Dec/090
T-Wolves Trending the Wrong Way
With the firing of McHale and a change of the guard at GM, Wolves fans finally had something to cheer about this past off-season. A new coach more famous for his eye wear than his coaching prowess and a new young team featuring a lightning quick point guard. To say there are growing pains would be an understatement, so far the 2009-2010 Wolves could be on their way to the worst season in NBA history.
The more disturbing fact to Wolves fans has been the steady decline of the franchise. CBS sports reports Wolves ticket revenue is off 24% this year, the second worst year-to-year decline in the NBA. The bigger story is that the Wolves are a below $500K club. There are only 8 NBA teams who average below $500K in gate receipts per game. There are 7 NBA teams (12 last year) who are averaging above $1M gate receipts per game this year.
These figures are important as it relates to free agents and building for the future. The Wolves, before the season even begins are $10M - $20M behind in revenue right from the start. If free agents are available to fill the Wolves needs, the Wolves simply can't afford them. Teams like the Nuggets and Blazers, both Northwest Division foes, can add depth, scoring and defense to their rosters, simply because they have the revenue to do so.
So what's it all mean? The only real way to re-build the Wolves is through the draft. That's the good news, the Wolves are loaded with picks and retain assets they can easily trade to gain more picks. The bad news, the Wolves are trending the wrong way. Each year the team loses more and more games and offers little hope a turn around is in sight.
The wins, they are not improving...
To be fair the new regime should be given at least a year to show some sort of progress, lets watch, wait and hope next year we won't be saying the same thing.
"With the first pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves select.....John Wall, Guard, Kentucky"
- John Wall Kentucky Guard
Aug/090
OJ Mayo vs. Miller The Final Review
Not to beat a dead horse since the Wolves have finally dumped one of the worst GM's in history, but lets take a final look at the flawed theory that trading away OJ Mayo and replacing him with Mike Miller's outside game so we could get Kevin Love could make any sense at all.
As you know the Gold Seat has never been a fan of McHale's moves and the OJ Mayo trade is a great example. When Mike Miller was brought it the pundits (the professor) said, "oh, it will work, he's a great outside threat". A quick examination of the numbers would prove otherwise.
Right from the start we can see OJ Mayo is the superior player. If you're looking for offensive threat which was the premise in bringing Miller in, than OJ delivers double the points per game.
But this is the one that really hurts. OJ is the more prolific 3PT shooter. It just hurts.
And to add insult to injury, Mayo's a lot cheaper. Looking back now it's obvious trading Mayo was the wrong thing to do. Luckily for us McHale's genius is no longer with us and so hopefully doomed moves like this won't continue to haunt us. With that I retire the Mayo / Love / Miller debate. Good night.
Jun/095
Rubio Pick Now Becoming More Clear
When the Timberwolves drafted 4 PG's in the 2009 NBA Draft they had basketball fans worldwide scratching their heads. One day later the moves are starting to make a little more sense.
In today's economy it is no secret the most valuable players in NBA are one's with expiring or low contracts. Twelve teams have received loans from the NBA front office. Watching the NBA draft you'd think every team was trying to sell their pick for dead beat expiring players or cash (two did, LA and WAS).
It is this environment that MN found itself with 4 picks in the first round of what many experts were calling the worst draft class since Kenyon Martin's #1 overall 2000 draft. Direct from wikipedia:
Sports Illustrated named this entire draft class (as opposed to individual players) the 6th biggest "draft bust" of the modern era - making it the only draft class among the site's top 20 list. Just before the 2009 draft, ESPN.com columnist David Schoenfield wrote a piece in which he rated all of the drafts since the institution of the draft lottery in 1985, and the only draft which he gave a grade of 'F" was the 2000 draft. Side note: It's ironically funny because the draft was held in MN and every draft since then has been held in NY.
