The next post in a quality series from our valued TWolves Blog Forum member "Pants." His forum posts and further discussion can be found HERE. (Feel free to join us, we're always looking for more quality members.) As a poor follower of the Wolves, Pants is always trying to talk himself into a light at the end of the tunnel. Usually that means talking himself into players we have, or could potentially have. How many guys will be stars from this draft, probabably a few? Will they be available to the Wolves? He's going to do his best to convince himself that they will be.
Come measurement and YouTube season it is hard to miss Paul George. How could a 6'9'' SF with athleticism and a jumper not make noise? He spent two solid years at Fresno State off the radar. Going from 14 ppg to 17 ppg is a nice boost (with nice numbers elsewhere across the board). I reeeaally like the 70% to 90% boost he saw in his free throw percentage as well. Who does that? I can't think of anyone ever getting a 20 percent boost in FT percentage year over year. I held off writing this after reading a espn insider article that came down heavily on George's usage to turnover ratio, and shot selection. When I see a well spoken guy (helluva DX interview), who had the calm and composure to nail free throws; I think those are two things which are very high on the improvability index. It is very, very unlikely that George will become THE guy on an NBA team. THE guy is really the only person who should shoot a fairly high percentage of really tough shots. I know very little about the Fresno coaching staff, but I'm willing to guess Rambis and crew might be better.
There aren't many guys who get above the rim with that level of ease. This jump shot also has a similar effortlessness about it. George's jumper is to Tracy McGrady (may his game RIP), as Xavier Henry's is to Ray Allen's. George goes up with even long shots like there is nothing to it. Xavier, like Ray Allen and JJ Reddick, has the same picture perfect form which each jumper. I don't know which is better necessarily. You don't get the latter without a lot of hard work and listening to coaching, but a jump shot is also something you need to have in your blood.
Last year my official mid-late lottery prediction was that the team that drafted Johnny Flynn over Ty Lawson would regret it. This year I say the team that selects Al-Farouq Aminu over Paul George is going be crying into their Wheaties each morning before games. It'll be especially bad when they have to play the Wolves. HHHHOOWWWWWLLLLLL!!!!!!
For more of the "Talking Myself Into..." series see here:
The Minnesota Timberwolves are hosting several draft prospects in a workout at Target Center on Sunday.
Cal forward Jamal Boykin, UConn forward Gavin Edwards, Texas center Dexter Pittman, Ekpe Udoh (ek-PAY yoo-DOH) and Marshall center Hassan Whiteside are scheduled to attend.
Word on the street is that Ndudi Ebi has kidnapped Ekpe Udoh, and is showing up at workouts posing as the Baylor forward, hoping to get re-drafted into the NBA.
His transformation from a 400-pound high schooler to a 320-pound collegian to a 290-pound-and-counting NBA prospect has caught the attention of pro scouts, and on Sunday, impressed the Timberwolves during their first private-workout session for next week's draft.
"He's lost a dramatic amount of weight, and it appears he's still losing it, because every time I see him, he looks a little better," said Wolves President David Kahn, who owns five picks, three of them first-rounders, in the June 24 draft. "That's a positive sign that he really wants to be in this league and is willing to make the changes necessary to make that happen."
Yet another ringing endorsement to pass on DeMarcus Cousins...
Former Syracuse University men's basketball standout Johnny Flynn will play in an NBA preseason game at the Carrier Dome this fall, SU has announced.
Flynn and his Minnesota Timberwolves teammates will face the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15. It will be the first NBA game hosted at the Dome since 2008.
What can I say?: It's been a slow news day. Of course there was this little tidbit...
John Grieg, the agent for Cousins, won’t send his client to workout for the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources say, because he believes the Wolves have decided to draft Syracuse small forward Wesley Johnson.
I can't say that I'm sad about this, but it is kind of puzzling that the Wolves wouldn't at least feign interest in in Cousins for negotiation purposes with other teams. Strange...
And now for our daily TWB Reader Mock Draft Poll...
With the 16th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select...
Hassan Whiteside, Center from the Marshall University
With the 17th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select...
Gordon Hayward, Small Forward from Butler University
With the 18th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Miami Heat select...
With the 19th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics select...
