*gasp* Wolves love on ESPN!?!

[Narf]

Holy crap, we're on 4 of the 5 analysts top 5 things that they are looking forward to in the NBA. Never thought I'd see that.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-o ... rd-2011-12

1. What's No. 5 on your 2011-12 list of Things I'm Looking Forward To?

Brendan Jackson, Celtics Hub: Rookies. The 2011 draft may have been one of the weakest in recent memory, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of intrigue regarding this year's rookie class. Who will play better to start: Kyrie Irving or Derrick Williams? Can Bismack Biyombo play basketball? Is Ricky Rubio all hype? Who's the biggest second-round steal? Who is the next Wesley Matthews?


2. What's No. 4 on your 2011-12 list of Things I'm Looking Forward To?

Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com: Will this be the year the Minnesota Timberwolves resemble a functional NBA team? The Wolves have been intriguing -- in the way it's fascinating to watch a Twitter feed on tilt. Now with Rick Adelman at the helm and the infusion of Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams, the Wolves have the potential to be a place you land on a busy League Pass night.

3. What's No. 3 on your 2011-12 list of Things I'm Looking Forward To?

Rob Peterson, Hardwood Paroxysm: Can Kevin Love play the role Chris Webber did with Rick Adelman as Wolves coach? In the aughts, Adelman's Kings were one of the more exhilarating teams in the league. Love, who's a better rebounder and better shooter than Webber, should be the focal point of Adelman's offense and the fulcrum for what could be an exciting young team.

5. What's No. 1 on your 2011-12 list of Things I'm Looking Forward To?

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: Selfishly, I'm beyond excited about the Timberwolves. Is Rick Adelman just there for the paycheck? Is Ricky Rubio the thief who hot-wires the engine? Is Kevin Love going to become a go-to scorer when his team needs a bucket? Are they going to rely on Beas? Will Derrick Williams' meteoric rise in college continue in the NBA? First time in a long time the Wolves could matter for good reasons.

[Grits n Gravy]

[john2jer]

That's gotta be fake.

[cpfsf]

We've always been exciting every year thanks to plenty of offseason moves, but than the excitement kind of fizzled after a few games. Two draft picks, a new coach, and a healthy team (fingers crossed) should be able to change the trend though. The only thing Minnesota really has to worry about is losing Wesley Johnson to the inevitable Timberwolves Sophomore Curse.

[Yes We Kahn]

I was going to post this as well, but I figured I dreamt about it last night.. 4 of the 5 writers mention the Wolves. This lockout has people thinking whacky.

[Narf]

That's gotta be fake.

I provided the link for proof!!

Better yet, it's the LEAD story on ESPN.go.com/NBA.....with a big picture of Kevin Love there to boot.

[Yes We Kahn]

That's gotta be fake.

I provided the link for proof!!

Better yet, it's the LEAD story on ESPN.go.com/NBA.....with a big picture of Kevin Love there to boot.

Right next to LeKing.

[Torcher]

We've always been exciting every year thanks to plenty of offseason moves, but than the excitement kind of fizzled after a few games. Two draft picks, a new coach, and a healthy team (fingers crossed) should be able to change the trend though.

Having basically a new team every year is part of the problem though. Our guys never get along together because everyone is new. I assure you we will falter a bit next season because of new players, system, coach, etc.

[TMo519]

Getting a credible coach can do that for you. Plus the #2 overall pick (and possibly the best talent) and then you throw in the intrigue of Rubio, who no one thought would come here.

These are exciting times for Wolves fans. Let's hope the excitement doesn't fizzle out in the first two weeks like it usually does.

[Narf]

We've always been exciting every year thanks to plenty of offseason moves, but than the excitement kind of fizzled after a few games. Two draft picks, a new coach, and a healthy team (fingers crossed) should be able to change the trend though.

Having basically a new team every year is part of the problem though. Our guys never get along together because everyone is new. I assure you we will falter a bit next season because of new players, system, coach, etc.

Having arguably the best coach in the NBA sure helps with that confidence problem (note: Phil Jackson is not currently in the NBA).

[C.lupus]

It's amazing what a legit coach like Adelman can do.

[Krapinsky]

Fire Kahn!?

