Box Score

 

From the AP Recap:

Al Jefferson had 24 points and 12 rebounds and Rashad McCants had 20 points in his first game back from a knee injury to help the Minnesota Timberwolves finish the preseason with a 106-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. 

 

    

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

Veteran forward Juwan Howard's absence throughout the preseason -- Friday's Did Not Play-Coach's Decision was his fourth in eight games -- suggests he will be gone by Monday's roster deadline if the team can swing a deal.

Even with Foye and Telfair back, the Wolves committed 30 turnovers. They averaged 22.2 in the preseason.

 

 

Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site recaps each quarter of tonight's win.  

 

 

Stephen Litel/Hoopsworld with observations from before, during, and after the game.  

 

 

From Rick Alonzo/Pioneer Press:

With the departure of Ricky Davis, there's more playing time open at shooting guard.

Rashad McCants took advantage Friday night.

McCants scored 14 points in the first half, leading the Wolves to a fast start that led to a 106-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in an exhibition game at Target Center.

Antoine Walker is in town and addressed the local media about his trade to Minnesota from the Heat.

 

 

On being traded to the Wolves:
Walker: I was surprised. Any time you get traded in training camp, you're surprised, but I'm excited. I think it's a good situation for me, a (new) start with a young team that needs some veteran leadership, a guy that's been around. I'm looking forward to this challenge. I look at this team as a little different - it kind of reminds me of my Atlanta situation when I played with a young team - but this young talent is different because these guys have been getting a lot of playing time early in their careers. This should be good. We should be very competitive, and the sky is the limit to how good we can be. It's just going to take some time and be a work in progress.

 

On if he'd rather be somewhere else:
Walker: It's hard for me to say that. I haven't been here. You have to play and feel the situation out. This is my fifth team. I don't know how many teams I'm going to play for in my career, but when you get one spot, you want to just relax for a minute and get acclimated to the team and the coaches. You never know what the situation is going to be, so I'm just focused on playing and making the most of it.

Check out the blogs below for previews of the Southeast Division teams.

 

Washington Wizards
Bullets Forever 
 
Orlando Magic
Believing in Magic 
Third Quarter Collapse 
 
Miami Heat
I Want to be a Sports Agent 
Crazy from the Heat
 
Atlanta Hawks
Impending Firestorm
 
Charlotte Bobcats
Bobcat Bonfire

Archives
CelticsBlog NBA Page

 

Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site and assistant coach Bob Ociepka have an audio scouting report on tonight's game against Milwaukee. Trudell also has a season preview of Gerald Green.

 

 

Timberwolves Today has posted the most recent installment of the Kissing Marney Gellner podcast. 

 

 

Shoals/Fanhouse on rumors that Antoine Walker is looking to return to Boston.  

 

 

Al Jefferson is supposed to have some role in an upcoming Ludacris movie titled "Ball Don't Lie."

 

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

Also, the Wolves likely would trade Walker and Marko Jaric in an instant if they could find a taker for their salaries. NBA rules prohibit trading Walker for 60 days unless it's a 1-for-1 swap. 

 

 

From Brian Murphy/Pioneer Press:

The key acquisition for the Wolves was Walker, 31, a three-time all-star forward with career averages of 18 points and 7.9 rebounds. He was scheduled to arrive in Minnesota on Thursday night while Doleac, whose wife is pregnant, was not expected in town until today, Wittman said. 

It was unclear whether one or both would play tonight against Milwaukee. 

McHale said Simien would not be brought in, which means he likely will be released, bought out or traded before Monday, when regular-season rosters must be finalized.

 

 

Rashad McCants is clearly eager, but he denied being excited. This might be the best evidence yet that McCants is ready to become the leader he has always said he wanted to be. 

 

 

I don't believe the Wolves would have made this deal unless they had another trade in place for Walker... 

 

 

Austin Burton/Dime Magazine on the trade with the Heat. 

 

 

The Celtics James Posey on the Wolves/Heat deal:

"It was a good trade for Miami," Posey said Thursday. "I didn't think it was a good trade for Antoine. He doesn't want to be a part of rebuilding. He's got a taste of what winning would be like. I know if I was him I'd be disappointed."

