"Hopefully the league can figure out one way where it can go back to the '80s where you had three or four All-Stars, three or four superstars, three or four Hall of Famers on the same team," James said. "The league was great. It wasn't as watered down as it is [now].

Imagine if you could take Kevin Love off Minnesota and add him to another team and you shrink the [league]. Looking at some of the teams that aren't that great, you take Brook Lopez or you take Devin Harris off these teams that aren't that good right now and you add him to a team that could be really good. Not saying let's take New Jersey and let's take Minnesota out of the league. But hey, you guys are not stupid, I'm not stupid, it would be great for the league."

I guess LeBron James is not content with destroying basketball in Cleveland.  He now wants to destroy it in Minnesota, New Jersey, and maybe Memphis, Charlotte, New Orleans, Toronto, and Sacramento as well.  I don't know what's happened to LeBron James in the past six months, but it appears that he's determined to throw his career into a Britney Spears-like tailspin.  Between "The Decision" and the seemingly endless barrage of stupid/inflammatory comments he's been spewing, LeBron is effectively pulling off the sports equivalent of marrying Kevin Federline, gaining 35 pounds, and shaving his head. 

It's almost as if LeBron, realizing that he'll never be able to regain the "hero" status he once held, decided to pull a Hollywood Hogan and go "nWo".  The Miami Heat are clearly the league's definitive "heels" (I'll be rooting for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers for the first time ever on Christmas), so why not play into the role, say calculated things to get the fans riled up, and turn every road game into a main event of Wrestlemania-like proportions?  If that was truly his angle - to feed off the boos, achieve an "us against the world" mentality to motivate his team, to turn the NBA finals into a must-watch event that would eclipse the Jordan-era, and to turn his first NBA championship into a giant middle finger to waive in front of all his haters - if that's what he was trying to do, I could understand it.  In fact, I'd secretly like him for it.  Every good story needs a villain, whether it's Triple H, Captain Hook, or Darth Vader.  For example, the Celtics/Lakers Finals was so much fun because Boston fans felt that the Lakers were pure evil and Los Angeles fans felt the same way about the Celtics. 

Unfortunately, what we don't need are scumbags.  Triple H was a character.  Darth Vader isn't real.  And whether you backed Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol in the post last June, their "evilness" only existed in our minds.  LeBron, on the other hand, doesn't appear to be hamming it up and creating false hype.  For the past six months he's proven time and time again that he's an egomaniac who's completely lost touch with reality and the public's perception of him. You want to talk about what's "best for the league", LeBron?  Here's what's best for the league...

• When a young superstar actually shows loyalty to his home state and brings them their first championship instead of ripping out their hearts on national television
• When three players don't collude to tip the scales of competitive balance in the league
• When the biggest star since Michael Jordan decides to step up and be a man instead of playing second banana
• When said superstar stops saying ridiculous things that further ruin his reputation

That's what's good for the league, LeBron.  You know what also would be good for the league?  If you and your other two amigos lead the campaign towards non-guaranteed contracts in the next CBA.  That's what would really be good for the league - a hard cap, non-guaranteed contracts, and some competitive balance.  Maybe basketball wouldn't be dying in Memphis if you and the rest of your greedy associates didn't sign $80 million dollar contracts and then mail it in.  Maybe if New Orleans fans didn't have to worry that their super star was going to pull a "LeBron" and high tail it out of town the first chance he gets, they'd be more passionate about the game.  Maybe if Minnesota actually had a prayer at signing a decent free agent, the Target Center wouldn't be a cavern. 

The reason that the NBA isn't as great as it was in the 80's has nothing to do with expansion.  (And by the way, the Heat are the sixth youngest franchise in the league, hypocrite!)  The reason the NBA isn't as good any more is because the players' actions and their salary demands have completely erroded the foundation of the league and soured most of its fans.  You, LeBron James, stand at the core of that erosion.  If you really want the league to return to greatness, either start acting like a man or retire.  Either option is fine with me.

I attended the Wolves vs. Jazzy Jazz last night at Target Center and really had a delightful time with my friend Troy. We got free tickets to the game from a T-Wolves front office guy… cool story: front office guy was in a group of dudes getting Andrea Pizza in the skyways (near LaSalle Ave… get the BBQ Pizza. D-I-V-I-N-E), and they needed Troy to move so they could all sit together. Troy obliged, and before he left the Front Office Guy offered him Wolves tickets. Score! 

