From Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter:

Luke Ridnour has agreed in principle to a 4-year, $16 million deal with Wolves, sources say. Wolves may move Ramon Sessions to Charlotte.

I'm pretty "blah" towards this overall.  I like that Sessions is probably on the move.  If so, then it's an 'ok' transaction, I suppose.  If we keep Sessions AND Ridnour, then that would be fail.  I like Sessions, but he never got the opportunity here.  Plus he can't shoot a 3 to save his life, and Ridnour is a above-average three point shooter.

The thing that concerns me is that Ridnour had a very good "outlier" season last year.  It was much better than his career norm.  Are we overpaying for that?  Or will he continue the trend? 

I guess I'm just hoping beyond hope that Rubio is here in 2011-12, then this all won't matter much in the grand scheme of things.

I have to post this before David Stern forces it to come down.  I swear I'm not making this up.  This is currently the lead article on Cavs.com...

Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE"

You can take it to the bank.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.

Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south. And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch.

Sleep well, Cleveland.

Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....

I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:

DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....

Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers

WOW.  He had to be drunk when he posted that, right?  Guaranteeing that his now 15-win Cavs will win the title before the Heat?  Openly spewing bile on the team's website about a former player???  Comic Sans MS font?????? Unreal...

This whole thing just gets wackier and wackier.  NBA Free Agency 2010 has just become this next generation's OJ Simpson Ford Bronco chase!

Running a blog network with 150 sites has its peaks and valleys.  One of the things you constantly struggle with is how to promote your writers and get their work in front of as many people as possible.  There are a myriad of ways to help get new posts out there like Twitter, Facebook, BallHype, and our Bloguin.com portal, to name a few.  However, one of the most difficult promotional tools to get our blogs involved with is Google News.

Google News prides itself on being different than your typical search engine results, in that it returns relevant news results for your searches.  If you typed "lebron james" into the regular Google search, the first thing that would be returned is likely his Wikipedia page.  That's all well and good if you want to know about King James' background or stats, but completely worthless if you want to find out what's happening right now with his pending free-agency decision.  Here's where Google News steps in.  Supposedly, if you type "lebron james" into Google News, you'd get a list of up-to-the-minute news stories from legitimate sources.  The problem is, when you actually do type in "lebron james", you, instead, get this...

Breaking News: LeBron James Signs with the Minnesota Vikings

It's pretty frustrating when you see good blogger after good blogger on our network get rejected by Google News, yet any Bleacher Report writer, regardless of his reputation or tenure with the company, gets blanket approval to have his work featured prominently in the results.  I'm not ragging on Bleacher Report, per se, as there are plenty of good writers on the site who produce quality articles.  However, by nature, the Bleacher Report is structured so that anyone can sign up for an account and start posting.  By that logic, anyone can also get their work featured on Google News, regardless of its validity or quality.  Some may claim that allowing that level of unbridled access is "irresponsible" as it taints what's supposed to be "trustworthy" news.  My take is that it's just plain stupid for Google to allow unfiltered Bleacher Report content into their results, because if I search for "lebron james" in Google News and see results like the one above, I'm frankly going to be doing my searching elsewhere.

And just an FYI, TWolves Blog is included in Google News, so it's not sour grapes from this site.

Here's some other takes on BR/Google News from some of our Bloguin bloggers:
Brett Solesky at Midway Illustrated
Don Landrigan at With Malice...

Not much else going on with the Wolves at the moment, but ESPN.com did break this tidbit...

Carmelo Anthony will be a member of the Denver Nuggets next season -- whether he accepts the team's offer of a contract extension or not.

With speculation that Denver may trade their All-Star forward growing over the past week, a high-ranking Nuggets official said the club has no intentions of moving its best player.

"There is no way we are trading Carmelo Anthony," the official said. "We're 100 percent certain of that."

Can't say I'm shocked by that news.  Unless somebody made Denver a Godfather offer, they'd be stupid to deal Anthony before next season's trade deadline.  There's always the chance his supposed ill-will towards Denver could fade as the season progresses and they are offering him significantly more money then he'd be able to make anywhere else.  You simply don't trade a player of his caliber unless you absolutely have no other choice.

Looks like our dreams of Melo have been shattered.  So who do Wolves fans turn to next?  A sign-and-trade deal with Toronto for Chris Bosh?  Gulp...  David Lee?

So that's all the "news" I was able to scrounge up at the moment.  Thanks Google...   If stuff breaks throughout the day, I'll do some updates.

Continue Reading

The NBA’s largest mobile basketball playground, NBA Nation presented by T-Mobile USA & Kia Motors rolls into St. Paul, Minnesota for the seventh stop on its summertime tour on Friday, July 2 through Monday, July 5, 2010, at a "Taste of Minnesota."