 

 

From Tim Reynolds/AP Sports:

Davis will slide into the injured Dwyane Wade's spot at starting shooting guard when the Heat open the regular season next week, Riley said Thursday, one day after the Heat pulled off a five-player trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

 

 

From Jon Krawczynski/AP Sports:

This summer the basketball boss has shown at least a hint of savvy that has never really been there before, stockpiling draft picks and getting rid of bad contracts while building around a young core. 

Wittman appears primed to benefit from McHale's newfound clarity, provided that owner Glen Taylor shows some of the patience that was never afforded Casey.

ESPNs Daily Dime with an extensive preview of the team. Thanks to True Hoop for including Liston's post on questions he'd ask Wolves GM Jim Stack if given the opportunity.

 

 

Preseason game: The Wolves face the Bucks at the Target Center tonight at 7pm. Click here for the game thread in the forum.

 

 

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

NBA rules prohibit trading Walker for 60 days unless it's a 1-for-1 swap. 

 

Zgoda also writes that Randy Foye and Sebastian Telfair both "could see action tonight."

 

 

From Zgoda's blog at the Star Tribune:

Wolves VP Kevin McHale on Thursday hinted at more change, saying there’s already enough dust in the air from a series of moves that includes July’s Kevin Garnett trade and a little more dust swirling won’t bother anybody. 

 

 

From Charley Walters/Pioneer Press:

Corey Brewer's No. 22 has fast become the Timberwolves' top-selling jersey. No other current Timberwolves jersey comes close.   

 

 

Bob Sansevere/Pioneer Press interviews Coach Wittman on his thoughts and expectations for the team.  

 

 

His play on the court, coupled with the high level of maturity for his age and occupation make him a great role model for the youth of the Twin Cities. 

 

 

From Warren Blatt/The Sports Network:

The Timberwolves will miss the postseason for a fourth straight year, but there is hope for the future.

   

   

From Michael Marchio/Pioneer Press:

Hamline Park hoops players can kiss the bent rims and tattered nets of yesterday goodbye, thanks to a $10,000 donation from the Minnesota Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation...

From Yahoo Sports:

The Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday waived center John Edwards from their preseason roster.

 

The 7-0, 275-pound Edwards appeared in one preseason game for Minnesota after signing with the club on September 26...

From Ira Winderman/Sun-Sentinel:

McHale indicated some or all of the Heat players acquired could wind up being rerouted or released.

 

 

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

Doleac and Simien each has only this season remaining on his contract, which makes both a candidate to be cut from a big Wolves roster that grew more bloated Wednesday. The Wolves also received cash. As of Wednesday evening, Walker and Doleac were scheduled to report to the Wolves; Simien was not.

 

 

 

 

From Rick Alonzo/Pioneer Press:

Here's a pop quiz, Timberwolves fans: Name the players who remain from the end of the 2005-06 season, a mere 18 months ago.

The answer: Marko Jaric, Rashad McCants and Mark Madsen...

 

 

The Wolves must trim their current 18-man roster to 15 players by 5 p.m. Monday.

 

 

From Sid Hartman:

The real story is former coach Dwane Casey begged Kevin McHale, Wolves VP of basketball operations, last year to get rid of Davis, who was a real detriment to the team's chemistry. Plus, he wouldn't play defense.

One longtime coach told Casey that Davis was a worse influence on the team than the disruptive J.R. Rider. So there's is a reason he's played for six teams...

 

With Kevin Garnett gone, Wolves' season-ticket sales have dropped to a low of 6,000. But Wolves team president Chris Wright predicted the team will have 10 to 12 sellouts and average crowds of about 12,000. 

 

 

From Charlie Walters/Pioneer Press:

The Timberwolves got all pluses when they acquired 6-11 Michael Doleac in the trade with Miami on Wednesday, according to Rick Majerus, who coached him for four years at Utah. 

 

 

Jim Souhan/Star Tribune on the trade with Miami:

If all of the deals brokered by Glen Taylor and Kevin McHale over the years had been this reasonable, the Wolves would still be a playoff team.

 

 

From Tom Powers/Pioneer Press:

The Wolves' marketing slogan should be: "Expect nothing and hope for the best."

