DRAFT EXPRESS NW Preview

[shrink]

http://realgm.com/src_twoplusthefoul/23 ... _division/

- Minnesota Timberwolves -

The Wolves shook the foundation of the league last summer by gift-wrapping the championship for Boston with the Kevin Garnett trade. Now, they have made some very wise moves and somehow find themselves with a decent amount of talent on the payroll. Give them a year or two, and we might even be talking playoffs in the Twin Cities.

NBA Draft Picks: Kevin Love (No. 5 – trade from Memphis), Nikola Pekovic (No. 31)

Key Additions: Mike Miller (trade – Memphis), Rodney Carney (trade – Philadelphia), Brian Cardinal (trade – Memphis), Calvin Booth (trade – Philadelphia), Jason Collins (trade – Memphis)

Key Losses: Marko Jaric (trade – Memphis), Antoine Walker (trade – Memphis), Michael Doleac (FA – unsigned)

The O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love trade was a great trade for Minnesota. They may have traded one of the best talents in this year’s Draft, but the best part of the deal was that they were able to jettison Antoine Walker and Marko Jaric all the while adding Mike Miller to the team. Sure, they had to take back Brian Cardinal, but having another big white man on the team is better than having a 52nd point guard (Jaric) doing nothing but having a stupidly hot fiancé. The Love and Jefferson frontcourt is going to be a joy to watch, and the T-Wolves landed a steal when they absorbed Rodney Carney from the Sixers for nothing but a little bit of cap relief (so Philly could steal Elton Brand from Los Angeles).

Burning Questions

- Will K-Love’s game translate to the pros?
- Will he pair with Al Jeff to become a great duo in the paint?
- Will Carney eat up all of last year’s pick Corey Brewer minutes on the depth chart?
- How much would you pay to watch Mark Madsen vs. Kevin Love in a practice scuffle?
- Did Ryan Gomes make the right decision by re-signing with the team?

Person on the Hot Seat: Corey Brewer

It’s got to be him. Brewer was their first pick last year and showed glimpses of being a great lockdown defender with a decent stroke from outside. But his game was very inconsistent, and his body proved to be too weak for this level. The addition of Rod-Carn makes things more difficult for C-Brew, and this could be the best match-up in camp as the Wolves try to evaluate their rotation.

Team Outlook

They have plenty of nice pieces, but the playoffs may be just out of reach this year for the rebuilding Wolves. But boy, they sure did parlay that third pick (O.J. Mayo) into a very sweet deal for the future of this franchise.

[Basti]

finally a preview that is written on facts and not on (mis)conceptions

[C.lupus]

One could argue that Foye is more on the hot seat than Brewer but, overall, one of the better analyses I've read.

[karch34]

Pretty fair analysis. I think you could go either Foye or Brewer on the hot seat, however Foye has shown that he can be a solid all around player (whether legit star or not is debateable), while Brewer has only shown defensive ability.

Rod-Carn? That's a bad nickname.

[Devilzsidewalk]

how about King Corn Carney


Foye isn't on the hotseat, Wittman couldn't wait to put him in the starting lineup last year and he's a guaranteed starter at PG, him and AL are the only 2 guaranteeds.

Corey needs to force both teammates and opposition to respect what he can do because so far he's letting the competition dictate too much and he's gonna get typecast if he doesn't start representing blacktop Tennessee because Carney can shoot and he has high level athleticism, if he plays defense too than Corey is gonna be in for a dogfight to get his minutes back.

[Calinks]

Man that was pretty optimistic. Nice to hear.

[shrink]

Things I disliked:

... gift-wrapping the championship for Boston with the Kevin Garnett trade

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, since I've read too many articles by national media and Laker fans how McHale gave Garnett to his buddy Danny Ainge for nothing. I think the deal made sense for MIN, for BOS, and for KG.

They may have traded one of the best talents in this year’s Draft, but the best part of the deal was that they were able to jettison Antoine Walker and Marko Jaric all the while adding Mike Miller to the team.

"Jettisoning Antoine Walker" should mention (at least at RealGM) that he was an expiring deal.

Sure, they had to take back Brian Cardinal, but having another big white man on the team is better than having a 52nd point guard (Jaric) doing nothing but having a stupidly hot fiancé.

The "big white man" line seems a little racial to me.

Jaric was playing close to 30 minutes a game last season, and starting several of them when Foye and Telfair went down -- he certainly wasn't "doing nothing."

.. Rod-Carn makes things more difficult for C-Brew ..

This shows a level of awkward posing to be cool that is rivaled only by Jim Rome.

[shrink]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA ... our--3010/

Draft Express has some terrific player profiles.

[TrentTuckerForever]

.. Rod-Carn makes things more difficult for C-Brew ..

This shows a level of awkward posing to be cool that is rivaled only by Jim Rome.

C'mon, s.rink, you're just jealous.

I actually am more annoyed by this nicknaming trend than almost anything else in sports broadcasting (I also really dislike when NFL announcers call QBs by their first names, like they're buddies, "What a throw by Brett!"... but that's a topic for another forum.)

T-Mac, K-Mart are bad enough, but at least those guys are accomplished. I prefer nicknames that are both descriptive and creative - "The Big Ticket" is one of the best. "Diesel" is good. "The Glove." "Mamba" is just plain funny, but so much better than "K-Bry."

[Calinks]

I too don't get it when Laker fans complain about the KG deal. They are the last people that have anything to say about a situation like that. Give me a break. At least the Wolves got a serviceable star in return. Can't believe Laker fans bring this crap up.

[C.lupus]

I actually am more annoyed by this nicknaming trend than almost anything else in sports broadcasting (I also really dislike when NFL announcers call QBs by their first names, like they're buddies, "What a throw by Brett!"... but that's a topic for another forum.)

T-Mac, K-Mart are bad enough, but at least those guys are accomplished. I prefer nicknames that are both descriptive and creative - "The Big Ticket" is one of the best. "Diesel" is good. "The Glove." "Mamba" is just plain funny, but so much better than "K-Bry."

I agree 100%. Most of these "nicknames" are stupid and unoriginal. C-Brew? Now that's really original! My personal "favorite" is A.I. C'mon, that is not a frickin nickname. Those are initials. Sometimes I wonder if most of these people even have half a brain.

[Frozen316]

Kobe Bryant = Kry because he is a baby.

I like "C-Brew 22" or "See Brew, 22" because it rhymes :E

[Calinks]

Mayo was gonna have a great one. "The Clinic"

Love's is pretty cool though.

One of my favs is AK-47. Just awesome.

[Tirion]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/NBA-Scouting-Reports,-Northwest-Division--Part-Four--3010/

Draft Express has some terrific player profiles.

yeah, some nice analysis there, but some things made me rise my eybrows.

about Big Al:

Goes to the line at a good rate due to his willingness to throw his weight around.

I thought he was pretty bad at drawing fouls actually, partly cause he gets no respect from the refs and partly cause he manages to avoid the contact and still score most of time.

A liability when attempting to defend power forwards, which forces his team to play him as an undersized center.

what!? he's MUCH better at defending power forwards than centers, anyone could see that last season.