[pumunga]

Having arguably the best coach in the NBA sure helps with that confidence problem (note: Phil Jackson is not currently in the NBA).

you would lose that argument.

We've always been exciting every year thanks to plenty of offseason moves, but than the excitement kind of fizzled after a few games. Two draft picks, a new coach, and a healthy team (fingers crossed) should be able to change the trend though. The only thing Minnesota really has to worry about is losing Wesley Johnson to the inevitable Timberwolves Sophomore Curse.

People already pretend like hes not on the team,

[john2jer]

That's gotta be fake.

I provided the link for proof!!

Better yet, it's the LEAD story on ESPN.go.com/NBA.....with a big picture of Kevin Love there to boot.

I still don't believe it. Common sense and historical evidence show that ESPN will never have anything positive to say about the Wolves.

[Basti]

We've always been exciting every year thanks to plenty of offseason moves, but than the excitement kind of fizzled after a few games. Two draft picks, a new coach, and a healthy team (fingers crossed) should be able to change the trend though.

Having basically a new team every year is part of the problem though. Our guys never get along together because everyone is new. I assure you we will falter a bit next season because of new players, system, coach, etc.

Of course, there's a huge learning curve if a team gets restructured each and every year but one could argue that, unlike the past few season, we have a coach that is able to install a system that is suited towards the players' and not the opposite. Although 'unfortunately' Adelman was hired after the roster has been designed, it's pretty safe to expect that Adelman will find a system for the majority of the team to thrive. Also, unlike teams in the past, there's nothing the team can't potentially do - on the offensive side of the court at least. Some players can drive, shoot, jump, run, pass etc. Adelman and his staff 'just' need to make the pieces fit together. And as I said, it's not unreasonable to expect him making that happen. And then there's defense, which will hopefully addressed soon enough but, IMO, it's more important for them to click offensively first.

[Klomp]

We've always been exciting every year thanks to plenty of offseason moves, but than the excitement kind of fizzled after a few games. Two draft picks, a new coach, and a healthy team (fingers crossed) should be able to change the trend though.

Having basically a new team every year is part of the problem though. Our guys never get along together because everyone is new. I assure you we will falter a bit next season because of new players, system, coach, etc.

Other than Rubio and Williams additions, the roster is largely the same. There may be a coach/system learning curve, but going from Rambis to Adelman should be fairly easy for the players.

[Narf]

We've always been exciting every year thanks to plenty of offseason moves, but than the excitement kind of fizzled after a few games. Two draft picks, a new coach, and a healthy team (fingers crossed) should be able to change the trend though.

Having basically a new team every year is part of the problem though. Our guys never get along together because everyone is new. I assure you we will falter a bit next season because of new players, system, coach, etc.

Other than Rubio and Williams additions, the roster is largely the same. There may be a coach/system learning curve, but going from Rambis to Adelman should be fairly easy for the players.

And, quite frankly, we have a lot of different types of players that can fit roles for Adelman. Who fits better for whatever system he instals, Wes Johnson or Webster? Tolliver or Randolph? Pekovic or Darko? If Randolph added 20 lbs of muscle during the off season, and becomes an above average defensive center under Adelman instead of an undersized one...if if if.

Alls I know is, for the first time since Flip left I know we have a very good coach that will get the most out of our talent.

[Den Masters]

the love (no pun intended) that we are receiving from espn reminds me of the props espn was giving to 1998 sacramento kings whey they acquired webber and divac. their coach was also rick adelman.

[Timberpups]

And we actually got some love from Bill Simmons (I know he's not well liked around these parts for obvious reasons). In his list of things he'd miss if there was no NBA season. Of course he sticks his Kahn reference at the end (which was to be expected), but he sounds a little intrigued about our squad like everyone else...

16. Me, racing to write the "Is this the worst rookie class of all time?" column before John Hollinger does it, losing the contest, then settling on beating him with the "Did Cleveland make one of the biggest draft mistakes ever passing on Derrick Williams ?" column.

17. That reminds me — I will miss seeing what I think Derrick Williams could be.

18. And that T-Wolves team in general.

19. And Rubio. Good or bad, it would have been great theater. Especially the Love/Rubio connection.

20. And tweeting "KAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHN!" if it somehow didn't work out.