Timberwolves Draft Reaction

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A Second Chance at a Sensational Two

The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted a shooting guard with immense talent who possesses some questions about character. The year was 1993 and his name was J.R. Rider, who immediately changed his name to Isaiah. In 2005 the Timberwolves selected a talented shooting guard who came from a big time program but also came with questions about his work ethic and attitude. Luckily, Rashad McCants refrained from changing his name to Zeke.

2005 NBA First Round

Worst Pick: Toronto selects Charlie Villenuava at #7

Best Pick: Toronto selects the player they should have picked at #7 Joey Graham at #16

Best Moment: David Stern forgetting to shake Rashad McCants' hand.

Worst Moment: Any time ESPN allowed Dick Vitale to rant against foreign players.

Best Value: Gerald Green to Boston at #18. ETA on Paul Pierce's departure is two years.

Worst Value: Villenuava at #7. He'll get paid twice as much as Graham for half of the production.

Longest Night: Martynas Andriuskevicius's agent. Ouch.

Second Longest Night: Rob Babcock. Hope he has bars on his windows.

Son of Toad’s 2005 NBA Mock Draft

1. Milwaukee: Andrew Bogut
2. Atlanta: Marvin Williams
3. Portland: Deron Williams
4. New Orleans: Chris Paul
5. Charlotte: Raymond Felton
6. Utah: Gerald Green
7. Toronto: Danny Granger
8. New York: Hakim Warrick
9. Golden State: Channing Frye
10. LA Lakers: Andrew Bynum
11. Orlando: Martell Webster
12. LA Clippers: Yaroslav Karolev
13. Charlotte: Sean May
14. Minnesota: Rashad McCants

15. New Jersey: Ike Diogu
16. Toronto: Roko Ukic
17. Indiana: Antoine Wright
18. Boston: Martynas Andriuskevicius
19. Memphis: Charlie Villenueva
20. Denver: Francisco Garcia
21. Phoenix: Fran Vazquez
22. Denver: Jarrett Jack

23. Sacramento: Joey Graham
24. Houston: Andray Blatche
25. Seattle: Ersan IIyasova
26. Detroit: Luther Head
27. Utah: Johan Petro
28. San Antonio: David Lee
29. Miami: Wayne Simien
30. New York: Monta Ellis

Assumed:

Utah-Portland trade goes as rumored. Utah receives #3, Portland #6, #27

Denver-Minnesota Trade #14 for #20 and #22

Phoenix trades #21 to Atlanta for 2008 1st

For more draft coverage go Here or Here

Timberwolves Draft Opinion

Draft Express has updated their mock: Here

It has the Wolves taking Jack at #14 and Alan Anderson in the second round.

I think both guys would be excellent additions to the team. Of course it creates a log jam at PG and SG so you'd have to ship some guys out.

Send Cassell and Hassell to New Orleans for PJ Brown, George Lynch and Maciej Lampe.

Resign Griffin with the MLE
Sign SG Kerry Kittles or SG Jon Barry to the Vet Min

Real GM Trade Checker
Trade ID 2430928: Here

2005-2006 Timberwolves

PG Jack/Hudson
SG Kittles or Barry/Anderson/Hoiberg
SF Wally/Ebi
PF Garnett/Lampe/Madsen
C Griffin/Brown/Olowakandi

When the Wolves want to run, Hudson and Jack can play in the same back court. If they want to go big, Wally slides to 2, Griffin to 3 and they bring in Brown or Olowakandi. Kittles/Barry and Hoiberg give the team good shooters off the bench and if one of Lampe or Ebi turns into a player the Wolves are ahead.

Since the new roster minimum is 14 another player would be needed to flesh out the roster, probably a veteran stable PG. Also I would love to see the Timberwolves sign a high school kid or other project who goes undrafted and stick them in the NBDL for two years. A center would be ideal.

Significantly lowers the age of the team and in Anderson and Jack adds two young bodies to work on hard on D. By the playoffs, Anderson will have grown into Hassell's former defensive stopper role.

