That means, first and foremost, Jefferson, a heavy lifter on offense who was permitted to lighten his load too often at the other end. How he and Love man their battle stations will determine how much time they spend on the court together, which in turn could determine how successful this Wolves team will be. “The last half of [last season], we challenged Al to make strides in that,” Wittman said. “The bad thing for him was, he showed us he could do it at certain times. Now, if he can do it at certain times, he can do it more often than not.”
Don Seeholzer/Pioneer Press on Shaun Livingston:
With a full roster and little room under the salary cap, Miami Heat president Pat Riley called signing the free-agent guard a “dead issue.”
At the moment, that also seems to be the Wolves’ attitude toward Livingston.
“We’ve moved on right now,” coach Randy Wittman said. “We’re going to take a look at who we’ve got as far as I’m concerned.”
Brewer spent all summer working on his shot and his ballhandling, logging hours in the gym with former Florida teammate Chris Richard. After the Wolves made that midnight trade with Memphis on draft night, Miller summoned Brewer and other teammates to the Target Center basement for evening shooting sessions in which Miller’s routine prevents him from leaving the building until he makes a predetermined number of shots.
Miller is an eight-year NBA veteran and career 40 percent shooter from three-point range. He shrugged off Brewer’s defense late last season to score 34 points in a game at Target Center. Like Brewer, he’s also a former Gator.
Don Seeholzer/Pioneer Press on Randy Foye:
“The only thing I would say is be a little more vocal,” he said. “I know I can do everything else. I know I can score, pass, dribble. When things break down and guys get tired, just let them know, ‘We need to pick it up here.’ Just talk. Talk on defense and offense, and make sure this team does the things we need to do to win.”
Talking might not be Foye’s game, but his late-season numbers speak for themselves.
In addition to averaging 13.1 points and 4.2 assists, he led the Wolves to a 14-25 record in their final 39 games, compared with an 8-35 mark without him.
Love said he already has interviewed three or four chefs to prepare his meals. He prepared for the NBA draft in June by losing 15 pounds by extensive exercise and changing his diet to include custom-made, packaged meals and appears to have gained some of that back over the summer. NBA scouts questioned his weight during his only season at UCLA.
Ronald Tillery/Memphis Commercial Appeal on Grizzlies’ veterans Marko Jaric, Antoine Walker, and Greg Buckner competing in training camp.
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