SB Nation - Mark Madsen

Alternate Realities in the Timberwolves' Universe

wyn — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:33:02 -0000

"Every man on that transport died! Harry wasn't there to save them, because you weren't there to save Harry." - Clarence the Angel

Now that Thanksgiving's over, it's ok to put up your Christmas lights (or winter decorations for any holiday you celebrate). In my family, it also means watching It's a Wonderful Life. If you hate America and therefore haven't seen it you can watch the whole thing here. Suffice to say that George Bailey is a man who runs into serious money problems and decides to jump off a bridge. But instead of plummeting to his death, Bailey is saved by Clarence the Angel. Clarence then does George a "solid" by showing him the world as if it had never been graced by George's presence.

Like Mr. Bailey, Wolves General Manager David Kahn has gotten some people angry with him as the team's 1-15 start has been softened only slightly by the recent win in Denver. After all, Kahn is the man responsible for acquiring 2/3 of the players on this year's roster. The criticism of Kahn includes, implicitly or explicitly, the assertion that the Wolves would be better off without some or all of the moves he made.

So to get us in the holiday spirit, let's consider life for the Timberwolves had this summer gone differently (whether David Kahn exists or not is immaterial at this point, so the tie-in to It's a Wonderful Life weakens... let's just move one).

What follows are scenarios of varying plausibility with the corresponding win shares (defined here) and contract commitments (see here for details on options and such).

Thanks, as always, to Basketball-Reference.com for being the best stats site for the NBA. And for more Wolves What Ifs, check out Mike's recent post at TWolvesBlog. Thanks to Mike for getting me to finish my earlier draft of this post.

[EDIT: Not sure why I had the record wrong, thanks commenters.]

Before diving into rampant speculation, it's worth talking a bit about what they're based on: win shares. Did you read the linked explanation? If you're unfamiliar with win shares, do it. The biggest caveat mentioned in that article is attributing team success to individual players doesn't necessarily work. This is an obvious problem in the scenarios below, as Shelden Williams is one of the biggest win producers. Do you think Williams earned his 1.2 wins all by his lonesome, or is it possible Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins might help Williams' win share production? Right. Likewise, Corey Brewer's -0.3 win shares could be explained largely by his logging the most minutes on a team with only two wins, or it could be that the team only has two wins because Corey's playing so much. Such is the nature of win shares.

Current Roster

Here we sit after a whirlwind offseason, a couple quality players worth building around, some expiring contracts, some future picks, the rights to Ricky Rubio, and 2 measly wins. The future's bright, but the present is a complete downer.

Al Jefferson	0.7	$12,000,000	$13,000,000	$14,000,000	$15,000,000
Ramon Sessions	0.5	$3,670,667	$3,964,320	$4,257,974	$4,970,000
Ryan Gomes	0.4	$3,867,500	$4,235,000	$4,602,500	$4,970,000
Nathan Jawai	0.3	$736,420
Oleksiy Pecherov	0.3	$1,547,640
Ryan Hollins	0.3	$2,183,333	$2,333,333	$2,483,333
Brian Cardinal	0.1	$6,750,000
Damien Wilkins	0.1	$3,630,000
Jason Hart	0.0	$825,497
Jonny Flynn	-0.1	$2,969,280	$3,192,000	$3,414,720	$4,329,865	RFA
Corey Brewer	-0.3	$2,916,120	$3,703,472	RFA
Sasha Pavlovic	-0.3	$1,500,000
Wayne Ellington	-0.4	$1,003,560	$1,078,800	$1,154,040	$2,083,042	RFA
Kevin Love	n/a	$3,401,040	$3,638,280	$4,609,701	RFA
Mark Blount	n/a	$7,967,375
(Antonio Daniels)	n/a	$5,863,580
(Chucky Atkins)	n/a	$760,000
Total	1.6	$61,592,012	$35,145,206	$34,522,268	$30,934,534	$0

Alternate Universe 1

The trades with Washington or the LA Clippers never happened, nor was Ty Lawson traded to Denver. The the same picks at #6, #18 and #28 were made. In free agency the Wolves held on to Shelden Williams, Kevin Ollie, and Rodney Carney, but let Jason Collins walk. Facing roster glut, Bobby Brown and Mark Madsen were cut. This was in spite of Brown's superior performance to Corey Brewer and Wayne Ellington thus far due to financial commitments.

Shelden Williams	1.2	$825,497
Ty Lawson	1.0	$1,438,680	$1,546,560	$1,654,440	$2,544,529	RFA
Mike Miller	0.9	$9,780,937
Craig Smith	0.8	$2,300,000
Al Jefferson	0.7	$12,000,000	$13,000,000	$14,000,000	$15,000,000
Ryan Gomes	0.4	$3,867,500	$4,235,000	$4,602,500	$4,970,000
Kevin Ollie	0.4	$825,497
Rodney Carney	0.4	$825,497
Sebastian Telfair	0.4	$2,500,000	$2,700,000
Randy Foye	0.2	$3,575,761	RFA
Brian Cardinal	0.1	$6,750,000
Jonny Flynn	-0.1	$2,969,280	$3,192,000	$3,414,720	$4,329,865	RFA
Corey Brewer	-0.3	$2,916,120	$3,703,472	RFA
Wayne Ellington	-0.4	$1,003,560	$1,078,800	$1,154,040	$2,083,042	RFA
Kevin Love	n/a	$3,401,040	$3,638,280	$4,609,701	RFA
(Mark Madsen)	n/a	$2,840,000
(Bobby Brown)	n/a	$736,420
Total	5.7	$58,555,789	$33,094,112	$29,435,401	$28,927,436	$0

Maintaining last year's roster may have improved the team's record to 6-11, but the franchise won't be players in next year's free agency bonanza (unless they let Miller, Smith, Foye and others walk for nothing) and there are four players (Ollie, Flynn, Lawson and Telfair) who require minutes at the point. They also don't have Ricky Rubio's rights and you may notice that they're actually committed less salary in this scenario than in reality. It's not a huge improvement in the win column, but it's an improvement none the less and the future is still rather bright. But we can do better.

Alternate Universe 2

In this scenario, the trades with Washington, the Clippers or Denver still don't go down and the Wolves have draft magic that allow them to draft the player with the most win shares from amongst the pool of available players (with this method, their 2nd round picks would have been AJ Price and Lester Hudson. Each has a win share equal to Brian Cardinal and therefore wouldn't have improved this scenario). Free agency, as before, brings back Williams, Ollie and Carney and shuns Collins. Madsen and Brown are cut.