 

 

Stephen Litel/Downtown Journal on Kevin McHale and the team's offseason moves.

From Kent Youngblood/Star Tribune:

Point guards Foye and Sebastian Telfair each took nearly full part in the extended practice Wednesday. Still, neither is 100 percent and their availability for Friday's preseason finale isn't yet clear. "We'll see where they are [today]," Witt- man said.

 

Shooting guard Rashad McCants (knee) also returned to practice after missing two preseason games.

 

 

Shoals/Fanhouse on the team's roster:

It all adds up to a personnel quagmire which will get trounced seventy-five percent of the time. Still, you should keep an eye on their box scores. Someone other than Jefferson is going to distinguish himself there, and whoever doesn't might end up being a steal for some other team. 

“I talked to Randy Wittman on the way in here,” Saunders said, referring to the Wolves’ head coach. “Their top three scorers from last year were (Kevin) Garnett, Ricky Davis and Blount. Now all three of those guys are out. They wanted to have young guys play, and I guess that’s the direction that they went. They decided to pretty much go wholesale.”

 

 

Kevin McHale on why the team made the trade:

No, we really just wanted to give the young guys a chance. It opens up playing time. They were two veterans that were going to play and we're going to go young. The first-round pick, we're stockpiling a lot of first-round picks, so that was an important part. Walker's got two years on his deal, Blount has three on his deal, so you save a year on that. Doleac and Simien are both done this year. So, it was a financial deal in some aspects, but more than anything else it was for the first-round pick and allowing our young guys to develop.

 

Coach Wittman on the deal:

It's going to allow the emergence or the ability for the emergence for some of these guys to step up and see who has leadership ability, and an understanding for what we're talking about, that we have to have cohesiveness in the locker room. You remove two strong personalities like that, and someone has to show that now.  

      

From Dave Campbell/AP Sports:

In addition to jettisoning two more veterans, whom Wittman described as "strong personalities" and whose attitudes have been questioned at times, the Wolves saved a year on an expensive contract by moving Blount out and taking Walker in. They also added another first-round pick, a piece as good as any for a team trying to build a contender from scratch.

 

 

From Stephen Litel/Hoopsworld:

Simien will join the youth movement in Minnesota and should finally get a chance to show what he is capable of on the court. There have already been rumblings of contract buyouts for both Doleac and Walker, as Doleac would find himself behind the surprising Theo Ratliff and Al Jefferson at center while Walker does not seem to fit in as a "mentor" to the young Wolves. With 18 players on the roster, it will be intriguing to see if Minnesota has another trade or two up their sleeve before opening night.

 

 

From David Friedman/20 Second Timeout:

Basically, Minnesota has completely hit the reset button; the Timberwolves will have some cap space to sign a free agent or two after getting rid of the three new guys at some point, they will have a lottery pick next year after not making the playoffs in 2007-08 and perhaps they can fight for the eighth spot in 2008-09 en route to becoming a contender after that--if all goes well with the development of the young players.

From Tim Reynolds/Associated Press:

The Timberwolves now have 18 players under contract and vice president for basketball operations Kevin McHale said another move is coming to trim the roster -- indicating not all the new pieces will actually report to Minnesota.

 

"We have some other stuff that we're probably going to do inside this deal," McHale said. "A lot of business going on."

 

  

From Rick Alonzo/Pioneer Press :

According to McHale, the Wolves would get Miami's No. 1 pick in 2008 unless the Heat finish with one of the top-14 selections. Otherwise, the Wolves would get it in 2009 unless the Heat finish with one of the top-10 selections. Otherwise, the Wolves would get it in 2010 unless the Heat finish with one of the top-six selections. Otherwise, the Wolves would get the pick in 2011.

 

On Antoine Walker:

When asked how he fits in with the Wolves, McHale said, "We'll find out. Hopefully, he comes in and is a professional. I know the last three or four weeks down in Miami haven't been all that pleasant. He's on Pat's (head coach Pat Riley's ) conditioning program, which is a full-time job."

 

 

Stephen Litel/Hoopsworld will be on Dallas radio station KRLD at 8:30pm tonight to discuss the trade. 

 

 

From around the blogosphere: 

Hoops and Other Pop Culture

Timberwolves Today

Wolves Watch