Minnesota’s Hail Mary

The Minnesota Timberwolves have made a good first step in the post-Saunders era by hiring new head coach Dwane Casey. Casey should infuse fresh blood to the defensive intensity. However, unless the Timberwolves want to be faced with the post-Garnett area they have to make a large move this off-season to put players around Kevin Garnett. This off-season will be as pivotal for the direction of the franchise and the summer they brought in Garnett himself. The addition of Casey and the need to add a very talented player to team with Garnett should lead the Timberwolves to do one thing the moment they are allowed to negotiate with Free Agents – show up on Ray Allen’s doorstep.

Ray Allen was a member of the Timberwolves before, for about 15 minutes. As many know he was drafted by the Timberwolves and traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for Stephon Marbury. Minnesota thought they had the next generations Stockton and Malone. What they really had was an egomaniacal point guard who has career is starting to look eerily like Rod Strickland’s. If the Timberwolves can convince Ray Allen to come play at Target Center they can perhaps come closer to the lofty goals that the Marbury/Garnett pairing inspired.

Sounds great, but how? How are the Timberwolves going to convince Ray Allen to come to Minnesota? They have to believe that they offer Allen the best chance at a championship. Last summer that would have seemed easy, today it’s a harder chore than convincing Troy Hudson he shouldn’t shoot. There have been several possible destinations batted around for Allen. Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, and Seattle have been the franchises with the most Allen buzz. Yet looking at all 5 organizations, Minnesota has a clear chance to be considered the most likely to win now.

Denver:

Starting Five with Allen

PG: Miller

SG: Allen

SF: Anthony

PF: Martin

C: Camby

Denver has arguably the most talent. They also have Allen’s coach form Milwaukee, George Karl. Yet Denver has also shown to be the most manic of the teams, at times underperforming. They are the youngest of the teams, which brings with it some questions about maturity. The Nuggets are often considered the front runner.

Chicago:

Starting Five with Allen

PG: Heinrich

SG: Allen

SF: Nocioni

PF: Chandler

C: Curry

This assumes that Chicago elects to keep both Curry and Chandler. They also have sixth man of the year Ben Gordon coming off the bench. There are still questions about Curry’s health and the development of both he and Chandler. Chicago would also look to Allen at the veteran leader of the team.

Cleveland:

Starting Five with Allen

PG: ?????

SG: Allen

SF: James

PF: Gooden

C: ?????

Cleveland gives Allen the chance to be the Pippen to James’ Jordan. Who fills out the rest of the roster is the major question mark. James has the potential to become a top 3 player in the NBA, but it might be unreasonable to ask him to fill that role with an entirely new supporting cast around him. A large part of King James’ game is making his teammates better. That said he still needs better teammates. Cleveland might be the best long term situation for Allen.

Seattle:

Starting Five with Allen

PG: Ridnour

SG: Allen

SF: Lewis

PF: Collison

C: Swift

This is hardly the team that Allen led this past season. It is very possible that Seattle will be able to resign several players yet more than likely Allen will looking to make a decision knowing that only these players are guaranteed to be back in 2005-2006. Factor in that it is a strong possibility that Assistant Head Coach, Dwane Casey and Head Coach Nate McMillian could no longer work in Seattle. If Allen chooses to resign with Seattle it will be a large indication of his loyalty to the franchise and city than his belief that Seattle can be a contender in 05-06.

Minnesota:

Starting Five with Allen

PG: Cassell

SG: Allen

SF: Hassell

PF: Garnett

C: Olowakandi

Minnesota is clearly the most talented or deep of the potential suitors for Allen. For the purposes of this article it is assumed that Wally Sczerbiak would have been involved in the sign and trade that brought Allen to Minnesota. The pursuit of Allen would hinge on the shared belief that he is the missing piece that would help them recapture the form they displayed in 2003-2004. Minnesota clearly has the most ifs. If Cassell can recapture his 03-04 form, if Hassell can effectively shut down the opposing teams’ best wing player, if Garnett can be considered the clear favorite for the MVP and if Olowakandi can just do something worth while – then Allen might help lead the Timberwolves back into contention for a championship.

