Minnesota Timberwolves Post All-Star Break Report

Well here we are post NBA all-star break with no real trade rumors to discuss (in past years there’s been lots and lots of rumors and speculation and then nothing ever happens. This year it’s been a refreshing change to have little to no rumors or speculation and know nothing will happen), so what better time to talk about your Minnesota Timberwolves? After a 110-102 loss to Warshington last night, the T-Pups are 17-35, on pace for about 30 wins and a bottom 10 finish, or right about where we thought they’d be before the season started. And by “we” I mean any person who doesn’t work in the Wolves front office that watches a little bit of basketball.

Yep, before the season started I told you the following, all of which have played out:

Al Jefferson is an all-star- on offense. He is atrocious defensively, and thus far in his career has shown zero ability or desire to play D. If he's going to be your franchise cornerstone (and Glen Taylor locking him up to a long-term extension before the season tells me he is), you MUST compliment him with a Samuel Dalembert-type center or post player that can defend the paint. What you should absolutely positively not do is team him with an equally bad defensive player, no matter how much you think they’ll compliment each other offensively.
Ryan Gomes- probably your best all-around player, but on a good team, he'd be a 6th man.
Craig Smith- your most consistent post player other than Big Al, and on a good team, he'd be 9th or 10th in the rotation.
Bassy Telfair- a backup point guard- on this team, or any other. If he's your starter, you're in trouble.
Corey Brewer- excellent perimeter defender and a real high flyer, but can't dribble or shoot.
Mike Miller- On a championship team he’s a third or fourth option. Great outside shooter (career 41% 3 point) and an excellent defensive rebounder for a 2 guard, but he's not a go-to guy, and he's not a good defender. At all.

Any questions? The Jefferson injury was devastating, as he turned into one of the five best scorers on the block in the L, and was actually showing signs of hope on defense. As a basketball fan, I hope he rebounds fully from the knee injury, but as a big guy you wonder how close to 100% he’ll ever get? Just sad to see one of the few good things the Wolves have done end the season this way. Everything else stated above has been proven correct.

But that’s not to say I know everything. There were a few things to be learned from this first half, as I also said the following:
The jury remains out on Randy Foye and Rashad McCants, and this is a pivotal year for both to prove they deserve new contracts when their rookie deals expire soon.

Once McHale took over as coach and moved Foye to the two, he’s proven to be a legitimate player there, and looks like a #1 or #2 scoring option for years to come. At his size he’s never going to be a great one-on-one defender, but plays the passing lanes well. McCants, on the other hand, stinks and will be on the first bus out of town when the season ends. He could have been packaged with Miller, Jason Collins’ expiring contract, and any one of the Wolves four 1st rounders in the upcoming draft and traded for something worthwhile (do the phones not work in Portland? Does McHale not know Kevin Pritchard’s number out there? Does McHale even have a phone? How can you not make a deal with Portland for one of their many, many, many young players?!?!?!?!), but instead McHale- I MEAN Jim Stack and Freddy Hoiberg- are content on doing absolutely nothing and hoping their flawed team magically will be a playoff contender next year. Good luck with that.

(Actually, hold on. As I type this it looks like the phones at 600 1st Avenue ARE working after all, as Marc Stein is reporting on E!SPN that Minnesota is interested in Chicago PG Kirk Hinrich. It’s probably just smoke and nothing will get done but at least they recognize a need for a real point guard.)

Something else we’ve learned is that Kevin Love is a damn good rebounder. A rebounding machine, even. One of the top 10 rebounding rates in the league (21.2), I’m going to have to revise my ceiling from “a 6’8 Brad Miller” to “a 6’8 Brad Miller who can board.” Yeah I should probably drop Brad Miller from his comparison entirely. I STILL don’t see how Love works long-term with Jefferson because neither one of them are good defensively, but if he can continue to rebound this well as his minutes increase, you’re looking at nightly double-double (in 2009 he’s averaging 12 points and 10 boards ) with good passing skills. That’s a pretty nice package, and better than I hoped for out of him. Still, when Jefferson returns next year, I’d still rather have a nucleus of Big Al, Foye and OJ Mayo, but instead I’ll just hope the two big guys can figure out the defensive end.

For the rest of the year I’d hope the young guys play a lot and get as much experience as possible. If indeed they do nothing at the deadline, there’ll be plenty of trades available this summer. It’s widely considered a weak draft crop, but luckily for the Wolves it’s deep on point guards. Still, use the lottery pick (hey with the Jefferson injury at least the Clippers won’t be getting their pick this year) on a point guard and try to deal the rest for more talented young players. It’s about the best you can hope for right now, since it’s a foregone conclusion McHale will be back in some capacity next season, and as long as he’s around, whether as the coach, GM, or popcorn seller, he’ll be influential in any and all decisions. So Wolves fans, follow this team as you always have: hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Timberwolves basketball- it's FAAAAAAAANNNNNNTASTIC!!