Bleacher Report - Minnesota Timberwolves

Could the Minnesota Timberwolves Really Go 8-74?

Joe Mikolai — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:49:32 -0500

I believed in David Kahn, new head of basketball operations for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but eleven consecutive losses later, and its getting really hard to not fault the guy for the team's lack of depth and passion.

Not only did they lose again last night by 13 points in a very uncompetitive game, but only 11,137 (allegedly) even bothered to show up. Minnesota actually ranks twenty-first in the league in attendance for now, but that number is actually inflated due to early season visits by the Boston Celtics led by former Timberwolf Kevin Garnett and the Cleveland "LeBrons," not to mention the near sellout on opening night.

Not surprisingly, this putrid team is bad in all areas-1-6 at home, 0-5 on the road, and 0-8 in conference. At the end of the season, expect this team that doesn't appear to give a damn to be 30th in the league—right where it wants to be.

All offseason we were told to be patient. We were told, like the Knicks and Nets with dreams of LeBron James coming, that everything will be okay.

Thank God for the Nets, otherwise it would be the Wolves who would be 0-12, given their only win was their season opener against the soon-to-be Brooklyn inhabitants on a very inspiring but now obviously fluky night.

All-World point guard Johnny Flynn is coming off his worst game as a professional having scored only nine points while big man Al Jefferson is coming off his best.

Wolves fans and media will tell you that they are implementing Phil Jackson's triangle offense , thanks to Jackson's protege Kurt Rambis being installed as the new head coach.

Fans prepare for the worst

Wolves fans are already speculating that their best player Al Jefferson will soon be traded since he doesn't fit the system. At this point, who cares? They'll get a first round pick for sure and a few malcontents that will likely refuse to report, thus facilitating another trade to a real NBA franchise and city.

At this point, who could blame them?

This team has already lost to the previously 0-4 (at the time of their meeting) Los Angeles Clippers, fellow bottom-feeders Golden State, and at Memphis who has an identical 3-8 record—with one win coming courtesy of Minnesota.

At this point, if any teams need a win (Knicks, Nets, and Bobcats, this means you), be sure to schedule this excuse of a team on your schedule. They'll be happy to oblige.

Why do I sound so bitter? I don't care that they are losing. We were told to expect that as fans, remember?

It's the fact that they are losing by an average fourteen-point margin , 89.7-103.4, on any given night. It's the fact that after some early battles, losing 112-120 at Phoenix, 90-93 to the Clippers, and 90-92 to the then 5-0 Boston Celtics, they've basically given up and I don't understand why.

Its not like we haven't seen this before, though. Last year, the team started out 1-8 and I officially called the season over .

This year, it was dead obvious by that point. I predicted them to win thirty games, which I felt was fair.

Now I question whether they can even win back-to-back games just once this season. I don't see it happening.

Twenty-eight game losing streak coming?

There are already fans predicting when the next win will come with the latest one coming around Christmas time, which would not only put the Wolves on a 1-28 record overall, but on an unheard of twenty-eight game losing streak.

That's something not only entirely possibler, but likely. So prepare for that.

At this point, there isn't a team I know for a fact they can beat or are better than, for their lone win came on an impressive sixteen point comeback with less than seven minutes to go. Again, they've already lost to the Clippers, Warriors and Grizzlies.

Losing twenty-eight games straight would also be an NBA record. Do you remember in 1996, when Blue Edwards of the then Vancouver Grizzlies hit a game-winning three point basket to end a remarkable twenty-three game losing streak?

I do, I saw the game. It came against the Timberwolves.

That is the kind of "luck" these Wolves are going to need if they want to avoid making history. That is the only thing I think can save them at this point.

So what exactly went wrong?

Yes, Kevin Love is down but he's not the whole team. They made nice moves in Ramon Sessions, Flynn, and Ryan Hollins. They aren't supposed to be this bad—at least not on paper.

It's got to be that damn triangle offense that they can't figure out and implement. I see "too much change, too soon" as the final verdict yet to come.

I saw a lot of good-effort games. A fun little roster with a new scoring leader stepping up each night. One night it's Flynn with 18, the next Hollins with 15, Jefferson with 20 and so on—but of course with wins mixed in.

I saw growth coming and winning streaks with lots of smaller long losing streaks but with a team that cared, something no one sees now or in the future, for that matter.

Kahn keeps saying to be patient and it's all about 2010. However, if you win five games all season, which would be an NBA record for futility easily beating the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers 9-73, why would any free agent even consider coming there, much less actually take your money?

Kahn may not have to worry much longer, since operating only on a three-year contract, he would likely be fired long before then.

Futility predicted, but not this bad

People have predicted this futility but we expected them to at least try.

Last year, the Wolves started 5-27 amidst a coaching change and finished 22-60. At this point, I'd give anything for 22 wins which aren't going to happen.

