(I told Wyn and S&P I'd drop in with a little cynicism once in awhile, just to spice things up. What better way than another diary missive from Master McHale? I mean, If you can't laugh at this club, what's left?- Peter)

Kevin's Journal Entry - December 14,2008
"A Hall of Fame career, an elite basketball broadcaster, and way over a decade of developing this team, and it all comes down to this:

Head coaching.

Traveling on planes with poor leg room, having to answer stupid questions in triplicate from no-nothing reporters or--heaven forbid--wannabe bloggers. After years of putting this franchise on my back, this is what I get.

Crap!

There are days where I'd like to march right up to the front office, confront all of my "friends", and pull a finger pointing Laettner on them..."loser, loser, loser...winner (pointing to myself of course). I mean, what's Stack ever done, really? Babcock? Please. I think Vince Carter is still laughing at the way he was able to get out of Toronto. Hoiberg? He'd be nothing without me!

This is what "corporate loyalty" and the "old boys network" are all about?  During the holiday season? It's like reading that two of the three wise men turned their back on the other one and told him to get lost.

Well, I'll show them. I have assembled the best young talent in the NBA; it's not my fault that no one else can coach these kids. Yeah, I'll have to get on the whole X's and O's thing, and be better at adjusting my schemes (it was embarrasing how Anthony rung us up for 33 in one quarter; couldn't any of my "assistants" produce a plan to stop him, and help a Hall of Famer out? Who hired those guys, anyway?). But, I'll get some wins out of the club (mostly in February and March, when no one else cares), just enough to make it really difficult to bounce me. Then we'll see what happens.

I'm going to love the look on Stack's face when I tell him his proposed trades are crappy, and I can't use the players he wants to bring in. Or Hoiberg and Babcock, when I tell them how worthless those draft choices are. I am going to be such a pain in the tush that Mr. Taylor--it used to be Glen until last week--is finally going to have to choose between them, and me. He'll have to choose between an accomplished, loyal, Hall of Famer, one of the best basketball minds in the world, and those other rubes. I simply need better people to execute around me...like Petersen. He gets me.

I wrote it here first...I'm not going to be 0-3 for long!

Merry Christmas."

Looks like the Pistons finally shook up their team...from the AP:

DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Pistons shook the NBA in a big way Monday -- landing former MVP Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets.

The Pistons gave up All-Star point guard and former NBA finals MVP Chauncey Billups, top reserve Antonio McDyess and project Cheikh Samb.

"We just felt it was the right time to change our team," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told The Associated Press. "Iverson gives us a dimension that we haven't had here and we really think its going to help us"

I think the trade may help both teams. Denver wasn't going anywhere this year standing pat; whether it helps Motown get over the top will now become a fascinating storyline for the rest of the year.

On another, much less important note, I'll be ducking out of doing regular posting here at Canis. It's been a lot of fun; this joint is one of the best blogs around. I'll be doing some stuff over at my initial site--Hoops Springs Eternal--and I might drop in here to do a Madman Diary or two, depending on how the year goes. A big thank you goes to Wyn and S-N-P for putting up with me since last February. At least I didn't break any china.

Photo Credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images

"What do I think of Love now?

I can only think how lucky we are not to be stuck with Mayo, who debuted with a 5-for-20 (including 0-for-7 on threes) and 10 points in the Grizzlies' 82-71 loss at Houston.

This gets tiring, but once again it's time to bow to the personnel genius of McHale, not to mention the coaching wizardry of Wittman."

Patrick Reusse - Star Tribune

Signs of schizophrenia Wednesday:

Bill Clinton campaigning for Barack Obama

Patrick Reusse gushing over Kevin Love (albeit sarcastically)

Watching the Wolves edge the Kings.

Since I am a terrible prognosticator, and a huge Wolves fan, let me first say it was great to see them win, especially since I dedicated an entire post to the victory last week. There was a lot to enjoy, particularly the ball sharing, balanced scoring, shutting down Kevin Martin, and the successful debut of Kevin Love.

But it shouldn't have been that hard. With Sacramento missing Brad Miller and Francisco Garcia, the Wolves shot poorly at the free throw line, didn't involve Big Al and Mike Miller much in the second half offense, and barely escaped with a two point win. Minnesota was out rebounded--again, in the second half--and allowed the Kings a number of second chances and opportunities to get back into the game.