Brandon Jennings (#6)	1.4	$2,969,280	$3,192,000	$3,414,720	$4,329,865	RFA
Shelden Williams	1.2	$825,497
Ty Lawson (#18)	1.0	$1,438,680	$1,546,560	$1,654,440	$2,544,529	RFA
Mike Miller	0.9	$9,780,937
Craig Smith	0.8	$2,300,000
Al Jefferson	0.7	$12,000,000	$13,000,000	$14,000,000	$15,000,000
DeJuan Blair (#28)	0.7	$1,003,560	$1,078,800	$1,154,040	$2,083,042	RFA
Ryan Gomes	0.4	$3,867,500	$4,235,000	$4,602,500	$4,970,000
Kevin Ollie	0.4	$825,497
Rodney Carney	0.4	$825,497
Sebastian Telfair	0.4	$2,500,000	$2,700,000
Randy Foye	0.2	$3,575,761	RFA
Brian Cardinal	0.1	$6,750,000
Corey Brewer	-0.3	$2,916,120	$3,703,472	RFA
Kevin Love	n/a	$3,401,040	$3,638,280	$4,609,701	RFA
(Mark Madsen)	n/a	$2,840,000
(Bobby Brown)	n/a	$736,420
Total	8.3	$58,555,789	$33,094,112	$29,435,401	$28,927,436	$0

8.3 wins ain't too shabby, bringing the Wolves' to an 8-9 record. This scenario presents the same 2010 free agency problem as the previous one, but the future is a tad brighter with Jennings, Lawson and Blair instead of Flynn, Ellington and a future 1st. The point guard glut also still exists, merely swapping Jennings for Flynn. I know what you're thinking: we can do better. And you're right.

Alternate Universe 3

Corey Brewer's win share total of -0.3 is the worst among all players considered in this experiment, so forget his option and cut him. Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins, on the other hand, are in the top 14 in win shares for all of the considered players, so they're worth using the MLE on. Unfortunately, that means eating Brian Cardinal's salary, in addition to Madsen and Brown. But, hey, we're in this for wins, right?

Brandon Jennings (#6)	1.4	$2,969,280	$3,192,000	$3,414,720	$4,329,865	RFA
Shelden Williams	1.2	$825,497
Ty Lawson	1.0	$1,438,680	$1,546,560	$1,654,440	$2,544,529	RFA
Mike Miller	0.9	$9,780,937
Craig Smith	0.8	$2,300,000
Al Jefferson	0.7	$12,000,000	$13,000,000	$14,000,000	$15,000,000
DeJuan Blair (#28)	0.7	$1,003,560	$1,078,800	$1,154,040	$2,083,042	RFA
Ramon Sessions	0.5	$3,670,667	$3,964,320	$4,257,974	$4,970,000
Ryan Gomes	0.4	$3,867,500	$4,235,000	$4,602,500	$4,970,000
Kevin Ollie	0.4	$825,497
Rodney Carney	0.4	$825,497
Sebastian Telfair	0.4	$2,500,000	$2,700,000
Ryan Hollins	0.3	$2,183,333	$2,333,333	$2,483,333
Randy Foye	0.2	$3,575,761	RFA
Kevin Love	n/a	$3,401,040	$3,638,280	$4,609,701	RFA
(Brian Cardinal)	n/a	$6,750,000
(Corey Brewer)	n/a	$2,916,120
(Mark Madsen)	n/a	$2,840,000
(Bobby Brown)	n/a	$736,420
Total	9.3	$64,409,789	$35,688,293	$36,176,708	$33,897,436	$0

This is the most expensive of the scenarios and the 2010 free agency problem remains. In fact, the Wolves eat $9.6 million more than in the previous scenario and only gain 1 win (9-8). That's probably not something that would impress Glen Taylor or fans. And, stop me if you've heard this before, but the team's got Jennings, Lawson, Sessions, Ollie and Telfair seeking minutes at point guard. That is, at least, if you want to reap their win shares in the total.

These alternate realities may be attractive to fans concerned about the win column, since a 2-15 start does little to build excitement for the current season. But there are some fatal flaws in calling Kahn's summer a bust this. First, you probably noticed that picking the best player at each opportunity in the draft is highly unlikely. Moreover, it's far too early to determine which rookies were better picks. I've also pointed out the point guard glut that a reliance on win shares creates. Lastly, another flaw with the Win-share-way-back-machine Model (that's trademarked, by the way) arises from the depth chart: the sum of minutes needed by each player to achieve their win share is likely higher than minutes available.

Even if David Kahn had made what appear now to be the right moves, the Wolves would be about a .500 team, they'd be out of the 2010 free agency class, they wouldn't have the rights to Ricky Rubio, they wouldn't have enough minutes to go around to an unbalanced roster, and they look like a team whose peak is the Western Conference Semifinals.

If that doesn't make you feel better, go watch It's a Wonderful Life and curse that evil Mr. Potter.

Ridiculous Transactions 10/19-10/25

Jon L — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:15:41 -0000

Nate Jawai is on the move once again. Maybe he'll enjoy Sioux Falls more than he did Boise.

View full size photo »

So last week was a bloodbath. Today is the deadline for NBA teams to submit their regular season rosters, and most of them knew who they were keeping awhile ago. So did pretty much everyone, really. But you'll notice I'm not talking about guys who have been waived, and that's because, well, today is the deadline, and some teams still have some decisions to making. Whether to keep Derrick Byars or Paul Davis, for instance, or Malik Hairston vs. Marcus Williams. So don't worry, I'll be breaking all of that down through the rest of the week. Today, though, I thought I'd devote the regular transactions space to looking at moves that didn't involve waiving a really solid third point guard because you love Brian Cook for some reason. Ridiculous.

October 21: Dallas Mavericks - traded Nathan Jawai and cash to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a second round pick.

With Kevin Love out 6-8 weeks the Timberwolves found themselves in need ot some frontcourt depth, and as much as Oleksiy Pecherov gets buckets, son (and is actually a pretty terrific rebounder), he's not really capable of contributing on a consistent casis. I mean basis. Not that Jawai necessarily is, either, but he cost what, a protected second-rounder? And Minnesota picked up some cash on top of it? It's a decent low-cost move for the Timberwoves, and while they could've waited a few extra days and picked up a different big man who would potentially give them more than four points and four rebounds per 36 minutes (in fact I would hope so), or even Jawai's D-League numbers of 16 and 10 (again, per-36), Jawai definitely has talent. He just needs to cuts down on the fouls and maybe improve his attitude. Jawai didn't really fit on the Mavericks' roster anymore since their backup big men are more of the Drew Gooden/Tim Thomas variety. They didn't really get anything back, and had to give the T-Wolves some money, but I assume this helped relieve their cap space a little, so...good?

