Steve Luhm/Salt Lake Tribune on whether Rafael Araujo will make the Wolves roster:
I checked the Timberwolves’ training camp roster and it includes 20 players. Ten of them are either centers or power forwards, including Calvin Booth, Brian Cardenal, Jason Collins, Al Jefferson, Kevin Love, Mark Madsen, Nikola Pekovic, Chris Richard, Craig Smith and Araujo.
I admit that, not counting Jefferson, that is not the most imposing group of “bigs” in NBA history. But Love was a first-round draft pick while Booth, Cardenal, Collins, Madsen, Richard and Smith all have at least some NBA experience.
Because of all the competition, it looks to me like Araujo is fighting long odds to earn a place on the Timberwolves’ roster, even if they decide to carry the NBA maximum of 15 players.
Brewer’s first step to moving on from last season was to hit the gym religiously over the summer to refine an inconsistent jump shot and improve his ball handling skills. Brewer did that, spending countless hours in the Wolves’ practice facility this offseason working with assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg and the rest of the coaching staff to improve those important facets of his game.
Now in his second training camp with the Wolves, Brewer is beginning to reap the benefits of his hard work. “My hard work has paid off a lot,” Brewer said. “It was a good thing staying in Minnesota and working out with the coaching staff all summer.”
The Timberwolves site posts a recap of Saturday’s scrimmage.
Jarrad Todd/Pro Basketball News.com on teams for whom “ tide seems to be turning”:
With both Al Jefferson and Kevin Love on the frontline, the Timberwolves potentially have the next dominant big man combo. At 23, Jefferson already sports a 20-10 stat line, and Love certainly has the ability to post these numbers in time. But the beauty of a Jefferson-Love pairing is that they are both hard-working guys who are fundamentally sound, smart basketball players. Don’t expect to see flashy ‘look-at-me’ plays from these two…
While Minnesota’s strength will be its frontcourt, the Wolves also possess impressive talent in the backcourt. I don’t understand why people have been criticizing Randy Foye. The guy had a very solid rookie year in 2006-07, averaging 10.1 points and 2.8 assists in only 22.9 minutes per game, and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
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