The Wolves then potentially have 4 picks in what many people think may be a top 5 worst draft class since 1985. What to do? Would it make sense to develop a 2 or 3 year plan? Try fixing the one glaring PG need and horde picks and players in the future? Would there be a way to take this years 4 and instead turn it into 3 picks in next years draft? A draft with more talent?
It's no secret Glen Taylor is a business man first. There is no reason to invest tens of millions into players that won't create wins in a tough Western Conference. The only logical thing to do is build for 2 or 3 years out.
With that said Ricky Rubio wasn't or will never be in MN's 2 or 3 years out plan. Here's what hoopshype.com looked like on Friday, June 26th.
When you consider Rubio doesn't want to play for MN and it would cost an est. $5-$6M to buy him out of his Euro contract MN was never going to be the place Rubio played.
The Wolves new GM is David Kahn. Kahn spent the better part of a decade in the Indian Pacers front office. His boss - the new New York Knicks GM Donnie Walsh. ie. the perfect trade partner. Rubio has said he wants to play in NY. NY is the only team that can really afford to throw millions at Rubio to buy him out and sign him to a long term deal.
Ricky Rubio's agent is Dan Fegan. Fegan got Chinese YI Jianlian out of Milwaukee and into New Jersey a larger market where he preferred to be. The Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni was just on ESPN radio praising how he loves coaching Euro players so much he traded for one of the NBA's biggest draft pick flops - Darko Milicic.
Rubio holds all the cards, he can play one or two more years in Spain if he likes. But the Wolves made the smartest move when they took him anyway. They now own the rights to a player many NBA teams will covet. The Wolves own the bait and will get much more for him in return (ie. expiring contracts, draft picks, maybe even a sleeper).
If you do believe the Wolves are 2 or 3 years away then trading Rubio for a small forward, saving a bunch of money, maybe getting a draft pick or two makes the most sense. Trading away Lawson to Denver for a future draft pick also makes sense.
The Wolves know they have to run the team like a business and there is no way they can compete in the West this year with what they currently have with Rubio or not. By making the right moves to clear salary, horde future picks and maybe pick up a solid speedy PG with a 40" inch vertical...the Wolves are erasing a dozen years of draft day blunders under former GM, God Bless his Soul, Kevin McHale.
Here's a snapshot of the salary situation before this years draft. I like the idea of creating enough space now to go grab 1 or even 2 max deal elite players in free agency in 2011 and 2012. That is if we can convince someone to handle the cold. The Wolves are setting themselves up to go shopping in 2011 and 2012.
It's all part of the 2 or 3 year plan. Too bad there isn't a Roy and/or Mayo around, instead of talking rebuilding we'd be talking about what one piece we could add to make a deep playoff run.
Jul/088
Off To The Poor House, Reilly Is Simply Hilarious
Articles like these help explain why Rick Reilly is the worlds best sports satirist. Here he explains why a majority of athletes file for bankruptcy after they retire. What would our economy be like if it were not for hundreds of millions athletes waste each year?
http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3469271
Some great quotes:
"Baseball slugger Jack Clark had 18 cars and owed money on 17 when he went broke"
"Go for Maybachs. They sell for as much as $375,000—even though they look like Chrysler 300s—and nobody will ever know how to pronounce them, much less fix them."
"...went splat by investing in everything but fur socks ($490,000 in unlikely-to-be-repaid loans) and gambling large ($185,000 in casino markers). In other words, a Tuesday for John Daly."
"Mike Tyson once spent $9,180 in two months to care for his white tiger. That's why Iron Mike's picture is on our logo!"
Mike Tyson, here's a guy who made $300 million in his career but still owes $27 million.
Jun/080
Celtics take game one thanks to an out-of-this-world performance off the bench by Sammy C.
And who could forget..
May/081
Where’s Troy Hudson??
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Soccer sucks
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I know Jim Rome has nothing to do with MN sports, but let's all look back longingly on how Jim Rome got his start: Claiming that Jim Everett (QB of the Rams) was a girls tennis player (Chris Everett).