We've also seen this kind of futility with the 2008-09 Oklahoma City Thunder, who began last year 1-12 only to finish 23-59.

Last year on an episode of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, hosts Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser did their segment on over/under with the question being fifteen wins for the team. Kornheiser went under, predicting twelve, if memory serves me right, saying, "Fifteen wins, that's a lot."

This isn't a plea for Rambis or Kahn to get fired. Far from it. Unlike some who think Kahn is over his head and "now its obvious why he couldn't get an NBA job for seven years," I support them both.

We just want effort and to avoid history.

Rambis was my choice for coach and I believe it can still work, once Love gets back and the players start to care again. It just sucks watching your team doing so bad, historically bad, knowing you can't do anything about it or their fate.

In fact, those who read my article archives will remember how excited I was when Kahn started doing moves. I said, and I still stand by, we could be the most exciting twenty-four win team ever since I expected flash and promise from Flynn and Rubio, among others.

What keeps me going is the fact Kahn could pull a big move or two at any time and turn this thing around, such as a Jefferson trade for a similarly young stud who better fits the system. Stay tuned on that.

At least we made moves this offseason and were constantly in the news which was fun. Now we just need the wins to come.

Think eight wins is impossible? Think again.

The 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks went 11-71 along with the 1997-98 Denver Nuggets. In particular, I remember that Nuggets team. There was a point when the record was possible but one win was against the Timberwolves.

That team, too, was guard heavy, like the undersized Timberwolves. That team however, had four players score at least fourteen or more points per game —LaPhonso Ellis, Johnny Newman, Cory Alexander, and Eric Williams, led by Williams' 19.8 PPG.

For the Wolves? Only Jefferson at 15.6, a number he had to rally to in order to reach, is above that mark . Flynn at 13.8 and Corey Brewer, 11.5 are going down quick. In Brewer and Jefferson's cases, health is always an issue, so expect these numbers to go down when each gets a phantom injury later this season when there truly is nothing left to play for but next year, minus the history making aspect.

We'll begin to hear chatter about bettering the team's draft position via tanking, but how exactly is it tanking when you suck, at a historic clip, right out of the gate? Besides, history isn't exactly on the Wolves' side, having never moved up their draft position from their slated spot.

Why not tank? 'Cause it won't work, that's why

If one team in history has gotten screwed over more by the NBA's closed-door lottery selection , its Minnesota, and with a stronger draft than last year, expect the Wolves to get shafted this way again. In fact, expect some freak playoff bubble team like Milwaukee or Charlotte to win the whole lottery despite having a Chicago Bulls-like 1.8 percent chance of winning like when they got Derrick Rose.

After all, its the Minnesota way.

Minnesota desperately needs a superstar to market around, much like they did with Kevin Garnett all those years.

The problem is, toward the end he was all they had, so they sleepwalked through many 31-win seasons.

Fans will tell you in the end the team will be better if they just say, "Screw it" for one or two years and get the best player they can get via the draft since, again, no free agents will get within Milwaukee's distance of the Twin Cities with their record that is coming.

Not only would Minnesota miss out on the top three, but they'd likely get royally shafted like the Kings this past June and end up picking fourth, thus just missing out on the real talent and settling for second best.

It would be 1993 and Christian Laettner all over again, although its yet to be determined who will play the roles of Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning in college basketball this year nor who will be the new Magic and Hornets respectively.

Brandon Jennings not exactly one that got away

Minnesota fans will tell you that they really missed the boat when they could have taken eventual Rookie of the Year Brandon Jennings twice out of Italy in this past draft. In fact, they even drafted the right position—point guard—twice in Flynn and Ricky Rubio but since Jennings remained even lower on their list, he was never a reasonable option.

I, however, am not bitter about this. Not only was Jennings seen as a reach with his supposed poor play overseas, but he had attitude problems with certain players, namely Rubio who he called overrated. I didn't want that kind of project or player on my team anyway, even before then as I saw him as a reach.

Sure, he's averaging 25.5 PPG for the small-market Bucks who, like the Wolves, need every bit of box-office flash they can get. However, also it makes them a playoff contender very quickly with two solid players in Andrew Bogut, whom Jennings calls "Bogan"— apparently not even getting his name of a teammate right—but Jennings looks like he'll be an Allen Iverson type star, both in big game potential and "Me-first" demeanor.

Don't get me wrong. I want Jennings to sign a long-term contract in Milwaukee, especially if he is as good as advertised. After all, the league is better with more teams that are good and not just in the same boring six markets of Detroit, L.A., Boston, San Antonio, Houston, and Chicago, you know 27 of the last 31 NBA Champions (look it up).