TWB Reader Draft Board
Pick
Team
Player
Position
School
1
Wizards
John Wall
PG
Kentucky
2
76ers
Evan Turner
SG
Ohio State
3
Nets
Derrick Favors
PF
Georgia Tech
4
T-Wolves
DeMarcus Cousins
C
Kentucky
5
Kings
Wesley Johnson
SF
Syracuse
6
Warriors
Al-Farouq Aminu
SF
Wake Forest
7
Pistons
Greg Monroe
PF
Georgetown
8
Clippers
Cole Aldrich
C
Kansas
9
Jazz
Xavier Henry
SG
Kansas
10
Pacers
Paul George
SF
Fresno St.
11
Hornets
Ed Davis
PF
North Carolina
12
Grizzlies
Luke Babbit
SF/PF
Nevada
13
Raptors
Epke Udoh
PF
Baylor
14
Rockets
Patrick Patterson
PF
Kentucky
15
Bucks
James Anderson
SG
Oklahoma State
16
T-Wolves
Hassan Whiteside
C
Marshall
17
Bulls
Gordon Hayward
SF
Butler
Oh, and I forgot to mention...
KEVIN GARNETT IS ONE WIN AWAY FROM A SECOND NBA TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hassan Whiteside, Cal forward Jamal Boykin, UConn forward Gavin Edwards, and Texas center Dexter Pittman worked out for the Wolves at the Target Center today. Ekpe Udoh was also scheduled to attend but will be working out at a later date.
Here is what Kahn had to say about the workout in an interview with Jonah Ballow. You can find this and other wolves coverage at timberwolves.com
Question: Any players stand out? Kahn: I thought Dexter Pittman really demonstrated a physicality about himself. We saw the things Hassan Whiteside does well, the timing on shot-blocking, and the potential is kind of oozing out of him. I thought the other three guys in their own way had their moments.
Question: How does Pittman compare to DaJuan Blair and Glen "Big Baby" Davis? Is there a place in this league for a big bruiser in this league? Kahn: Absolutely, he (Pittman) is actually much taller than both the guys you mentioned (Blair and Davis). He's 6' 11", he's a center, and in this league there's a dearth of centers, especially those that have that kind of size and physicality about them. He's very intriguing...He has lost some dramatic amount of weight and it appears as if he's still losing because every time I see him he looks a little bit better. That's a positive sign that he really wants to be in this league.
Question: Pittman mentioned that he worked with (Wolves Assistant GM) Rob Babcock's son; does that give you extra insight? Kahn: Sure, I think whenever you have people on your staff who have special relationships due to family, friends, or past working relationships, you'll always feel that the information is a little bit more solid because it's a little deeper and it's more day-to-day.
Question: Do you watch the prospects reactions when they go through a workout, if they have their head down low or are cheering on other teammates, does that factor into it? Kahn: Absolutely, the way they interact with other people. Being in a practice setting, they're in a gym, they're in their workplace so you have an opportunity to see them in their workplace.
Question: Whiteside really improved over the course of his freshman year, where do see his upside going? Is he intriguing because he is such a young player? Kahn: It will be up to Hassan in my opinion. If Hassan is willing to really apply himself, and work and understand that he has a world of potential but a lot of work ahead of him then I think he could be a very fine player in our league. It's really up to him.
Question: Will you be making a decision on Pekovic's future? Kahn: We really can't, we're not allowed to sign him until after July first... You can always have a determination of what direction you want to head but I don't think you can really lock in all the way. Of course we will be talking internally about he might fit in. That's part of this discussion in these next two weeks.
Question: Do you think you will have the same picks as you do now come draft night? Kahn: I'll stand by what I said back then, I think it's unlikely that we will have the same three picks on the night of the draft. Typically there's a lot of movement league-wide and I think that we will be one of the teams that will move. I'm not sure if that means up, down, sideways, or what but I'd be surprised.
Question: Have the discussions around the league met your expectations to what's being tossed around? Kahn: This is the week where it really intensifies, it always is. The thing that's different this year is you have about six or seven teams that have an enormous amount of room for the purpose of free agency. I think that rather than a thirty team league that would be active; you almost have a 22 or 23 team league. Not that those teams won't try to do deals, they will, but because they're in effect almost acting with a smaller roster and a smaller cap number they're probably less prone, they waiting for their big moment. It's a little different this year; I sense that those teams in particular are still waiting for their time to come.
The third post in a quality series of posts from our valued TWolves Blog Forum member "Pants." His forum posts and further discussion can be found HERE. (Feel free to join us, we're always looking for more quality members.) As a poor follower of the Wolves, Pants is always trying to talk himself into a light at the end of the tunnel. Usually that means talking himself into players we have, or could potentially have. How many guys will be stars from this draft, probabably a few? Will they be available to the Wolves? He's going to do his best to convince himself that they will be.