So, I'll enjoy the "W", but against better competition, I'm afraid it wouldn't have been as joyous. Britt Robson mentions this in his missive about the game, but the idea that Randy Foye sat so long in the 4th has to concern folks both inside and outside the organization. He was a -10 for the evening with only 3 assists against 4 turnovers. For a club that shared the ball well last night with 25 assists, the reality that the point guard had a assists-to-turnover ratio in the negatory category is not a delicious one at all. It's a long season, though, and there'll be plenty of time to turn that around.

On the good side, we had the best two rookies in last year's draft on display, statistically speaking. Both Love and the Kings' Jason Thompson had impressive debuts, and far and away outdid anyone else in the Class of '08 in the opening Tuesday and Wednesday games. Love had a +20 for the night; in fact, the Wolves bench outshined the starters in the plus/minus category. For anyone that doubted the retention of Kevin Ollie over Blake Ahearn...ahem...please watch the last minutes of the game. The ability of Ollie to shut down Martin while Corey Brewer was able to guard John Salmons in the last possession of the game was huge.

I've said all along that on a team that overall is poor defensively, if you can play well in stretches and get a stop when necessary, for this year that will be good enough. The Wolves, with 10 steals, played opportunistic defense and translated those steals into easy points. Combine that with the ability to stop the Kings from getting a good look in the last possession, and we have the makings of progress, at least against the weaker teams.

So, there was lot to enjoy about the victory, but a lot of concern for the team as well. Sounds about right for a mid-30 win team. For today, I'll split the difference and stay positive.

Different uni's, different court, different...team? Tonight we'll continue the great Wolves rebuilding experiment.

Game Notes:

7:00 pm, Target Center
vs Sacramento Kings
TV: KSTC-45
Radio: KFAN-AM 1130

Preseason Records:

Minnesota - 6-2, Sacramento - 1-7

Minnesota plays a Sacramento team in search of an identity, especially after losing Ron Artest during the off-season. Kevin Martin was seventh in league scoring last year with a 23.7 PPG average, and had a 20.7 average this preseason. He's surrounded by folks such as center Brad Miller, T-Wolf-for-an-hour Beno Udrih at the point, Artest replacement John Salmons, and Mikki Moore at power forward. Young bigs Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson are initially coming off the bench for the Kings, along with old familar combo guard Bobby Jackson.

Keys for the game: Coming out of the gate with some intensity at both ends of the court, and not giving Martin easy looks at the basket. Offensively, getting people other than Jefferson in the scoring column early.

Projected Starting Lineups

Minnesota: Randy Foye / Mike Miller / Corey Brewer / Ryan Gomes / Al Jefferson

Sacramento:  Beno Udrih/ Kevin Martin/ John Salmons/ Mikki Moore/ Spencer Hawes

[Thanks to Sterno for the correction...Miller is suspended for five games - Peter]

My Sundays are precious; I love spending some extended time searching for interesting hoops tidbits. HoopsHype does a wonderful job of aggregating b-ball info, but I never hesitate to check with other pundits who didn't make the link list, like the NY Post's  Peter Vecsey, and the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel's  Ira Winderman.  For your browsing pleasure, I'll give you a few links, and try to connect some Wolves dots in the process, in regards to rebuilding the team.

First off, let's start with Newsday, and Ken Berger's article about the Knicks already preparing for LBJ's free agency. What's it got to do with the Wolves? Check out this small morsel, buried in the middle of the article:

"My understanding is, he's [Lebron] out for sure," the executive said. "He'll run it out to free agency for sure, and Cleveland is definitely not the highest chance of the teams. Everyone that knows him and that he talks to privately says he wants to get out of there. Obviously, New York's been talked about, but there's going to be lots of teams with money that year, 15 or so."

One of the Wolves current strategies is to manage the salary cap for the 2010 sweepstakes. If this unnamed executive is correct, we'll be up against about half of the league competing for big names like D-Wade and James. I mentioned this awhile ago in a post about acquiring Shaun Livingston, what big names would actually be serious about coming here? There's not only the Tundra and Taxes, but serious competition from some mighty big markets. My take: I wouldn't buy any hype from the Wolves front office that they will be able to hook  or lure any of the big fishes. Strike one for the club.