We can't all sign in New York/New Jersey. We can't all play for the Cavs, Lakers, Celtics, or Magic. Jennings will be good for Milwaukee and good for the league. As for the Wolves, is just their luck they missed him.

What about Rubio?

I still think Rubio can be that player—a LeBron James of his position, mesmerizing opponents with video game like passing. That is, if he ever shows up to play for them.

You cannot fault the Wolves for taking him, for if they had passed on what was seen as the second best player in the draft twice, analysts would have simply said, "See, this is why Minnesota will always be Minnesota. They are afraid to take a risk and draft a player, someone who has a chance to be a difference-maker."

Others would have said they deserve their fate if they don't draft someone based on how easily they'll get signed. They could have drafted him twice, twice!

Blah, blah, blah.

For now, the hard part is keeping the shrinking fan base and avoid history at all costs which won't be easy. Is 8-74 possible? Stay tuned but don't count it out. However, don't abandon the team that needs you. I'd rather have a historically bad team and be an NBA franchise city, than have no team at all.

This season is all about finding out who the real fans are. Who's with me?

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Mystery Theatre 3000 Deciphers David Kahn's Letter

Kevin Lindsey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:53:23 -0500

In an effort to ease the pain of Minnesota Timberwolves fans, Mystery Theatre 3000 writers have agreed to interpret President David Kahn’s most recent open letter.

Dear Timberwolves Fans and Supporters:

Dear people who don’t turn off the television when we play and everyone else.

I am writing this to you while on the plane from Minneapolis to Memphis, on Friday night following our loss to Dallas. We are 1-9, having lost nine in a row. Our record was to be expected—but it will not be accepted.

Big difference, I think.

We knew that we would be bad but man we are stinking up the joint. Did you see the Golden State game? OK, if we are going to lose we can keep the margin of victory under 20. Yes, it is still a loss but it is not as bad as getting blown out. Sounds good?

What matters most to me is how we respond to adversity this season – knowing it will come in heavy doses occasionally. Our last nine opponents are a collective 51-30, and there will be similar tough stretches throughout the season.

What matters to me is that our guys show up at the stadium on time as we have bills to pay. You do know that we finished 24 games behind the last team to the make the playoffs in the Western Conference, right? The Commissioner only allows us to play a few games against the teams that didn’t make the playoffs so we may go through several stretches in the season when we lose 9 or 10 in a row.

Specifically, I am eager to determine if the team:

• Improves week to week, month to month, first half to second half. This should occur as everything becomes more familiar and our young players develop. Jonny Flynn and Wayne Ellington in particular need to take advantage of the rare opportunity to play significant minutes as rookies – to learn what works and what doesn’t work at this level and eliminate the mistakes.

I am not going to make any more trades for awhile as Flynn and Ellington can’t keep the names of their teammates straight. It is embarrassing when your new guards call out the wrong name of their teammates. We expect that since both went to top flight schools that they will come up with nicknames for their teammates over the course of the season that will work.

• Displays a physical and mental toughness, even when we lose. We cannot lose as we did at Golden State—without a fight. I liked the fact that we fought Dallas until the end tonight and won the fourth quarter. Our crowd appreciated it. I expect that to be the norm. I not only expect that to be part of our culture, but also will demand it.

I brought in Nathan Jawai; he is 6’10 and 280 pounds. We will at least we will look tough; Jawai is 50 to 100 pounds heavier than either Ryan Hollins and Oleksiy Pecherov depending on what they each had to eat in the morning.

We aren’t ready to win games on a consistent basis however we should be able to win at least a quarter in each game. After all, opposing teams have to play their second team during the second quarter of our games by NBA rule and I intend to hold the Commissioner to this rule.

• Starts running and attacking more on offense, as Kurt and I envision this team playing in the long term.

We will play up tempo basketball like the Lakers did when Kurt was on the team. We may have to wait until we have different players but we will eventually be a running team. Remember our motto, United We Run!

On that last point, it has been hard for us to sustain a running game without our best rebounder, Kevin Love, and with Al Jefferson still not all the way back from his ACL knee injury. And our defense has been poor at times. It is extremely difficult to run when you are taking the ball out of the basket. But make no mistake – this will become a running team and that will be our identity.

We are committed to running the basketball. You have seen how we have let Flynn run even when his teammates aren’t keeping up? The problem for us is that the other team continues to make baskets preventing us from running and we have got no one that can get a defensive rebound. Sooner or later, the other teams will start missing shots and make no mistake we will be ready to push the ball.

I also don’t want to use Kevin and Al as excuses. Everybody has injuries. Everybody has tough parts of the schedule. Everybody has adversity. We will not be a team that makes excuses.

