MINNEAPOLIS - Derrick Williams entered his rookie season with the Minnesota Timberwolves as one of the favorites for the NBA's rookie of the year.

Scouts and executives saw a polished offensive player who would flourish in Rick Adelman's system and translate quickly to the NBA. After a grueling first season in which he showed promise with several huge games, he hit the rookie wall hard in April. Williams is preparing for a crucial summer of work to ensure major improvement next year.

Williams averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

The No. 2 overall pick says he wants to follow in All-Star Kevin Love's footsteps. Love has gained a reputation for exhaustive summer workouts that are credited with his significant improvement in his first four years in the league.

Maybe Dolphin can lose 25lbs and play the 3 spot for us and we can let Skittles walk.

Michael Beasley expressed optimism about returning to the Timberwolves next season after having his exit interview Wednesday, April 25, with coach Rick Adelman and president of basketball operations David Kahn.

Beasley will become a restricted free agent after the Timberwolves play their final game Thursday night at Target Center against the Denver Nuggets.

"I feel pretty good about coming back next year," Beasley said. "I'm hopeful. I'm going to approach my summer as if I'm coming back. I'm going to try to come back in the best possible shape I can and be the best player I can be."

Beasley, nearing the end of his fourth NBA season and second with the Timberwolves, is due $8.172 million in 2012-13, the final year of his contract. The Timberwolves have the option on whether to pick up his salary for next season.

Beasley, who missed 19 games because of foot and toe injuries, averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds and shot 44.5 percent from the floor. He started the Timberwolves' first seven games and was the team's second-leading scorer behind Kevin Love before suffering a foot injury Jan. 6 that cost him 11 games. When Beasley was healthy enough to play, Adelman decided to bring him off the bench the rest of the season.

Before the Timberwolves' game against Memphis on April 17, Beasley said he "didn't want to get comfortable" in a reserve role if he came back next season and said he sees himself "as a starter." Beasley said he got no indication from

Kahn or Adelman about his future with the team. Kahn and Adelman are holding a news conference Friday morning to discuss the team's offseason plans and decisions on players.
"They just told me what I need to do to get better," Beasley said of Kahn and Adelman. "I'm going to work on everything to become an all-around great player ... not just a scorer, a rebounder or a defender."

Beasley said he will spend most of the offseason in Los Angeles working out with former Los Angeles Lakers star Norm Nixon.

Follow Ray Richardson at Twitter.com/twolvesnow.

I think he should spend his summer working with Rose, Love, Durant, Kobe, etc not Norm Nixon; unless he wants to play SG for us next season ;)

Kevin Love and other Minnesota Timberwolves players were attending the Twins-Boston Red Sox game in a Target Field suite Tuesday night, April 24, but ended up turning on the NBA game on television.

Utah and Phoenix were playing a late game in Salt Lake City, and Love was thrilled to see his good friend Al Jefferson lead the Jazz over Phoenix. The victory clinched a playoff berth for Utah - and a first-round draft pick for the Wolves in June.

"I'm going to send Al a text today," Love said after Wednesday's practice, a day before the Wolves (26-39) finish the season against Denver at Target Center. "I know he's got a dog, so maybe I'll send the dog a treat or something. I'm very happy for Al."

As part of Jefferson's 2010 trade

Kevin Love: "I'm going to have my exit interview in the next couple of days. I hope they do come to me, at least on some decisions. They've invested a lot of money in me, especially in the next few years. I would like to have some input. I feel I have a good eye for that stuff, as well." (Associated Press: Genevieve Ross)to Utah, the Wolves received Utah's 2012 first-round pick, conditional on the Jazz making the playoffs this season.
Jefferson, who played three seasons with Minnesota, had 18 points and 16 rebounds in Utah's 100-88 win that clinched the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

The Wolves had traded away their own first-round pick in the infamous Marko Jaric-Sam Cassell deal in 2005 with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Wolves gave the Clippers a conditional first-round pick, which was protected until 2012. That pick now belongs to New Orleans, part of the Chris Paul trade to the Clippers.

Depending on the final regular-season standings, the Wolves likely will end up in the middle of the first round, about No. 15 to No. 18.

"We have another asset," Love said. "Being that it's such a deep draft, we can deal more. Maybe we can move up in the draft and see what happens."
Love, who signed a four-year, $62 million contract extension in January, said he wants to be involved in whatever offseason moves are considered by team owner Glen Taylor, president of basketball operations David Kahn and coach Rick Adelman.

"I'm going to have my exit interview in the next couple of days," Love said. "I hope they do come to me, at least on some decisions. They've invested a lot of money in me, especially in the next few years. I would like to have some input. I feel I have a good eye for that stuff, as well."

Adelman and Love concur on the team's need for improvements; Adelman said Tuesday he wants the club to be "very aggressive" in making upgrades. The Wolves are 5-20 since losing rookie point guard Ricky Rubio to a season-ending knee injury March 9 and have lost 12 of their past 13 games.

Though Love said the team should not be judged solely on the late-season collapse, mainly because of injuries to key players, he expressed strong feelings for change.