Apr/080
Wednesday Night Video Cures For Boredom
Can't Say It Any Better Than This Video
Marleau Destroyed by Sarich
Miikka Has a New Friend
A Little Wild Pump Up Thing
Why Shaq Needs To Get Back To Rap
All Carlos Needs is 3.1 Seconds
Mar/081
Awareness Test
This has nothing to do with sports. It will still make you laugh hysterically.
Mar/080
Lazy Wednesday
Bored on a Wednesday night...might as well make your beer league basketball skills look silly. Look at Garnett's expression...hilarious
With Gerald Green gone and cut by Houston, are these the dunks we might have missed out on? If anyone could have done them it would have been Green.
Had to throw in the Vince Carter High School Highlight Package.
Mar/0834
How To Properly Build An NBA Team
After watching a thorough beat down at the hands of the Utah Jazz, it made me wonder, how does a successful NBA front office compare to the Wolves GM? The Utah Jazz have made the playoffs 21 times in the last 28 years, this includes a Western Conference Finals appearance last year. They make a great example of how good a small market team can be, when properly run.
Here's how the Jazz break down. Seven of their players were acquired through the draft. Two of their three perennial All-Stars were signed in Free Agency. For the most part the Jazz continually build better and better teams through the draft with an occasional free agent signing.
Based on playing time and points, 4 of the top 6 players this season are Jazz draft picks. The other two - Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur were both giving 6 yr deals back in 2004.
Andrei Kirilenko - 1999 1st rounder.
Jarron Collins - 2001 2nd rounder.
Deron Williams - 2005 1st rounder.
CJ Miles - 2005 2nd rounder.
Ronnie Brewer - 2006 1st rounder.
Paul Millsap - 2006 2nd rounder.
This group with Boozer and Okur are wining at a consistant .600 - .650 pace.
Now compare the Jazz success through the draft with the hopeless Timberwolves going back to 1999 when the Jazz selected Kirilenko.
Wally Szczerbiak - 1999 1st rounder (traded multiple times).
William Avery - 1999 1st rounder (not in league).
Louis Bullock - 1999 2nd rounder (not in league).
Igor Rakocevic - 2000 2nd rounder (not in league).
Loren Woods - 2001 2nd rounder (not in league).
Marcus Taylor - 2002 2nd rounder (not in league).
Ndubi Ebi - 2003 1st rounder (not in league).
Rick Rickert - 2003 2nd rounder (not in league).
Blake Stepp - 2004 2nd rounder (not in league).
McCants & Wright - 2005 picks on team.
Loukas Mavrokefalidis - 2006 2nd rounder (not in league).
Bobby Jones - 2006 2nd rounder (6 teams in 2 years).
Craig Smith - 2006 2nd rounder on team.
Brandon Roy 2006 1st rounder Traded to Portland (NBA All-Star).
From 1999 to 2005 not a single Timberwolves pick is still in the NBA other than the oft traded Wally (on 4th team in last 3 years). And what about Free Agent signings in that span? Nothing other than Sam, Spree and Smith years ago.
I guess the point I'm making is you can't expect to build a successful NBA team when 8 of your 9 draft picks in a 6 year span aren't even playing in the league anymore.
Successful NBA teams are built through the draft year after year after year supplemented by the occasional free agent signing (ie. Jazz, Spurs, Pistons). If the Timberwolves hope to build something better in the next decade they should do by hiring a GM who understands talent and who understands the draft. Trading for a bunch on young kids on the worst East team and planting them in the West won't get it done.
It will however give you a shot at the worst record and potentially the #1 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Let's only hope you finally learn how to use that pick.
Christian Laettner (1992 3rd overall), Isaiah Rider (1993 5th overall), Donyell Marshall (1994 4th overall) and Ray Allen (1996 5th overall Traded) might be available to help guide you on how best to use it.