Unfortunately for Wolves fans, this time of year has been the most exciting over the past three seasons.  It's a time to speculate on what steps your team can make to get back to the playoffs and start making some noise.  In negative news, the Wolves and their "braintrust" got the 3rd pick in an advertised two-man draft.  In positive news, we have positive debate in the forums on what to do with the pick and it's good to hear we don't have to listen to a country-music station to listen to the Wolves next year.

With all of the debate raging over what to do with the draft pick, it's important to remember that the Wolves have to make some decisions on its existing roster.  Here at the Twolves Blog, we want to continue the discussions about this teams direction with in our series, the "Blogprint for the Future," which will include contributions from various TWolvesBlog contributors and guests, as this team transforms during the off-season.


Contributors to this edition:

College Wolf from TWolvesBlog
TheOldLogo from TWolvesBlog
Jon Mathaler from TNABACG
Stop-n-Pop from Canis Hoopus

Previous Editions of the Blogprint:

#1: Our #3 overall Lottery Pick and Wolves Free-Agents.
#2: What is the time frame on the Wolves becoming contenders?

In today's edition, my esteemed colleagues and I reexamine our thoughts on what the Wolves should do with the #3 pick in the NBA draft, which happens to be next Thursday night.  Should we trade it?  If not, after dissecting a plethora of workout information and new findings about the various prospects, has anything changed in our decision(s) about who the Wolves should draft?  Also, as a special little bonus for the KG and the Boston Celtics winning the 2007-08 NBA Finals, we discuss where KG now stands in the annals of history.


Please click "Read More" for the analysis of this edition's topic.

Comments (12)

  College Wolf's Open Mailbag...

I’m stoked to be bringing this to you all again. Thanks in advance to everyone that submitted questions for this edition of the Mailbag. Keep em coming and I will gladly answer. Anyhow… as usual there is a very diverse variety of topics from: Discussion on the future of our team, The 2008 NBA Draft and whom the Wolves should take, What’s wrong with Corey Brewer, KG’s legacy, The Wolves new jerseys, The NBA Playoffs/Finals, And just what exactly is College Wolf’s purpose in life (?!?), among many other topics...

Feel free to leave any comments and/or email me questions for the next Mailbag. ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )  

(Click "Read More..." to dive into the MailBag.)

Comments (1)

Unfortunately for Wolves fans, this time of year has been the most exciting over the past three seasons.  It's a time to speculate on what steps your team can make to get back to the playoffs and start making some noise.  In negative news, the Wolves and their "braintrust" got the 3rd pick in an advertised two-man draft.  In positive news, we have positive debate in the forums on what to do with the pick and it's good to hear we don't have to listen to a country-music station to listen to the Wolves next year.

With all of the debate raging over what to do with the draft pick, it's important to remember that the Wolves have to make some decisions on its existing roster.  Here at the Twolves Blog, we want to continue the discussions about this teams direction with in our series, the "Blogprint for the Future," which will include contributions from various TWolvesBlog contributors and guests, as this team transforms during the off-season.


Contributors to this edition:

College Wolf from TWolvesBlog
DeROK from TWolvesBlog
TheOldLogo from TWolvesBlog
Anthony from TWolvesBlog
Jon Mathaler from TNABACG
Stop-n-Pop from Canis Hoopus

Previous Editions of the Blogprint:

#1: Our #3 overall Lottery Pick and Wolves Free-Agents.

In today's edition, myself along with four esteemed colleagues, discuss just exactly how long it could realistically take for our squad to compete for a NBA Championship... as well as our picks for this year's NBA Champion!

Please click "Read More" for the analysis of this edition's topic.

Comments (1)

 

Invitation to the Mailbag Party...

Time for the next TWolvesblog Open Mailbag for anyone that is interested in sending any questions and/or thoughts, and I'll anwer them as soon as I get a sufficient amount of submissions. Don't be afraid to send stuff in (I don't want to have to make stuff up!) Heck, I promise that I'll even answer them all... I'm like an Equal Opportunity Employer.

There might not be a ton of Timberwolves related discussion pieces right now, but there are still plenty of things to write in about:  The NBA Finals/playoffs so far, The Wolves roster conundrum, to keep or not to keep our various free agents, the amazing leadership of our franchise Head Coach/Front Office situation, the upcoming NBA draft and what the Wolves should do, OJ "stud" Mayo -vs- Brook "stiff" Lopez, what you like or don't like, nights out on the town, random crap... the possibilities are endless!

Or you can just email me and tell me that I suck. It's all good.

Email all inquiries/Mail Bag questions/comments/hate mail to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Comments (2)

Expect the worst and hope for the best -- that seems to be the attitude of most Wolves fans coming into tonight's NBA Draft Lottery.  In the short history of the franchise, we have yet to move up in a draft lottery, but surely, there's a first time for anything...right?  Uh, right guys? 

Whelp, get out your lucky charms and buckle up, because this is gonna be a nerve-wracking evening.  And, by the way, thanks for following along with the live blog.