"I do hope we're aggressive," he said. "When the time comes, I do hope we pull the trigger on some moves. That will be up to David Kahn and our owner. That's up to them. If I could make decisions, I would, but I can't."

Follow Ray Richardson at twitter.com/twolvesnow.

What a month, what a season it has been for Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love!

His latest effort was 40 points and 19 rebounds in the T'wolves' 88-83 victory Wednesday at the Charlotte Bobcats. That's 45% of Minnesota's scoring done by Love, who registered his 10th 30-point/15-rebound game of the season.

The rest of the NBA — 10 such games combined.

Love has scored 40 points three times this season, all this month, second only to the Lakers' Kobe Bryant (four times).

And with 469 points and 211 rebounds this month, Love is just 31 points and eight rebounds from surpassing Shaquille O'Neal for the most in those categories in a single month in the NBA in the last 15 years. O'Neal (499 points/218 rebounds) accomplished that in 2001, also in March, with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Love gets a crack at that Friday against the Boston Celtics, the T'wolves' final game of the month. But in four career games against the Celtics, Love has averaged 10.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. The T'Wolves have lost nine in a row to the Celtics.

Here are the top scorers this month:

F Kevin Love, T'wolves: 15 games, 31.3 ppg, 469 pts, 47.4% FG, 99-of-127 FTs

F Kevin Durant, Thunder: 15 games, 28.0 ppg, 420 pts, 48.3% FG, 107-of-121 FTs

G Kobe Bryant, Lakers: 15 games, 27.9 ppg, 418 pts, 41.0% FG, 71-of-88 FTs

G Russell Westbrook, Thunder: 15 games, 25.9 ppg, 389 pts, 49.3% FG, 71-of-88 FTs

G LeBron James, Heat: 14 games, 25.1 ppg, 352 pts, 50.5% FG, 64-of-87 FTs

Love, in just his fourth season, leads all active players in 30-point/20-rebound games. His latest was Sunday against the Denver Nuggets (30 points, 21 rebounds):

7 —Love

6 — F Tim Duncan, Spurs

6 — C Dwight Howard, Magic

5 — F Kevin Garnett, T'wolves and Celtics

3 — F Zach Randolph, Trail Blazers, Knicks, Clippers, Grizzlies

Before the 2011-12 season began it was obvious one of the biggest weakness of the Minnesota Timberwolves would be at the shooting guard position. As the season goes on, it becomes even more clear that something must be done to address the situation, which is why forward Michael Beasley has heard his name in numerous trade rumors.

"It’s hard, I’ve never been in a position like this," said Beasley. "I’ve always been a starter. Coming off the bench is different. My minutes fluctuate. It’s kind of weird. You just have to be professional about it, stay ready and work on my game. We’ve got so much talent on this team."

The Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and even the New Jersey Nets have been rumored to be interested in Beasley’s services on the basketball court and the Timberwolves are in a good place in all discussions. After all, they essentially received Beasley for free when the Miami HEAT sent him to Minnesota, so they can either find a trade for a player that fits their needs, a player who comes off the books at the end of the season or they could even let Beasley walk at year’s end.

"It’s part of the game," said Beasley. "I’ve been traded once before. Nobody wants to get traded. I just play basketball, and if it happens, it happens."

With rookie Derrick Williams receiving more playing time and, more importantly, finding more ways to contribute more to the Timberwolves, Beasley has become even more expendable. Yet, contradictory to most media reports of Beasley’s unprofessional and immature attitudes, he is taking the rumors in stride.

"For now, I’m a Timberwolf," said Beasley. "I love my team and my coaches. If it’s time for me to go, I have no control over that. I’m just playing the game and keeping my mouth shut."

"Minnesota is not going to make the playoffs. They are a little too young and not deep enough."

Comcast: channel 13 or 23, 694 HD
Charter Communications: channel 980
DirecTV: channel 675 (SD), 675-1(HD)
Hickory Tech: channel 1
Mediacom: channel 22

* Derrick Williams' NBA introduction is having its ups and down, enough so that Adelman said he's asking him now solely to focus on playing power forward.

So much for some fans' expectations I've picked up on Twitter and this here blog that he'd overtake Michael Beasley for the starting small forward job by as soon as opening night.

Remember Beasley was the second overall pick in a stronger 2008 draft and he's played three pro seasons already.

Williams is struggling with defending small forwards -- namely Beasley in practice -- out on the floor and for those who wondered at draft time how much he was a duplication of Beasley for now must ask themselves this.Is he rather a duplication of Love?

Of course, it's early and Williams is oh-so-young.

And the Wolves have plenty of other options at small forward for now: Beasley, Anthony Randolph, Wes Johnson, even Martell Webster if he gets healthy.

An unnamed surgeon who consulted Roy on his recurring knee problems believes the three-time All-Star only has one or two seasons remaining in his career, the Sports Network reports.

We drafted Roy in 2006. Traded Roy for Foye. Traded Foye and Miller for 2010 5th round pick from Washington Wizards. Drafted Rubio with the 5th pick. Rubio have not yet gotten into a wolves' uniform; soon as next year? So we turned Foye into Rubio. Good or bad? Your thoughts?