Anyway, I really enjoyed the game. In fact, it might have been the best 36 minutes of Minnesota basketball I've watched all year long (closed my eyes for the rest). Wes Johnson was more aggressive on the perimeter, and Martell Webster was a freaking revelation off the bench. Sixteen points in 25 minutes? Yes! It was clear he was told to put the ball in the basket last night, or that he's becoming more comfortable in his role… Webster played with a lot of fire, and I was impressed.

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Tonight the Wolves finally return home to take on a surging Jazz team, lead by dynamic point guard Deron Williams. On the Jazz roster is former Wolves big man Al Jefferson, traded away this offseason for salary cap space, two first round picks, and Kosta Koufos. 

The Jazz are a very nice team and the Wolves will have their hands full tonight. With Darko's injury status uncertain, and Pek likely unavailable to add a few defensive 3 second violations, we will have our hands full with the Jazz frontline. Luckily though, this is a front line that does not possess great length, unlike Wolves matchup nightmare LaMarcus Aldrige, and even DeAndre Jordan the other night in LA. 

It will be nice to see Al again. Hopefully he receives a nice ovation from the crowd and I wish i could make it to TC tonight to see him. We often lauded against him for his lack of defensive prowess, but I can't help but imagine the roster as it stands today, with Big Al in the mix and Darko still in the big rotation. It is unlikely we are world beaters, but I have a tough time believing any player acquirable in trade with our cap space will give us more production than Al would have, assuming he moved the ball more effectively this year with more options (fat chance, I guess). But I will wait until the trade deadline, the unofficial expiration of our cap space, to be the judge on that. If Kahn comes up empty, which I have a bad feeling he will, then that trade is a total flop. Patience, I guess.

I hope Darko plays, and I even hope he shuts Big Al down. I am very much in the camp that once a player is traded there is no need to root for him any more when he comes into town. A small ovation is more than enough. Garnett comes to mind here. Sure, I have a soft spot for the guy, but nothing would reenergize the fan base like an upset against the Jazz tonight, or the Celtics when they come to town next year.

As I wrote the other day, Rambis has hit rock bottom. After a loss to the Clippers, he is currently tied with Jimmy Rodgers as the worst coach in Wolves history. Rodgers did not last to the next game. I'll also remind everyone that it also took a 20 point loss to the Clippers for the Wolves brass to let Wittman go. If Rambis loses tonight, he will have the worst coach distinction. Again, this is not a good thing and cannot simply be due to injuries. He needs to make adjustments to his schemes or we are in for another 15-win year.

Tonight's TWolves Blog Forums Game Thread vs. the Utah Jazz can be found HERE.

This Week In Wolves Basketball

12.17.2010

The highlights from this week so far has been the solid returns of Martell (Telly) Webster and Jonny Flynn.  I'll say now that if they aren't starting by next week there will be a petition in the works.  Martell in particular seems on track to play the part he was cast in the off-season.

As an added bonus so far none of the guys drafted in the vicinity of the pick we traded to get Martell appear have a steep opportunity cost associated their way.

Oh yeah and the team held solid leads and lost games this week.  No need to dwell on that.  

This Weekend In Wolves Basketball

Friday Dec. 17th - Wolves @ Blazers  (FSN North @ 9pm)

Accu-Score Prediction:  108-95 Blazers (a little steep don't you think?)

Thoughts:  This game will be big for Kevin Love.  A lot was made of going back to Portland his rookie year and he subsequently had horrible games.  Then last year he missed both of them.   Time to shine Kevin.  On that note...  Time not to foul and miss foul shots Michael.  Time to start Jonny.  Time not to take more shots than everyone else Corey.   Time to keep doing what you have been but with more minutes Martell (my guess is this means a lot to him too).   Time to continue showing you are better than 10 people who got more All-Star votes at Center than you Darko.  

As a bonus the Blazers are in disarray right now.  So far opposition disarray hasn't been something the Wolves have capitalized on.  Lets change that.

Saturday Dec. 18th - Wolves @ Nuggets (My29 @ 8pn)

Thoughts:  Whoo hoo and broadcast game so everyone who still cares will be watching this bad boy.  It smells that it happens to be the backend of of a very tough back to back.  I just hot no one gets injured against the Blazers.  Speaking of the Nuggets everyone should go watch the highlights of last nights fantastic contest against the Spurs.  Two great NBA games in two days (Celtics-Knicks being the other).  Hold on to your butts NBA fans tonight Wolves/Blazers is going to make it a trifecta of good games.  

http://www.nba.com/video/games/nuggets/2010/12/16/0021000380_sas_den_recap.nba/index.html

- Monster Dunk

- 3 apparent game winners (two for the team that lost the game)

Per Jerry Z's twitter account, Jonny Flynn and pre-season extraordinaire Martell Webster are going to be playing tonight against the Warriors! Jerry added that Rambis will not be limiting Flynn's minutes, and that Webster will get no more than 20 minutes tonight. 

