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Year-Round News & Updates on the Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves have announced their twenty-man roster for the 2012-13 training camp. The Timberwolves currently have 14 fully-guaranteed contracts on the books as well as 1 partially-guaranteed contract.
First off, the 14 guaranteed (which, I assume a lot of you already know): Ricky Rubio, Luke Ridnour, J.J. Barea, Malcolm Lee, Brandon Roy, Alexey Shved, Andrei Kirilenko, Chase Budinger, Derrick Williams, Kevin Love, Louis Amundson, Dante Cunningham, Nikola Pekovic and Greg Stiemsma. The one partially guaranteed contract is 29-year-old point guard Will Conroy. According to Darren Wolfson, that guarantee is for $100,000! The other five invitees include... Mike Harris. Harris is a 6'6" forward. He played for the Timberwolves' Summer League, earlier this offseason. He has played in the NBA, with stops in Washington & Houston, comprising of 34 career games. Chris Johnson. Johnson is a 6'11" center. He's played in roughly two NBA seasons, with stops in Boston, Portland and New Orleans. He provides an insurance policy if Greg Stiemsma's foot continues to give him problems. Phil Jones. Jones is a 6'10" forward/center. He's played the last couple seasons, overseas. Seth Tarver. Tarver is a 6'5" guard who's played his last two seasons in the D-League. Jermaine Taylor. Taylor is a 6'4" guard who has played for Rick Adelman (during his time in Houston--likely the reason he's getting this invite). According to Darren Wolfson, the TWolves also tried to get free agent swingman and former Milwaukee Bucks star Michael Redd into camp, but he turned them down. Most of these players with non-guaranteed or a partially guaranteed contract(s) are real longshots to make the opening night roster. However, chances are if the TWolves decide to sign one of them to fill that last open roster spot. It'd be between Chris Johnson (if Stiemsma has injury problems), Conroy (providing another guard until Rubio gets back) or Jermaine Taylor (familiarity with Adelman's system...and again another guard until Ricky returns). That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES!
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ESPN's 2nd Annual #NBARank concluded earlier today and with that, I bring you the last of your Minnesota Timberwolves' rankings. It should come as no shock, that Kevin Love tops this list as the Timberwolves' best player. It should also come as no surprise that Mr. Love has solidified himself as the NBA's best power forward. The days of Kevin Garnett & Tim Duncan are over. What does the future hold? I'd say: Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis (to name a few). Kevin Love not only made the leap to become the NBA's best power forward, but he also jumped from #16 into the NBA's Top 10 players! He joins LeBron James (1), Kevin Durant (2), Dwight Howard (3), Chris Paul (4), Derrick Rose (5), Kobe Bryant (6), Dwyane Wade (8), Russell Westbrook (9) and Deron Williams (10). That's some VERY elite company! And there's no doubting that Kevin has earned a spot among them. With some new faces and (in my...and many people's opinion) much, much better talent-level the Minnesota Timberwolves will have a real chance at a playoff spot this upcoming season. As much as the success of this team depends on Ricky Rubio and his return from the reconstructive knee surgery, Kevin Love needs to have a 25-15 kind of year. He'll definitely have some more help this season though: Nikola Pekovic, Andrei Kirilenko, Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, J.J. Barea and Derrick Williams (being the main rotation players). Kevin Love has become a dominant go-to scorer, the NBA's best rebounder, an average low-post defender (still an upgrade from a couple years ago) and the real heart of this up and coming Timberwolves squad. Two years ago he took home the Most Improved Player of the Year hardware. He's shed some weight and shown his immense dedication to the sport. As such, he got that extension last year (the first year of which begins in 2012-13) and he validated that with a season where he was a Top 10 MVP candidate! Here's hoping the Timberwolves finally bring all the pieces back together this season! If so, you know Kevin Love had a big hand in that! That's all for #NBARank! With the signing of Lou Amundson, we'll bring you one more, sometime this weekend, however! Until then, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves' quest for another big man seems to have come to a close. Word cam today that the Wolves have signed former Pacer Louis Amundson to a one-year veteran's minimum contract. The six-year veteran will join Kevin Love, Derrick Williams, Dante Cunningham, Nikola Pekovic and Greg Stiemsma; in the Timberwolves frontcourt. With the addition of Lou, you can expect the interest in big man Hassan Whiteside to have 'died'. Can you believe it?! ANOTHER...forward? You thought I was going to say white guy, huh? I only joke. But...since I brought it up...ANOTHER white guy! I had to talk about it, because otherwise it's like the 'turd in the punch bowl' kind-of-thing (or elephant in