There are many things that make NBA stars, but when it comes to being a guard who can be in a rotation for 8-10 years you need to be able to get and make shots. If you have that skill teams will find minutes for you whatever your height, or defensive ability. Anyone who watched Xavier play Kansas St. in the NCAA tourney knows that Jordan Crawford really looks like that kind of guy. Clearly he isn't going to be bamboozled by the NBA range. I watched most of Xavier's first game pondering why Jordan Crawford's name was so familiar before one of the announcers finally mentioned that he was the infamous LeBron posterizer. On the topic of that dunk, I HATE when people make a big deal of a help defender getting dunked on as they slide over to defend.
Jordan put up stellar, stellar numbers this year after cooling his heals a year; thanks to Kelvin Sampson doing what Kelvin Sampson does... in destroying a resurgent Indiana program. He averaged 20 ppg and 39% from 3 point range (taking almost 6 per game). I'd really like him in a Gilbert Areanas type role next to a SG like Turner who can handle the point for stretches. I'd also love him next to big PG like Rubio who needs a 3 point shooter to open up the floor, and is also big enough to cover whatever defensive deficiencies Crawford surely will have (6'3'' and lacking the silly wing span of a guy like Eric Gordon). It is hard to project any 6'3'' SG as a starter on a good team, but guys who tend to make shots also tend to get in the game and stay in the game.
One problem with getting value out of Jordan is that he'll have to be on fire to pass Wayne Ellington on the depth chart. The two guys are pretty darn similar but Ellington has a year in the pros learning the system under his belt. If Ellington can help grease the wheels of one of the bigger trades at the top, Crawford really could be effective in a similar role. Looking at the other players out there, I see Jordan being a significantly above average player given his slot in the 20's.
The second post in a quality series of posts from our valued TWolves Blog Forum member "Pants." His forum posts and further discussion can be found HERE. (Feel free to join us, we're always looking for more quality members.) As a poor follower of the Wolves, Pants is always trying to talk himself into a light at the end of the tunnel. Usually that means talking himself into players we have, or could potentially have. How many guys will be stars from this draft, probabably a few? Will they be available to the Wolves? He's going to do his best to convince himself that they will be.
This is hard to write and maybe I shouldn't be right now. I'm so damn convinced that Xavier Henry is the man I should almost wait 8 more hours for it to pass. But since you don't know who will be available and when/where; and this team has so many holes I need to press on. I've been excited by the prospect of righting a wrong in this draft. Well I should say two wrongs. Twice Kevin McHale looked at the laces of a fastball right down the pipe and decided he was getting the off speed pitch.
In 2003 Josh Howard was the jack of all trades, ACC player of the year who looked like the obvious steady hand to play along side KG. He was, yet he wasn't. Alas the lesson was not learned. 2005, same story, Danny Granger was there and yet he wasn't. The Wolves were left with a steaming pile of Ndubi and McCants. But I digress.
James Anderson spent 3 years playing for the Cowboys. 13.3, 18.2, 22.3 were his PPG averages each year. The ceiling hasn't been hit. He hits over 80% of his free throws, which I love. Guards that can't make free throws are the bane of my existence. His 34% from 3 point land isn't world beating, but he did that while taking 6.5 a game. That is a preposterous amount to be jacking up. Given the spirit of this article we are going to file it under, he had to do everything for an otherwise weak team (no research will be done to back up that claim). It seems reasonable to say that if he dropped off 2 of the ill advised shots per game he would have been close to 40%.
I was very pleased to see he was a McDonalds All-American. That tells me he has the underlaying talent and athleticism to make the leap. Hollinger ranked him number 15. Here is his respectable list of accolades:
2009 1st Team All-Big 12
2009 Big 12 Player of the Year
2009 1st Team Sporting News All-American
If James Anderson is available at #16 when the Wolves come up he should be taken, and I believe he will. The Ghosts of upperclassmen-past must be given their day so they can stop haunting the Target Center forever.
A ditty from yesterday afternoon seems to suggest Philly may keep the #2 pick.
The Sixers have never said so publicly, but - by all accounts - they are poised to use the No. 2 pick to select Evan Turner, of Ohio State.
"We're listening to anybody who calls, but we have not shopped the No. 2 pick whatsoever," Stefanski said. "We don't shut our phones off, but it would take a blockbuster for us to consider moving the pick."
