Newcomer Ryan Hollins has demonstrated in his opening practices as a Timberwolf dunking ability so elastic that sideline observers gape and giggle.
He also has thrown the basketball all over the place, to no one or nowhere in particular.
Both are reasons the Wolves signed the restricted free-agent center to a three-year guaranteed contract worth about $7 million in August after Dallas immediately decided not to match the offer.
While many of Kahn’s offseason moves had more media splash, he said that the signing of Hollins was made more with the future in mind. The 7-footer signed a three-year deal as a restricted free agent, hoping to mesh in the post area with Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.
“He’s freakishly athletic,” said Kahn, who first scouted Hollins at UCLA and saw him play several games in the NBA’s Developmental League. “We recognized that we needed some length and shot-blocking. I think you could make the case that we could still add another big body.”
David Kahn, the Wolves president of basketball operations, said he wants Love to feel free to tweet and will encourage him to do so.
Coach Kurt Rambis won’t allow players to do so at practices or games. He said cell-phone access will be restricted on game nights from the time players arrive at the arena until they leave and told players not to tweet anything they wouldn’t tell media members. The NBA banned tweeting during games Wednesday.
“The league likes the tweeting, they like the fans to be engaged with the players,” Rambis said. “But nothing’s going to go on at halftime, behind the bench or if players are injured. They’re coming here to work and that’s what they should be doing. They can tweet on their own time.”
* David Kahn will use most of October to look for a third point guard to play behind Flynn and Sessions. Hart, 31, has played 336 games in the league going back to 2000 and is certainly a candidate. But Kahn also will look around for a trade and scour the waiver wire as the regular-season opener approaches.
Rambis said tonight he wants a veteran who can mentor his two young point guards for that spot.
“We’ll see,” Kahn said. “We could go a number of different ways.”
Forward Oleksiy Pecherov, recovering from a broken left hand, has not been able to scrimmage.
The 7-footer broke his hand while playing in his native Ukraine. The coaching staff has limited his practice time to keep from aggravating the injury.
“Mentally, he’s not ready to catch the ball,” Rambis said. “He’s doing everything with his right hand.”
How long was Corey Brewer down at IMG? What can Wolves fans expect from the on-ball train wreck and off-ball dynamo?
David Thorpe (12:03 PM)
We had him for a few weeks. His athleticism seemed to be returning. And his shot looked a lot better even before we coached him. He’s so good on defense that he actually taught me something. I’m serious.
Although he replaced Kevin McHale as Wolves coach, Kurt Rambis and McHale have had no interaction since Rambis’ hiring.
The Timberwolves’ Kevin Love, who broke news of McHale’s firing on Twitter, has been asked to silence his tweets but isn’t thrilled about it. Love is a free spirit who strongly believes in freedom of speech.
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