October 24: Utah Flash - hired Mark Madsen as assistant coach

I already discussed this on Saturday (however briefly), but to flesh this out a little more, it's always hard to judge first-time coaching hires, but I could see this working out fairly well. Madsen graduated (right?) from Stanford, so he's clearly a bright guy. He's also Mormon, so he'll likely be embraced by the Flash fanbase. And, whether it was because of team chemistry or other reasons, a nine-year NBA career is something that pretty much every D-League player aspires to, so he'll likely have their attention as an assistant. He only played for two teams over his career, though, so he's not a typical journeyman who has experience learning new offensive systems quickly, but he can probably pick up enough of the Flash/Jazz system quickly enough to be able to say things other than "hey, Goran, rebound...better, I guess?" I do wonder, though how long Madsen has been looking at coaching and how much of this desire arose when his internet domain name

October 25: Jack McClinton - signed with Aliağa Petkim (Turkey)

It's a bit disappointing to see that McClinton won't be playing in the NBA this year, since he certainly has the ability. It's also somewhat of a shame that he won't be in the D-League, since he'd be at the top of the call-up candidate list pretty much from the start. But this year I have a hard time holding it against guys for going to make money overseas. Plus, the Turkish league has a decent enough reputation (as far as I know; Ball in Europe never answered my question about the various European leagues, although admittedly that was a different question than "how well-regarded are the various leagues," although it still would've helped to know and they still didn't answer it, but it's still a good blog and I'm sure they're good people; no, I'm not just trying to fill space) that he might get some honest looks from NBA teams next year. McClinton joins Quinton Hosley, who signed with Petkim a few days earlier, on a team in its second year of existence. I don't really know if that makes a difference, but it means there likely isn't the institutional structure and stability of, say, an Efes Pilsen (feel free to tell me I'm wrong, someone). Izmir, where the team is located, is beautiful though, which I bring up mainly to brag that I've been to Turkey.

Mark Madson Joins the Utah Flash as an Assistant Coach

Basketball John — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:15:12 -0000

Man, the havoc these two could have wreaked on the league had they been on the same team. What might have been.

View full size photo »

From the press release,

PROVO, Utah, Sept. 29, 2009 – Utah Flash announced today the hiring of Mark Madsen as an assistant coach. Madsen fills the vacancy left by Dale Osbourne who took a position with the Oklahoma City Thunder and their NBA D-League affiliate the Tulsa 66ers.

"I am very excited about joining the Utah Flash organization," Madsen said. "Not only for opportunity to assist Head Coach Brad Jones and the learn the Utah Jazz system, but also to share my knowledge and experience with the players."

Madsen, 33, comes to the Flash after a long and productive career in the NBA. Madsen played in the NBA from 2000 -2009 spending time with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers selected Madsen in the first round (29th pick overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft. He contributed to the Lakers' NBA championships in 2001 and 2002.

Thankfully, this is the closest he ever came to the Jazz. He was traded to the Clippers over the summer and then waived by the team.

Here's Mark's statements from his blog,

I just signed a one year contract to be an assistant coach with the Utah Flash, located in Orem Utah.....and I'm excited to start coaching! ... I had the chance to go to NBA training camp and a firm offer in Greece, but the NBA opportunity was a long shot to make the team, and as much as I would love to go to Greece, the timing wasn't quite right ...

Then when I spoke to Brad Jones, head coach of the Utah Flash and he shared with me his philosophy and some of the responsibilities he would entrust me with, it seemed like a great fit.

Maybe I can sell him UtahFlash.com for a low, low price?

2009 Season Preview

Stop-n-Pop — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:00:25 -0000

Team Name: Minnesota Timberwolves

Last Year's Record: 24-58

Key ~~Losses~~ Additions By Subtraction: Calvin Booth, Bobby Brown, Rodney Carney, Jason Collins, Randy Foye, Mark Madsen, Rashad McCants, Mike Miller, Kevin Ollie, Craig Smith, Sebastian Telfair, Shelden Williams, Kevin McHale.

Honorary Member of the Addition By Subtraction club: Mark Blount.

Key Additions: Wayne Ellington, Jonny Flynn, Ryan Hollins, Sasha Pavlovic, Oleksiy Pecherov, Jared Reiner, Ramon Sessions, Damien Wilkins, Kurt Rambis, Bill Laimbeer, Reggie Theus, Dave Wohl.

1. What significant moves were made during the off-season?

Grab a chair folks, this could take a while.

I think the best way to illustrate just how much has happened here in Wolves Land is to take a look at last year's opening day starting line up:

Randy Foye
Mike Miller
Corey Brewer
Ryan Gomes
Al Jefferson

...add in the key reserves:

Kevin Ollie
Rashad McCants
Rodney Carney
Craig Smith
Kevin Love

...compare them to the line up and reserves from the last game of the 08/09 season (and yes, Kevin McHale thought it would be a good idea to give the paying customers at the Target Center their own special version of a Seniors Night):

Kevin Ollie/Sebastian Telfair/Bobby Brown
Mike Miller/Rodney Carney
Brian Cardinal/Ryan Gomes
Mark Madsen/Kevin Love/Craig Smith
Jason Collins/Shelden Williams

...before finally taking a peak at the rotation in the team's first 2009/10 preseason game against Milwaukee:

Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions/Mustafa Shakur
Corey Brewer/Sasha Pavlovic/Wayne Ellington
Ryan Gomes/Damien Wilkins
Kevin Love/Brian Cardinal
Al Jefferson/Ryan Hollins/Jared Reiner

Let's take a quick peak at those starting/closing day lineups with the dearly departed x'd out of existence:

~~Randy Foye/Kevin Ollie~~
~~Mike Miller/Rashad McCants~~
Corey Brewer/~~Rodney Carney~~
Ryan Gomes/~~Craig Smith~~
Al Jefferson/Kevin Love

~~Kevin Ollie/Sebastian Telfair/Bobby Brown~~
~~Mike Miller/Rodney Carney~~
Brian Cardinal/Ryan Gomes
~~Mark Madsen~~/Kevin Love/~~Craig Smith~~
~~Jason Collins/Shelden Williams~~

And no, I do not believe there is another team in the league with only three remaining players from the rotation of their final 08/09 game. Only the Raptors come close.

What did the Wolves lose?

Net Production by Position

Position	FGA	eFG%	FTA	iFG	Reb	Ast	T/O	Blk	PF	Pts	PER*
PG	-0.5	-.061	-1.5	0%	-1.9	-0.7	-0.2	-0.0	-1.1	-3.8	-7.0
SG	0.1	-.034	-0.1	4%	0.1	-0.3	-0.2	-0.0	-0.3	-1.1	-2.4
SF	-3.5	+.001	-2.5	-1%	0.9	0.5	-0.5	0.1	-0.8	-5.5	-4.2
PF	0.3	-.016	-0.3	8%	-0.2	0.3	-0.6	-0.9	-0.3	-0.5	-2.3
C	6.1	-.057	2.1	4%	1.8	-0.9	0.2	-1.1	0.8	6.0	+2.4

They gave up a whole lot of nothing at the point, a Randy-Foye-January-fueled-it-was-really-worse-than-the-final-numbers-suggest basket of crap at the off-guard, a bowl of ineptitude at the 3, some holy-crap-there-is-nobody-behind-Love at the 4, and Al Jefferson and Kevin Love at the 5.

Enter David Kahn.

While I think it is safe to say that most Wolves fans who were paying attention at the time of his hiring (all 1,700 of us) were upset that the team seemed to have bumbled its way through its most important new addition in years (Kahn seemed to be a secondary choice and candidates from the Blazers and Spurs appear to have walked away from the position), The Demolition Man quickly and confidently made a series of moves that have placed the Wolves in a position to win.

