Minnesota Timberwolves

Al Jefferson returned to the lineup and had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolves in a 97-84 home loss to the Rockets on Wednesday night. Jefferson made his first eight shots from the field.

Following a loss to the Suns on Tuesday, Houston enters the Target Center with a 6-5 record. The Wolves hope to snap a losing skid and welcome back Al Jefferson to the lineup.

Jonah Ballow and John Focke discuss the Wolves' gameplan after 10 straight losses, the possible retirement of Jordan's jersey, Jennings' success, challenges for the Lakers, and a recent trade move.

The Minnesota Timberwolves haven't had the most successful of histories, and that's putting it lightly.  So when somebody comes out and says that this current Timberwolves squad is THE worst ever, that's a pretty big claim.  After all, if this season continues on it's current pace, you're going to need a third hand to count the number of times that Minnesota failed to win 30 games, and this is the team's 21st season.  Below is an edited transcript of an ongoing conversation in our TWolves Blog forum.  It's a place that's pretty much visited by only the most die-hard of die-hards, but I felt that it was a conversation that was worth sharing with the NBA blogging community to let them know what's really going on with the Wolves and where the collective psyche of their fans currently resides.  Here we go...

TWolf2324: I know it is way too early but I have this terrible feeling that this is the worst Timberwolves team ever. It makes the Laettner-Rider teams from mid-90's look respectable. Heck, it even makes the Tony Campbell-Pooh Richardson teams look better. I don't know why but I easily became a David Kahn believer, but now I realize all what he did is a big garage sale and sold average players (Foye, Telfair) for nickels. Look at this: He moved Telfair (a nice backup PG. Pretty much at the same level as sessions) and a fan favorite (Mad dog) for Q-rich. Then he moved Q-Rich (who is much better than any SG we have right now) for Mark Blount and some leftovers. He traded Ty Lawson (a great player to be in my opinion) for a future draft pick, and absolutley wasted the 2nd round picks. He did a terrible job by picking both Rubio and Flynn and then not trading one of them (If he had combined Rubio and the 18th pick wouldn't Sacramento agree to give us Evans?).

I don't think Kahn is stupid. I think he's a liar. He thinks he should tank a season or two to get very high lottery picks and clear the entire roster. The problem is that you cannot sell tickets when admitting something like that. So he tells the media and the fans stupid stories like Flynn and Rubio can make a great backcourt when playing together.

Another big problem is coach Rambis. Here in the Euroleague a coach (especially a rookie coach) shapes his strategy according to the players he has, especially his stars. Rambis is ignoring the fact that his best player is Big Al, a half court, undersized center who can do magic around the paint. Instead he decides to install a "run and gun" system alongside the triangle offense. The only problem is that for these systems you need to have players who can actually shoot from mid-range at least. Aside of Gomes and Pavlovic he has no shooters on this team, and Pavlovic is way too streaky. By combining the current players with this strategy you get a team that is beaten by 20 points on a night to night basis like we have right now. Yay!!

Oh, and one last thing. Everybody says that Big Al is not 100% YET. Who knows if he ever gonna be? Most guys never return to the same level after such injury. Plus, this diet he's doing (with the sandwiches or whatever) can actually hurt his game. He needs his mass. This is why they call him "Big" I guess. "Lean Al" is just not the same player.

Too bad, but this is probably the worst Twolves team ever.

From Rod Simons/Timberwolves site:

From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:

• Wolves forward Damien Wilkins will distribute to needy families today nearly 200 Thanksgiving dinner baskets he has purchased. The Wolves also are offering two tickets for anyone who makes a $30 donation to the Emergency Foodshelf Network (www.emergencyfoodshelf.org).

 

Though Rambis said the Wolves' defense has improved, he had a mixed opinion on one of the Wolves' few positive statistics.

"If the steals are coming out of a byproduct of our defense, I'm happy with that," Rambis said. "I've never been too happy with guys who gamble. If they miss, it puts their teammates in jeopardy when they're out of position."

 

 

From Howlin' T-Wolf: Translating David Kahn

 

Here’s a rumor worth getting excited about: Carrie Muskat reports that the Blue Jays contacted the Cubs about sending Roy Halladay to Chicago. CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are one of the teams the Toronto Blue Jays have contacted regarding former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay. Before Cubs fans start salivating at the prospect of having [...]

Here’s a rumor worth getting excited about: Carrie Muskat reports that the Blue Jays contacted the Cubs about sending Roy Halladay to Chicago. CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs are one of the teams the Toronto Blue Jays have contacted regarding former Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay. Before Cubs fans start salivating at the prospect of having [...]

I will now grade the defense and special teams. I would like to remind everyone of my first prediction before the start of the season: “The defense will finish the season in the top quarter of the league.” Let me read some of the comments I got from doubters on both Sports Scribes and Bleacher Report [...]