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Sludge/KFAN had Rashad McCants in the studio on Friday night. For almost an hour, they talked about topics ranging from the team’s locker room chemistry to Mad Dog’s chemistry with the ladies.
To listen to the interview, click here. Below are some of the subjects covered during their conversation.
On his mindset:
McCants says he feels as good as he's ever felt mentally.
On Kevin Love:
Says he's going to bring a lot of energy, he's very savvy, and just knows what to do. He talked for a bit about how Love will complement Al Jefferson.
On his own role on the team:
"Put the ball in the hole."
On his reputation:
Sludge talks about McCants' reputation as being one where he can't do anything on the court without someone saying, "there's Rashad pouting again."
McCants said that he plays the game with passion and determination and does whatever it takes to win. When he's "frowning on the court" he says it's often because he's upset at his own personal mistakes.
On the Wolves waiving Chris Richard:
Said the player being cut was, for the team, "more like a tragedy" than anything else. He described Richard as being like family, that he was the voice and laughter of the locker room. He said he was someone who made everyone laugh all the time and someone who was here all summer and always came in and got his work done.
On the locker room atmosphere:
When asked if it was a tight knit team, Rashad responded in the affirmative.
He said the team has a common bond and that they're comfortable around each other. In contrast to the KG era, there's a lot of talking and joking in the locker room which makes everyone loose.
On his teammates and dating:
After bringing up Mark Madsen's involvement with a recent Date For Life auction, Sludge wonders what Mad Dog is like on a date. Rashad says the team can sometimes hear him on the back of the bus talking on the phone to girls, giving his teammates a little preview of what he's like on a date. McCants said Madsen "sounds like Casanova." Smooth? "Very smooth."
When asked who on the team has "the most game," McCants' response is Big Al. Says that while media and public may perceive him as more laid back. Al Jefferson is the "funniest person alive" and "loudest person alive" in addition to being "the smoothest talker." He's the man, McCants said.
NBA Coach he most wants to play for besides Wittman:
He chose Mike Brown in part because the coach has told him that he loves the way he plays and says that he could be a great defender.
On summer movies:
Says he saw "Eagle Eye" multiple times
On the season:
He claims it’ll be more exciting that last year: a lot more threes, the team will be playing good defense and sustaining leads. If they correct those things, he says, they can they can end up as the 3rd or 4th spot in the West (?!?!). When asked about that statement, the player did not back down.
McCants said they have a good chance of beating every good team. According to him, the team has a good starting five and good 3-4 guys on the bench. The other team's second team can't touch the Wolves second team, he said.
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Center Al Jefferson is the team's best player, and the offense will continue to run through him, but the Wolves will look to push the ball more, starting with Wednesday's season opener against Sacramento.
"Last year we were definitely more of a half-court team," Foye said. "This year we're trying to pick it up."
Thanks to a key offseason pickup, the Wolves also should be more of a long-distance team. With sharpshooter Mike Miller joining Foye and sixth man Rashad McCants, they have three players who shot better than 40 percent from three-point range in 2007-08.
For fans who love the long ball, those are three good reasons to like this team.
From Sid Hartman:
Chris Wright of the Timberwolves says the team is 1,500 tickets from selling out Wednesday's season opener.
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SI.com has an opposing team's scout analyze the Wolves.
This could be a bit of a surprise team. They finally have some pieces, some maturity. They've got Randy Foye and Mike Miller in the backcourt and Kevin Love and Al Jefferson up front.
The key is getting a great perimeter offensive player in Miller to balance with the inside presence of Jefferson. Miller can put the ball down if you play him tough on the jumper. He's a good kid, a little bit full of himself, but that's why he is good. Even during the bad years in Memphis, he kept himself in good physical shape. He's a workaholic, a perfectionist in his shooting. He can be good as an example of work ethic to his young teammates...
This isn't a playoff team, but I can see them winning 35 games and letting everyone know they're on the rise this year.
The Wolves will take today off and then return to practice Sunday at their Target Center facility to prepare for Wednesday’s season opener against Sacramento. Now that the final cuts have been made — barring a late move before Monday’s final roster deadline — injured center Jason Collins is expected to return to practice sometime next week, possibly starting Thursday.
Randy Wittman said he still doesn’t know exactly what Collins will provide because he hasn’t coached him yet.
Scott Howard-Cooper/Sacramento Bee previews the Northwest Division:
Newcomer to watch: Mike Miller. His arrival in Minnesota will be typically understated -- under-the-radar player, under-the-snowbank team -- but Miller is a nice building block and part of a future that suddenly has hope. He shoots with range, handles the ball, rebounds and moved well. And at age 28, he can still be a building block for the Timberwolves.
Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune on Mike Miller:
Now so accomplished at three-point shooting that he has been tagged by some as a one-dimensional player, Miller changed himself from slasher to shooter when he walked into Indiana's Conseco Fieldhouse early for a game against the Pacers six years ago and found Reggie Miller all alone shooting by himself, nearly three hours before the opening tap.
In a moment was born a routine he exercises daily all summer and before every practice, every shootaround and every game in season: He shoots from designated spots on the floor until he makes 10 shots from each spot and he doesn't leave until he has made between 250 to 400 shots every time. Last summer, he even brought Jefferson into the gym on evenings to shoot with him.
"Some guys might never leave the gym if they tried to do that routine of his," Wolves point guard Randy Foye said.
Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune also has a scouting report on Mike Miller.
Grew his hair out dramatically three years ago after sporting a shaved head for much of his career. "I've had times when I've felt like shaving it off again, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet," he said. "We'll see what happens before the season opener."
Corey Brewer and Chris Richard attended a Reading and Learning Center Dedication on October 24, 2008 at The City Inc in Minneapolis.
From the Brainerd Dispatch:
Project New Hope was recently selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball organization as recipient of a FastBreak Foundation $10,000 grant.
In November, the Timberwolves will be honoring military families and Project New Hope was selected as the best Minnesota project for Minnesota military families.
no commentsAfter a strong start to the exhibition season, Brewer tailed off in the past two games, hitting just 3 of 14 field-goal attempts.
Even so, with Wednesday's regular-season opener against Sacramento fast approaching, he said his confidence remains high.
"I feel real good about my shot right now," he said. "I feel like I put in a lot of work and the coaches put in a lot of work with me. Now it's up to me to put it on the floor in the real games."
Brewer finished the exhibition season with shooting percentages of .403 on field goals and .667 (8 of 12) from three-point range, both up significantly from last season's marks of .374 and .194.
Brian Stensaas/Star Tribune on Jason Collins:
Collins, a 7-foot, 250-pound center, has only been able to participate in non-contact drills since Minnesota opened training camp Sept. 30. He's expected to practice fully beginning next week, which will be a blessing to a team in big need of some size in the lineup.
"He's probably the biggest body we've got out there to put some wood on guys," said Craig Smith, a 6-7, 250 pounder who has been the most physical Wolves player during the preseason. "We're getting to the point where I think we can win a lot more games, and he can definitely add that leadership and wisdom out there on the floor."
Target, as part of its sponsorship of the Wolves' home opener, will be giving away tickets Saturday at metro area stores...
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David Thorpe/ESPN puts Kevin Love at #5 on his list of the top 10 rookies heading into the season.
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Love was acquired by the Wolves based more on talent and less on fit, so it's going to take time to create a good situation for him in Minnesota, which is loaded with beefy inside players. His strong hands will enable him to grab rebounds and score effectively inside.
However, he has not been much of an enforcer, defensively. Still, I like his upside on D, where he can learn to use his excellent feel -- and, hopefully, a soon-to-be-leaner body -- to cover ground more quickly.
From SLAM Online:
The point is not that one pretty good preseason game means Kevin will be a great NBA player — neither I nor the guy who drafted him nor anyone else knows quite how Kevin Love will turn out. The point is that condemning a rookie based on one bad preseason game is absurd.
The point, as it always seems to be, is that people are stupid. Particularly when those people are sports columnists.
Center Jason Collins, who missed the entire exhibition season while recovering from elbow surgery, participated in practice and will be able to start contact work after Wednesday’s game, Wittman said.
Center Calvin Booth saw his first game action in the 95-76 win over Milwaukee, scoring two points and grabbing two rebounds in nearly five minutes.
“He played like a veteran, like he’s been around,” Wittman said. “I was pleased with the minutes he gave us out there.”
Steve Aschburner/SI.com on Calvin Booth:
That was just one of several financial windfalls that have graced Booth's professional life, making him a blue-collar player with a Robb Report portfolio. In fact, a strong case can be made he has been paid more, for less, than almost any NBA player in history. At least among those whose careers weren't abruptly ended by injury. (By the way, we're not picking on Booth here. We stand in awe of him, and shine this spotlight his way only in a Don King "Only in America!'' or a Yakov Smirnoff "What a country!'' tribute.)
Looks like the Charlotte Bobcats won’t get a chance to claim veteran point guard Kevin Ollie off waivers. He made it through the Minnesota Timberwolves’ final cuts Thursday.
The Bobcats contacted Ollie’s agent, Bill Neff, anticipating that Ollie might be waived. Coach Larry Brown wants a veteran third point guard, and Ollie played well for Brown in Philadelphia.
