The Pioneer Press' Charley Walters (brace yourself) confirmed some things we already knew anyway, but there were a lot of random things in the article I thought I'd share in here in case some were wondering/didn't know:
Garnett returning, Saunders remaining head coach, when he decided on Towns, and Tyus' new car
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- Although it hasn't been announced, pending free agent Kevin Garnett definitely will re-sign with the Wolves, and Saunders definitely will return as coach.
- Counting Karl-Anthony Towns and Tyus Jones,
during the three years Flip Saunders has overseen the Timberwolves' drafts, the team has added eight first-round picks.
-
Towns, on his hyphenated first name: "My sister named me. My dad wanted me to be like a Karl Towns Jr., but my mom didn't want that. My sister and my mom loved Marc Anthony, if I'm correct. They wanted Anthony in my name, so Karl-Anthony was born."
- Towns, who doesn't turn 20 until November, can expect a
guaranteed two-year salary of $11.7 million, Forbes.com points out.
Jones' two-year guarantee will be $2.6 million as the No. 24 overall pick. Former Robbinsdale Cooper star Rashad Vaughn will get $3.5 million as the No. 17 pick by Milwaukee.
- The value of the Timberwolves,
$625 million according to Forbes.com, should increase with last week's sale of the Atlanta Hawks for $850 million. Last year, the Hawks were valued at $425 million. Glen Taylor bought the Timberwolves
for $89 million in 1995.
- After winning the NBA's rookie of the year award, the Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins is getting a new basketball shoe designed for him by Adidas
that includes a white maple leaf silhouette denoting his Canadian roots. Wiggins' apparel deal with Adidas is worth an estimated $2 million annually.
One that I actually think may prove more critical next season:
Timberwolves extend qualifying offer to Robbie Hummel
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By Andy Greder, Pioneer Press
The Timberwolves have extended a qualifying offer to Robbie Hummel, a source told the Pioneer Press on Sunday. The offer makes him a restricted free agent, and the Wolves can match offers from other in July.
Coach Flip Saunders relied on Hummel's versatility and smart play when injuries decimated the team last season. Hummel, a 6-foot-8 forward, played point guard in emergency situations.
Hummel then broke his right hand in late January and missed 29 games through March. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.0 rebounds in 45 games for the Wolves in 2014-15.
Hummel averaged 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 53 games as a rookie with the Wolves in 2013-14.
The Wolves are not expected to be active in pursuing outside free agents. Kevin Garnett, an unrestricted free agent, is expected to come back to the Wolves next season.
Here are the most well-balanced lineups, how I see it:
Starters:
PG - Ricky Rubio
SG - Kevin Martin
SF - Andrew Wiggins
PF - Kevin Garnett (20 mpg)
C - Nikola Pekovic
Why: Rubio (Defense / Setting Up), Martin (Offense, 3pt Shooter), Wiggins (A little bit of everything, not a 3pt shooter), Garnett (Defense), Pekovic (Offense). Extremely balanced, playing the give-and-take of everything you need out on the perimeter and with your big men perfectly.
Backups:
PG - Tyus Jones
SG - (explanation below)
SF - (explanation below)
PF - Karl Anthony-Towns (don't forget the only reason Wiggins started last year's opener was because Martin was a gametime scratch)
C - Gorgui Dieng
Deep reserves: A.Payne, A.Bennett.
On Bennett: He's making north of $5 million annually, I know they want to move that deal but who is taking that realistically? He shouldn't be on the court right now, so I don't know why somebody would deal with us opposed to just waiting to see what Flip decides on the player option that's coming very, very soon. The only thing I can think of is that Flip would deal Bennett's deal for an older player on a longer deal that's equally bad, but at a spot of need (like perimeter defense, especially on the second unit). That's the only scenario I can visualize, because we'd be addressing another need while still paying them more than they deserve, where the team absorbing Bennett and his deal would be taking a chance on Bennett and his tools that don't make him a complete foregone bust.
Why:
(SG and SF are tough - because Saunders really likes to get Shabazz in mismatches with SG so he can post them up - so LaVine may be odd man out in the rotation unless he and Shabazz can switch on defense. Flip was intimating the same with PA in an interview. PA asked a question about LaVine, and Flip said at the end of a long-winded answer, 'Younger guys might not be able to play through so many mistakes with the higher expectations and bodies we have coming in. So that tells me he might be thinking about a Bazz-Budinger SG-SF backup line. By the way, can I point out I'm not at all sold on Shabazz yet?) ...
I think at the midway point of the season we could be finishing games with this lineup: Rubio-Martin-Wiggins-Towns-Garnett, but I like the idea of having Towns-Dieng coming off the bench together so we can see right away if they have a future as a frontcourt together. Plus, Towns' ability to extend while Dieng hangs around the paint and cleans up the boards is an improvement, from the outset, from Thaddeus Young's ability to extend with Dieng hanging around the paint. Young has pseudo range, Towns actually has it.
Just saw some interesting quotes from Milt Newton from this video pre-draft, regarding separate things on Garnett and then Payne:
On Garnett's involvement in the draft process: "Kevin's input is to the extent of - when we have top guys, he's come and watch our guys workout, and given his little bits of knowledge while they're here. Can't share too much with them, because if he does come back, he'll have to play against them. Being who he is, I've been told and I've seen -- he'd like to be known as the greatest teammate ever. He has a wealth of knowledge ... [he looks at the guys we have come in] and see if they're willing listeners. That's the role he's taken on."
On if the Timberwolves organization had a jump start on the 2015 NBA Draft because of the midseason trade to pick up Adreian Payne: "Uh, yes, um, Adreian's a player we targeted in last year's draft. Came down between him and Zach [LaVine], we decided to, you know, go for the home run and chose Zach. But when we were in the position to pick up AP, we were really happy, to the point where we said, 'Wow, we got both players that we wanted in the previous draft.' So, we really like his skillset, uh, his tenacity, and he was with us, uh, for the latter part of the season. We feel with the training camp, the summer league, and the vet camp, he'll be better for us. So yes, he did get a leg up, not only for him, but for our other young players, having that group together and seeing them grow. So we're happy to be in the position we're in right now."
Interesting goal for Garnett... wants to be known as 'the greatest teammate ever.' Not one of - the. Who knows how you actually accomplish that but.
And then I had no idea they were THAT into Payne, where they were at No. 13 last year and it was between LaVine and Payne. Some people were on Gary Harris there for us, but Flip/Milt were way onto Payne, Izzo's other guy it seems.
Stop heeding Izzo's advice, Flip. He's half your friend, half trying to hustle you into making one of his recruits into a lottery pick. Izzo recruited Towns (thank god he didn't recruit Okafor...). Had we drafted Adreian Payne outright at No. 13, that would have been awful. Just awful. What we gave up in the trade with Atlanta was terrible too, but at least what they gave up can be reduced based circumstantially.
