The new GM David Kahn has taken a scorched Earth policy to the Twolves. Are they on the right track?
2009 Season Preview - Canis Hoopus
The Demolition Man quickly and confidently made a series of moves that have placed the Wolves in a position to win. He turned Kevin McHale, Jerry Sichting, and Dean Cooper into Kurt Rambis, Reggie Theus, Bill Laimbeer, and Dave Wohl. He turned two moderate-sized expiring contracts into Ricky Rubio. He turned a Sebastian Telfair/Kevin Ollie point guard rotation into a Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions one. He picked up an athletic big who can play the reserve 4/5. He drafted the 2nd best shooter in the draft late in the 1st round. He cleared (probably) between $13-15 milion in 2010 cap space. He picked up another 2010 first round pick. Best of all, Kahn has made the Wolves interesting again.
Minnesota Timberwolves Season Preview | Empty the Bench
What are Minnesota’s biggest strengths? Al Jefferson, rebounding, and a fresh start. Jefferson is one of the brightest young stars in basketball. He’s an All-Star caliber player with fantastic work ethic and post moves. Honestly, he may have the best low-post footwork in the NBA and his shooting touch is coming along. And while he’s miscast as a center, Jefferson can also clean the glass very well on both ends. Kevin Love will miss the first 6-8 weeks of the season with a broken hand, but when he’s in the game he’s one of the top five rebounders in the NBA already. Hopefully these two can learn to play defense together.
2009 Timberwolves Blog Network Preview
What are the goals for this team? 1. Not surrender our pick to the Clippers. The Wolves owe our first to LA for the dreaded Marko Jaric trade that occured several years ago. It is top 10 protected. Considering this season is a wash, I am not overly concerned. The emergence of Love's injury helps this case and helps solidify our pick in what scouts consider to be a deep draft. That was a negative goal, but unfortunately the truth.