Fantastic Off-Topic Fun
I feel obligated to link to this fantastic site, ShamSports.com, which has a legendary series of columns called "Where are They Now?" This may be old news but I discovered this one recently and have been trying to slowly make my way through ever since. Each entry contains several guys you likely have never heard of, but also contains several novelty players, including Todd Fuller, who took my vote for best entry:
Fuller is now a busy little bee, with a variety of things going on. His number was retired by North Carolina State in 2007, and he sponsors the "Todd Fuller Maths Competition" at a North Carolina high school. He tours the globe participating in voluntary basketball camps, and he serves on the Airport Advisory Committee for Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. (Fuller is a FAA certified pilot in the Charlotte area, so that figures.) He also teaches applied mathematics at Charlotte Christian School. Here's his phone number.
Check it out.
Ford's Latest Mock
A Rube Chat poster has been gracious to supply this "premium" content for the rest of us out there. I'm not a fan of the latest development in the slightest.
This is the first of what hopes to be many quality posts from our TWB Forum member "Pants." His forum posts and further discussion can be found HERE. Feel free to join us, we're always looking for more quality members. As a poor follower of the Wolves, Pants is always trying to talk himself into a light at the end of the tunnel. Usually that means talking himself into players we have, or could potentially have. How many guys will be stars from this draft, probabably a few? Will they be available to the Wolves? He's going to do his best to convince himself that they will be.
Lets start with Mr. Xavier Henry.
He had a not great/not bad season with the Jayhawks this year. He shot up draft boards by shooting lights out for the first 10 games of his college career. His 13ppg isn't amazing, but it was heavily skewed by the depth of the team. Only once did he take 10 shots and not get into double digits, while 8 times he got to double digits points with less than 10 shots. That is rock solid.
Did everyone know he had a brother on the team? It was news to me. Apparently C.J. Henry tried his hand at baseball (Yankees prospect) before joining Xavier at Kansas. Who doesn't love the stud genetics?
How does he fit with what this team is doing? Xavier (69 of 165) is clearly a better 3 point shooter than Evan Turner (20 of 55), and a notch above Wes Johnson (51 of 123). You never know about how a guy will extend his range, but as a freshman it really doesn't get much better than that. We all know we'll need shooters at the 2/3 spots to put with Rubio the year after next, so that works. Xavier's size is a major selling point. After the Foye era we are all ready to have a 6'6'' SG. Hollinger has him at #6 behind (Favors, Monroe, Wall, Turner and Cousins).
Had Henry put up a monster game in the NCAA tourney my guess is the mocks would have tossed him right into the top 10. As it was, some of the older Jayhawk players where taking the fore-front in those games, and he did atleast make two of four 3's in the game they lost. The other two guys in the backcourt went 0-11 from three during that game (Collins and Taylor). Lets put that loss on them, shall we?
Who knows how things will shake out with Evan Turner at the top; but maybe it is fate, maybe the basketball gods knew Henry was the guy the Wolves should be targeting. If the Wolves end up picking at either the #6 or #7 slot, Henry might just be the way to go.
Tomorrow I'll be talking myself into James Anderson. Stay tuned.
In case you don't feel like watching that video clip, the interview transcript can be found here at timberwolves.com. Here are some of the more interesting things Kahn had to say:
Jonah Ballow: And what about Pekovic and Milicic and what they are going to do as far as their future with this ballclub?
David Kahn: Pekovic would like to come to the NBA now, I think he's at the right frame of mind and right moment, he's 24 years old, he turns 25 this offseason, and I think he's very ready. Darko wants to come back to us. And that's a good thing, he said so at the end of this seaons and reaffirmed it at the end of this trip and so come July 1st when it's time to do free-agency that's something that we will have to start dealing with, but there's a sense and chance that both of those players, Nikola and Darko, could be back with us, in Darko's case back with us and Nikola for the first time
Jonah Ballow: You were asked during the workouts if you would be surprised on draft night if the team had No. 4, 16, and 23. Do you still feel the same way?
David Kahn: Yes, I think it's highly unlikely that will have the exact same three picks. That could be what happens but I just think that is unlikely. I think we will be aggressive and I think other teams will be aggressive because it takes two to make a deal. With so many picks, we have a lot of opportunities to do a lot of different types of things and I'm still just trying to figure out what to do at this point. The likely scenario is we will be aggressive and active.
If Pekovic is coming over this season, that means for sure that either Al or Love is getting traded, right? That better be the case anyways, how many power forwards can a team have.