*About an hour ago, I started to get a funny feeling.  While it may have simply been the heartburn that resulted from the lunch buffet at Boca Chica, I think it's more likely an inkling that this is the year we finally get lucky.  I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm a bit more optimistic than I usually am about our chances at moving up in the draft.  We're overdue for some good fortune, dammit!

*If you need a quick history lesson on the many Draft Lottery misadventures in the history of this franchise, here's a great article from T'Wolves Blog contributor Jon Marthaler that's worth a read.

*Screw Jay-Z...Beyonce should have been the Nets' representative at the lottery.

*Avery Johnson's on the ESPN pregame panel -- pretty cool.  Reminds me of something I saw a couple weeks ago: I was browsing in a Borders, and noticed a book written by Avery in the "new releases" section of the store.  Talk about terrible timing to release a book; Cuban had just given him the axe before his book was shipped to stores.

Click "Read More" to continue.

Comments (5)

Be first to comment this article

Be first to comment this article

I'm a bit torn, here.

As a Timberwolves fan, I want to see KG win a championship.  As an NBA fan, I want to see the Hawks complete an unthinkable upset on Sunday in Boston.  And as a sports fan, I want to see any team from Boston go down in defeat. 

Why?  In all honesty, I'm a jealous SOB...with an endless line of incompetent teams in Minnesota, it's nauseating to see Boston teams have some tremendous success.  I loved seeing the Patriots finish the 2007 NFL season 18-1, and admittedly, despite KG's 12 seasons as the face of the Timberwolves franchise, witnessing the Celtics lose in humiliating fashion would put a slight grin on my face.  I'll admit it...I'm little more than a bitter, frustrated Twin Cities sports fan.

What's a Wolves fan to do?  Well, as much as I appreciate KG's endless line of contributions to our favorite squad, it's impossible not to love the scrappy bunch of guys from Atlanta.

Going into the Celtics-Hawks matchup, I considered the series to be the equivalent of a first round bye for Boston.  I thought the Hawks might steal one of the games in Atlanta, but other than that, I was expecting a thorough domination by the Celtics.  Anyone who says they believed all along that the Hawks could compete with Boston is a dirty rotten liar - indeed, this was supposed to be one of the most lopsided playoff series in recent memory.

(Click "Read More" to continue)

Comments (3)

After the worst season in 14 years, Timberwolves fans can still find hope. 

Note: This article appears on www.DeROK.Net/wolves 

How do I even begin to summarize this past Timberwolves season?  I don't know what words to say.  You see, even though games were played and men ran up and down the court with the name across their chests, it just never felt like "Timberwolves basketball" to me. Something was missing, and I'm sure you all know who that "something" was. 

I know, I know.  The trade took place nearly nine months ago.  It's old news, and I should be over it.  I know that.  But as much as we all like to tell ourselves that this was "the best thing for our future", that KG is "better off", and that we've "moved on", there's no denying that the Target Center was a shell of its former self this year.  I only got to witness the experience via the television set, and even I could notice the emptiness.  And no matter how much we may try to mask the pain and deny it, that vacuum is a direct result of Kevin Garnett's departure. 

Kevin Garnett is just a man.  He throws on a pair of sneakers and puts a leather ball through a metal circle.  I'm not here to pass him off as some "savior" or some supernatural force that we should bow down and worship.  In fact, the point I'm trying to make has very little to do with Kevin Garnett, the man.  It has to do with Kevin Garnett, the ideal.  It has to do with what Kevin Garnett represented for this franchise and what this organization has become in the wake of his absence. 

Continue Reading...

Be first to comment this article

Forgive me if I go a little light on the discussion of the Wolves' season finale tonight - I've gotta talk about the memorable experience of getting press access for the game. 

Long story short, Timberwolves.com ran a contest called "Battle of the Bloggers" a little while back, where the winner would receive a press pass for a Wolves game.  Every week, myself, and a bunch of other Wolves bloggers (including College Wolf, Sonia, and Derok) responded to a Wolves-related question, and these responses were awarded points based on the arguments they made, how well they backed up their claims, etc.

Lo and behold, I came out on top at the end of the competition.  And I decided to utilize my press access prize for the Wolves' final match of the season, against the Milwaukee Bucks.

I arrived to the Target Center at about 5:30 and received my press credentials.  I hung out for a couple minutes in the media room before heading out to the court, where a couple players were warming up and hanging out.  As a lifelong fan of the Wolves, simply walking on to the Target Center court was amazing...and to be in the presence of guys like Michael Doleac, Mark Madsen, Corey Brewer, and Kirk Snyder was the icing on the cake.

Matt, an intern for Timberwolves.com, was kind enough to speak with the PR guys and score me a quick one-on-one interview with Madsen.  Mad Dog walked up to me and we shook hands...then, we walked over to some nearby seats to have a chat.

After spending ten minutes talking with Madsen, one thing became clear: You'll never find a nicer, classier guy in the NBA than the Dog.

(Click "Read More" to continue) 

Comments (3)