gal·li·mau·fry

[gal-uh-maw-free]

noun, plural gal·li·mau·fries. Chiefly Literary .

1. a hodgepodge; jumble; confused medley.

2. a ragout or hash.

Below the jump are points of interest to me. Therefore, I feel the need to force them upon you.

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This is probably the best local sport internet blog I've ever been a part of. Every once in a while (five times in the last year) I'll run into a Wolves fan, and if our conversation goes the direction of advanced analysis and truly detailed critique of the players, I'll ask if they read Canis Hoopus. Each time the response has been an emphatic yes along with a statement about how that person sits at work all day refreshing the site. If the five I've by chance met all say the same thing, there must be hundreds of you out there doing that. At work. You know who you are. You just hit F5 again, I can tell.

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There's a lot of talk right now about the Wolves acquiring Jamal Crawford. At first I thought it might be a good move, but between giving it some more thought and some other recent developments, I'm no longer sure.

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I apologize up front if this is on the site somewhere, but I was interested in exactly what trade assets the Wolves currently had. My source is http://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Timberwolves.htm and Real GM. There were a number of choices for the formatting here, none are perfect, but perhaps your comments can suggest a better way to look at this.

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The 2012 NBA draft has, for nearly two years now, been pronounced a draft full of talent primarily due to the expectation, then reality, that a number of top college players would avoid the risk associated with an NBA lockout and stay in school one more year. This proved true to an extent that's not fully determined, but certainly some of the collegiate stars of 2010-11 (Barnes, Jones, Sullinger) stayed in school, as did a number of players with first round potential who will definitely improve their stock, if not their draft position (P. Young, D. Lamb, T. Jones, T. Ross).

Meanwhile, and stop me if you've heard this one, our beloved Timberpups and fearless former leader Kevin McHale dealt away their own 2012 1st round draft choice to the Clippers, a draft choice which is almost certainly be a top 12 pick. We all know it will actually be a top three pick, but that's another story. Our POBO David Kahn tried to mitigate the effect of "Clippergeddon" by selling Big Al Jefferson to Utah for two heavily protected first round draft picks.

The first of these picks (originally a Memphis pick) was "used" last year and netted the Wolves Malcolm Lee, another heavily protected 1st rounder (first potential use=2013), and possibly Rick Adelman. For those who are so biased against Kahn they refuse to see anything he does as good, this was probably good. Unless, of course, Marshon Brooks turns into a star and the Wolves would have gotten Adelman anyway.

The second of the picks from Utah was their own pick protected currently through the fourteenth selection of the 2012 draft. If not transferred this year, the pick is top 12 protected in 2013, and in 2014, if the pick is still not transferred to the Wolves, our favorite team has the right to swap its first rounder with Utah's first rounder, as long as Utah's is not a top 9 pick. If Utah's first round pick is not transferred according to one of the above scenarios, Minnesota gets stuck with Utah 2nd round draft choice in 2014 and that part of the Big Al deal is completed, as far as Utah is concerned.

I thought periodically we might look at how our pick is looking both in terms of the likelihood it transfers to the Wolves in 2012 and who might be available. Updated standings are below the break. Remember that Utah needs to finish 9th-15th place in the West for the Wolves to get the draft pick.

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This has been bothering me, and I've mentioned it on a couple of FanPost comment sections.  Many board members want the Wolves to trade the #2 overall pick for Andre Iguodala, admittedly a good player.  I contend that a trade such as this (or others proposed) benefits one team far more than the other.

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Have you ever written a fan letter?  A letter of criticism?  I have.  I wrote a letter to Fran Tarkenton when I was a kid, and I wrote a letter to Joel Maturi in November.  In both I expressed my opinion as an individual, and I'm pretty sure with both I was ignored as one of thousands of Viking/Gopher fans.  But what would have happened had Fran or Joel known about me?  What if I represented a base of fans rather than myself?  What if the letter had been written in an easy-to-follow format instead of rambling about how I liked the scrambling?  What if I had the statistics and other logical support for my thesis that Brady Hoke should be hired at any cost? 

While there exist many differences of opinion among Canis Hoopsters, never have I seen a board like this with so much solidarity and smarts.  We want to get through to David Kahn, so when he gets back from vacation next week, let's greet our POBO with a letter that basically represents the Canis Hoopus manifesto.

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Ok, you geeks, I ran Chad Ford's ESPN Lottery 100 times.  I did this after doing a few times for fun and noticing what I thought was a bias.  There are interesting results, or are there?

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There are numerous comments and fanposts about what we fans hope will happen in the offseason.  I'm sorry to say, many of these changeovers are fantasy scenarios and simply are not possible.  They depend on other teams doing what we want and on certain players being available.  There are, however, a number of necessary and realistic changes that can and should be made, and it will be interesting to see how many Kahn and Rambis will come through on.