DENVER -- On a recent day, it was 70 degrees warmer in Miami than in Minneapolis. But Michael Beasley didn't mind.

Beasley, dealt from Miami to Minnesota last summer, loves his new surroundings. So much that the forward would like to sign a long-term contract extension with the Timberwolves.

"I would love to stay here long-term,'' Beasley said in an interview with FanHouse before Saturday's game at Denver. "Maybe we'll talk about it when the season's over.''

The third-year man is eligible under current collective bargaining rules to sign an extension next summer with Minnesota that would start in 2012-13, although it remains to be seen if anything might change after the CBA expires June 30, 2011. For now, Beasley said he's concentrating on this season. But he did make it clear how much he likes his situation with the Timberwolves.

"I've been playing the same basketball I've been playing my whole life,'' said Beasley, putting up 21.5 points a game this season with the Timberwolves after averaging 14.3 in his two Heat seasons. "It's just being given an opportunity to play more freely. In Miami, I was the third or fourth option ... I was kind of still learning the ways of the NBA. But (in Minnesota) I'm just playing free, just playing my game.''

Miami gave away Beasley last July for next to nothing to clear cap room for the free-agent signings of LeBron James and Chris Bosh and the re-signing of Dwyane Wade. The Heat got cash and a pair of second-round picks in return.

"It did at first,'' Beasley said when asked if he got extra incentive out of being traded for so little. "But, when you look at what they got, it's kind of lopsided. They got three of the best players in the NBA. And I was paid too much ($4.96 million this season). There's really no hard feelings.''

Beasley has fit in well with the young Timberwolves. He's also averaging 6.1 rebounds and has made 21-of-54 three-pointers (38.9 percent).

"It seems like he's more serious, has a defensive attitude a little more,'' said Nuggets coach George Karl. "And offensively he's a one-on-one nightmare a little bit. When you play small on him, he goes inside. When you play big on him, he goes outside.''

Beasley's problems in Miami have been well-chronicled. After being the No. 2 pick in he 2008 draft and averaging 13.9 points as a rookie, Beasley had a summer that included an NBA-mandated stay in a substance abuse program and a bout with depression. Shortly after Beasley arrived in Minnesota, Timberwolves president David Kahn was fined $50,000 and the team fined $50,000 by the NBA for Kahn saying Beasley was "a very young and immature kid who smoked too much marijuana," while in Miami.

Beasley is determined to leave the past behind, saying he doesn't want to discuss his difficulties while with the Heat. Still, he doesn't consider them to have been bad seasons on the court even though some had predicted more immediate success after he averaged 26.2 points in his only Kansas State season of 2007-08.

"I feel like I had a great rookie season,'' said Beasley, who averaged 14.8 points in his second season. "I was playing behind perennial All-Stars like Shawn Marion, Jermaine O'Neal, Dwyane Wade. To average 14 and to be the second-leading scorer on that team as a rookie, I feel like is great. To average (14.3) in two years, I feel like is not bad at all.''

Now, Beasley is averaging 33.4 minutes compared to 27.3 in his first two seasons. He's the leading scorer on the team.

"The only thing different is the weather,'' Beasley said of what it's been like going from Miami to Minneapolis from a city standpoint. "People are just about the same. Fans are the same. We're just not winning as much.''

Winning is something Beasley wants to rectify. As for the weather, he said snow is no problem due to having grown up in Washington, D.C. and going to school for a year in Kansas.

Put it all together and Beasley won't mind at all having a long stint in Minnesota.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at tomasson@fanhouse.com or on Twitter @christomasson

The Minneapolis Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda writes that it "sure looks like Ellington has won the starting shooting guard spot."

Frontcourt: Team USA member Kevin Love is the focal point, but Michael Beasley was brought in to beef up the attack. Is Darko Milicic finally free ... of expectations?
Grade: C

David Kahn's latest summer overhaul is supposed to reposition the Wolves for the foreseeable future. The moves included trading their best player (Al Jefferson) to make room for Love to develop. It's a risky undertaking with a lack of superstar potential on the current roster. That, of course, changes with Ricky Rubio's expected arrival next season. Kahn is also counting on Beasley to make up some of the production lost with Jefferson gone. Ridnour is keeping the point guard seat warm, giving Minnesota a serviceable rotation once Flynn is ready. Martell Webster and Johnson up the athlete-quotient. Kahn continues to look down the road by drafting international players who aren't ready for the NBA yet. Two second-round picks, forward Nemanja Bjelica and center Paulao Prestes, will remain overseas to mature. The Wolves hope to be loaded in next few years. That's the plan, anyway.
-- Art Garcia

Last year, Love averaged 28:36 minutes, 14 points, 11 boards and 2.3 assists.

My expectation for Love's numbers this coming season are, 33 minutes, 17 points and 15 boards. What's yours?

Kevin Love played 15:18, 8 points and 6 boards off the bench.

Kevin Love played 13 minutes, 7 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

2 year deal, $4.5million guaranteed