Annoying Timberwolves Update: Uh, who plays for them again?

Since the Wolves hit the Big Reset Button two years ago and traded Kevin Garnett to Boston, fans have been not so patiently waiting for young talent to mature, and for the team to dig its way back out of salary cap hell, and assemble something resembling an actual NBA team rather than Big Al and the seven dwarfs. Two years and a lot of trades later the Wolves haven't really improved, and are still buried under a mound of McHale-era contracts, but with every trade they did accumulate more and more draft picks this year and next. In order to sort it all out I felt like I had to write it all down, and at that point why not share it with my loyal readership-*?

Part I: What's changed since the end of the season?

The draft brought about another flurry of activity that had a few players join the Wolves and be traded away before they had a chance to be issued a number, or start to brush up on the local dialect and try some hot dish. And the Wolves had so many draft picks and potentially so many rookies coming in that they had to trade some of them straight up for picks in next year's draft. So now I'm trying to sort out for myself what they ended up with, and what this means for next year.


As far as last year's Wolves go, a few are gone. The Wolves dispensed with the services of Randy Foye, Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Mark Madsen, and Mike Miller. (No, not that Mike Miller.) Because of his 3-point range, hustle, and basketball intelligence Miller is the kind of guy who's a great role player on a team with an established core, but on a team as incomplete as the Wolves his talents were wasted. Foye and Telfair were point guards who brought unusual size and quickness, but not the ability to run an offense or match up with elite point guards. Mark Madsen was a fireplug, a really tough role-player who could rebound and play defense against much bigger players but had no offensive skills whatsoever... like Miller a complementary player on a team that needs to find a core before it can add supporting pieces. Craig Smith was an undersized power forward whose tenacity allowed him to compete with bigger players and created constant match-up problems by using his quicker feet and a nice floater, but like Telfair and Foye, he struck me as a 2nd unit change of pace kind of player on a team that had no established first team. Honestly none of these guys looked likely to get better, and none of them brought anything consistently to the team that will be missed next year.

So what did losing these guys gain? First, the Wolves got Quentin Richardson, a swingman who I hope can actually score and has 3-point range, and if not a superstar might actually offer some consistent option away from the lane where Big Al is supposed to be lurking. And if he stinks, he has a $9m contract that expires after this season. The Wolves also picked up some less than inspiring players in guards Chucky Atkins and Damien Wilkins, and forwards Darius Songaila and Oleksiy Pecherov. Atkins is potentially able to mentor young Wolves point guards picked up in the draft, and it's possible Pecherov might have some upside now that he's out of the abyss of despair otherwise known as Madison Square Garden, but they also don't tie up a lot of money. Slim pickings, but the Wolves also added a #5 overall draft pick to their haul.

Which brings me to the draft. Six picks with four in the first round was a little excessive so the Wolves traded away the rights to a first and second rounder (for picks in the same rounds next year) and drafted a couple European players who are unlikely to join the team this year (more on that in a moment). The two players they've signed from draft night were lottery pick Jonny Flynn, hopefully one of the more NBA ready point guards coming out of college, and in the late first round they picked up shooting guard Wayne Ellington from UNC.

In free agency the Wolves still have no real cap room to make a surprise free agent signing, so practically speaking just have their own unsigned free agents to negotiate with: two centers I almost forgot were still on the roster in Shelden Williams and Jason Collins, and shooting guard Rodney Carney, who was actually pretty good last year.

Part II: What does this mean for next year?

Sadly not much besides hope. A few players could continue to improve, and I'm hoping a couple pieces could add new wrinkles to a team that will now at least have fewer oddball "solution looking for a problem" types of players (Hi I'm 8' tall and my specialty is shooting from half court) kind of players to bang and weld together into a crude line-up.

In the front court the Wolves are building around an outstanding power forward in Al Jefferson who will probably find himself matched up against bigger centers all year, and the versatile and energetic Kevin Love who will hopefully continue to develop as a natural complement to Big Al. For depth Ryan Gomes is still a solid squad player who can play either forward position who works hard and plays well with others, and Bryan Cardinal is like a poor man's Mike Miller adding 3-point range from a forward position for a different look. Adding Oleksiy Pecherov to that mix could be great if Pecherov is a true center and can give the Wolves the ability to start Big Al at power forward and Love at small forward for a genuine big front court. For depth the Wolves also have forward Darius Songaila (no idea what he brings) and could sign one of their FA centers for another warm body in the paint.

For shooting guards and swing men Quentin Richardson can maybe a consistent scoring threat from the 2-3 (I really hope) and a healthy Corey Brewer could be nasty defensive stopper and continue to gain confidence as an NBA player. Rodney Carney was a solid squad player last year who had the best season of his young career and is at least fun to watch, plus the Wolves just added rookie Wayne Ellington so there's hope for modest improvement in that part of the court. Or at least something to watch for the first few months, seeing who wins the starting jobs and who improves.

At point guard, the Wolves really cleaned house from the last few years, and right now it looks like they're starting fresh with rookie Jonny Flynn with Chucky Atkins as the wise, veteran back-up, and it remains to be seen who they'll choose to fill the crucial "Sit over there and don't drink too much gatorade, we'll call you if somebody gets hurt" 3rd point guard spot. So watching Jonny Flynn's rookie year could offer some entertainment. (Plus remember the international players I said I'd mention later?)