A couple bullets on this, since bullets are fun:

• Will be interesting to see how Flynn's speed, strength, penetration and athleticism will impact the movement of our offense. As a corollary, I think Flynn had over 6 turnovers in each of his 2 D-League games, which isn't a great sign. Overall, this team has lacked ball-handlers in the worst way and Jonny could really help us here. He could prove to be equally as frustrating as Ridnour thus far, but it's tough to argue he won't be an immediate upgrade over Telfair.
• A new era of the season has begun. In some ways, it's weird to even imagine this team now that these guys are back and ready for action.
• Curious what happens roster-wise as we could see some major changes to the current rotation, including: 1. Sebastain Telfair being reduced to a 3rd string role and likely rarely seeing playing time, along with Luke becoming a backup (his ideal role) over time. 2. Sundiata Gaines perhaps seeing his last days in 'Sota. 3. The assignment of Lazar Hayward to his rightful spot in the D-League. 4. Ellington also being relegated to the bench as Brewer scraps up any remaining minutes. 5. Speaking of Brewer, a significant reduction in his role/trade value as well. 6. The addition of 2 more decent shooters to the lineup. Overall today is a very positive day for us.
• Webster had an awesome pre-season and proved to be an absolutely deadly shooter whom, most importantly, shot the ball with a sort of intangible confidence we don't often see in Wolves unis. However, he also had a few off games, a key criticism of him throughout his career (inconsistency). I expect him to be active right out of the gate given the amount of time he has been in practice rehabbing. Props to Rambis and crew for being patient. This is always tough for a  fan to go through, but better in the long run.

Game is on FSN tonight at 9:30 our time. Tune in to catch the newbies in action.

As you know, the TWolfies fall to 5 wins and 16 losses, after losing 114-121 last night at the Madison Square Gahhhhden.  Tough loss, blah blah blah.  The biggest loss was Darko leaving in the first quarter with a quad injury.  But that's neither here nor there, because we still can't play any defense.  I will say, injuries are decimating our team so far this season.  It's been brutal.

If you missed it, Anthony Tolliver is out 6 to 8 weeks with a MCL sprain.

According to Jerry Zgoda, Martell Webster could play as soon as this Wednesday at Target Center, vs OKC Thunder.

The TWolves unveil their alternate black uniforms this Friday at home vs Detroit, but of course the game isn't on TV.  Yet another epic TV fail this season.  That's already 4 epic fail TV misses by my count.  And the season is only 25% completed!  Good grief.  And good luck getting new fans when we keep missing games that people might actually want to watch.

Again from Zgoda, Flynn is heading back to the D-League for back-to-back games this weekend in Sioux Falls.

My Post Game Q&A Analysis with LIVES over at Knicks Fanatics.  Check it!

To see what LIVES had to say about last night's Wolves-Knicks tilt, please click "Read More" to continue...

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Bummer, another damn injury.  He's out 6-8 weeks with MCL issues:

Anthony Tolliver's MRI reveal a sprained right MCL, and he is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

Minnesota's versatile forward had been holding down a regular 15-20 minute role off the bench, playing time that will be dispersed among other marginal backups. The good news from the Wolves' perspective is that he avoided any major damage.

We have been savaged by injuries this year.  Really sucks.  Oh, and Jonny Flynn is going back to the D-League for further conditioning.  Woe are we.

I did a Q&A for tonight's game with my homie's over at Knicks Fanatics.  Definitely check out their site, as they are some solid dudes.  Definitely the coolest Knicks fans I've ever met, and that's saying something.  Anyways, in case you somehow missed it... the Wolves play the Knicks tonight at 6:30 PM, on FSN North.  At least this game is actually on TV, unlike the two this past weekend, and KLove's epic 31-31 game.  What fail that is having so many games not broadcasted.  Anyways, I digress.

Check out my pre-game Q&A with the fellas over at Knicks Fanatics!  And be nice.  They are New Yorkers, remember.  And they have a better team than us.

Don't forget to check out the TWolves Blog Forums for much more convo and commentary.  Tonight's TWB Forum Game Thread can be found at that link.

And definitely check out what my man LIVES from Knicks Fanatics has to say in response to my questions, below after the jump!

Please click "Read More" below to continue...