NBA Nation special guests appearing in St. Paul include*:

• NBA Legend and NBA Nation Ambassador Darryl Dawkins – appearing on Friday, July 2nd from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, July 3rd from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday, July 4th from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• NBA Player Corey Brewer – appearing on the Kia Performance Court on Sunday, July 4th from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• NBA Player Kris Humphries at the Kia Performance Court on Saturday, July 3rd at 2 p.m.

The Minnesota Timberwolves' dancers will make an appearance on Friday, July 2nd from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Mascott Crunch will be visiting with fans throughout the Holiday weekend. On-site rocking the NBA Nation crowd will be DJ Mad Mardigan.

NBA Nation is a customized 18-wheel truck that expands into a 20,000-square-foot basketball playground for fans of all ages to participate in a variety of activities. The NBA Nation action is non-stop including competitions, basketball games, contests, and prizes.

NBA Nation offers a variety of activities for fans including...

Check out the entire Official Press Release HERE!

Also of note, the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown will be hosted in St. Paul this coming Saturday as well at the Taste of Minnesota. Specifically, the competition will start at 4PM at the Harriet Island Regional Park.

A quick synopsis of the program: The Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown is all about finding the best amateur dunkers in 8 major US cities and pitting them against each other in a nationwide competition.

For Dunkers/Fans

Dunkers can compete in the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown either by attending one of the Showdown events or by submitting videos online at NBA.com/dunk. Fans also have an opportunity to participate at the event as the judges of the final round through text-in voting (just like the Saturday night competition at NBA All-Star). Fans also have the chance to vote on their favorite dunkers of the ten that are chosen as semi-finals (8 from the events, 2 from the online competition, which is judged by LeBron James, Darryl Dawkins and the All-Stars)

The Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown Champion in Minnesota will win $1000 and a chance to compete at NBA All-Star in February of 2011.

You can find more details about the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown, upcoming events and how to register for a competition on the Facebook page, Twitter account or at http://www.nba.com/dunk.

The Minnesota Timberwolves acquired the former lottery pick from Portland in a trade for the 16th overall pick on draft night last week. Many players would sulk after getting traded from a playoff contender to the second-worst team in the league, but Webster welcomes the change.

"It's a crazy feeling. It's kind of surreal," Webster said during his introductory news conference Monday. "New place. New setting. New culture. I'm excited."

Webster was one of the highest-rated high school players in the country during his senior year at Seattle Prep in 2005 and was the first prep player drafted that year when the rebuilding Blazers took him sixth overall, ahead of Andrew Bynum.

Jonah Ballow at Timberwolves.com has an Article About Martell Webster

Martell Webster's "Second Chance"

From Brian Murphy at Pioneer Press:

Martell Webster joined the NBA in 2005 as one of the last 18-year-old overachievers to become draft-eligible and a first-round enigma.

He arrived in Minnesota on Monday as the newest face of the Timberwolves' 2010 reformation, a process that figures to accelerate when free agency commences late Wednesday night.

Webster, a 23-year-old swingman and three-point sharpshooter, already has five seasons of pro experience with the Portland Trail Blazers. He also is a father, a husband to-be and grateful for the chance to compete for minutes on a team desperate to add scoring and athleticism.

Not to mention reverse its status as a perennial loser.

Young Vet Eager to Show Us His [Stuff]

From Jerry Zgoda at Star Tribune:

"Not a fresh start," Webster said. "Not to say that I didn't have one in Portland, but now I get more of one. The opportunity is a little bigger. For me, something bigger means a lot more. It's trying to change the identity and make this a winning organization, which I was part of in Portland. My early years there, that was fun, to tell you the truth."

He entered the NBA directly out of a Seattle high school, which makes him a grizzled veteran on a team filled with players 21 and 23 years old even though he missed the 2008-09 season because of a broken foot.

"It's the craziest thing," Webster said. "Corey Brewer and all those guys, that's all my class. It's kind of surreal when you think about it. I'm a young vet. I just want to come here and bring my knowledge and definitely spread it on this team. ... It's like getting a new bike: You can't wait to get out there and test ride it."

I had been looking forward to Thursday for months.  When your a Wolves fan, June-August always end up being more entertaining than the actual NBA season.  Then, Hostpocalypse happened.  Like LeBron on a rookie contract, we'd be doing extremely well value-wise with Bloguin's hosting running 150 sites for $80/month.  However, as we have now grown in size and stature, the time had come to fork over the free-agent money.  Moving one site can be a daunting task.  Moving 150? Well, let's just say this is the first time in about 96 hours where I'm not completely obsessed with the process.