He turned Kevin McHale, Jerry Sichting, and Dean Cooper into Kurt Rambis, Reggie Theus, Bill Laimbeer, and Dave Wohl.
He turned two moderate-sized expiring contracts into Ricky Rubio.
He turned a Sebastian Telfair/Kevin Ollie point guard rotation into a Jonny Flynn/Ramon Sessions one.
He picked up an athletic big who can play the reserve 4/5.
He drafted the 2nd best shooter in the draft late in the 1st round.
He cleared (probably) between $13-15 milion in 2010 cap space.
He picked up another 2010 first round pick.

Best of all, Kahn has made the Wolves interesting again. The process has been full of goofy quotes, funny interviews, nearly weekly roster moves, and the entire Ricky Rubio saga, but the bottom line for Kahn and the Wolves is the results:

Their core is good and tremendously young.
They have drafted the 2 best Euros in the past 2 drafts and stashed them overseas.
They have 3 likely 1st round picks in the 2010 draft.
They will have in the neighborhood of $15 million below the cap in 2010 free agency.
Chances are, they now have a functional point guard on their roster.

This thing is clearly still a work in progress (the team needs help on the wing and the Rubio situation still needs to be resolved one way or another) but it is also clearly pointed in the right direction.

2. What are the team's biggest strengths?

Rebounding. Rebounding. Rebounding, and more rebounding. Kevin Love is one of the league's top 3 rebounders, Al Jefferson's game is built to be close to the bucket and he collects a net positive on the offensive boards, and Corey Brewer can hold his own at either the 2 or 3. If there is a player from last year's squad to get a little chippy about his departure, it is Mike Miller. Despite not shooting the damn ball, Miller was a very solid defensive rebounder and it will take a well above average effort from Pavlovic, Brewer, and Gomes to match Miller's efforts on the glass at the 2/3. Miller was the team's 3rd best rebounder and he did so from the wing. That's going to be harder to make up than what I think most people first realize, especially with the crew of Pavlovic, Brewer, Gomes, and Ellington trying to make up the difference. Ramon Sessions should make up for some of the lost rebounding production vis-a-vis Sebastian Telfair, but Miller's loss probably will have some effect on the glass. How much is something that remains to be seen.

In theory, the Wolves should also be a very good free throw shooting team this season. Last year Ramon Sessions had the 25th best FT/FG rate in the league at 36. Kevin Love was 18th at 39. Big Al was all the way down at 154 with 19. By all accounts in college, summer league, and his small sample of preseason games, Jonny Flynn has all the makings of a high-contact guard who will draw a lot of fouls in an up-tempo system. Last year the Wolves had one fairly legit threat of getting to the line at a high rate: Kevin Love. This year they have 3 players who should draw a ton of contact with one guy (Jefferson) who will have a modest rate but a high volume due to his number of touches.

It's pretty hard for me to overstate just how big of a deal improved free throw shooting will be for the Wolves. Last year the Wolves averaged 2.3 fewer FTAs than their opponents. The year before that they were a league-worst -6.9 in that category (which should give you an idea of the relative merits between Kevin Love and Craig Smith). For a team with a -4.9 point differential these are points that simply cannot be left on the board. With the addition of Sessions and Flynn, and with the continued development of Love, the Wolves appear to have addressed one of their biggest weaknesses of the past 2-3 years and turned it, hopefully, into a positive. For those readers who are just casual fans of the game, I cannot stress enough how important the free throw differential is to the bottom line. I also cannot stress enough just how bad the Wolves have been on this front over the past several years.

The final thing the Wolves are going to be good at is physicality. This is something that will be pretty hard to define over the course of the year but I have a pretty good feeling that they are going to be scrappy. One of the most striking things about their play in camp was they way in which guys like Love, Brewer, Sessions, and Ryan Hollins were getting after it. This has a chance of positively impacting the play on the end of the court they need help with the most. I'm not saying that they are going to be a defensive dynamo, but this year's squad has the opportunity to run out a rotation of Sessions, Brewer, Pavlovic, Jefferson/Love, and Ryan Hollins, which is a fairly significant defensive upgrade over anything they were able to offer up in the 08/09 campaign. This especially becomes the case if Brewer develops into the plus-defender we all hope he can morph in to. Sessions/Brewer/Pavlovic has the potential to turn the epic defensive weakness of Telfair/Foye/Miller into a positive for this club. It's probably not a lineup you'd run out there for long stretches of time, but it is something that this club did not have at its disposal under McHale. All three of those players held their 08/09 opponents to below their average production. The same could not be said for Telfair (-0.009% of opponents' average), Foye (whose opponents went 10.8% over their average production against the former Villanova star), and Miller (a mere 5.6% over average production). If you throw Ryan Hollins into the mix, the Wolves may have something approaching an effective defensive unit that they could trot out on the floor for 4-8 minutes per night.

3. What are the team's biggest weaknesses?

Defense, wing play, turnovers, and outside shooting. I don't really know if there is a good way to break this down in much greater detail but the Wolves are still going to have problems on defense; their 2 and 3 will be manned by a rotation of Corey Brewer, Wayne Ellington, Sasha Pavlovic, and Ryan Gomes, and their backcourt will be led by 2 point guards who will be in their first year with the team. David Kahn has been pretty frontal in his assessment that Gomes and Brewer are both in put up or shut up years. Pavlovic is on a 1-year contract. Nothing is promised or owed to any of these players and if they can't figure it out this year, I think it is becoming more and more obvious that when the Wolves do cash in their draft/free agency chips, it will be for a wing player. At media day and during camp both Gomes and Brewer said enough to make everyone well aware of the fact that they too know the score. As you can see from the positional chart listed above, the score on the wing isn't exactly in the Wolves' favor to begin with.

While I mentioned the possibility of a fairly solid perimeter defensive rotation with Sessions, Brewer, and Pavlovic, the fact remains that there is nothing on this team to suggest a significant overall improvement in defensive efficiency. Until we see some improvement in action, it's hard to believe it in theory. Ryan Hollins gives them a lengthy shot blocker but he fouls a ton. Corey Brewer has the potential to be an A+ defender but he is coming back from injury and is close to completely ineffective on the offensive end of the court. Ramon Sessions is a slightly above average defender at the point but he could end up with a lot of minutes at the 2. The point here is that even with the defensive positives the Wolves have some issues when it comes to weighing their best overall lineups against their best defensive ones. I'd be peachy keen with anything close to a neutral OE/DE ratio.

It can also not be overstated just how bad of an outside shooting club the Wolves are going to be this year. Wayne Ellington is probably their best shooter, their likely starting two guard (Brewer) has a career .250 three point average, their best point guard has 41 career three point attempts (with a .220 average), and Sasha Pavlovic's numbers from beyond the arc have seen a four-year fluctuation of .365, .405, .298, and .410. Could Ryan Gomes be the team's best outside shooter? If that's the case, then the Wolves are in for a long, long year from a perimeter shooting perspective. It's already proving to be a big problem in their limited preseason action.