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This isn't going to be much of a post, but I wanted to review three of the players I've seen in the tourney this year.  Before I do, let me just say that I'm really sad Jared Sullinger is going back to tOSU.  I really thought he might be considered by one of the teams that moves ahead of the Wolves in the draft, and therefore it wouldn't matter that they'd moved ahead.  I watched Irving, D. Williams, and Barnes the last couple of weeks.

Kyrie Irving.  Let me just say that there is zero, zilch, nil, absolutely no doubt about this guy being a stud PG in the NBA.  He's more ready than Wall, more polished, anyway.  There is no way Ricky Rubio is or will be as good as Irving.  If the Wolves get the first pick or they get the second pick with Washington in front of them, this is the only pick.  He's a game changer, and trust me Rambis Haters, Kurt becomes a LOT better coach with Irving on board.  Complete package.

Derrick Williams.  I read about him, and then I saw him.  He is, again, the complete package.  At 6'8" and strong,  he's a legit college power forward, but his shooting and handles I believe will allow him to also play SF in the NBA.  His efficiency is through the roof, and his defense does not have to be projected.  It's there already.  Plus, he's fundamentally sound, to the point of not relying on his amazing athletic ability but instead putting a body on his man or another man for every rebound.  Watch Michael Beasley rebound on the defensive end.  If B-Ease had Williams' work ethic and attention to detail, he'd average twelve boards per game.  Williams will be a monster in the NBA, and even if he's more of a four in the NBA, the Wolves cannot pass on him if Irving is gone.  He's that good.

These two are a legitimate duo at the top of the draft for any year's draft.  Much better than last year with Wall and Turner.

Harrison Barnes.  I was pretty down on Barnes early in the year, but he's convinced me that he's going to be a really good pro.  If I were he, though, I'd go pro and get my second contract as soon as possible.  I think he's an athletic freak, and that won't always be the case.  Take advantage of your youth, son.  How much would he love being in Minnesota and having his mother able to make the trip to watch?  I'm not sure what it exactly was about Barnes that changed my mind, but I knew that if he had shots fall at a better rate, he'd be very remindful of Michael Jordan.  And here's the thing: his shot and touch and finishing aptitude all appear to be there.  Missing?  Absolute confidence.  He won't set the NBA on fire right away, but when he learns he belongs, he will be a stud.  He will shoot, and he will get to the hoop.  He is probably the game-changing two and may be the best of the bunch.  I'd definitely take Irving over him, but I could see someone taking him ahead of Williams.  Barnes is the guy who could potentially slip if a Sullinger were in the draft.

This review may be full of hyperbole, but I know basketball talent, and the top of this draft will go down with the best of them...think 2003.  Well, don't.  But think 2003-lite.

This is my first fanpost here and, despite my background in statistics, it's going to be basketball-metric-free.  The point of this post is to ascertain where we are in The Plan.  What is the most basic element of The Plan?  At its base The Plan is to have the major elements of the team in place by the 2011-12 season.  How do we know this?  We know this because the Wolves no longer have their own draft pick in 2012.

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I was an Adam Dunn fan as soon as it was fashionable (his final minor league year) and a Justin Morneau fan from rookie ball (Twins fan here).  I always believed Morneau was a .300 hitter based on his minor league numbers.  Now, watching him everyday, it's very obvious that he is a .300 hitter.  I can explain why I know he is now, but I choose to not bias my question.

I didn't watch Dunn from rookie ball on, but given John's recent retro, my memory is that Dunn and Morneau were very, very similar.  Assuming for their primes that Morneau is a .300+ hitter and Dunn is a .255 hitter, what foretold the difference?

The money being given to mediocre pitching is overwhelming.  And the good ones, like Zito, could get close to $20 mil/yr for many years.  The Twins have the absolute best starter getting near his prime, and they have arguably the games best closer, and both become free agents after 2008.

In 2007 Santana makes 12 mil and Nathan a little over 5 mil.  I think we should enjoy them while we can because, well, just imagine what they'll be worth in 2009.  Santana could conceivably command $25-$30 million a season by then (just add 7 mil to whatever Zito gets now).  Nathan (see BJ Ryan) could get $12-$15 million.  And then multiply those contracts by six years or so.

If Ryan is smart, he may have to trade Santana and maybe Nathan in or after 2007.  The haul for Nathan may be no more than the Twins could get mid-year 2008, so it might not make sense to deal him after next year.

If Santana is dealt after this year, the Twins will need to make a sure-firing killing...not a cross-your-fingers Nathan/Bonser/Liriano killing.  Not sure how many people know that by winning the Cy Young, Santana has a no-trade clause to really muck things up.

I'll hate to see him go, but I'm just being realistic here.  It will be interesting to see if, after 2007, the Twins approach Santana with an extension in hopes they can lock him up for $20 mil/yr.  What are your realistic thoughts here?