the room...if you prefer). Anyway, I've said it from the beginning, no matter how many caucasian individuals are on the squad, doesn't bother me, if they can play, does it really matter? Back to Lou. Minnesota gets a backup power forward/center who Mark Bartelstien (Lou's agent) says fits very well with Minnesota's roster, due to his athleticism. His playing time may depend on how well Derrick Williams plays the small forward, this season. If it's another season of D-Will playing mainly power forward, guys like Dante Cunningham & Louis Amundson will see limited minutes at power forward (considering Love plays 40+ minutes a night). Lou had season averages of 3.6ppg & 3.7rpg with the Indiana Pacers, last season. He also has career averages that closely reflect that: 4.0ppg & 3.7rpg. A capable deep reserve. According to Darren Wolfson (of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities), the Timberwolves beat out a number of other teams for Amundson's 'services': may include Charlotte, Atlanta, New York and Phoenix. Great pickup, at a great price tag. With this signing, Anthony Tolliver's tenure in Minny...is over. It's sounding as though he'll end up with either the Atlanta Hawks or the Phoenix Suns. It would be funny if he ended up with the Suns. Who already have former Wolves: Michael Beasley, Wesley Johnson & Sebastian Telfair on the roster. UPDATE: Tolliver says with the "Amundson signing" he'll most definitely sign elsewhere. That's all for now, we'll update all our roster, stats and player info pages with Amundson's information in the next couple days! Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! With training camp just over a week away from beginning, there are a number of Timberwolves updates. A lot of rumors and news that I've decided to compile here. Enjoy!
That's all for now! Media day is coming up and we'll have plenty more then! Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! Looks like Darko has finally found a new NBA home. Darko Milicic will join the (New) Big Three in Boston (KG, Pierce & Rondo) as a backup center. Darko has decided to remain in the NBA, despite numerous reports of big offers from overseas teams. When asked a year ago if he would sign another NBA contract once his deal with the TWolves had expired, he stated that he would not return to the NBA and would go play in Europe somewhere. Apparently he changed his mind and now he'll be on an Eastern Conference contender. I'll be very interested to see how this shakes out. Darko is far from a consistent player and often lacks motivation. We'll see how long it takes till him & KG/Doc Rivers start butting heads. If you think about it, the Timberwolves & Celtics traded backup centers this offseason. Greg Stiemsma to Minny & Darko to Boston. The Celtics currently have rookie Fab Melo (a big work in progress), Chris Wilcox (coming off heart surgery) and journeyman Jason Collins (will play a lot when they face the Lakers/Dwight, but not much else). So there's a good chance, depending on how much work Darko puts in, that he could see some consistent minutes behind Kevin Garnett at center. That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! ESPN is nearing the end of their second-annual #NBARank. Our latest Minnesota Timberwolf to show up on the list? Point guard Ricky Rubio. A year ago, rookie Ricky Rubio came to Minnesota and immediately had A LOT of pressure put on him. No one was quite sure how his skill set would translate in the NBA. Savoir? I had my doubts. However, he proved me and a lot of others wrong. The Timberwolves now have their point guard of the future after those terrible years of Randy Foye, Sebastian Telfair, Jonny Flynn. Needless to say, I think we've got a keeper. Coming into last season, Rubio was ranked #204. He quickly proved (like most rookies) that, that was WAY to low. Along with Kevin Love & Nikola Pekovic, Rubio is one of the cornerstones of this franchise. For the first time in a long time there's a buzz of optimism and excitement in Minnesota for the Timberwolves, in large part to Mr. Rubio. The biggest question for Ricky heading into 2012-13, is when will Ricky be back and MORE IMPORTANTLY: when will Ricky be back to 100%? Right now, the Timberwolves main goal for this season will be making the playoffs. I think we can all agree their not quite ready to seriously challenge contenders like the Lakers, Thunder or Heat (of course these will be some of the most exciting games, next season). The Timberwolves have quite A LOT more help this season (Pekovic, Kirilenko, Roy, Budinger, Barea, Ridnour, Williams, etc.) however Ricky's health and ability to contribute will be the hinge on which the Wolves teeter this season. Twelve down, one to go. Just Kevin Love to show up on #NBARank now. I'm expecting he's Top 10 and the #1 power forward in the NBA! We'll find out soon enough. That's all for now, thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! Today we round out the final five teams in the Western Conference. We've covered the Northwest & Southwest Divisions (Minnesota, Denver, Oklahoma City, Portland, Utah, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Memphis and New Orleans).
