To recap July 2012, we started the month by reviewing the Timberwolves 2012 free agency options which began with the pursuit of restricted free agent Nicolas Batum. While the pursuit of Batum ultimately proved futile with Portland eventually matching the Timberwolves 4-year, $46.5 million offer sheet, the Wolves were able to sign former Boston Celtic center Greg Stiemsma.

In the process, Minnesota said goodbye to Michael Beasley as he signed with the Phoenix Suns for 3 years and $18 million. Darko Milicic was waived via the amnesty clause, Martell Webster was waived, and Brad Miller was traded to the New Orleans Hornets, despite the likelihood that he will retire anyways. Wayne Ellington was shipped to Memphis in exchange for forward Dante Cunningham who will likely fill the role of Anthony Tolliver shall he decide to sign elsewhere.

The Timberwolves dipped into the international free agent market by signing the electrifying Russian guard Alexey Shved for 3 years and $10 million, and went ahead and signed his teammate on the Russian national team and former Utah Jazz standout Andrei Kirilenko to a two year, $20 million pact.

After originally trading him on draft day 2006, the Wolves signed Brandon Roy as he emerged out of retirement in an attempt to come back to his All-Star form. I began to ponder if the Portland Trail Blazers are becoming a legitimate on and off court rival to our Wolves, and Timberpups welcomed new writer John to the fold. We also released our first version of our 2013 NBA Mock Draft. We’re looking forward to what August has in store.

Yesterday the signing of new Timberwolf Brandon Roy was made official and the Timberwolves held a press conference for Roy and GM David Kahn. Here are some quick notes on what was discussed:

• Roy will wear number 3 despite Derrick Williams offering to give up number 7, and Roy will sport number 3 for the first time since his days back at the University of Washington. Malcolm Lee, who wore number 3 last season, will sport Michael Beasley’s former number 8.
• Roy explained how difficult of a decision it was to sit out last year, and stated that it was never fully his decision to retire. Before the 2011-12 season, Roy met with Portland’s doctor of whom believed that it would be in Roy’s best interest to stop playing basketball and retire. With the lockout and the possibility of a condensed season, Roy believed that it would be a good opportunity to sit out for the season instead of risking doing further damage to his degenerative knees.
• After watching how effective (and still amazing) Kobe Bryant was this past season after undergoing platelet-rich blood therapy on his knee in Germany, Roy was very encouraged to undergo Regenokine, a similar blood therapy which took place in Los Angeles. The process includes taking blood from the patient and spinning the blood until the platelets properly separate from the rest of the blood. The platelet-rich blood is then injected into the damaged tissue areas and has been shown to speed recovery and regenerate tissue. Athletes who have had positive results from the therapy include Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Andrew Bynum, Tiger Woods, and New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, among others.
• After having the blood therapy done, Roy has not experienced any swelling and has not been experiencing ill effects the day after working out. It has significantly improved his recovery time and he states that he is able to fully exert himself and feels the best since before his knee surgeries during his last season in Portland. During his workouts, Roy said “there wasn’t anything that I couldn’t do” and that he is “excited to be back hooping.”
• Roy has remained adamant that he would not have chosen to return to the NBA if he did not believe that he could return to playing at “a high level.” His goal is to be great once again and is not worried about a minutes limit during the regular season.
• When explaining why he chose to sign with Minnesota over other playoff contenders, Roy expressed the importance of David Kahn and Timberwolves coaches Bill Bayno and Rick Adelman during the signing process. Roy played for Bill Bayno in Portland, as he was the lead assistant coach there during his tenure with the Trail Blazers. After talking to several people high up in the NBA community, he was told that if he had a chance to play for Rick Adelman, that he should take advantage of the opportunity. Roy sees the Timberwolves as a team that is good, but has a need for the types of things he is capable of. He saw Minnesota as a team that he could be a big part of going forward, and stated his contentment with the signing of Andrei Kirilenko. Roy summed it up best when he said “I would love to be a part of [the Timberwolves] improvement.”
• When commenting on the free agency process, Roy explained that the Timberwolves showed him the most love and were the team that was calling him constantly, watching most of his workouts, etc. He stated that his familiarity with the coaching staff would make his transition to a new system easy.
• David Kahn, during his brief moment heading the press conference, explained that he believes that the team has added ball handling, shooting, and overall wing play. He said that the versatility of the teams improved roster will allow the team to have many different lineups and gives the Timberwolves the ability to give opponents a lot of different looks.

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