Official 2013 NBA Offseason Thread

[markangelo]

damn, Pek is getting that dough.. I dont think he's worth that much.. Yikes

 

[Deleted member 38182]

So they invested 12 million a year for a center who isn't in any way shape or form dominant... and are unsure if their franchise player will even come back.... this is why the Twolves are the Twolves... you DON't make big signings like this unless your a team who has a chance at winning it all... not when your a perennial lottery squad.

what 

 

[jpzx]

I would maybe reply, but there's more than a 0% chance you've seen the Timberwolves play 0 times.

 

[senorroboto2k5]

All that hate, thats how you know those jerseys are fire. Wish your team had them I know, I know.

I hope the Spurs get new alts that say "GO SPURS GO" on the front in 60 point arial font

 

[Deleted member 38182]

All that hate, thats how you know those jerseys are fire. Wish your team had them I know, I know.

I hope the Spurs get new alts that say "GO SPURS GO" on the front in 60 point arial font

 

[grandtheftbike]

All that hate, thats how you know those jerseys are fire. Wish your team had them I know, I know.

I hope the Spurs get new alts that say "GO SPURS GO" on the front in 60 point arial font

 

[jpzx]

For the guy with the run on sentences about the T'Wolves.

The NBA, A-through-Z: Minnesota Timberwolves.

By Kelly Dwyer, Yahoo! Sports.

View media item 539017
The free agents have just about all been signed up. The NBA is down to a series of Instagram photos from moving yachts and crossed fingers from worried teams hoping their players stay safe in the summer off. There’s nothing going on, save for that clock on the wall that is ticking down to the 2013-14 season.

And it’s moving SO SLOWLY.

This is why we’ve decided to pick 26 things we’re looking forward to in 2013-14. Or, at the very least, 26 things that intrigue us as we wait out an offseason that feels like it has thousands of miles left to cross before we can get to Halloween and opening week. Because there are 26 letters in the alphabet – you guessed, NBA A-through-Z.

We continue with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Nikola Pekovic, the restricted free agent and last available player that could possibly secure an eight-figure deal in this market, has just signed a five-year, $60 million deal (with $8 million in incentives) with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The offseason, effectively, is just about over. Nobody’s really left, outside of the fringe cases that teams are hesitant to risk even a minor deal on.

This means the Timberwolves are back. Back to where they were this time last year when the team was set to become one of the NBA’s more entertaining teams, possibly taking advantage of available spots in the West’s low-end playoff bracket, and becoming a League Pass go-to fixture once Ricky Rubio returned from his ACL reconstruction. Even with the specter of David Kahn’s miserable moves hanging over the franchise, coach Rick Adelman seemed like the perfect fit for a fluid, offensive-minded team that surely suited his style.

This was before Kevin Love did whatever he did to his hands, sitting out for all but 18 games and missing nearly 65 percent of his shots. Rubio, while entertaining, wasn’t much better from the field, hitting for 36 percent from the floor in another worrying turn, a poor shooting pattern that was established years before he came to the NBA. Andrei Kirilenko and Pekovic sat out a combined 38 games, Alexey Shved tailed off after an impressive start, and Chase Budinger was forced to sit out four months with a torn meniscus in his left knee.

By the time spring rolled around, Rick Adelman was contemplating leaving the team to aid in his wife’s recovery from a series of frightening seizures. And though Kahn was eventually sent out to pasture, finally, new president of basketball operations Flip Saunders has us a little worried as to how forward-thinking his front office acumen may be, especially in an NBA that is becoming more and more analytics-driven on an executive level.

Peel this back, though. Forget the potential of Love’s impermanence, Rubio’s shooting woes, and the fact that the team just handed a potential $68 million to a player few outside of heavy NBA circles knew about two years ago.

This is still a team coached by Rick Adelman, to start, which immediately warrants it must-watch status. Then there is the angry return of Love, happy to show Kahn that he was worth that extra year, sick of never making the playoffs. This is countered by the steely Pekovic (who is just entering his prime; if he continues improving at this rate this will be a great contract), and the cheery Rubio. All intertwining in a motion-based offense that welcomes back the athletic Budinger, the (honestly) improving Derrick Williams and a player in Kevin Martin that Adelman did some wonderful, wonderful things with at two different stops.

This isn’t a surefire, eventual 50-game winner. The addition of Martin and re-introduction of Budinger could limit Pekovic’s looks from the interior, and nobody should convince you that Ricky Rubio is going to come out of nowhere to start providing percentages from the field that won’t leave you holding your nose. In August, that’s not the point.

The point is that entertaining basketball could spring out of Minnesota again, and the team could cut and curl its way into the postseason for the first time since Sam Cassell’s untimely injury cost the Timberwolves a place (not a shot, a place) in the 2004 NBA Finals. It’s true that the Wolves will be approaching the luxury tax level in 2014-15 even with Williams and Rubio’s contracts still on the board, and that Love could decide to take his game elsewhere during the 2015 offseason.

For now, though, it’s fun. No Kahn, healthy Love, all of the Rubio, and Pekovic is back. The unholy amalgamation of Kevin McHale (who drafted Love), David Kahn and Flip Saunders’ work probably won’t ever win a championship, but for a city starved for its first meaningful game in April, 2013-14 should be a treat even if the Timberwolves eventually fall short again.