That's not entirely true, as I was able to get things under control enough to take in the NBA Draft.  After a long day, it was going to be my oasis of care-free entertainment.  Needless to say, by the end of it I probably would've found myself less stressed had I just continued with three more hours fixing crashing websites...   KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHNNNNNN!

Usually when you experience a nightmare like that, you have a point where you wake up.  Hosting-wise, things are much better.  T-Wolves-wise?  Well, the nightmare has only just begun...

Some interesting thoughts from Wolf Among Wolves
from Ben Polk

• Its become clear that the Timberwolves have made re-signing Darko Milicic (and, to a lesser extent, Nikola Pecovic) a condition of trading Al Jefferson. “It’s the right time finally for us to explore this,” Kahn said. “I’ve met with Al and discussed this. If Darko comes back, there could be a need to create some playing time. We really need to get our front line settled.” This is slightly unsettling because it  suggests that Kahn and Rambis have calibrated their concept of “team need” around Darko’s presence. One wonders: did this factor into their decision to pass on Demarcus Cousins? I am now squirming in my chair.
• Kahn predicted that sign-and-trades, rather than straight free-agent signings would dominate the landscape this summer. But, as Myles rightly points out, now that Rudy Gay seems to be off the table it’s not clear which free agents the Wolves might be pursuing. They could certainly attempt use Al to work a Chris Bosh sign-and-trade although I would think that Bosh’s first desire would be to just go wherever Lebron goes. After that, what’s left? Joe Johnson? Carlos Boozer? Amar’e Stoudemire? David Lee? Tyrus Thomas? Amir Johnson? Does any of this make sense?

Passing on DMC to accommodate Darko...  I can't even go there.  I'll just continue thinking that Kahn can't possibly be that stupid.

As far as the sign and trades go, I think Kahn might be onto something.  The media LOVES this free agency period.  Talking about a LeBron/Wade/Bosh super team will get anyone to perk up and read an article.  That's a level of power that you only see at All-Star games.  Still, when it's all said and done, money talks.  Somebody like Bosh would get significantly more money in a sign and trade and won't necessarily make up the difference in "endorsements" the same way LBJ would by going to New York.  If anything, playing in LeBron's shadow might further hinder his ability to do advertisements, etc.   In Minnesota, he would be THE man, the next KG.  That's worth some serious coin.   Despite all the losing here in Sota, I'm sure KG made waaaaaaay more money "off the court" than Scottie Pippen ever did.

Wolves' off-season has just begun
via Jerry Zgoda at the Strib

A deal involving Jefferson, for example, conceivably would allow the Wolves to take back a signed free agent who received a maximum NBA contract. "I don't want anybody here to feel like we're some poor stepchildren," Kahn said. "We're not. We're building something of great value that will be sustainable. I think we have a chance to have some serious discussions with free agents after July 1."

It might not take Kahn long to learn whether, as many Wolves fans believe, he is deluded.

"I'll you know at about 12:04 a.m. on July 1," Kahn said. "Seriously, not to be funny, we'll know."

I will say, a Jefferson sign and trade for a max contract makes a lot of sense.  That's something Miami, Chicago, NY, and even the Nets can't really offer.  They've gutted their teams to clear as much cap space as possible, where the Wolves still have something relatively valuable to send to a team that's losing a top-tier player.  As I said before, at the end of the day, money talks.  The Wolves may be in good position by playing their hand this way.  The real question is who's going to bite.  If it's Carlos Boozer, I don't see how it makes us significantly better.

Njereaexrweafd Bjaremxnsdlfkjfse is coming to America
via Tom Powers at the Pioneer Press

Kahn likes the skill set Bjelica brings. At 6-10, he could play point guard as well as on the wing. He is that fluid and that good with the basketball. However, the Wolves have to decide whether they want him to work on his upper body strength here or in Europe.

"For sure I will play in the NBA," Bjelica said. "I don't know if I will play this year. I must learn a lot of things to do to reach the next level. Here, everything for me is new."

In fact, this is his first trip ever to the U.S. Although he will accept Minnesota's decision regarding the 2010-11 season, he said he really wants to bring his fiancee over and marry her here. She was his therapist while he recovered from his broken leg two years ago.

There is what I guess you could call an Eastern European hungriness about Bjelica. He is entirely focused on his basketball career. He loves the game, which he said saved him from "the dark side." And he has said often that, while money is important to everyone, he is more concerned with reaching his potential and becoming a great player.

Well, chalk up another feel good story for the Wolves.  We may not be champions on the court, but, by golly, we will be champions off ot it.

