Here's some news, not sure if it's good: Blazers match Nicolas Batum offer.
It's not bad. They have options. This team will be a lot better this year.
assuming Rubio returns to health and effectiveness.
The contract the Wolves offered Batum was likely a bad idea, and I'm glad the Blazers matched.
Getting rid of Darko, Webster, Randolph, and Beasley and replacing them with some average production should improve the team noticeably. I also think that giving Adelman a full off-season to install his offense will help, as will a normal NBA schedule instead of the compressed slate of games that they had to deal with last year.
Right. Ricky is going to be key, of course. But, they have cleared the deck of the dreck.
The gentlemen telecasting Tuesday night's summer game said they had asked Adelman if Williams could play the "3,'' and the coach harrumphed: "He never has before."
Right now, it would be rash to make the following claim about Wes Johnson, but I do know this: A coaching legend should be embarrassed if he can't fit Derrick Williams into his team and turn the 21-year-old into a productive NBA player.
At first blush, it doesn't seem like there was a very deep pool of talent last year, but he was by most accounts the consensus #2 pick. I'm sure this guys know a thing or two about developing players and perhaps sees a real flaw in his game, but I was (am) confused by Adelman's approach regarding Williams. It reminds me a bit of Rambis & Love.
I love Reusse and he knows his baseball. Basketball, not so much. I trust a HOF coach to evaluate players he works with daily more than any writer. Maybe DW can play SF - they are letting him do so in Vegas with mediocre results - but his skill set to date screams PF.
I still don't think that is a good reason to publicly bad mouth him. If you want him off your squad, you have to keep his trade value high.
I'm with Higgum/s-n-p. This works out well for the Wolves. I'd of been happy with pretty much any way the situation turned out. Iggy, Harden, Evans, Ellis, Martin, Tony Allen and Gary Neal are free agent (of varying degrees) wings who will be available next season. Take the cap space, try to get on of these guys either by in season trade or next off season, extend Pek and voila. Awesome team in a few steps.
One thing about Adelman is that he's never been a huge fan of playing rookies. Yes, he started Jason Williams as a rookie, but that was out of desperation as much as anything. Peja started one game his rookie year (the same year). Kevin Martin barely played as a rookie. Even Drazen Petrovic and Clifford Robinson barely played as rookies on his Portland teams.
Williams at Arizona sure seemed like the kind of athlete who could handle playing the SF, at least part-time. I'm willing to bet that he will develop into the kind of player who can defend wings while abusing them at the other end.
I can't help but coming back to Williams has the same skill set as Beasley. I hope with SCB taking his heat to the desert that Williams will step into that role as a 6th man who can create match up problems (with a little less head case mixed in) on the offensive end. I just have a tough time getting behind him as a defender. He can't guard 2s or 3s.
I get that he was the number 2 pick in a weak draft and my expectations of him are realistic but fans are going to go all Mauer on him because he was a number 2 overall selection. Dude isn't going to be a starter, at least not on this Wolves team as long as K Love is in town. Hopefully he can create some value for himself this year as he should see some more pt.
Free Surly at the Four Firkins at 6pm tonight. I think it may get crowded!
i'm not going to go into it or provide any links, but i'll just say that you minnesotans have some... interesting elected officials (i know i'm a FIB these days so i can't really talk, but wow).
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Why do most athletes want to go to the Olympics? Glory? Fame? Or hook-ups?
And on it went for eight days as scores of Olympians, male and female, trickled into the shooter's house -- and that's what everyone called it, Shooters' House -- at all hours, stopping by an Oakley duffel bag overflowing with condoms procured from the village's helpful medical clinic. After a while, it dawned on Lakatos: "I'm running a friggin' brothel in the Olympic Village! I've never witnessed so much debauchery in my entire life."
On a purely unrelated note, what sport offers an unathletic middle aged guy the best shot at making the US Olympic Team? I... umm, a friend of mind, that is... was wondering.
Curling.
heh. i might have thought the same thing, though i’m guessing they don’t have the highest stock in olympic village. i don’t remember exactly where i heard it, but i was listening to an interview with an olympic athlete (skier?), and on the question of if curlers should be considered athletes, he at least conceded that they can certainly drink more than any other sport’s representatives.
While that may be true, that particular athlete has clearly not seen some of the Canadian men's teams.
HARD!!!!
Was that lte meant for below?
Actually, above. Should have gone under Phil's first mention of curling.
It would be interesting to see the same map for all MLBers ever. And as a Minneapolitan, I have to admit that St. Paul continues to put us to shame in this regard.