We don't need those top names you say? We'll find second-tier talent who can make major contributions? Check out this Draft Express post about  the current exploits of Josh Childress, once in Atlanta, now in Greece. Here's an interesting quote from former Pacer PG Travis Best, who's also playing in Europe:

"First of all, in Europe the quality of life is high," Best told us. "3 or 4 years ago my decision could be considered strange, but now it's almost quite normal. Obviously, money plays a big role; top European teams can spend a lot of money without the limitation of salary cap. A lot of astonishing players prefer to come overseas and sign big guaranteed contracts instead of being content with the mid-level exception. Here they continue to play great basketball, enjoy tax advantages, and live in amazing places with perfectly organized teams".

My take: If the Europeans can continue to attract upper to mid-tier talent at attractive prices, that hurts the American small market teams. Sure we're in the NBA, but the world is changing before us. Money talks. A potential strike two against the Wolves.

So, continuing to follow the logic here, if the Wolves need more talent to continue a successful rebirth from the KG years, but we can't nail the top players, and struggle to get the next tier who could make an impact, what's the path to success? Trades and the draft? Well, here's we have some hope...maybe. Check out talking point #5 of  Winderman's latest column:

5. Weighing the trade.

The draft-night blockbuster between the Timberwolves and Grizzlies figures to draw increased inspection.

Take last week, for example, when Memphis' O.J. Mayo was torching the Heat for 28 points, while Minnesota's Kevin Love was fouling out in 11 minutes against Denver and then shooting 1 of 10 against Chicago.

At the end of the day, it might be the ancillary part of the deal that saves face for the 'Wolves, with Minnesota getting Mike Miller and Memphis now stuck with Antoine Walker and Marko Jaric.

My take: Given all the failed efforts to surround KG with talent, and the resulting rebuilding from scratch, we really have only two proven players to speak of: Big Al and Mike Miller. There has been no Iron Ranger draft choice or draft day acquisition that has emerged as a solid, dependable player from the recent draft pools. True, the jury is still out on Brewer and Love, but for players like Foye and McCants, how much longer will it be before folks will say they're just decent, but flawed? If the Wolves are going to rejoin the ranks of the playoff contenders, some of these recent top ten draft picks--or the stockpiled first rounders--are going to have to emerge, big time. It's where the Wolves ultimate success or failure will be determined.

A couple of other notes...three interesting articles about  former Wolves Antoine Walker, Marcus Banks, and Gerald Green. I have to feel a little sorry for Walker, who's maybe not good enough to hook on to another contender without giving up some salary.  Looks like he's going to sit with the Grizz this year as well.

Photo credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images

The Wolves rebounded from a listless performance against Chicago with a 95-76 win over the Bucks last night, closing out their preseason with a 6-2 record. News of the three roster cuts and speculation about further moves overshadowed a sub par game, but as with last year, the decisive win over Milwaukee gives the club some momentum heading into the regular season. We can only hope, pray, beg, plead, petition, demand, cajole, insist, ask or request that the Wolves season start out better than last year. Whatever works.

Positives and Negatives:

Positives:

Big Al. Once again, he's the most consistent offensive threat on the club. Against the Bucks he went for 19 points, 5 rebounds, and a +9 for the night. One problem with the Wolves presently is that all the other roster "weapons" are going for long dry spells. While the regular season will bring hopefully a more balanced rotation and substitution scheme, those folks might want to shake off whatever first half shooting issues they have and help Al out.

Kevin Love. I've often thought that Jim Petersen and Tom Hanneman would make an excellent political rapid response media team. (They can't be any worse than Michelle Bachmann) Given Reusse's recent article torching Love, the spin on K-Love was in full force last night on FSN North. Of course, the REAL way an athlete can prove a scribe wrong is to perform, and to his credit Love did, with a 14 point, 10 rebound, +11 night. It doesn't negate the things Reusse said, but goodness, let's at least give the lad half a season before we mercilessly rip into him and scald McHale again for his personnel evaluation ineptitude.

Mike Miller. He stunk offensively in the first half, but got his shooting touch back a bit in the second, scoring 12 points, with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a +7 for the evening. Here's what savvy veterans do; when they don't have it going shot-wise, they contribute the other little things to make their team better.Miller gets this, and his all-around game should be an example for people like McCants who still is at a "me-first" stage of his career.

Kevin Ollie. A + 14 for the night, one could debate at this point why on a team that probably won't make the playoffs do the Wolves need a veteran like Ollie at the third guard. I know Ahearn shot well, but I'm happy Ollie stuck. He's not spectacular, but the Wolves core players still need a little quality veteran mojo, and this guy seems to have it. Ahearn isn't really a point guard, and if you DO want to get the season off to better start than last year, given that Telfair is sitting out the first few games, having Ollie come off the bench gives you a better chance at success.