4. What are the goals for this team?

a- At least a neutral OE/DE rating. Last year the Wolves had a -5.3 point gap per 100 possessions. While this was an improvement over the -7.4 point gap per 100 possessions from the year before, it still is a giant pile of suck. With the addition of a real starting point guard, and the maturation of Kevin Love, here's hoping the Wolves can pick up 2-3 pp/100 poss on the offensive side of the ball and that the return of Brewer and the addition of Sessions and Pavlovic can gain a point or two on the defensive side of things.

b- An increase in pace and shots within the first 10-15 seconds of the shot clock. If the Wolves' new offensive is going to pay dividends we should see an increased pace with more shots taken in transition. 36% of the Wolves' shots in 2008/09 were in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock and 26% came in the next 5. If those numbers go up, it means the Wolves are running and getting opportunistic buckets. Last year the Wolves finished 15th in the league with 91.6 possessions/game. That number needs to go up.

c- Free throw neutrality (or more). As mentioned above, the Wolves should have an increase in free throw attempts this season. I have been harping on this point for two years now: You can't win games while losing by a mile at the free throw line. It can't be done. Between Kevin Love, Ramon Sessions, and Jonny Flynn, the Wolves have three guys who can really draw contact and get to the charity stripe.

d- Injury free.Will Kevin Love break the Wolves' 2nd year injury curse? From Shaddy to Foye to Brewer, 2nd year draft Wovles draft picks have all suffered season-ending injuries in their 2nd campaign. This is one curse that needs to be broken this year. (UPDATE: Of course, as this goes to post, Kevin Love breaks a bone in his left hand and will likely be out 6-8 weeks.)

5. Did David Kahn screw the pooch on draft night?

Let me begin by giving a simple yes or no: No. However, the (excellent) addition of Ramon Sessions begs the question of whether or not the Wolves could have walked away from the Draft with Rubio and, say, Demar DeRozan instead of Jonny Flynn. Sure, it would have been a big bet to wait out for Sessions, and who knows what would have happened with Sessions' negotiations if Rubio stayed in Europe and Flynn wasn't sitting there as a sure replacement, but..well, it's pretty hard to ignore the fact that the Wolves had two big first rounders and a free agent signing over the summer and they were all at the same position. Yes, it's at a position that has killed the Wolves since the days of Sam Cassell but isn't there a nagging little thought in the back of your head that is whispering "it could have been done better?" I think Kahn has done a terrific job but it will ultimately depend on which point guard(s) stick around in 2-3 years and how much he can get with the one (or two) that gets sent away. Will that equation end up being more valuable than the previously mentioned Rubio/DeRozan/Sessions combo? Who knows?

Projected Finish: 31-51

Poll

How many games will the Wolves win this year?

Less than 15

28 votes

16-20

83 votes

21-25

147 votes

26-30

183 votes

31-35

83 votes

More than 35

30 votes

554 votes | Poll has closed

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Minnesota Timberwolves - Donde esta Senor Rubio?

R Dizzle — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:00:18 -0000

Senor Rubio,

Donde esta mi ago? You were drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with this 5th pick back in June, and yet unlike Eddie Murphy in a fine film, you did not end up Coming to America.

Instead you decided to stay despite wanting no more from your former team, DKV Joventut. So you got them to trade your rights to Regal Barcelona, and poof, you signed a 6 year contract with them. Does this mean you're staying there all 6 years? No. But it does mean it will be a while before you end up coming to the States.

Now what you ask?

Listen Ricky, I get it. I understand why you didn't want to be a part of the T-Wolves. Although they have a great fan base (if you haven't I suggest checking out our SB Nation brother Canis Hoopus), they don't really have a great team. Let's be honest, a record of 24-58 is pretty hard to go to. They lack a superstar and an all-star, but hey, there's potential right? Trust me, I know how that feels.

Gotta love potential.

But let's look at what this organization did for you without even signing you!

Key additions:

Ramon Sessions,Antonio Daniels, Jonny Flynn, Wayne Ellington, Oleksiy Pecherov, Chucky Atkins, Damien Wilkins, Ryan Hollins, Mark Blount, Sasha Pavlovic

Key subtractions: Randy Foye, Mike Miller, Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, Mark Madsen, Kevin Ollie, Q-Richardson

Essentially, the T-Wolves traded away two capable players (Foye and Miller) to the Wizards in order to draft you at number 5. They hired a new coach, former Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis. New T-Wolves GM , David Kahn, even made plenty of trips to Spain in order to speak with you and your family as well as DKV about a potential buyout. They even claim that the details were worked out. It would have been hard since due to the rookie pay scale, the buyout clause from your DKV contract would have prevented you from making any money directly from the T-Wolves. But hey, there would have been crazy endorsement contracts to sign and you would have made some good money.

Nonetheless, I can see your point. Why go to the T-Wolves? They're a terrible a team, especially since losing KG. That trade was straight up silly, but hey, whatever works to get the Celtics a championship, right? Furthermore,with the T-Wolves original pick at #6, they chose another point guard! Jonny Flynn + Ricky Rubio = weird back court. I get that. But so does Stephen Curry + Monta Ellis, right? Take a look at the Warriors, it's going to be a great year for us!

Moreover, I get that you want to be the focus of the town. Kinda hard when some old guy keeps wavering around a comeback all summer and then finally decides to join a team mid-training camp. No names to be mentioned here. Only pictures.

WHY WON'T YOU GO AWAY?!?!?!

Gotta respect the T-Wolves, though. They didn't really want to only have Jonny Flynn this offseason, so they picked up restricted free agent Ramon Sessions. Great player if you ask me. Lots of us in the Bay love him too. Best of luck for that.

So what's it going to be Senor Rubio? Well let me break down my predictions about the 'Wolves.

Win less than 27 games
Sessions + Flynn = strange back court, but somehow it manages to work
Kevin Love has another monster year
We all see a ton of potential

Like I've said, I get it. You want to come out to USA, but not to Minnesota. Ending up in California, New York, or somewhere on the coasts is ideal for all of us. Luckily, us Warriors fans (well, most of us) enjoy Sunny California. Maybe we'll see you out here, maybe we won't. Most likely, you're not ending up with the 'Wolves. All good, I wouldn't want to either.

See ya in 2011!

Your amigo,

R Dizzle

For more on the Minessota Timberwolves check out Canis Hoopus :

2009-2010 Around the Association

Introduction
Atlanta Hawks: Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. The Hawks are for real.
Boston Celtics: Sheed in Green + Another Answer
Charlotte Bobcats: They Do Exist
Chicago Bulls: Ring Around the Rose-y
Cleveland Cavaliers: Now or Never
Dallas Mavericks: The Curse of the Dampier
Denver Nuggets: If it ain't broke...
Detroit Pistons: The Return of the Bay Boys
Houston Rockets: Yao-ch!, that's gotta hurt
Indiana Pacers: A One Man Show
Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More
Los Angeles Lakers: Big Brother, Little Brother
Memphis Grizzlies: Going Back to Vancouver
Miami Heat: Need to get the point
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Jersey Nets: The Year of the Yi
New Orleans Hornets: Two first names, one great point guard
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Super Sonics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia Sixers
Phoenix Suns
Portland TrailBlazers
Sacramento Kings
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Rewind

Poll

Fill in the blank. The Minnesota Timberwolves are....