The Timberwolves apparently want Gay – Memphis can match any offer – to be the lynchpin of … whatever it is decision-maker David Kahn is trying to do. A lineup of Flynn, Corey Brewer, Gay, Love and Jefferson could be as good as Memphis was last year. (Although having Gay and Love in the same lineup will obviously lead to humor and humorous photos.) Minnesota has three first-round picks, so perhaps they could package them with Love or Jefferson to move up a spot or two to make sure they get a legit center (DeMarcus Cousins?). Would that be enough to get Ricky Rubio to leave Spain?
I'll pass on the Gay Love. He just hasn't proven himself to be a difference maker and would be a real travesty if we overpay this guy. Let's face it, the only way he's coming here is we severely overpay him.
In case you missed it, or refuse to watch it as to not give David Stern the satisfaction of getting your viewership for his crappy NBA games, the Lakers beat the Celtics last night to take a 2-1 lead in the Finals. Ray Allen had an all-time bad choke job, going 0-13 shooting. How does one of the best shooters in NBA history go 0-13 in the Finals? Choke job. Plain and simple. KG was awesome, everyone else sucked except for the Boston bench players. Lakers suck. NBA sucks. Let's not talk about it anymore.
Speaking of the Celtics, Peter May at ESPN has a great article on the behind the scenes workings of the KG deal and how the Celtics wouldn't budge on giving us Rondo.
Taylor didn't buy it. Why, he wondered, would the Celtics jeopardize a deal for a first-ballot Hall of Famer, a game-changer, for a player who had been in the league for only one season? All the other pieces were in place. But the Timberwolves demanded Rondo. Grousbeck would not budge and told Taylor to get back to him no later than 5 p.m. that day. He had to know either way. Grousbeck also agreed to pay a portion of Sebastian Telfair's salary. The Celtics were quite willing to include him in the deal instead of Rondo.
Grousbeck was alone on the aforementioned beach when his cellphone rang. It was the end of July. It was Taylor on the line. He had blinked. The Timberwolves would take Telfair and drop their demand that Rondo be included in the deal.
Anybody catch the shot of Kurt Rambis and Kevin Love in the stands during Celtics/Lakers Game 2 last night?
Yup, after 21 years of waiting, I was finally able to watch the Minnesota Timberwolves participate in the NBA Finals. It was a dream come true. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that's the closest this team is going to come to the Finals for quite some time...
Recently, Rubio expressed his desire to play in 2011-12, but wants the Wolves to make some serious improvements to the squad that finished with a dismal 15-67 record last season.
Spanish team Barça bought out Rubio’s contract for €3.5 million ($5.0 million), then put a clause in his six-year deal with the club that would allow a more manageable buyout of $1.4 million (Timberwolves pay $500,000).
Rubio met with Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis last week, and walked away feeling “he can envision playing for Kurt,” according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
However, the 19-year old phenom may want to be traded if Minnesota continues its horrid play.
So it sounds like Ricky is open to playing for the Wolves as long as we don't suck. Unfortunately, "not sucking" is something that this franchise tends to struggle with. Still, there's hope, and hope is what we need the most right now.
One team that will make a strong run at Gay is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Team owner Glen Taylor and president of basketball operations David Kahn have already targeted Gay as an attainable player to uplift the struggling franchise.
If this free-agent signing goes through, then I hope the Georgia Tech forward falls to us at #4. We may only win 18 games next season, but no other team in the league could trot out a starting five with the comedy of... wait for it... Corey Brewer Favors Gay Love Sessions.
The Warriors and Timberwolves have reportedly discussed a trade that would send Anthony Randolph to Minnesota for the Wolves' #4 pick and "maybe" Al Jefferson or Kevin Love.
Ok, I've heard the #4 for the #6 and Randolph rumor, but what's this "maybe" Al Jefferson or Kevin Love talk? Worst. Trade. Ever.
And that's about all the Wolves news I could scrounge up at the moment. If anything interesting comes up throughout the day (doubtful), I'll do some updating. At any rate, there's very little to nothing in this news piece that wasn't already posted over the weekend in our awesome TWB Forum. If you aren't checking it out or participating regularly, what are you waiting for? It's by far the best part of this site!
Now we'll wrap up with the latest poll in our TWB Reader Mock Draft
With the 7th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Detroit Pistons select...
Greg Monroe, Power Forward from Georgetown
With the 8th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers select...
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Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 