing me though. It's getting to the point where I'd rather watch competent and exciting teams like OKC and Portland. They were "built the right way" and actually have tangible results from it.

I need to see something, anything, from this team this year that gives legitimate hope for the future.

We can't just count everything on another supernova one-and-done out of college like Harrison Barnes, who seems to be the John Wall of the 2011 class unles some soph/junior has an incredible season. To make it easier; he seems redundant to Wes Johnson whom we just drafted.

Let's focus on this coming season. I want Beasley to prove the haters wrong and go all out on offense, torching everyone for 20ppg while Wes Johnson will be hitting threes at a 42% clip... and it's about time Love became a 20/10 guy.

I'\d have some expectations for Jonny but A) I was never a fan of him I'm just waiting for RR C) Luke Ridnour is going to start because of Flynn's injury anyway

College Wolf wrote:


Just playin, C-wolf. I was getting in a Dr. Phil groove there. I'm just saying that if you look at it through the lens of history, I bet (no, I know) that the Seattle fans were equally, if not more, sickened during their "jettison everyone and alienate the fans so we can get a draft pick and subsequently move the team" season. Now that team is good. And... playing in another time zone.

Ok, bad example.

So I'm not sure what my point is, unless it's that Portland managed to come out of the Jail Blazers period with a solid young team and without moving the team. It wasn't always pretty, I lived in the Northwest in 2000-2004 and it was dark days for Blazers fans. The crash and burn always sucks, and the rebuilding period is rarely fun unless you look at it in the lens of "where are we going" instead of "where are we now."

Most things in life are a matter of perspective, I guess that's all I'll say. At least we don't live in Cleveland.

wolfenstein wrote:


Good points, especially the bolded part.

And don't worry, I wasn't offended by you or anything like that. It's all good, I understand what you are saying.

All I'm trying to say is that if we can't go to the playoffs and have a reasonable chance of winning a playoff series (which the 8 seed does not) so you have a reasonable chance when your the 1-4 seed, then I want the best draft pick available. Picks 1-5 have the highest chance of being a starter/all-star caliber player.

I can watch any team I want and spend most of the season watching college ball due to our woeful wolves depressing state. But I get lots of enjoyment watching Celtic/Lakers, Minnesota Gophers (go Tubby and crew) so I'm not hurting for basketball enjoyment. It takes a lot of years to build a great team when you can't just go out and get Top Notch FA's like Boston did. I can wait but we just can't be stupid. We have to be smart and so far we are smart with the cap money. Rubio coming here will be HUGE. Can't wait for that! -Pistol Pete 44 (Rubio re-incarnated without the shot).

Actually, lately the seeding doesn't have that much value because the West is Lakers and then a toss up between 2 and 8. I mean, SAS was #7 and beat DAL #2... but then lost to PHX #3. The East is more polarized with Miami/Orlando/Boston occupying the top 3 and winning their Round 1 matchup... but then it's Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta and Charlotte -> anything can happen.

I said it some time ago, I have nothing against my team being a perennial #6-8 seed and fighting their way to Round 1 where they usually lose. For one, as said ealier, being 6-8 in the West is not bad... two; at least we sniff playoff action. After so many losing seasons, I beg for years like the ones pre-2004 run when we at least were playoff contenders.

Seeding doesn't mean much in the West right now because there have been 8 teams who are very very good. That is unusual.

It is also unusual how during the KG era we ALWAYS managed to play a team that was significantly better than their DAMN SEEDING in the 1st round.