Going to have a Rubio + Flynn backcourt in 2011.

73 votes

Never going to see Rubio in a T-Wolves jersey.

559 votes

Going to win the NBA title this year.

78 votes

710 votes | Poll has closed

Who Is Mike Taylor?

Jeff Clark — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:11:21 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Mike Taylor

Browse more photos »

One of the names thrown out there recently for the backup PG position is Mike Taylor, formerly of the Clippers. He's not exactly a household name, so it might help to get better acquainted with him. Tom Halzack takes a look at Taylor on the Conn Post.

6′ 2″, 23 year old Mike Taylor was a rookie for the Clippers last season. He played in just 51 games for them and averaged 5.7 points and 2.1 assists in 15 minutes. On his best night, Mike scored 35 points in one game against the Knicks and followed that up with 23 more against the Kings the following game.

He started 5 games and averaged 11 pts with 3.2 assist in 28 minutes in those games. After the All Star break, in 18 minutes he averaged 7.7 points and 2.4 assists in 27 games for the Clips, while shooting 39% from the arc. He only weighs 165 lbs. I haven’t really watched him play much, so I can’t offer too much more than that.

An Iowa State player, Taylor played for the Iowa Stampede of the NBA Development League before being drafted by the Portland Trailblazers.

This could be a battle of late second round draft picks as Taylor was the 55th pick in ‘08, and Hudson is the 58th pick in ‘09.

Lester Hudson is solidly built and has been suggested as a potential poor man’s Nate Robinson by one writer.

Only after seeing each of the above players play will I be able to make a more informed judgment on them.

Update: Here's another link on Mike Taylor (with relevant quotes after the break)

If you're wondering why Taylor was waived today, you need to realize that his three year contract was unguaranteed, and that it became guaranteed as of August 1. From the moment the Clippers acquired Sebastian Telfair two week ago, particularly in light of their pursuit of Ramon Sessions, this moment seemed inevitable. The Clippers were working too hard to shore up the position Taylor plays - and with roster spots becoming scarce and Taylor's contract unguaranteed, this was bound to happen. It's too bad for a lot of reasons, one of which is that we'd all prefer to have Taylor from a basketball and potential standpoint as opposed to say Ricky Davis or Mark Madsen. But those guys have guaranteed contracts, in their final year no doubt, so they have a value of a different kind. The roster was too crowded, and Taylor was the odd man out.

It's tough to reconcile today's events with the events of March 25, 2009 in Madison Square Garden. On that evening, a little more than 4 months ago, Taylor scored a career high 35 points against the Knicks. It was the third highest scoring game for a rookie last season - after Eric Gordon's 41 and Anthony Morrow's 37 against the Clippers. It's also worth noting that he followed up that game with two more solid outings, scoring 69 points in that three game span, while at the same time doing a better job of taking care of the ball - a 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio during those games. It seemed, perhaps, as the season was winding down, Mike Taylor was 'getting it.'

Around the Association: 2009-2010 Los Angeles Clippers: Warriors South No More

Fantasy Junkie — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:23 -0000

The Clippers had an absolutely amazing offseason and they barely had to think. This offseason will probably wind up making Mike Dunleavy as GM look good even though this was an offseason even Elgin Baylor couldn't mess up.

Offseason Additions
VIA DRAFT
Blake Griffin (No. 1)

VIA TRADE
Rasual Butler and cash (from New Orleans for 2nd rounder in 2016)
Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, and Mark Madsen (from Minnesota)
Zach Randolph (to Minnesota - addition by subtraction?)

Offseason Subtractions
WAIVED
Mike Taylor
Mark Madsen

The keys to Clipper offseason success:
1) Draft Blake Griffin...CHECK
This is going to make any GM look good. It's easy to do. Even Elgin Baylor wouldn't have messed this up. Even the Warriors wouldn't have messed...hmmmmm wait a second, not sure about this one with RR around. I digress, Blake Griffin will single handedly turn this franchise around and give them a legit shot at making the p-word.

How can you not root for this guy?

2) Remove The Black Hole (aka Zach Randolph)...CHECK
After drafting your new prized toy, you don't want to corrupt or poorly influence him. I already posted a video of Blake's work ethic, you think Zach Randolph does any offseason conditioning? Neither do I. You think Zack Randolph will get an assist this year? Neither do I. You think Zach Randolph will put up anything but hollow numbers? Neither do I. Thus addition by subtraction. Clear some extra PT for Blake and make sure he's learning from the best, Mike Dunleavy. Wait, can Mike Dunleavy fire Mike Dunleavy? I guess they still have some work to do.

3) Get Baron Davis to exercise rather than Jenny Craig-ify...CHECK?
The Clippers will not have a chance to make the playoffs without a healthy and motivated Baron Davis. As funny as it seems to write about the Clippers making the playoffs, it might be even funnier to write about the Warriors making the playoffs. Anyways, we all know what Baron can do when healthy and motivated. The problem is, he's rarely healthy or motivated and even more rare is healthy AND motivated. He's a top-notch player when he wants to be. He can carry the Clips if he wants to. The question is, how bad does he want to win?

Baron doesn't need Jenny, he needs these guys

A Look Ahead

From ESPN's team turmoil feature:

Blake Griffin comes into the NBA with all the right attributes. But he's joining the Clippers, a franchise that historically slobbers on the promising and leaves them reeking of defeat. Will coach Mike Dunleavy be able to keep a future star's development on the right track if the veterans revert to losing habits and me-first play? Check back after the first month.

The Clippers have a long way to go but they've taken a significant step towards making the playoffs by drafting the Rookie of the Year. They're pairing him up with another key to their future, Eric Gordon. Don't sleep on Gordon this year. He's been known to light it up in a hurry.

The Clippers have a shot at the playoffs if everything falls into place. It's certainly not going to be easy but there's a chance. Steve Perrin over at Clips Nation shares his thoughts on the things the Clips need to do to make the playoffs: Beat out the Western Conference bottom feeders and then surprise some people by being better than Phoenix and Houston.

I don't think the Clippers will make the playoffs but they'll get close. At the very least, early on, people will come out to see them with Blake Griffin around. And people will continue to come watch if they prove to be competitive. They'll still be the "other" team in LA, but at least they have a bright looking future.

A .500 season is more likely than a playoff appearance, but even that is a significant improvement over what they were last year.

Excellent Clippers coverage over at Clips Nation.

Poll

In the 2009-2010 season, the Clippers will...

Be better than the Warriors

205 votes

Make the playoffs

25 votes

All of the above

73 votes

None of the above

358 votes

661 votes | Poll has closed

Clippers Waive Mark Madsen

Steve Perrin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:39:27 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

Waive goodbye to Madsen.

Browse more photos »

Well, every time I think I have a good handle on things, something happens to prove otherwise. I didn't think they would do it, but today the Clippers waived Mark Madsen.