The final verdict on next year is that they might be a bit better or at least a little smoother and less awkwardly disjointed in their line-up, but probably not a lot better. No obvious superstars in the making have joined the team, but there are still a few young players I'd like to watch, and hope springs eternal.

Part III: Uh, that's grim... what about the future?

It seems like that's what I end up talking about constantly with the Wolves, who are always one more year away from digging their way out of the snowbank. However they do have a few assets that could improve the team directly or be used as trade bait within the next year including some players who could get better (Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Corey Brewer, Jonny Flynn), five picks in next year's draft (including three first rounders), and the draft rights to a three international players who could have a future in the NBA. Even if they push the draft picks back again and their European players stay in Europe, next summer the Wolves could still have up to $20m in cap room to lure free agents who hate sunshine and media exposure but love ice fishing and theater.

Part IV: If you're French in the kitchen and Italian in the bedroom, what are you in the bathroom?

The biggest unknowns for the Wolves future are those European players they drafted. The one most likely to appear in a Wolves uniform is this year's second round pick and former Amsterdam Demon Astronaut Henk Norel (whose picture makes him look so Euro it's scary). Norel has proven playing as a forward in Spain that he's got a nice outside shooting touch for a big man, which makes it obvious that the Wolves picked him thinking that like Kevin Love, his skills would complement Jefferson's. Whether he ever makes it to the NBA is anybody's guess, but in the mean time he's playing in the Barcelona suburbs for Spanish club Jovenhut Badalona. I wonder if that detail could be important...

Last year the Wolves drafted Nikola Pekovic, a Montenegrin center who could make a huge impact on the Wolves roster if he ever came over. The problem is he's making so much money tax-free from Partizan Belgrade that convincing him to buy out his contract at huge expense to himself so he can come over and be an NBA rookie will be harder than dubbing a Nicholas Cage film into Cantonese. He's only 22, so if his contract ever runs out and he decides he wants to try his hand against the best he would be a huge asset to the Wolves roster, and even as a gleam in a GM's eye he's a valuable trade asset.

The biggest European question for the Wolves though is their top pick from this year's draft, and the player they traded Miller and Foye to get. Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio at 19 already looks like he's going to be a demon, with incredible ball-handling skills and great court vision as a playmaker and distributor. Rubio currently plays 10 minutes from his hometown but says he wants to someday play for a big-time NBA team, but has pretty much indicated that he's only considering cities like New York and other places Europeans have heard of. He might mature a bit in the next couple of years and decide he doesn't need to dictate terms (or notice that the Knicks are one of the worst-managed teams in the league and headcases get sent there until the booing crushes their egos), or the Wolves might be able to use him in a blockbuster trade... although the way things are going we'd probably just get more draft picks.

But meanwhile, Pekovic is in Greece and Rubio will continue to play for Jovenhut Badalona, alongside Wolves draft pick Henk Norel... which makes me wonder if the Wolves aren't trying Arsene Wenger's professed "Bring two at once, they'll settle easier if they have somebody to talk to" strategy for foreign players, although Wenger meant grab players from the same country who speak the same language... maybe we should just start teaching the Timberwolves dancers Catalan and Serbo-Croat.

Part V: So that's it, then?

So that's the story on the Wolves. Not a lot to entice season tickets sales but while I can't quite yet say the future is bright, it is at least wide open. Their oldest star is 24 and under a long-term contract so the clock isn't ticking on an aging superstar like it was for KG (who certainly earned his release with his dedication to this community), they have copious potential assets and have finally cleared all their onerous contracts. And who knows, a productive season followed by a blockbuster off-season next year might produce a team where Rubio and Pekovic would consider starting their NBA careers. (My giddy optimism about Minnesotan and Belgian sports teams is a necessary balance out the general horror and pessimism of the rest of my life.)

*-By loyal readership I am of course referring to the two or three people who might skim through a couple paragraphs, and the weird angry strangers who always leave comments about my sports musings.

A Modest Addendum: 8/23/09

I suppose I had three remaining questions about the Wolves this off-season. One was the lingering weakness at center exposed so well by the undersized Wolves line-ups of the last couple years. Another was whether Quentin Richardson was going to be a scoring threat or salary cap relief, and finally I wondered if they'd ever sign Rodney Carney. I still have no clue what the problem is with Carney's contract, but they at least bulked up in the paint.

The Wolves traded Quentin Richardson to Miami to bring back Mark Blount. It's possible that Blount is perfect for the Wolves, as a center with a mid-range jump shot who can get out of Al Jefferson's way on offense and pull an opposing big man out of the paint. On the other hand, he'd have to play defense and rebound, which was not really his forte. The Wolves also signed Ryan Hollins from Dallas for a true center who hopefully has a little more life in him than Jason Collins and Calvin Booth did last year. Hollins is a bench player with little experience, but it's a start.

So now hopefully the Wolves have more playing time at the 2-3 spots for younger players, and with Mark Blount, Oleksiy Pecherov, and Ryan Hollins as options in the middle and Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Ryan Gomes, and Darius Songaila as forwards they'll look a bit less tragically undersized. But still, it's not like they got a whole lot better since last year.