If you didn't catch those first two division previews, you can read them here: Northwest & Southwest. Basically I just go team-by-team and talk about their offseason moves, how they finished last season and what to expect in the new year. Today we'll be going through the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings. Let's do this... For Golden State: Along with the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors have improved their roster, drastically. Like the Timberwolves the Warriors are a team looking to get back into the playoffs after a lengthy hiatus (not quite to the extent of the TWolves...but it's been a few years). Golden State has addressed a number of issues. They traded for a starter-capable/proven point guard: Jarrett Jack (as a part of that trade they sent Dorell Wright to the Philadelphia 76ers). This shores up concerns if Steph Curry's ankle injuries continue to plague him (seems like a very likely scenario). They resigned Brandon Rush (a solid rotation guy, who can provide reserve minutes at SG & SF). They signed free agent Carl Landry, something I was very surprised by! I assumed Landry would sign with a team that would FINALLY allow him to be an everyday starter (Charlotte? Atlanta? Detroit?). Nonetheless, he's an incredibly capable and valuable backup. In the draft they grabbed small forward Harrison Barnes (7th overall) and center Festus Ezeli (30th overall). Harrison is likely penciled in as the starting small forward and Ezeli will back up Andrew Bogut at the five (I doubt he'll have a whole lot of trouble beating out Biedrens for that job). They've got some very good depth: Curry & Jack, Klay Thompson & Rush, Barnes & Richard Jefferson, David Lee & Landry, Bogut & Ezeli...not too shabby! In order for the Warriors to compete for a playoff seed (like Minnesota) it all depends on the health of their best players. Without a healthy Steph Curry and/or Andrew Bogut, aspirations of playing in the postseason, will fall short. A low playoff seed in the West is in reach; 6-8. For the L.A. Clippers: Unlike a few of the Western Conference teams, the L.A. Clippers were a squad to add some veteran talent (as opposed to teams like the Mavericks, Nuggets or Rockets that have added a lot of 'youth' to their squad). Last season, with the acquisition of Chris Paul the Clippers finally crawled their way out of the basement of the Western Conference and had a decent playoff run. This offseason they added Jamal Crawford, Willie Green, Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf and Ryan Hollins. Crawford will challenge Billups for the starting shooting guard spot, however the Clippers will likely look to use him as a spark off the bench (like his time in Atlanta, when he won 6th Man of the Year). They've certainly loaded up on wing players, though it seems like they could really use another backup big man. Grant Hill left Phoenix and had a chance to join Nash with the Lakers, but instead decided to challenge him with their counterpart Clippers. Who knows what to expect from Lamar Odom...I hope he can return to form, but it's really only so I quit hearing about him. Turiaf is an okay backup center (if that's really your only option). They've infused their second unit with a lot of veteran talent, however the starting lineup should remain the same: Chris Paul, Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan. The Clips did say goodbye to Mo Williams (traded to Utah), however depth at point guard shouldn't be a concern (with Eric Bledsoe, Billups & Crawford all able to play some point). Griffin tore his meniscus while training with Team USA for the Olympics. All signs point to him being at 100% once training camp begins, however. They're certainly a Top 5 seed in the West and judging by their performances in last year's postseason, they'll be a fun team to watch. For the L.A. Lakers: Let's just go ahead and give Mitch Kupchak the Executive of the Year Award, already! I have a feeling the Thunder are going to lose their Western Conference crown. Mitch executed a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns for point guard Steve Nash to join the team (I think we'd all take Nash over Ramon Sessions--opted out and eventually signed with Charlotte). They grabbed forward Antawn Jamison...for the veteran's minimum (sure he's fairly one-dimensional nowadays, BUT the vet's minimum is a BARGAIN!). They resigned Jordan Hill. They drafted swingman Darius Johnson-Odom as well as center Robert Sacre. They signed former 76er Jodie Meeks (as Kobe's main backup at the two). And of course...Mitch pulled off a blockbuster that landed another Superman in L.A. Dwight Howard will team with Kobe & Co. to form a team, that if it's players are at 100%, I don't think can't be beat. In that trade they also landed