We've mentioned multiple times that both Madsen and Ricky Davis were decent candidates to be waived if the team needed another roster spot. Madsen, who plays a position where the Clippers are deep and talented, is arguably the better choice for the waiver sire, since Ricky plays the wing where the Clippers are a little thinner. On the other hand, Madsen is considered the ultimate 'locker room guy' while Ricky is... um... not consider the ultimate 'locker room guy.' So it's pretty clear that GMMDsr values basketball more highly. Who knows? Maybe Ricky's knees are really feeling good and he can contribute this season they way we hoped he would last season.

I don't think the money factored in. Madsen makes a litlte more ($2.8M versus $2.4M), but it's really the replacement cost, not the salary that matters. So whereas you might intellectually think waiving Madsen is 'wasting' more salary, the roster spot will be filled by a new salary, and that's the one that matters. The $5.2M for Madsen plus Davis was a sunk cost for the season.

(I'm assuming this was a straight waiver and that no buy out was involved.)

It's worth repeating the value that Mark Madsen had on the roster. His $2.8M expiring contract was a nice trade chip for deals with teams looking to clear 2010 cap space. Now, I've been cognizant for awhile that the Clippers actually have more 2010 expriing deals than they could possibly use - Ricky, Camby, Smith, Collins and now Butler all fall into that category. So they don't lose much by not having Madsen's contract on that list. What the lose is a body that they didn't really need (obviously). So the idea of parlaying Madsen and Ricky Davis into a good player making $6M per was pretty attractive - and that's the one thing the Clippers lose here (in addition to the 'locker room guy' thing.

More importantly, this signals that the team has designs for the roster spot, above and beyond Steve Novak. It likely means that Novak will eventually sign with the team, but it also means that they have an available spot if GMMDsr is to stick to his usual MO of starting the season with 14 players under contract. Does this mean an offer sheet to Ramon Sessions is ~~eminent~~ imminent? Or do they have someone else on the radar? Stay tuned.

Ryan Hollins, pt. ii: defense

Stop-n-Pop — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:36:49 -0000

OK, I want each and every one of you to close your eyes and think back to last season. The Wolves are playing the Atlanta Hawks and Mike Bibby is bringing the ball up the floor. As he crosses the mid-court line he begins to angle to the left just as Al Horford pushes off from the low block and moves towards the right wing. At this point it becomes obvious to everyone in the entire building that the Hawks are going to run a screen-and-roll with Bibby and Horford. One would think that Horford's guardian, Big Al Jefferson, would be preparing himself to hedge on the screen or to pass off coverage in a switch or to even jump the whole damn thing in a trap with a relatively slow point guard like Bibby initiating the action. One would be thinking incorrectly.

Instead of any of these three options, we Wolves fans are all too aware of what happens next: Big Al meanders out in the general direction of the screen and flaps his arms in the direction of Horford as the big fella makes a dramatic cut to the basket the second he sees Big Al lollygagging out towards what would have been the point of attack.

Repeat this sort of ineptitude a couple hundred times throughout the season. Rinse. Repeat again.

Folks, there are no two ways about it: last season, the Wolves' front court displayed some of the most atrocious pick-and-roll defense I have ever witnessed. Between general indifference (Jefferson), rookie inexperience (Kevin Love), and role-playing levels of non-excellence (Mark Madsen + Brian Cardinal) the Wolves 100%, absolutely, completely, and terminally lacked a big man who could properly switch, hedge, or jump a pick-and-roll...which, funny, just happens to be the single most important play that makes the NBA go 'round.

Enter Mr. Ryan Hollins.

Do not get me wrong. Hollins is not the be-all/end-all of defensive pick-and-roll prowess. What he is is the only player on the Wolves' roster who a) has size and b) can move well enough to be an effective defensive big on the pick-and-roll. I think Love is a smart and savvy enough player to eventually master this sort of thing but Hollins gives the Wolves a 7-footer who can provide...ummm...what's the word (we Wolves fans haven't seen this sort of thing in quite a while)...defensive flexibility, albeit in short stretches and with something of a negative pull on the offensive end of the court.

Hollins is a remarkably agile big man. He can handle switches, hedges, and jumping the point of attack for a trap with enough athletic juice to recover to his proper spot in the lane. Again, I'll remind our readers that we're talking about a backup big who will be the 3rd or 4th front court player on the roster, but this is a skill that is foreign to the current roster. Hollins may not be the best athletic defensive big; he may foul a ton and rely on overly-aggressive plays on the ball, but the simple fact remains that he is the only forward or center on the current roster who can show on a screen and make his way back into position strictly on the basis of his physical gifts. This is a big thing. KG was the last player who was able to perform this sort of task with a Minnesota across his chest, and no, I'm not comparing the two players; rather, I'm simply saying that Hollins is athletic enough to do something no other big on the roster can do and that, by itself, means something.

Beyond physicality, there are some things that stand out about Hollins' defensive game:

(via the always-excellent Basketball Prospectus)

First of all, let us clearly state that we are dealing with Small Sample Size Theater (Brian Cardinal factored in about 290 more possessions than the Wolves' newest big). Secondly, the thing that most stands out about Hollins (in his very limited court time) is that he holds his opponents to production well below what they normally put up (dMULT). The kicker is that he plays against competition that is significantly less than NBA average (dQUAL). Let's take a quick look at his on/off numbers (via the wonderful 82Games.com)

Many stats are shown on a 'per 48 minute' basis

Stat	ON Court	OFF Court	Net
Minutes	260	3700	6%
Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.	106.2	111.8	-5.6
Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.	108.1	109.1	-1.0
Net Points per 100 Possessions	-1.9	+2.7	-4.6
Points Scored	513	7830	-7317
Points Allowed	532	7649	-7117
Net Points	-19	+181	-200

Here are his numbers from Charlotte:

Many stats are shown on a 'per 48 minute' basis

Stat	ON Court	OFF Court	Net
Minutes	184	3801	4%
Offense: Pts per 100 Poss.	111.9	105.5	+6.4
Defense: Pts per 100 Poss.	97.6	107.8	-10.1
Net Points per 100 Possessions	+14.3	-2.3	+16.5
Points Scored	376	7301	-6925
Points Allowed	336	7445	-7109
Net Points	+40	-144	+184

Please keep in mind that Hollins is a 10 mpg backup (and that we're talking about less than 500 minutes of floor time), but what we can see here is that he is a better performer on defense than he is on offense. This general sentiment is also played out in his adj +/-. As always, the kicker with +/- and on/off stats for guys like Hollins is that they often log minutes without all of the team's best players surrounding them. Does that mean something for the Wolves? We'll have to wait and see.

The bottom line with Hollins the defender is that he is an incredibly athletic and agile big who has the potential to defend the pick-and-roll, get back into position, trap, and provide some weak-side shot blocking help. He brings a skill set to the Wolves that simply did not exist on the roster before his acquisition. Love and Big Al are not athletic dynamos and they will never be able to do the things that Hollins is naturally capable of. That being said, we're still talking about a guy who will likely play under 20 mpg (my guess is 13-17 mpg) and who will put up most of his numbers against non-starting 5-man rotations. If Hollins can maintain his dMULT numbers, and if he can perform at or slightly above replacement-level, the Wolves will have made a fairly savvy move.