Ball Movement. The Wolves had 23 assists last night. Good for them, because in order to get "anyone but Al" off, the ball should be flying around the court to get folks open looks.

Negatives:

Perimeter Defense. Yeah, Milwaukee only shot 36 percent for the night, but the way Luke Ridnour started out, it looked like it was going to be a long night--again--on the perimeter for the Wolves. Given that it looks like the club is going to go with a small frontcourt for starters, there's going to be a lot of double teaming down low, which will naturally prompt teams to swing the ball around to someone open on the perimeter. Foye hasn't demonstrated much ability to guard anyone, and no one seems to want to pressure the ball coming up the court on a consistent basis. How many years have we seen that?

Corey Brewer. It looks like he's going to make the starting five. Okay, given the defensive issues on this club, I kind of get it, but it still looking like he's hurting the club more than helping at this point. He's losing his shooting touch, so his defense better be mighty good, because there are other starting configurations on the roster that would be more successful, especially when Collins gets healthy.

Anyone but Al. I've mentioned it throughout this post, but again, what about all these other weapons we were supposed to have? Can't more players start out a little better? Please?

Summary:

As I mentioned last post, the Wolves have a ton of stuff to work on. It looks like they're going to start the season with a small front court, they can't guard anyone on the perimeter, and they need more balance and consistency from their offense. Still, there's a little buzz about this motley crew that could keep us interested and engaged for the entire season. Hopefully, this will be the year where we can finally find out whether Foye can handle the point guard position, and Wittman can coach without excuses. They have a great chance to start the season with a win, and if they can pull an upset or two against some initially tough competition (Mavs, Spurs, Blazers), breaking even in November would represent real progress. I'm a die-hard cynic, but I'm ready to be proven wrong.

Photo credit: David Sherman/NBAE/Getty Images

Nope, I'm not talking about the World Series, it's the Wolves failed comeback attempt last night, losing to the Bulls 85-75. After taking another first quarter off against Chicago like last week, this time the club decided they could also use a break in the fourth, scoring only 9 points in each of those quarters. At home. Ouch!

Positives and Negatives from the game:

Positives (not many):

Big Al. Offensively, he's back. Defensively, he's still a work in progress, but his low block play is beautiful to watch. Jefferson scored 19 points with 11 rebounds, and was +5 for the night. The fact he had no assists was more from the fact the rest of the team had shooting issues all night.

Rashad McCants. This one could go either way, but given the poor play of the other players, and the fact he was a +1 for the night, he gets a positive rating. His entrance into the game was underwelming with two straight turnovers, but he made some shots in the second half, and seemingly saved most of his scowls for the bench. Given what Chief Vindicator Jim Petersen said about Shaddy accepting the sixth man role, and needing to be in the team flow, I still have a feeling Wittman and McCants will be butting heads throughout the season.

Derrick Rose. Yeah, he's the opposition, but this kid can play. Even with 5 turnovers against 6 assists, he had 17 points and a +12 for the night. He needs to develop a clutch mid range shot, but barring injury Rose is going to be a very good to excellent PG in this league.

Negatives:

Kevin Love. Last night, K-Love was awful, with 1-10 shooting and a -19 for the night. But he only had one foul in 24 minutes of play, which is better, because this year he may well replace Craig Smith as the referee's favorite whipping boy on the Wolves team. I'm still on the fence regarding Love's future in the league, but Reusse's article on the rook this morning was unfair and premature.Give Love a Chance!

Corey Brewer. On the telecast last night, I swear I saw mothers shielding their kids as he was shooting. After a nice start to the preseason, he's reverting to form, clanking shots with impunity. I'll say it again, with the type of game he's got, he can score points with defense, hustle and transition opportunites. Yes, he needs to shoot better, but concentrating on what he does best and letting the rest come to him as he develops is his primary challenge.

First Quarter Starts. The Wolves have the shooters--and the low block stud--to get out of the gate faster in most games. Maybe if they came out ready to play defense, it would help them on the offensive end. Get some easy buckets, apply pressure, and for Jim Pete's sake, guard the perimeter better.

