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Wolves to Work Out Free Agent Hassan Whiteside

September 5, 2012 by

With 2 roster spots remaining on the Timberwolves 15-man roster, Wolves brass has spent the past few weeks scouring the remains of the free agent market in hopes of landing a serviceable big in order to add depth to their frontcourt. With the return of Anthony Tolliver looking very slim due to salary concerns, Minnesota has set their sights on a few high-upside, higher-risk players which include Hassan Whiteside, Andray Blatche, and Sean Williams, among others.

After Timberwolves regional scout Milton Barnes watched Whiteside play in a pickup game this past week, he apparently saw enough positives in order to convince the Wolves to take a closer look at the former Marshall standout. Minnesota’s interest in Whiteside is strong enough that he will reportedly be flown out to Minneapolis today in order to be put through a workout tomorrow. [Read more...]

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Timberwolves August 2012 in Review

September 2, 2012 by

Well, here we are. The final month of summer is all wrapped up and we are that much closer to some Timberwolves Preseason basketball. To summarize all that has happened with our Timberpups this past month, we start with an opinion piece by our writer John in which he broke down the somewhat controversial signing of Brandon Roy. Later that week, the Timberwolves held a press conference for new Wolves center Greg Stiemsma and we summed up the proceedings.

Some of the biggest team news for the Wolves in August included the play of new Timberwolves and Russian teammates, Alexey Shved and Andrei Kirilenko, at the 2012 London Olympic games. Kevin Love also played a big part in the US winning gold against Spain in the Olympic basketball championship game, while Shved and Kirilenko helped lead Russia to the bronze.
[Read more...]

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Timberwolves Release 2012-2013 Broadcast Schedule

August 23, 2012 by

The Timberwolves released their regular season broadcast schedule today and with it came the announcement that 78 of the 82 regular season games would receive local TV coverage, which is a franchise record in terms of the number of games being covered locally.  This has much less of an impact on me given my reliance on NBA League Pass to watch our Timberpups anyway.  However, I do recall a lot of fellow fans having legitimate gripes about missing coverage on several big games over the past few years.

I’ve always found the “lack” of regular TV coverage to be odd.  I’m used to every, single game being available here in this area of the country for the two local teams – NY and NJ/Brooklyn.  That said, I do think that this is a positive step for the franchise and for its fan base.  This team seems to be building its relevancy in the local area and there is a good amount of positive buzz in the air.

Within the link above, the Timberwolves online team dropped in the full season’s schedule.  Here’s a list of games that are on the radar:

  1. Whenever it occurs, the first “must see” game is when Ricky returns to the lineup.  I can’t wait for this game on the schedule, even though we have no idea when it is going to be.
  2. Friday, 11/2 vs. Sacramento – the start of the season is always a good thing, right?
  3. Monday, 11/5 at Brooklyn – I might try to venture over to Brooklyn to view this in person.  This has to be on a Monday?  Damn you scheduling gods/goddesses!
  4. Friday, 11/23 at Portland – The day after Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) and we get to play the team that some are considering as our rival.  Nice!
  5. Wednesday, 12/5 at Boston – Our road game vs. KG and the Celtics.  Boston doesn’t come to Minnesota until April Fools’ Day (insert snide comment here), so this will have to do.

There are a lot of intriguing games early on in the season.  What games do you have your eyes on and why?  Let us know in the comments below.

Let’s go Wolves!

Photo Credits: Basket Wallpapers

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Ricky Rubio Injury Update: Ahead of Schedule?

August 16, 2012 by

Nearly 6 months following that wretched March 9 game against the Lakers, which culminated in Minnesota losing it’s new favorite sports star to a torn ACL, it appears that we may have some good news to report on Ricky Rubio’s recovery from knee surgery that was originally expected to keep him off the court for an estimated 6-9 months. As reported by the Pioneer Press, after meeting with his doctors in Vail for one of his regular post-surgery checkups, Tricky Ricky appears to be well ahead of schedule. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor in a recent interview said:

“The doctors said he was progressing faster than normal, and normal was supposed to be in January,” Taylor said Tuesday, Aug. 14, a day before heading to China on a two-week charity mission. “Faster than normal would be December. He’s going to start running and stuff in a few weeks.”

Although there is still much uncertainty and obstacles for Rubio’s remaining rehabilitation, this is great news for Timberwolves and NBA fans alike, and it is not overly optimistic to think that we could potentially see La Pistola on the court by the end of November or beginning of December. Timberwolves team doctors and coaches remain adamant that they will not compromise Rubio’s recovery by rushing him onto the floor too soon, or even before he is completely 100% to play. That is a good call considering the Spaniard turns a mere 22 years of age in October, and barring any serious setbacks to his knee, he should have many successful seasons for years to come in the NBA. Taylor, when asked about the Wolves playoff chances for this coming season following the acquisitions of Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved, Brandon Roy, and others, had this to say: [Read more...]

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Robbie Hummel to Play In Spain

August 9, 2012 by

Robbie Hummel has signed a contract to play with the Spanish club El Obradoiro for this upcoming season. Hummel, the Wolves sole selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, spent time recovering from back-to-back ACL tears in his right knee for nearly half of his tenure at Purdue.