While this is cliche on several levels, at the end of the day, Hollins' performance will be measured by how much he hustles. There is no pressure on this guy to not foul. There is no pressure on this guy to make big shots. All he has to do is go out there and go 150 mph. I really don't know if this is his type of personality (it could be judging by what we saw in the playoffs) but he is going to be placed in a position where an up-tempo athletic game such as his should be rewarded on both ends of the court. If he can use his athleticism to be an effective defender on the p-n-r with Love or Big Al, he will immediately have found a good home, as both of these guys need the things that Hollins brings to the table.

All in all I'm pretty happy with this signing. While Hollins seems to be a fairly awful 1/2 court offensive player he does have some interesting potential when it comes to transition play and defense. In terms of improvement, he looks like he could bulk up a bit, hit the boards with more aggressiveness, and avoid as many jump shots as possible. Running, dunking, defending, and crashing the boards should be this guy's MO from day one. As for his contractual worth, frequent poster McCleak put it nicely in a recent comment thread with this little ditty:

Hollins had a Win Score last year of 1.0. If you look at centers with a WS between 0.5-1.5 (DeSagana Diop, Theo Ratliff, Aaron Gray, DeAndre Jordan, Kosta Koufos, Jamaal Magloire, Robin Lopez, Hollins, Spencer Hawes, Robert Swift, and Olekisy Pecherov)*, you see that they earned $19,420,831 last season, for an average of $1,618,402.58 per player. So it’s more than the average contract for a center of his caliber last season. However, if you limit it to people who have signed second contracts (Diop, Ratliff, Magloire), than you see a contract total of $7,180,162 or $2,393,387.33 per player. And that’s almost exactly what Hollins received.

The guy is being paid at (or very near to) market value and he has some potential within the style of ball the Wolves hope to play as well as the roster they are shaping up to have. For me, the biggest thing about this deal is that Hollins represents a player that a) cost the Wolves' front office a considerable amount of scouting and research and b) is about as far away from a McHale-type signing as could be imagined. This is a guy you take a swing on only after a significant amount of research and you do so to have him play in a fairly specific role. That has to be worth something by itself, right? It sure as hell beats Mark Blount. Would Kevin McHale have even known about Hollins? Did UCLA play an NCAA game at the Dome during Hollins' time in Westwood?

What say you ?

Daily Links 7/28

FLCeltsFan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:18:13 -0000

Herald We Hear: Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Tom O’Neill III and more...
Kevin Garnett helps dish up new sports cereal
Timberwolves deal for Chucky Atkins, Damien Wilkins
Celtics, Indy reworking Marquis Daniels deal
Globe Celtics Perkins weds

CelticsBlog    Rumormongering And Other Deep Thoughts
Odom, Okafor, and Other Notes
NY Daily News    Steph's bizarre Web video reveals broken man
ESPN    Jonathan Bender, formerly of Indiana Pacers, plots NBA comeback
Sources: Charlotte Bobcats, New Orleans Hornets talk Tyson Chandler for Emeka Okafor
Celtics 17   Interview With John Karalis and Chuck McKenney Of Red's Army
Red's Army    Big Man Swap, LA's Reduced Offer to Odom
Vegas still likes the Lakers
Are the Pacers, Nets & Celtics Ready for a Three Way?
Perkisabeast    Going Under the Radar
Green Street    Steph rolls out more MarburyTV
Celtics Circuit     Allen's Off the Courst Issues Holding up Daniels Deal
Celtics Hub    Revisiting the sign and trade problem
Celtics Town    Don't Pull The Trigger On This One, Mr. Ainge
Fernsten's Follies    Odom Update: Bruised Egos Make the Unthinkable Possible
As the Lamar Saga Unfolds, Sporting News Offers Us a Few Chuckles
Lex Nihil Novi    1990-91 Celtics: First on Defense, First on Offense
Artest Comfortable with Phil's & Kobe's Nudity, as Well as His Own
And They Wonder Why Newspapers are Dying
Hoopsworld     NBA AM: Celtics In Three-Team Deal?
NBA Chat with Eric Pincus
State of the Orlando Magic
Ball Don't Lie     Suicide lines: Cavs quiet on LeBron extension; Rambis in Minny?
Metro    C’s building on ‘Big 3’
Sun Journal    Basketball rivals come together for Seeds of Peace
Star Tribune     David Kahn: First a paperclip...
Life on Dumars    Kwame Brown: Underrated?
Hard Knox Sports    NBA Free Agency Winners and Losers
Chronicle    Have Cavs made LeBron an offer?
Eurweb   STEPHON MARBURY CRIES, EATS VASELINE
Dime Mag    Hornets get a big-man upgrade; the Mavs’ new reality TV show
Thunder Trade Chucky Atkins, Damien Wilkins for Etan Thomas
Layup Drill    Okafor headed to Hornets?
Inside Hoops    NBA Rumors - Tuesday
NBA Leafyard   Ryan Gomes Gives Pro-Am NBA Presence
CSNE    Rondo and Allen May Be the Top Guard Duo in the NBA
Don’t Hate Stephon Marbury Because He’s Beautiful
NESN    'The Starbury Show' Takes Strange to a Whole New Level
Bowen Would Be a Boon to Celtics -- At the Right Price
New Jersey Has Chance to Net Big Baby - New Jersey Nets
Indy Cornrows    Pacers, Celtics Need Another Team For Deal
Cleveland Cavs Blog     Cleveland Cavaliers Blog: Powe rumors
Whudat    Stephon Marbury Destroys his Career, Truman World Style
NBA.com    Spurs' Parker suffers ankle, thigh injury vs. Austria
LA Times   Oddsmakers see Lakers as NBA favorites, with or without Lamar Odom
Bleacher Report    Tyson Chandler Headed to Charlotte? Bobcats Are Clueless
To An Athlete Dying Young: The Tragic Anniversary of Reggie Lewis' Death
CT News     Kerber/NY Post Cool Down Davis Rumor
Slam Online    Nets Want Warrick and ‘Big Baby’
WMTW   Celtic Player Teaches Kids At Maine Camp
Waiting for Next Year    Leon Powe to the Cavs: Win-Win?
Sir Charles in Charge   Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen Tops Among NBA Backcourts
My Sports Rumors    New Jersey Adding A Big Baby?
Star Tribune   David Kahn will eventually turn one red paperclip into a house, or a least a solid rotation player
Slam Online   The Wizards Rules
2009 USA Basketball Showcase Results
Grizzlies World     It's time for NBA to ditch one-and-done rule
Mark Madsen   Kurt Rambis to Coach Timberwolves?
Exception    NBA Players Participate in Middle East Peace Process at Maine Camp
ProJo   Celtics’ Wallace, Garnett have a friendship that goes way back
SI.com     Dwyane Wade in multiple lawsuits with former buinsess partners
NY Post   NETS EYE DAVIS TRADE; KNICKS, NATE IN LIMBO
Deseret News    Boozer says he doesn't plan to return to Jazz