We are missing Kevin and Al but we are not going to use their absence as an excuse. Sure, Kevin finished among the top 10 in rebounding last year and Al was having an all-star caliber season before being injured. But we understand we can’t use them as a crutch that’s why we don’t emphasize their absence. Did I mention that Kevin broke his hand and that Al is still recuperating?

At times like these, I am motivated to work harder. I want to scout more, watch more film, crunch more numbers, ask more questions. I know Kurt and the coaching staff feel the same.

The coaches are the strength of our ballclub right now—I am proud to be working with them. We all recognized when we signed up for this mission that it takes a Herculean effort, from all corners, to turn around a franchise and make it championship-caliber.

Hey, we all know as friends and supporters of the Wolves that we all need to work hard to try and figure out how the other teams have figured out how to win games. I don’t want to watch our game film and the coaching staff also doesn’t want to watch our game film but we are committed however to watching other teams to try and figure it out. As soon as someone has a good idea, please let me know.

We obviously are not working hard enough yet. We need to do more. And we will.

You know that 24 teams had more wins than us last year. We have a lot of film to review so please be patient.

Best regards

Say a prayer for me as I say a prayer for you

David Kahn

Timberwolves Basketball Czar

As a Timberwolves fan, do you feel better now? Remember, we only need 24 more wins to surpass last season’s victory total.

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Ramon Sessions vs Jonny Flynn for Point Guard of the Future

Matthew Hayden — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:37:18 -0500

I didn't expect this subject to come up again, but it has.

I've stated that either point guard would be great fits for the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise as their point guard of the future.

I've said that Jonny Flynn would be the better point guard if he can limit his turnovers.

But the sad thing is that he's averaging more turnovers than assists.

He can score at will, but as far as I'm concerned, Ramon Sessions has been running the team much more efficiently than Johnny Flynn.

Maybe it has something to do with the triangle offense, but there are other factors going along with that as well.

Jonny Flynn appears to be confused at times which forces him to take bad shots. He can get past anybody, yet doesn't always utilize his talent.

Ramon Sessions played very well in the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Thirteen minutes in, Sessions had seven assists and finished with eight for the game.

Johnny Flynn has been turning the ball over consistently the entire season, and it has showed that Kurt Rambis is not willing to put up with more mistakes than a rookie should be making.

Ramon Sessions steps in each game and plays very well. Regardless of the assist numbers, he organizes the team very effectively and takes smart shots.

Call me crazy, but Jonny Flynn cannot be the future averaging five turnovers with three assists a game—it just cannot happen.

As a rookie, maybe he'll break through. But I think that it would be better for him to play against a second unit until he get's into a groove. Otherwise, START RAMON SESSIONS!

Just to clear the air, Jonny Flynn looks like the future of this team but don't be surprised if Sessions (who we signed for four years) proves us wrong.

Thanks for reading!

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What Could Be Positive About the Minnesota Timberwolves' Losing Streak?

Matthew Hayden — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:13:59 -0500

In an eight game losing skid, there was much positivity to be said about the Wolves when the Wolves came within single figures of beating the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Phoenix Suns.

Now that they have dropped games against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Portland Trailblazers, and the Golden State Warriors, all positivity has almost been dropped, and has Wolves fans hanging their heads pondering the EXTREMELY long season ahead of us.

But all is well, and while the Wolves are on track to be a horrible team, there are some few positives that I'd like to point out.

Kurt Rambis

He appears to really "be Phil Jackson's former right hand man." His knowledge and intelligence of the game is immense, and it actually impresses me about the things he says.

One thing that Phil Jackson always amazed me with, was that he was always critical of his team, and constantly pointing out mistakes, despite a win of 20+ points. Kurt Rambis is the same way, only that the Wolves are losing. He points out many flaws even in stretches where the Wolves are actually playing good basketball.

Jonny Flynn

If the Wolves weren't running the triangle offense, Jonny Flynn could get buckets whenever he wanted too. It's been highly apparent that he scores whenever Kurt Rambis gives him the OK.

His distribution is getting better, and if he was surrounded by a better executing offense, he could average five-plus assists very easily. He has not scored in single digits yet.

Wayne Ellington

Wayne plays like a developing combo off-guard. He has a lot of skills like Randy Foye had, but something tells me he's going to be a better shooter. Wayne Ellington does a lot of things well, and something tells me that with an increased role, he's going to be a decent rookie.

Kevin Love

At this point, Kevin Love is our franchise big man. If Al Jefferson or Love had to be traded, I highly doubt that Love would be traded.

Kevin Love is our biggest positive heading into the future right now. The only thing we're hoping is that he can bring back that 14 points and 14 rebounds that he was bringing in the preseason.

Notables: Corey Brewer plays a decent all around game, Nathan Jawai has some good moves and with Jefferson out could bring some positivity, Ryan Hollins can block shots, and Ramon Sessions could be trade bait next season.

Thanks for reading!

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