Despite averaging career highs in points (16.4) and rebounds (7.2) this past season, Hummel never felt 100% healthy and could use a season of good health before making the rigorous transition to the NBA. The Timberwolves have given Hummel the thumbs up to spend the coming season overseas as he would have likely had an extremely limited role on the Timberwolves for the 2012-13 season. Hummel, the 58th overall pick, would have sat behind Andrei Kirilenko, Chase Budinger, and Dante Cunningham at SF.

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How Our Timberpups Are Fairing @ the Olympics

August 8, 2012 by

After watching the first US and Russia games at this Olympics, I had the urge to overreact and throw together a write-up on how great things were looking for the forthcoming Timberpups season.  However, the rational side of my brain took over and I decided to wait it out until the end of the preliminary round.  I wound up having to watch both game 1’s via DVR and was already well aware of the positive outcomes, but I wanted to see it for myself – particularly how Kirilenko and Shved looked on the floor.  In fact, as the games progressed it became clear that more of this write-up was going to be about those two vs. how Kevin Love’s Olympics are progressing.  So let’s start with him first …

Kevin Love

Here are some basic totals and averages across Kevin Love’s Olympic experience:

As always, Love proves that no matter how much time you give him on the court, he’ll produce.  He’s received limited minutes on the star-studded team and that is absolutely, perfectly fine with me.  Aside from almost having a mini-seizure when he walked off the court holding his leg in game 2 vs. China, it has been fun to watch Love participate on Team USA.  It’s nice to have a horse in the race.

However, all I really want is for Love to be healthy coming out of these Olympics and to carry over the positive attitude and strong work ethic that at least some of the US team has.  I’m hoping he’s a sponge and is absorbing this from Kobe, Lebron, and the like.  The Timberpups need him to bring back some of that energy and discipline to build the culture of this franchise, which has been less than par for the past seven years.  (I’m being kind here)

So aside from the whole, “I’m rooting for the US to win gold” angle, I have found myself being more intrigued by Team Russia and watching Kirilenko and Shved.  Between the two of them, I’ve really been paying more attention to Shved, who is much more of an unknown for me, if not most.  Let’s start with the easier of the two …

Andrei Kirilenko

Kirilenko is the clear leader of Team Russia and he left little doubt in the minds of spectators with rock solid performances throughout much of the preliminary round but particularly right off the bat in Game 1.  My favorite part of the box scores you see below for AK47 is the lack of zeros.  He’s filling up the stat sheet and doing a little bit of everything, just like he performed in the NBA in years past.
[Read more...]

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Greg Stiemsma Timberwolves Press Conference Notes

August 4, 2012 by

On Thursday, the Timberwolves introduced yet another free agent signing as they introduced new backup center Greg Stiemsma. The contract is for two years and approximately $2.6 million, with the first year being guaranteed. To view the entire press conference you can watch it here, otherwise here are some notes and thoughts about Thursday’s proceedings.

  • Stiemsma will be wearing jersey number 34. He had previously been with the Timberwolves D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, during the 2009-10 season, and played professional stints in Turkey, South Korea, and most recently for the Boston Celtics last season. This season he became a significant rotation player for the Celtics while gaining valuable playoff experience.
  • The “Stiemer” brings a shot-blocking ability that the Wolves so notably lacked last season. Stiemsma was second in the league in blocks per minute this past season, second only to Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka.
  • Stiemsma explained that he is very excited to be back in Minneapolis, and mentioned how much the organization has grown since last time he was here. A Randolph, Wisconsin native, Stiemsma played four years for the University of Wisconsin and is only a three and a half hour drive away from Minneapolis. He said that it feels good to be close to home and close to where he played college basketball, and he looks to play a similar role of consistency on defense that he did for Boston and to be a “presence inside” for the Wolves.
  • David Kahn explained how Stiemsma was the only free agent who was meeting with the Timberwolves who drove, not flew, to Minneapolis for free agent visits.
  • Stiemsma was very thankful and complimentary of the Celtics organization, players, and coaching staff. He learned a lot through the playoff run with the Celtics, and explained how tough you have to be mentally to play in a seven game series, and how you “have to bring it every possession.”
  • When asked about how it feels to be pursued by NBA teams in free agency after previously failing to make NBA rosters, he stated, “it feels good to be wanted” and “it feels good to have your hard work pay off.”
  • Although he was invited to play for the US Select Team this summer, he chose not to play as he had been recovering from Plantar Fasciitis in his left foot, and he deferred playing with the team with long-term NBA goals in mind. He stated that he has been cranking it up in the weight room the last few weeks, and has not felt limited in workouts at all.
  • A very interesting thing that Stiemsma talked about was the importance of Kevin Garnett in his development as a player during his sole season for the Celtics. He said that “KG was great for me” and “more or less took me under his wing.” Stiemsma explained that KG was “always willing to teach” and “always willing to explain things.”
  • “Minneapolis was not a hard sell for me.”

Photo Credits: NBAE/Getty Images

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