Chad Ford/ESPN ranks the Wolves at #29 among all teams in terms of offseason moves thus far.
The Timberwolves had one of the weirdest drafts in NBA history, including the selection of point guards with both of their lottery picks. Two weeks later, we keep waiting to hear about a trade that explains where one of the two — Rubio or Flynn — is really going to land, but instead we have Minnesota GM David Kahn saying he wants to keep both of them. Meanwhile, Rubio is threatening to sign with a European team for the next two or three years.
So, to recap: The Wolves sent away two key players on their roster, Foye and Miller, in exchange for some undesirable contracts and a player — Rubio — who is threatening that he won’t play for the Wolves. If Kahn sorts all of this out, either via trade or by persuading Rubio to come and try his mad experiment, the Wolves will move up in these rankings and I may even call Kahn a genius.
But for now, the team appears to be in disarray and considerably worse off than it was going into the draft. Not a great start for Kahn.
So, to recap: The Wolves sent away two key players on their roster, Foye and Miller, in exchange for some undesirable contracts and a player — Rubio — who is threatening that he won’t play for the Wolves. If Kahn sorts all of this out, either via trade or by persuading Rubio to come and try his mad experiment, the Wolves will move up in these rankings and I may even call Kahn a genius.
But for now, the team appears to be in disarray and considerably worse off than it was going into the draft. Not a great start for Kahn.
From the Associated Press:
Houston Rockets assistant Elston Turner says he will interview to be head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Turner said he was contacted Monday by David Kahn, president of basketball operations for the Timberwolves, about the vacancy.
“You always feel privileged to get these kinds of opportunities,” Turner said in an interview with KRIV-TV in Houston. “It’s an opportunity like I had last year with Phoenix. It’s a chance to see what they are talking about and see if the situation fits.”
If Timberwolves top draft pick Ricky Rubio, 18, is able to buy out his Spanish DKV Joventut contract, Real Madrid might bid on the flashy point guard, the Sport daily newspaper in Barcelona reported Thursday.
From Sid Hartman:
Rob Moor, chief executive officer of the Timberwolves, said everybody in the basketball operations department except for Kevin McHale continues to be on the payroll. Assistant coach Jerry Sichting will run the Wolves team in the Las Vegas Summer League this week.
Kevin Arnovitz/TrueHoop with a “quick primer” on the Wolves and other teams playing in Vegas for Summer League.
* Jonny Flynn The Timberwolves’ point guard of the immediate future will man the controls in Las Vegas.
* Gerald Henderson Hey, wait a minute! Isn’t Henderson a Charlotte Bobcat? Indeed — but the ‘Cats are one of three NBA teams (Atlanta and Miami, the others) that aren’t fielding a Summer League squad.
* Wayne Ellington Lost amidst the slew of point guards the ‘Wolves chose on draft night was their #28 pick, Ellington, a member of North Carolina’s championship team.
So there was the 23-year-old Parker running the court for the Los Angeles Sparks in a 69-60 victory over the Liberty on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. And there was her husband, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Shelden Williams, sitting in the first row behind the Sparks’ bench, holding their baby snuggled to his chest.
In her second game this season, first game on the road and first start since her return last Sunday, the sight of Williams with Lailaa brought Parker a sense of peace.
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