Chris Duhon and Earl Clark. With a starting lineup of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard; and a bench of Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks, Devin Ebanks, Antawn Jamison and Jordan Hill; the Lakers (to me) are the most intimidating squads in the NBA this season. DH likely won't be available for the start of the season (coming off back surgery), but they have plenty of options of starting lineups, until he can debut: a frontcourt of Jamison & Gasol or Gasol & Hill. There's no doubt they're a top two seed in the West and I'm pretty excited for the Wolves-Lakers matchups this year, hopefully we can steal at least one, from them. (Rubio vs. Nash, Roy vs. Bryant, AK47 vs. MWP, Love vs. Gasol & Pek vs. DH--after writing that I got 10x, more excited!). For Phoenix: Steve Nash & the Suns have finally parted ways, however, they may not be as bad as I would have thought, if Nash had exited, two or three years ago. After trading Goran Dragic two years ago for Aaron Brooks, they resigned Dragic and let Brooks go to the Kings. They also drafted Kendall Marshall (13th overall). The resigned Shannon Brown (who could be their starting shooting guard--or possibly Jared Dudley). They signed former TWolf Michael Beasley (likely their starting small forward) and were involved in a three-team deal that sent Robin Lopez & Hakim Warrick to the Hornets, picks to the TWolves and Wesley Johnson & an MIN 1st-rounder to the Suns. Wes will backup Beasley at small forward (can't say I'll miss either of them). The Rockets amnestied Luis Scola and Phoenix had the 'winning bid' to get him. He'll start at power forward, with Channing Frye & Markieff Morris as their backups. They have Marcin Gortat at center who will be backed up by another of their free agent signings: veteran Jermaine O'Neal. I don't know that they'll be competing for a playoff spot in the West, but they'll be competitive. Their stars will definitely be their frontcourt (Scola & Gortat). If there were ever a time for Beasley to turn his career around, in Phoenix in their all O, no D. I'm very interested to see how our former 'Wolfs': Telfair, Wes & Beas do in Phoenix, this year. There's a good chance, no matter how well Beas, Scola, Dragic or Gortat play, they'll be a lotto team, once more: #10-15. For Sacramento: The Kings are projected to be 'cellar-dwellers' once again, this season. They did make some significant additions, but A LOT of things have to go right if they want to even be a competitive bunch, this year. They signed free agent point guard Aaron Brooks (who's projected to be the team's starting point guard). With Brooks' addition, I'd say it's just a matter of time before Jimmer Fredette is changing his address. The Kings also completed a trade with the Toronto Raptors, the Kings sent a pick and in return received forward James Johnson, adding to a growing number of swingmen on the roster (Travis Outlaw, Francisco Garcia, Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans, Tyler Honeycutt and John Salmons). JJ is a versatile player and could see time at SG, SF & PF. Sacramento resigned Jason Thompson, but now he has some competition at the four. The Kings drafted Thomas Robinson (5th overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft. He didn't impress in summer league (looked afraid to 'bang' in the post and preferred to drift to the mid-range). On paper, a frontcourt of Robinson & DeMarcus Cousins looks to be a dominating force for the next few years in Sac-Town. If the Kings want any chance at success they need to figure out, Tyreke Evans. Is Evans their starting point guard? shooting guard? small forward? Is he best used as a reserve? Can Tyreke 'return to the form' that made him Rookie of the Year. Evans has to be their best player, their leader. If it's another season that doesn't meet expectations for Evans, he'll enter restricted free agency, next summer...and someone will make him a hefty offer. Like Minnesota, it's been a long rebuilding process for the Kings (longer for Minnesota...but 'long' nonetheless). They have some young pieces that they can rebuild this franchise on: namely Tyreke Evans & DeMarcus Cousins. Unless those two have big years AND guys like Brooks & Robinson exceed expectations. If not (likely not), the Kings will own another Top 10 lottery pick in the 2013 Draft. That's all for now! With three divisions down (the entire Western Conference) we have three divisions down and the entire Eastern Conference to go! Hopefully we'll have them completed by the beginning of the Wolves' training camp (Oct. 2nd, I believe...BUT, I can't guarantee anything). Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! The Minnesota Timberwolves have signed D-League point guard Will Conroy to a partially guaranteed deal.
