Howlin' T-Wolf

Almost immediately after Lebron’s “decision,” ESPN’s bottom line scrolled that the Knicks had traded David Lee to the Warriors for a package surrounding Anthony Randolph.

The deal? Lee walks away with 6 years, $80 mill. Wow.

Whether it was unforeseen luck that Kahn shied from acquiring Lee or just didn’t offer the best package, Kahn looked like a genius last night amidst Pat Riley’s time in the limelight.

Instead of nabbing David Lee for the next six years, six years that will be dominated by only a handful of teams in the NBA anyway, the Wolves scooped up a former 2nd overall pick in ‘08 and a considerably cheaper, younger and more of a short-term option in Michael Beasley.

Beasley, only 21, has had a rough go so far in the NBA and hasn’t quite lived up to his billing. He came into this league with so much upside, but proved that his red flags were unavoidable. The Heat and Beasley’s relationship struggled greatly for the last two years, mostly off the court. Just last summer, Beasley had a falling out and reportedly checked himself into a rehab clinic in Houston. And even before that, Beasley was caught up in a bad situation with fellow Heat teammates Mario Chalmers and Darrel Arthur where the police responded to a fire alarm at 2 a.m. and said that the room strongly smelled of marijuana burning.

It’s clear that Beasley has the talent, though, but so far it hasn’t been enough to overcome his hard attitude and off-court issues. But with the Minnesota Timberwolves, that could all change.

David Kahn has done a terrific job of bringing in high-energy players with positive attitudes. Jonny Flynn, Wes Johnson, Corey Brewer, Kevin Love, Martell Webster, Wayne Ellington; there’s not one bad egg on this team. That is why I think Beasley could succeed here in Minny  and slowly start to turn his career, but even more, his life around. There is nothing but upside that results from this trade.

Off the court, the move makes sense and so it does on the court. If Beasley finds good minutes here in Minny, it could prove to be a great trade. In Miami, Beasley didn’t get the minutes he deserved, which is rather surprising considering his talents. In his first two season, Beasley averaged under 30 minutes a game. Give the kid a break; he needs time to develop and, as a coach, giving him minutes is the best thing you can do. I could see him and Love or Jefferson playing next to each other, meaning that his minutes should grow above that 30-minute mark.

Player 48-Minute Production by Position

Stats via 82games.com

You can see that if given the minutes, Beasley’s going to contribute. An 18.9 PER? That would be the second best PER behind Kevin Love.

The Wolves will find minutes for Beasley because it’s easy to shuffle him around with his versatility. Beasley can play small forward. Actually, his game is more suited for him to stay on the perimeter because he lacks great strength in the post but holsters a good jump shot and can increase his range to three-point land. Whether he or Love would start at the 4, it would be simple to move him to the when Wes Johnson sits and the Wolves could go with a bigger frontcourt of Beasley, Love and Darko. Now that’s length.

The Wolves addressed a few needs last night by trading for Beasley. They grabbed an upside player, looking for a home. (Sounds familiar, eh? Darko…) Beasley brings athleticism and some perimeter shooting, two serious needs this offseason that had yet to be met until last night. Our perimeter defense has yet to be fixed and Beasley’s arrival won’t help the cause.

Opponent Counterpart 48-Minute Production

While Beasley can play a little post defense, and I do think he can play alongside Love or Jefferson because of his athleticism, he gets torched on the perimeter. Nearly 24 ppg in 48 minutes? That can’t happen, not this year. After watching some of the worst perimeter defense last year already, none of us can go another season of that again. Wes Johnson helps and we’re hoping that Flynn’s defense improves, but otherwise the Wolves have failed to meet that need…yet.

Whether this move was made to bring in a versatlile sixth man that has no ceiling, or a potential replacement for Love or Jefferson in next year’s starting lineup, it was the right move. It’s just another piece to the puzzle and it came at a low price. Kahn received great value in this exchange, but there is still work to do. After what originally seemed like a draft night meltdown, Kahn is slowly putting the pieces together and has already made this team that much more exciting for next season.

Things should just get better from here.