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JuX · 12-09-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Outside of a certain Celtic, former Minnesota players have not found much success with their new teams.

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

As astounding as it might seem, these are, according to the NBA standings, the worst days in the team's unremarkable history to be a Timberwolf.

It's not -- with one tall, obvious exception -- much better a moment in time to be a former Timberwolf, either.

Gone in one complete franchise makeover from last season's Wolves are, of course, Kevin Garnett, Mike James, Troy Hudson, Trenton Hassell, Ricky Davis and Mark Blount.

Garnett is the early leader in the clubhouse to collect his second league MVP award now that he has the Boston Celtics 15-2 heading into Friday's game against Toronto and transformed from laughingstock a season ago into an Eastern Conference favorite.

The others have left a winter wasteland and what is now the league's worst team and have discovered inactivity, injury and perhaps the realization that even greener pastures aren't always what they seem to be.

Davis and Blount were traded the week before the season opener to South Florida's warm sunshine and the 2006 NBA champion Miami Heat ... and, with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade beside them, have moved up a whole two slots from the league's worst team with the Heat's current 4-14 record.

Davis began the season as a starter and then was moved to a reserve's role because Heat coach Pat Riley said he wanted to balance his team's energy between starters and the bench by putting healed Wade and veteran Penny Hardaway into the starting lineup. Blount has quickly found himself moved down Riley's bench and, like Hassell in Dallas and Hudson in Golden State, has suited up evenings without seeing a second of action.

National media members hailed the trade that sent Davis and Blount to Miami and brought Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a future No. 1 draft pick to the Wolves as a lopsided victory for Riley and the Heat.

Six weeks later, Wolves fans -- those who remain -- probably only regret the fact that the No. 1 pick is lottery protected next summer. If the Heat make the playoffs, the Wolves get the pick. If the season ended today, the Heat would be in line for the draft's third overall pick.

The Dallas Mavericks, too, are searching to rediscover their way after they won 67 regular-season games last season and then got thumped by the Warriors in the playoffs' first round.

Hassell, traded to the Mavs for Greg Buckner the night before training camp began, started five consecutive games in November, but has mostly vanished from the rotation partly because of his limited offensive game, partly because Avery Johnson continues to search for answers to a team that started the season 12-8 while still missing injured Eddie Jones and Devean George.

Former Timberwolf Juwan Howard, who signed with Dallas after the Wolves bought out his contract, is even further hidden on the Mavericks' long bench. He played little more than a minute in the Mavs' past five games, ending with Wednesday's loss to a San Antonio team missing Tim Duncan.

In Houston, James started one game when Tracy McGrady hurt his elbow and last week scored a season-high 19 points against Golden State, but his minutes off the bench have varied erratically while the Rockets fight to stay about .500 as they learn new coach Rick Adelman's complicated offense.

And at Golden State, there's no telling from how many worlds Hudson is feeling stress these days now that he missed most of November because of an inflamed hip and doesn't appear to have much chance of cracking Don Nelson's tight seven-man rotation.

That leaves Garnett as the only thriving former Wolf, succeeding so much with the Celtics that his league-leading streak of 411 consecutive games in double-figure scoring has ended because so many blowout victories have given Boston coach Doc Rivers reason to rest the big fella's aging legs for a long playoff run.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/12265801.html

**Avalanche** · 12-09-2007, 12:01 PM

As long as Garnett is winning

luther · 12-09-2007, 12:03 PM

To me, that's one indication that the team did the right thing this offseason. KG notwithstanding, those guys are mature (in years if not attitude...I'm looking at you, Ricky Davis) players who have proved themselves unworthy as key pieces of good teams. They can contribute in situations to certain teams, but they're nothing to build around. So why build around them?

On the other hand, Minnesota now has the ability to focus on people like Jefferson, Brewer, Smith, Telfair, Gomes, Green, Richard and eventually Foye to see exactly where they fit into the NBA hierarchy. They won't all prove to be building blocks, either. Some, like Green, are as good as gome, and others, such as Gomes and Richard, appear destined for role-filling bench players. But with Brewer, Foye, etc., we can really learn who is going to be a starter, a star, etc., without thinking, "well, Davis can get us 20, 5 and 5 tonight...I'd better play him."

JuX · 12-09-2007, 12:36 PM

^ Good posting.

**Avalanche** · 12-09-2007, 03:58 PM

I do think once miami gets into a groove (i cant see them being this bad ALL season) that ricky wil really help them out in that 6th man role, which hes really ideal for..

Other than that the other guys werent that talented to begin with, i did think hassel might get a bit more burn though

luther · 12-09-2007, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avalanche

I do think once miami gets into a groove (i cant see them being this bad ALL season) that ricky wil really help them out in that 6th man role, which hes really ideal for..

Talent-wise, no doubt. But some of the stories you read about him make it seem he's best suited to his own living room and occasional pickup ball, not any professional requirements.

JuX · 12-10-2007, 08:18 AM

It was also to clear up cap space. If we have some remaining players like Hassell or Blount, that would be extremely hard to move them with their big contracts. Finally the management has found the right time to get rid of them before it get too late.

It's an ugly way to start over from scratch, but that has to be the way to do it.

**sheefo13** · 12-20-2007, 09:49 AM

Miami started terribly last year also. I can only imagine they turn it around to AT LEAST make the playoffs. It is easily a 15th pick in this coming up draft, where in the situation we may lose Craig Smith to free agency, we can pick up a guy like Tyler Hansbourgh (which I am NOT a fan of) or Brook Lopez and afford to take one of the more talented combo guards in the coming up draft in the scenario where we get a top 3 pick. Since realistically, McCants just seems too inconsistent right now to be a reliable starter. I would much rather have a backcourt of Foye and another combo guard like Rose to lesson the amount of turnovers we have.

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