Neff said Brown spoke with him several times this summer, expressing interest in Ollie. But the Bobcats didn’t make an offer, so Ollie signed an unguaranteed deal with the T’Wolves.
Could Troy Hudson, another former Magic point guard, be in the mix? He's available and his camp has reached out to the Magic.
Minnesota still will not contend for a playoff spot anytime soon as the Western Conference is extremely deep and the team is still a work in progress. The Timberwolves are projected to have four starters at age 25 or younger.
But the lofty expectations of Jefferson are legitimate and the team should be able to grow a bit more and improve on its worst finish since it went 21-61 during the 1994-95 season - ironically, the year before Minnesota drafted Garnett.
Facing a 5 p.m. deadline, the team announced a couple of hours before game time that it had requested waivers on guard Blake Ahearn, forward Chris Richard and center David Harrison, putting the roster at the regular-season limit of 15 players.
Vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said the Wolves could re-sign one or more of the waived players if they aren't claimed within 48 hours, but added, "Right now, if nothing changes, our roster is set."
"Right now, this is our team," coach Randy Wittman said. "This is what we'll open up with on Wednesday (in the regular-season opener against Sacramento)."
Expect the Wolves to try to trade Calvin Booth’s $1.14 million salary slot for some kind of draft pick. If they can do so, they could bring Richard back. McHale said he expects Harrison to sign with a team in China. They were swayed on the Ollie-Ahearn thing by Telfair’s season-opening suspension and by the youth of Telfair and Foye and the Ollie’s experience and mentoring ability...
Opening-night rosters are finalized on Monday. The next key date after that is Oct. 31, when the Wolves must decide whether to extend qualifying offers for the 2009-2010 season to Randy Foye, Corey Brewer and Rodney Carney. Expect them to qualify Foye and Brewer and wait on Carney until next summer, when they can try to re-sign him as an unrestricted free agent if they so desire.
Contrary to speculation elsewhere, there is no chance the Timberwolves will buy out Calvin Booth's contract. The Wolves can either waive Booth, pay him his fully guaranteed salary of $1.1 million, trade him or keep him.
NBA Commissioner David Stern announced today that Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor has been unanimously elected Chairman of the NBA Board of Governors.
Taylor replaces Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison, who served as Chairman for the past three years.
From Sid Hartman:
The board makes the NBA's major decisions, including rules changes and franchise relocation. "This is a unique opportunity to work with Commissioner [David] Stern, his staff and the NBA both nationally and internationally to build the NBA brand," Taylor said.Minnesota Monthly asked "panel of experts from the worlds of sport and style" about the new Wolves uniforms:
“The new jersey has a more aggressive punch to it with the ‘Wolves’ on the front. There is less to distract from the concept of a ferocious predator. Moreover, the singular term ‘Wolves’ with no other distractions really enforces the idea of team.” —Mark Hansen, sports psychologist, River City Clinic
“It’s a better look—with the turquoise blue—and there’s a little more funk to them. The wolf is howling now, instead of looking at you. That’s more who we are.” —Ryan Gomes, forward, Minnesota Timberwolves
“I would replace that Christmas tree on the side with the wolf. Then it reads better—are we the Timbers or the Timberwolves? Also, the baggy short is out; there’s almost an art to making a shot and keeping those shorts up.” —Keith Dorsett, owner, Elsworth menswear
No one took Wednesday's 10-point loss to Chicago harder than rookie power forward Kevin Love. Following a 1-for-10 shooting night, he sat dejectedly at his locker stall and spoke quietly to reporters about his off night as if it had meaning far beyond a preseason game.
After sleeping on it, Love had a much different attitude Thursday.
"Everybody has been telling me we have like 20, 21 back-to-back games [this season], and you have to take everything in stride," he said. "Just figure out what you can do next time..."
I’m not going to rip a team for an uninspiring performance during the preseason, especially when the coach continues to tinker with lineups while getting a look at the players who won’t see much action during the regular season. Maybe that is a bit naïve, but I believe that is the only way to be fair to the 2008-09 incarnation of the Minnesota Timberwolves. More importantly, I only think it’s fair to the team’s prized rookie, Kevin Love, to give him some time to get his wits about him as his professional career begins.
After all, Mr. Reusse, the regular season hasn’t even begun. Informed opinion begins next week.
Wow. We haven't even started the NBA season yet and the natives are already declaring the Kevin Love era a complete failure. And Reusse's not the only one. MPR's resident curmudgeon, Bob Collins, was at the game last night and has also concluded that Kevin Love is awful. At the risk of sounding like Sid Hartman, I think we need to wait a little bit before we decide Love is the second coming of Christian Laettner and OJ Mayo the next Jordan. Yes, Love was bad last night (ok, really bad) but it's preseason basketball. He also had 13 points and 5 rebounds in the Wolves' first exhibition game, and that's probably no better indication of how he's going to fare this season.