And until we get there, before things thaw? This team should once again top your list of NBA League Pass must-watches. With actual wins, this time.

 

[dt43]

T'Wolves beat writer just confirmed that they can still sign Rubio to a 5-year deal if they choose to. Doesn't affect that, apparently.

Based on this, I don't think it affects Love's five year angle either:

Jon Krawczynski ‏@APkrawczynski
The #TWolves could give Pekovic 5 years and still hold on to the 5-year extension for another player within the timeframe of this CBA

They can't designate Rubio AND Love for the 5 year max.. they're gonna have to choose

 

[awwsome]

Pek

Y'all should know by now these contracts are all about timing. It is big money but these next 4-5 years will be his best so whatever his ceiling is, they're getting it. Just hope he stays healthy, Love was gone either way.

 

[pmatic]

T'Wolves beat writer just confirmed that they can still sign Rubio to a 5-year deal if they choose to. Doesn't affect that, apparently.

Based on this, I don't think it affects Love's five year angle either:

Jon Krawczynski ‏@APkrawczynski
The #TWolves could give Pekovic 5 years and still hold on to the 5-year extension for another player within the timeframe of this CBA

They can't designate Rubio AND Love for the 5 year max.. they're gonna have to choose

They can extend Rubio for five years when he's eligible next fall and when Love enters free agency, he can get a new five year contract himself.

 

[hood17]

 

[JD617]

All that hate, thats how you know those jerseys are fire. Wish your team had them I know, I know.

I hope the Spurs get new alts that say "GO SPURS GO" on the front in 60 point arial font

 

[jpzx]

Tommy Beer ‏@TommyBeer
Last season, Nik Pekovic was 1 of just 3 players to avg over 16 pts & 8 rebs despite playing less than 32 minutes/gm. (Timmy D & D. Cousins)

 

[trynafeelmink]

For the guy with the run on sentences about the T'Wolves.

Yes obviously they are going to improve slightly maybe even make a playoff at a lower seed. If that's your aim for the next couple of years then great signing Pek was a great move.

Now considering you have already signed a combination of Pekovic & already peaked potential and OFTEN injured Kevin Martin to the tune of close to a combined 20 million a season the next 4 years. You would still have too resign Rubio to what i assume is a max deal.

After that You have anywhere between 35-40 million a year tied up into three players two of which will never be All-Stars.

when the time comes to resign K.Love and he's in his prime do you really think it's smart to present him to a team that isn't a championship threat... will be completely capped out after he resigns.. and will have no immediate routes to getting better ?

when your a small market team who isn't willing to be in luxury tax hell like an L.A or NY... you have to be really smart with your money. signing an above average injury prone big man to a deal that can hover around 70 million after incentives is fiscally stupid.

 

[jpzx]

View media item 539054














View media item 539058
"Oh ****."

 

[bhzmafia14]

I thought the Bruise Brothers were ZBo and Gasol?

 

[jpzx]

Pau and Scott Padgett.

 

[assyrianplaya]

if you honestly believe that Rose is 1) an elite defensive PG, 2) the best defensive PG in the league, or 3) better defensively than Russ....then man, I don't know what to tell you.

they play the same players and he has better defensive numbers. Sure the scheme is better in Chicago, but he IS an elite defender and every single stat points to that. Russ is a second option, an elite one but still second. You'll understand that soon enough. You've stated things like "if you honestly believe..." and "Do you really think that hes as good as Russ?" you haven't pulled out one statistical fact. Hell our defense went from number one to like 5 or 6 without rose this year... if that isn't enough then i don't know what is.

 

[100027]

they play the same players and he has better defensive numbers. Sure the scheme is better in Chicago, but he IS an elite defender and every single stat points to that. Russ is a second option, an elite one but still second. You'll understand that soon enough. You've stated things like "if you honestly believe..." and "Do you really think that hes as good as Russ?" you haven't pulled out one statistical fact. Hell our defense went from number one to like 5 or 6 without rose this year... if that isn't enough then i don't know what is.

That's absolute nonsense.  Numbers aren't adequate for ranking defensive ability.  Rose is lucky to play on one of the most talented, best-schemed defensive teams in the league.  He's also the worst defensive player on the court every play.

The level of overblown belief Bulls fans have in Rose is staggering.  The guy is good but between "elite defender" and "No 3Peat because Rose is back even though he got destroyed last time he played Miami" you guys are wildly delusional.

 

[antidope]

All that hate, thats how you know those jerseys are fire. Wish your team had them I know, I know.

I hope the Spurs get new alts that say "GO SPURS GO" on the front in 60 point arial font

I laughed so hard I started talking. Only 3 months until HE returns. Bart Scott gif

 

[antidope]

Ryan Andersons GF passed way. Damn. RIP.

 

[100027]

Ryan Andersons GF passed way. Damn. RIP.

Wow, that's terrible.  RIP.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

a damn shame.

RIP

 

[dacomeup]

Still comical that the Wolves wouldn't give KLove 5 years, but they'd throw this contact at Pek. 

 

[certifiedflyboi23]