Speaking of fun maps, here's one a FB friend just posted:
Uniwatch linked to this cool photo of the St. Paul Gophers from 1905.
thanks for that LTE, AMR. It sent me to the Uni-watch site and down the rabbit hole. (I'm reading the nickNOBs post now)
It also led me to this awesome story: lost Olympic buses in London.
That's super cool.
I'd smoke a cigar made by bob.
The anti-Timberwolves!
Here's some news, not sure if it's good: Blazers match Nicolas Batum offer.
It's not bad. They have options. This team will be a lot better this year.
assuming Rubio returns to health and effectiveness.
The contract the Wolves offered Batum was likely a bad idea, and I'm glad the Blazers matched.
Getting rid of Darko, Webster, Randolph, and Beasley and replacing them with some average production should improve the team noticeably. I also think that giving Adelman a full off-season to install his offense will help, as will a normal NBA schedule instead of the compressed slate of games that they had to deal with last year.
Right. Ricky is going to be key, of course. But, they have cleared the deck of the dreck.
Reusse with an article on expectations for Adelman re. Johnson & Williams' development:
At first blush, it doesn't seem like there was a very deep pool of talent last year, but he was by most accounts the consensus #2 pick. I'm sure this guys know a thing or two about developing players and perhaps sees a real flaw in his game, but I was (am) confused by Adelman's approach regarding Williams. It reminds me a bit of Rambis & Love.
I love Reusse and he knows his baseball. Basketball, not so much. I trust a HOF coach to evaluate players he works with daily more than any writer. Maybe DW can play SF - they are letting him do so in Vegas with mediocre results - but his skill set to date screams PF.
I still don't think that is a good reason to publicly bad mouth him. If you want him off your squad, you have to keep his trade value high.
I'm with Higgum/s-n-p. This works out well for the Wolves. I'd of been happy with pretty much any way the situation turned out. Iggy, Harden, Evans, Ellis, Martin, Tony Allen and Gary Neal are free agent (of varying degrees) wings who will be available next season. Take the cap space, try to get on of these guys either by in season trade or next off season, extend Pek and voila. Awesome team in a few steps.
One thing about Adelman is that he's never been a huge fan of playing rookies. Yes, he started Jason Williams as a rookie, but that was out of desperation as much as anything. Peja started one game his rookie year (the same year). Kevin Martin barely played as a rookie. Even Drazen Petrovic and Clifford Robinson barely played as rookies on his Portland teams.
Williams at Arizona sure seemed like the kind of athlete who could handle playing the SF, at least part-time. I'm willing to bet that he will develop into the kind of player who can defend wings while abusing them at the other end.
I can't help but coming back to Williams has the same skill set as Beasley. I hope with SCB taking his heat to the desert that Williams will step into that role as a 6th man who can create match up problems (with a little less head case mixed in) on the offensive end. I just have a tough time getting behind him as a defender. He can't guard 2s or 3s.
I get that he was the number 2 pick in a weak draft and my expectations of him are realistic but fans are going to go all Mauer on him because he was a number 2 overall selection. Dude isn't going to be a starter, at least not on this Wolves team as long as K Love is in town. Hopefully he can create some value for himself this year as he should see some more pt.
Free Surly at the Four Firkins at 6pm tonight. I think it may get crowded!
i'm not going to go into it or provide any links, but i'll just say that you minnesotans have some... interesting elected officials (i know i'm a FIB these days so i can't really talk, but wow).
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Why do most athletes want to go to the Olympics? Glory? Fame? Or hook-ups?
On a purely unrelated note, what sport offers an unathletic middle aged guy the best shot at making the US Olympic Team? I... umm, a friend of mind, that is... was wondering.
Curling.
heh. i might have thought the same thing, though i’m guessing they don’t have the highest stock in olympic village. i don’t remember exactly where i heard it, but i was listening to an interview with an olympic athlete (skier?), and on the question of if curlers should be considered athletes, he at least conceded that they can certainly drink more than any other sport’s representatives.
While that may be true, that particular athlete has clearly not seen some of the Canadian men's teams.
HARD!!!!
Was that lte meant for below?
Actually, above. Should have gone under Phil's first mention of curling.
here's some fun
It would be interesting to see the same map for all MLBers ever. And as a Minneapolitan, I have to admit that St. Paul continues to put us to shame in this regard.
Speaking of fun maps, here's one a FB friend just posted:
Science!
I notice a few telling omissions.
What are Guyana, Nepal, Latvia, and Lesotho hiding?
Gratified to learn tonight that Colbert is hip to the "Is it Thursday?" movement, even if in his pants.