For hours of endless fun check RealGM's Trade Checker: Here

Casey - the new head of the pack

Last Friday the Minnesota Timberwolves named Dwane Casey as the teams new head coach. Casey a respected assistant with the Seattle Supersonics had also been rumored to be a leading candidate for the Portland Trailblazer’s head coach opening. Casey’s main tie to the state of Minnesota is through former University of Minnesota Coach Clem Haskins. Casey was one of Haskins assistant coaches at Western Kentucky University.

While hiring a head coach with no previous experience is not new for the Timberwolves, hiring who has no obviously connection to the team is a bit of a step away from tradition. Flip Saunders, the recently departed head coach was a teammate of Timberwolves head honcho Kevin McHale. Previous coach Sidney Lowe was once a player, the franchises’ first head coach, Bill Musselman was familiar with the state as well.

But what does Casey bring to the team that other candidates, such as Lowe and P.J. Carlisimo, did not? At first blush it would seem that Casey brings a youthful energy to a team that needs someone other than Kevin Garnett to be a vocal leader. Asking Garnett to be the emotional cheerleader, leading scorer, top rebounder and best defender will not help the Timberwolves become contenders again. As evidenced by the performances of Tim Duncan and Robert Horry in game 5 of the 2005 NBA Finals – stars sometimes need someone else to step up. Horry does all the little things, which allows Duncan to do the bigger things. The beauty is that when Duncan has an off night, the Spurs have enough pieces to still compete. The 2004-2005 Timberwolves did not. Adding a coach with a new philosophy and some new energy might help the team as a whole to find ways to fill in the cracks around Garnett.

Rumors have surfaced that Casey was the mastermind behind the Supersonics success this season. If he can get the Timberwolves roster to buy into his scheme and to execute it with energy and passion, then we will know if Casey was the right choice. If the Timberwolves win 8 of their first 10 games it will be easy to give Casey all the credit. However, the true measure will come if they are still playing with renewed passion and energy in March.

Check out Chris Broussard’s Insider blog about Casey here

Check out Dwane Casey’s bio on NBA.com here

Cheating in Baseball, a cheat is a cheat is a cheat.

Baseball has finally started to clean up its act. It has begun to crack down on the massive amount of steroid abuse that has been evident for years. Finally they are bringing back some dignity to a wonderful and historic sport. There is no way that the sport that has been called “America’s pastime” should be sullied by cheaters.

The new tests and consequences for taking steroids have no doubt helped to clean up the game. The soon to be government imposed mandatory one year ban for first time offenders will go further to push steroids out of the mainstream. Baseball has sent a message to steroid freaks that they’re cheating will not be allowed. Now baseball needs to get its act together and start cracking down on the other players who are perverting the game, the rest of the cheaters.

Players like corked bat Sammy Sosa, and newly outed Brenden Donnally. These cheaters should be subject to the same penalties as those who abuse steroids. Donnally should be suspended for the rest of the season. Sosa should have been suspended for the rest of the season he got caught using a corked bat. Their excuses should be ignored just like the “It was just a supplement” or “I rubbed cream on my butt but I didn’t know what it was” pleas of the steroid abusers.

Congress has claimed that by cracking down on steroids they are protecting the youth of America. Far fetched as that is, if they are serious Baseball must crack down on cheaters of all types. Steroid abusers, corked batsmen and pine tar glovers. Crack down now, or just wait until Little Jimmy sues the school because he was expelled for writing his Geography final answers on the bottom of his shoe.

Read more on Brenden "Cheat" Donnally here

Jump Back

A quick look back at updates on topics we've covered:

Danica Patrick: Texas

Miami Heat, Wade: BMOC

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers: Reunited

New Articles coming on the Timberwolves' new head coach and the domination of the finals by San Antonio.

