The New Timberpups: Part I (Al Jefferson)

By now even the deafest timberwolf fan should have heard the news that Kevin Garnett has been traded to Boston. It is a trade that I agree with in principle, but am sad about from a nostalgia standpoint. It's the end of an era in Minnesota sports history that began with so much promise and ended with too many regrets. To avoid shedding a tear over the recent developments, I will focus on which players the Wolves got in return for sending KG to finally play with Ray Allen. Before I get started, here is a refresher on what the trade entailed: Kevin Garnett for Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, the first round pick that we gave Boston in the Davis/Szczerbiak trade (likely a 2009 pick), and Boston's 2009 pick.

The most important piece of the deal is Al Jefferson, not only because he plays power forward, but because he is the most likely of the bunch to lead us to a championship sometime in the next decade.

Jefferson attended Prentiss High School in Prentiss, Mississippi. As a senior, he was a 2004 McDonald's All-American selection, and was a finalist for the Naismith Award, after he averaged 42 points, 16 rebounds and 9 blocks per game during the season. He committed to the University of Arkansas, but decided to forego college for the NBA Draft.

Al Jefferson was drafted out of high school with the 15th pick by the Boston Celtics in the 2004 NBA Draft, becoming the first high school player to be drafted by the Celtics (Kendrick Perkins was drafted by the Grizzlies, then traded to Boston on draft day in the 2003 NBA Draft). He played primarily as a power forward and averaged 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.8 minutes per game during his rookie season. Jefferson's 2005-2006 season was widely considered a disappointment, mostly due to a series of ankle injuries which limited him to playing in 59 games. He averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18.0 minutes per game during his sophomore season.

In the off-season prior to the 2006-2007 season, Jefferson hired a personal chef and lost about 30 pounds. After experiencing lingering pain after participating in the Las Vegas Summer League, a CAT scan revealed bone spurs. On August 2, 2006, he underwent ankle surgery to remove these bone spurs. On November 8, 2006 prior to the fourth game of the season, Al Jefferson had appendectomy surgery at New England Baptist Hospital. The surgery was performed by Dr. Steven Camer and Dr. Farhat Homsy and assisted by Celtics Team Physician Dr. Brian McKeon. He missed seven games and returned to the lineup on November 23, 2006.

While already playing increased minutes (9.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game over 9 games as a reserve), his role expanded due to an injury to starting center Kendrick Perkins. With backup centers Michael Olowokandi and Theo Ratliff already on the injured list, Celtics' coach Doc Rivers started Al Jefferson at center on December 6, 2006 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Over the next 7 games, Jefferson averaged 16.3 points and 11.1 rebounds in 33.7 minutes per game. In what some considered a breakout performance against the New Jersey Nets on December 9, 2006, he scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds which tied a career-high (set on May 5, 2005 in a playoff game against the Pacers). It was the second time he had scored more than 20 points in a game. The previous occasion was on December 10, 2005 against the Dallas Mavericks where he scored 21 points. His third and fourth 20-point game came six and seven days after the second, on December 15 and December 16, 2006, when he scored 28 against the Denver Nuggets and 22 against the Charlotte Bobcats. These efforts punctuated a five-game win streak by the Boston Celtics.

On March 3, 2007, Jefferson scored a career high 32 points to go along with 18 rebounds against the New Jersey Nets, who Jefferson had previously set his career high in points against earlier in the season.

On March 5, 2007, Jefferson was named the NBA's Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

Al Jefferson finished the 2006-07 NBA season with averages of if 16.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks

For more information you can read an interview by Mike Trudell on Timberwolves.com http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/meet_al_jefferson_070802.html

Enjoy!

Author: Ben The Professor

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