Summary:

Shooting 32.5 percent doesn't win many games, so let's just say it was an off night, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Regardless of tonight's contest, the Wolves have had a decent preseason. There's a ton of stuff to work on, and some roster decisions to be made, reportedly starting today. We still don't know what big men will be sticking around, or getting signficant minutes. As long as the expectations are kept reasonable, this should be a more fun team to watch. They really need to come out of the gate with more intensity though, especially at home.

As S-N-P said in the thread below...remember to cast your Love Song vote!

Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty Images

I've been watching Sacramento--our first regular season opponent--over the last couple of preseason games, and all I have to say is: what happened to THAT club? As much as we've followed the Wolves descent into mediocrity over the last few years, the Kings have devolved into a nondescript bunch; I can't tell who they exactly want to be.

Like the Wolves, they're in rebuilding mode. Kevin Martin is a nice player, but similar to Milwaukee's Michael Redd, I'm not so sure I'd want to build a team around him. Their attempts to refresh their front court with players such as Spencer Hawes, new number one Jason Thompson and Shelden Williams via the Bibby/Atlanta trade is inconclusive to date. John Salmons and Francisco Garcia are decent wing players, and in hindsight Udrih would been nice for the Wolves last year, but can you imagine a deep playoff run with any of those players?

Sacramento is right around where the Wolves are, a mid 30 win team with two first round draft picks in next year's draft and some expiring contracts (Kenny Thomas, Abdur-Rahim, Brad Miller, etc.) for the 2010 sweepstakes. For this year, it looks like they can generate enough offense to win some home games, but on the road, it will be Martin having a hot night against indifferent teams that will keep them in games. I can't believe the Wolves will be indifferent on Opening Night; therefore we should notch win #1 against this regal bunch.

Photo credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Getty Images

Well, it IS only preseason, but suffice it to say that if the Wolves played the entire game like they did the first quarter, the tone of this post would be much different. Tuning in on Chicago's Comcast SportsNet, I thought I was watching a track meet, as opposed to basketball. Minnesota responded nicely, however, for a 96-86 win. A video recap of the game can be found here. We'll save in-depth analysis for the real tilts, let's talk positives and negatives:

Positives:

Corey Brewer. His outside shooting still scares me, but there's clear improvement over last season. Here's where the cliche "playing within yourself" comes to mind. His overall speed and defensive abilities will produce offense for him; if he stays focused and carries the improved stroke into the regular season, his obvious hard work will pay off. Brewer was a +8 for the night, scoring 15 points with 9 rebounds.

Kevin Ollie.  He was the best point guard for the Wolves last night, and demonstrated he won't screw up the team if called on to play. For a third guard, what more can you ask? Ollie ran the team well, hit a couple of clutch shots in the 4th, and exuded veteran calm. Unless a better player becomes available, he should make the roster. He was a +22 for the night, with 8 points and 3 assists.

Al Jefferson. He started slow, but finished pretty big, with the usual low post scoring, and one important block in the 4th. He was a +17 for the evening, with 13 points and 7 rebounds, but it was the 4 assists that impressed me the most. He's learning how to pass out of a double team. He'll never be a KG or Bill Walton, but he doesn't have to be.

Ryan Gomes. He didn't play too much (19 minutes), but his impact was felt on the court. His energy and scoring really helped the Wolves in the second quarter; he was a +24 for the night, with 11 points.

Interior Offense. The club dominated the points in the paint last night, 48-26. Add consistent outside shooting, with better defense, and we'll have something.

Negatives:

Interior and Transition Defense. This got a little better as the game went on, but in the first quarter, the Wolves shot around 22 percent, and the Bulls big men consistently beat our club down the court. Drew Gooden took all of our front court to school. Hmm...do you think other teams won't try and exploit that weakness? Again, here's where "good enough" would be welcome; simply look to improve, not take a step back, especially when Kevin Love will be under the refs scrutiny in his rookie season.

Randy Foye. He was bad last night, a whopping -19 in 26 minutes of play, with one assist and 4 turnovers. Yeah, the games don't count yet, and Telfair started at PG, but he has to get better.

Summary:

I thought Chicago let their foot off the pedal last night and allowed the Wolves back into the game. To their credit, Minnesota came back and played a lot better, especially in the second half. The Bulls have a lot of issues like the Wolves; but a mid 30 win season makes them contenders for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. And, they have Derrick Rose, who showed flashes last night, but still has to find some level of synchronicity with his new team, as does K-Love with the Wolves. After the Nuggets blow out, I was happy to see Minnesota respond with a road win. No one will remember the victory by November, but it was a positive sign nonetheless.