Vomit.

Wolves Hopes in Free Agency
via Jerry Zgoda at the Strib

DREAMY SCENARIOS

Amare Stoudemire: The Phoenix star is not the defender they seek, but he's the kind of athlete they lack at power forward and he's just 27. Remember this: The first rumors when David Kahn took the Wolves job 13 months ago involved him.

Rudy Gay: Wesley Johnson's presence at small forward makes this seem less likely, but the Memphis small forward seems a perfect fit and, at age 23, he's a guy who could be their star. He's a restricted free agent, so this probably would be a sign-and-trade between teams that made the Kevin Love-O.J. Mayo deal two years ago.

Hmm...  How is Rudy Gay still a viable free-agent option after Kahn's Small-Forwardpalooza at the draft?  Doesn't make much sense to invest that kind of cash in a fifth SF for this team.   Amare?  Let's just say max-contract and microfracture surgery are two things that should never be mentioned in the same sentence.

Questions about Wes Jonhson
via John Pitarresi at UticaOD.com

The ifs start with the Johnson’s 6-foot-7, 200-or-so-pound frame. That’s skinny by most standards, and certainly by NBA standards. He will gain muscle over the next few years, they all do, but I don’t know how much he can put on. His body type doesn’t look like it can take a lot.

He can shoot it from about anywhere, for sure, and can run and jump like a gazelle, but he has to handle the ball better if he is going to be a guard, and he has to prove he can attack the basket and rebound against big, physical players if he is going to be a small forward.

Again, Johnson was a great player at SU, but I didn’t think he was such a sure-fire pro that he would be picked fourth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in this week’s NBA draft. They’d know better than I.

John, you are giving this front office waaaaaaaaaaay too much credit.

Gomes not long for Portland
via Jason Quick at The Oregonian

Team president Larry Miller said the Blazers will probably release newly acquired forward Ryan Gomes in order to avoid taking on the remaining three seasons of his contract.

The team has until Tuesday to make a decision, but Miller said he has already told Gomes' agent not to fly him to Portland.

In other breaking news, College Wolf, in a move similar to the LeBron supporters in Akron, is staging a rally outside the Target Center, hoping to lure Gomes to Minnesota in free agency.

A review of the Wolves' draft
by Matt Moore at NBC's Pro Basketball Talk

2. Minnesota Timberwolves: "Irrational movement is still progress." The Wolves turned 5 beautiful, untouched picks into a marginally good small forward with a considerable, if not large, contract, and several tweener players that would have been available later in the draft than where they were selected. Wes Johnson is fine, but is he better than Cousins? Than Udoh? Than Monroe? Lazar Hayward... what? And they sent Babbitt to Portland for Martell Webster...and gave them Ryan Gomes! The Wolves' GM got worked by a guy who was fired.

A pretty fair assessment of the team's woes, but a little tough on Wes Johnson.  There was talk of him going as high as #3 prior to the draft.  Personally, I wanted Cousins.  But Epke Udoh or Greg Monroe?   I think if Kahn took those guys over Johnson, especially with our current lineup, he'd really need to get his head checked.

Grading the Draft
by Kelly Dwyer at Yahoo! Sports

Listen, I even like Martell Webster(notes). Think highly of him. But to cash in Ryan Gomes'(notes) desirable contract and the 16th pick on Webster? Johnson might be terrible, and a guaranteed contract for Lazar Hayward? What an awful night.

Grade: F

Hey, hey, hey!  I object.  Look, I'm not the biggest fan of what the Wolves did on draft night either, but that was solid D- work by David Kahn!

HoopsWorld Reviews the Wolves Draft
by Stephen Brotherson

The happiest man in this year's draft just might be Timberwolves President and GM David Kahn. Kahn has stated that even he can't miss with the fourth pick this year and he was right...

I'm just gonna stop right there.

By the way, did any of you tune into Timberwolves.com right after the draft?  They had a live broadcast going and Jonah Ballow and Hanny, God bless 'em, were going on and on about how much promise the Wolves picked up in the draft, how the fans were ecstatic with Wes Johnson.  All the while the Twitter feed right next to the video wasy streaming Tweets like, "WTF? Lazar Hayward?", "I'm never rooting for this team again!", "Al-Farouq my life", "KAAAAAAHHN!", "What are the Wolves thinking?".

High Comedy.

Well, I was right... along with a few others. The Rumors were the Wolves trading Al + Draft Picks for Carmelo. Seeing as how the draft went, I would have done that trade.

Sigh.

it was al and all our picks for 'melo. and sam smith was not my source. end of bit.

See link from Paul Allen HERE.