Heat without Heart

In the medieval era courageous generals, kings and knights would lead their troops into battle riding high upon a majestic steed. This way the peasants fighting for them would be able to see them throughout the battle. The courage of the general, king or knight would be visible to the other combatants and would help to strengthen their resolve as well. Yet this could have the opposite effect as well. Often when a general, king or knight was knocked off his horse the soldiers would lay down their arms, run in fear or simply surrender. Without a leader, they ceased to be an army. They were peasants again.

Saturday night the Miami Heat once again turned into peasants. With their general Dwyane Wade knocked off of his horse by a rib muscle, the Heat simply seemed to have lost the will to deal with the Detroit Pistons. Detroit showed little mercy to the leaderless crew from Miami and crushed them and potentially their hopes of an NBA title. Miami looked listless and awkward without Wade. The Jones boys, Damon and Eddie showed that without Wade to make them better they were barely effective. So much has been made about how having Shaq on the team has made everyone better. Yet judging by the 2005 NBA playoffs, perhaps Wade should have been considered for the MVP award as well.

The Heat have won several times in the playoffs with Wade carrying them on his back. If the conference finals were the battle of Troy, Wade would be Achilles. He is the warrior that rallies the troops, drives home the final blow to the opponent and is willing to take on any and all who oppose him. (Incidentally, Shaq is Ulysses, wiser than most but not the warrior he once was, and with his impending contract status you feel there is trouble ahead.) Wade’s rib has become Miami’s Achilles heel. Without him they are left to failing and panicked. You could even make the case that they fled in game six.

Miami’s only hope is that Wade’s rib is really a Trojan horse. If Wade can come back and dominate in game seven, it will allow Shaq room to produce inside, the Jones boys will look above average and Stan Van Gundy and Pat Riley can sit back and make like Menelaus and Agamemnon and watch the carnage with a smile.

Check out Espn's coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals here

Check out more about the battle of Troy here

She came to play.

Literally millions of words have been dedicated to Danica Patrick in the past few weeks. She has been lauded as hero. She has been chastised for being attractive. She has even been attacked by Robbie Gordon for simply not being fat enough. Her trails and successes during the Indy 500 have been well documented. One thing seems to have been missed, like another sterling rookie who excelled. She just came to play.

To compare Patrick to Jackie Robinson would at first seem a bit over the top. There is no doubt that they have traveled very different roads to get to their rookie seasons. There is little doubt that the intimation and bias that each faced would be as different as night and day. Yet, what strikes me so strongly is not the actions of the media, the public or their competitors – it is the actions of Danica Patrick and Jackie Robinson themselves, that are so similar.

It has been said that Branch Rickey didn’t choose Jackie Robinson to be the first black player in the major leagues because he was the best black player available but because he was the one would was best equipped to be the first. History will never be able to truly explain or define what Jackie Robinson went through in his rookie season. Yet each and every time that he was faced with hatred, bigotry and just plain stupidity – he took the higher road. Jackie Robinson came to play and he did, no matter what.

The circus that has surrounded Danica Patrick for the past several weeks isn’t likely to subside anytime soon. There are already whispers that the ultimate level of racing, at least in terms of visibility, will come calling sooner or later. Patrick has dealt with the media scrutiny of the Indy 500 with grace, poise and most importantly a visible desire to simply race. When interview she most often focused on the job at hand, never on her place in history or what a pioneer she was. Danica Patrick set out with one goal on Sunday, to win. She didn’t want to simply lead a lap, or rest on the laurels of starting higher than any woman had before – she came to play.

In this era when being a professional athlete can be as much about shoe contracts, drugs and ego. It was amazing to watch an athlete push aside all the perceptions of the media, all the expectations and simply race her heart out to win, no matter what. She took chances, she had bumps and wrecks but she never stopped. She never said, well, I guess this is good enough.

As I held my 7 month old daughter in my arms and watch the final laps of the Indy 500, gender, bias and even history melted away. I felt in that moment as I had a thousand times before, watching an athlete who gives it their all, simply to play.

That is what Danica Patrick gave us all on Sunday. She came to play.

Read Ian O’Conner’s article on Patrick here:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/oconnor/

Check out ESPN’s coverage here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/indy2005/news/story?id=2072004