The Wolves got outscored in three of four quarters, and really it was Indiana's game the whole way, but it was a pre-season game so nobody cared (or showed up, judging by the dismal attendance). The Wolves did live up to my prediction that they would be worse than last year, but a lot more fun to watch. In several stretches the Wolves went through real sloppy shooting funks where even the lay-ups wouldn't go in, but as a result at one point in the second quarter they got 3-4 offensive rebounds on the same possession, and even as they kept enthusiastically thumping the ball off the rim, I realized they were showing more heart keeping after the ball than I'd seen from the Timberwolves in a long time. I don't mind so much when they screw up, both because they'll get better, and because they show some actual excitement about being professional basketball players, something that hasn't been true of the Wolves roster since the end of the 2004 Western Conference Finals. My only real disappointment is I wanted to see more of Randy Foye, one of last year's few bright spots, and to see what young talent but notorious headcase Sebastian Telfair was going to make of his last chance, but both are nursing injuries.
Of course, they followed up the loss by making another big trade in the continuing process of blowing up the team and starting over. Out so far, Kevin Garnett, and guards Mike James, Troy Hudson, and Trenton Hassell. Now in the latest trade they dumped another guard, Ricky Davis, who goes to Miami as a third scoring option behind Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. I'm just happy the clutch of guards dominating the roster is breaking up, and the Wolves are finally getting bigger. The Wolves also included a center in the trade, Mark Blount, who had an unfortunate tendency to drift out and take 18-foot jump shots on offense...a big man with a jump shot can be valuable playing off a dominant power forward and drawing out opposing centers, but you need a better team to take advantage of it. The Wolves got four pieces in return, including another center to replace Blount in Michael Doleac, and a young forward who has missed most of his career with injuries and salmonella. The big pieces though are a lottery protected draft pick, so basically late first round, and Employee #8 himself, Antoine Walker, who was at one time a fearsome scorer in the front court, and Garnett's departure leaves a huge hole. On the other hand, there's a reason Miami was looking to dump him, and he may be a bit nuts and not all that interested in being part of the Wolves rebuilding effort. This has sparked speculation that the Wolves have another trade in the works including Walker, so the total result and purpose of this trade may not be clear yet. So far I would say the trade opens up playing time at shooting guard for the young guys, and brings in three potential future benefits: first it frees up cap space in a couple years aiming the Wolves towards a big free-agent year, it brings in another draft pick to round out the roster, and Simien may live up to his potential and become a solid contributor.
Tonight, I may learn more as I go to the Wolves-Bucks preseason game. First and foremost, I'll find out if the general dirtiness of Wisconsin pro sports fans exposed in such clarity this year by the Packers and Brewers visits to town extends to the Bucks. I will also seek any opportunity to ask Chinese import Yi Jianlian if he can hook me up with a pirate DVD of the new National Treasure (unless Yi speaks Cantonese... Nicholas Cage cannot be dubbed into Cantonese), and possibly even to report on the Wolves new acquisitions if any of them get playing time. But seriously, Brewers fans: dirty people. Packers fans: DIRTY PEOPLE. Can Bucks fans really fall that far from the tree (which no doubt drips sap on everything within reach)?
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