Marty Burns/SI.com has the Wolves at #27 in his preseason power rankings.
The arrival of Mike Miller and rookie forward Kevin Love in a trade with the Grizzlies (for O.J. Mayo and Marko Jaric) provides two more solid blocks in their post-KG reconstruction. Along with Al Jefferson, Randy Foye and Corey Brewer, Minnesota is at least starting to resemble an NBA team again. But until they get a real point guard and a proven center to help out Big Al, the Wolves are going to struggle to rise in the West.
Even if Foye makes a huge leap and Jefferson improves his efforts on the defensive side, there still remains the obstacle of the rest of the Western Conference. Though it would be nearly impossible to squeeze into the playoffs this year -against that competition - don't discount the possibility of a significant improvement. This group is more talented than some may realize, and may be one individual player's emergence away from surprising a few people.
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Wolves preseason record: 6-2
From the Associated Press:
After flopping in his first game in front of a hometown crowd, Timberwolves rookie Kevin Love bounced back a night later.
Love had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Al Jefferson added 19 points to lead Minnesota to a 95-76 exhibition victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.
Love missed nine of 10 shots and scored just four points in Minnesota’s loss to Chicago on Wednesday night, the Wolves’ preseason home opener.
Love scored 10 of his 14 of his points in the final quarter as the Wolves wrapped up the exhibition season the same way they started it, with a blowout victory over the Milwaukee Bucks...
No one was happier afterward than Love, who hit 4 of 6 field-goal attempts and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in nearly 22 minutes while burying the memory of the previous night's 85-75 loss to Chicago.
"It felt so much better," Love said. "Most of the guys told me the next night or the night after, there's always going to be another game. I had never played that bad before that I can remember. I just had to bounce back."
Love said he showed up early for shootaround Thursday morning and stayed late, and credited his teammates for helping him keep his head up.
But unlike one night before when they couldn't climb out of a 22-point hole against Chicago, the Wolves erased a 13-point deficit against the Bucks. In previous games, bench players were responsible for a bailout. This time, the starters took care of business before reserves put it out of reach.
The Bucks opened up their double-digit lead late in the second quarter, but after outscoring Milwaukee 55-30 in the second half, the Timberwolves had the lead for good from the 6:05 mark of the third quarter.
No surprise in who led the attack. Big man Al Jefferson was again a force Thursday, scoring a game-high 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
The Wolves started Ryan Gomes at power forward Thursday, with Corey Brewer at small forward, Al Jefferson at center and Randy Foye and Mike Miller at the guards.
no commentsThe team announced today that it has requested waivers on guard Blake Ahearn, forward Chris Richard and center David Harrison.
That puts the roster at the regular-season limit of 15 players.
UPDATE:
The moves were the most cost-effective ones the team could make. There’s still a chance they could re-sign one of those players if he clears waivers in 48 hours and if they make another roster move. Expect the Wolves to try to trade Calvin Booth’s $1.14 million salary slot for some kind of draft pick. If they can do so, they could bring Harrison or Richard back.
From the Timberwolves site:
Ahearn, signed as a free agent on Sept. 29, appeared in five preseason games for the Wolves, averaging 7.8 points and 1.2 assists in 11.6 minutes per game.
Minnesota selected Richard in the second round (41st overall pick) of the 2007 NBA Draft. The Florida alum appeared in five games this preseason, averaging 1.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game. In his rookie season with the Wolves, Richard appeared in 52 games, averaging 1.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Harrison, signed as a free agent on Oct. 9, has been sidelined throughout the preseason with a strained right calf.
no commentsClick here for the forum's game thread
Wittman said he will make one change in his opening lineup tonight, starting Ryan Gomes at power forward with Foye and Mike Miller at the guards, Corey Brewer at small forward and Al Jefferson at center.
Update:
The Minnesota Timberwolves wrap up the preseason tonight as they host the Milwaukee Bucks for the final preseason game at Target Center.
Minnesota suffered just its second loss of the preseason last night falling to Chicago 85-75. The Wolves were down 29-9 after the first quarter and while they did cut the lead to one with 7:43 remaining in the fourth, it was not enough as Minnesota falls to 0-1 at the Target Center in preseason play...
Tonight's game tips off at 7pm and can be seen on FSN North with Tom Hanneman and Jim Petersen on the call. The game can be heard on the Wolves Radio Network and the Wolves flagship station KFAN-AM 1130 with Alan Horton and Kevin Lynch bringing all the action.
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