Conroy is one of Roy's very good friends, which is a big reason the Wolves have brought him on, however B-Roy says they're not a package deal. Conroy was the person who initially talked Roy into considering signing with the Timberwolves. I'd say there's a chance he could make the opening day roster, however once Ricky Rubio is at 100%, he would almost certainly be waived (or sent to the D-League). Conroy is a 29-year-old point guard who was born in Portland, Oregon, but attended school in Seattle, Washington. He played his college ball for the University of Washington. He's bounced around the D-League, internationally as well as a few NBA teams. He played for the Charlotte Bobcats in the preseason of 06-07, but was waived before the season began. He then played for the D-League Tulsa 66ers from 2005-07. During the 2007 season he was signed to a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, after the 10 days he returned to Tulsa. That same year the Clippers also signed him to a 10-day contract, after those 10 days the season was over. He then went overseas and in 2007 he played for Virtus Bologna and Olimpia Milano from 07-08. From 2008-09 he played for the Albuquerque Thunderbirds. In 2009-10 he played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In 2010 he was called up by the Houston Rockets on a 10-day contract, after 10 days he again returned to the D-League Thunderbirds. In 2011 he went overseas to Turkey and played for the Oyak Renault. Last year (2012) he returned to the D-League with the Thunderbirds, once again. That's all for now, stay tuned! Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! ESPN is in the midst of their second-annual #NBARank and for the next few weeks while they unveil all 500 players ranked, we'll be taking a look at where our Minnesota Timberwolves players land. AK47 ranked 79th after a year out of the NBA. Last year Kirilenko was ranked 90th. Clearly his performance playing for CKSA Moscow (was last season's MVP) and his play for Russia in the Olympics got the 'experts' excited. They aren't the only one's. It feels GREAT to finally have a capable and competent small forward on the roster (even if AK's best position may be power forward). His versatility and ability to play nearly every position on the floor, Andrei will be one of Minnesota's best players this season. With this rank, Kirilenko is pegged as the TWolves' third-best player (behind Kevin Love & Ricky Rubio) which sounds about right. I'm expecting about 10 points, 4-5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block a night, which is probably the low-end of what he's capable of. Here's hoping that his defensive intensity, will allow him to become the Wolves' defensive anchor (I doubt he'll struggle to embrace that role). Andrei signed a two-year, $20million contract with the Wolves this summer. That second year is a player option (though I seriously doubt he'll turn down $10million, next year). Eleven down, two to go (Love & Rubio--Kevin should be Top 10 and Rubio Top 50). Stay tuned! Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! ESPN is in the midst of their second-annual #NBARank and for the next few weeks while they unveil all 500 players ranked, we'll be taking a look at where our Minnesota Timberwolves players land. The MIGHTY PEK! Without a doubt, Nikola Pekovic is my favorite TWolf. When I played in high school, at 6'4", 265lbs. it was my job to bully guys down low. Watching Nikola bang in the post is REALLY fun to watch. I'm really hoping that with the signing of Greg Stiemsma, they'll stop trying to replace Pekovic with an 'athletic shot-blocking center'. Nikola was robbed last season in the Most Improved Player of the Year Award (actually I thought it should've been Ersan Ilyasova and not Ryan Anderson. #1: Anderson, #2: Ilyasova, #3: Pekovic--how they finished). Jack Sikma and the rest of Rick Adelman's VERY talented staff worked with Pekovic prior to last season and by midseason, when Darko was being Darko, Pekovic earned the starting job. He had some trouble toward the end of the season with some ankle issues (bone spurs). He's had surgery to remove them and in an interview recently he stated he shed nearly ten pounds to take some of the pressure off that ankle. I'm looking forward to the Timberwolves' games vs. the Hawks (Al Hoford), Warriors (Andrew Bogut), Pacers (Roy Hibbert), Lakers (Dwight Howard), Grizzlies (Marc Gasol), Knicks (Tyson Chandler), 76ers (Andrew Bynum), Suns (Marcin Gortat) and the Kings (DeMarcus Cousins) and the fun matchups they'll present for the PEKsecutioner's ImPEKable post play (such alliteration!!). :) That's all for now, still three TWolves players to go (Andrei Kirilenko, Ricky Rubio & Kevin Love--they should appear in that order). Thanks for reading HOWL and GO WOLVES! |
Cody AndersonA TWolves fan, bringing you the daily updates. News Archives
August 2017
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