Kevin Love made the cut for the USA team today. Among those trimmed from the roster are Tyreke Evans, O.J. Mayo, Gerald Wallace JaVale McGee.
Love should flourish on this year’s squad being one of only three power forwards on the squad. And the absence of any superstar power forwards like Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett will allow Love and others to showcase their talents on the world’s biggest stage.
Congrats, Love!
The Timberwolves have finalized a buyout from a Greek team for big man Nikola Pekovic, clearing the way for a three-year, $13 million contract.
Great move here.
Thoughts anyone?
And in case you missed it, venture your way into NBA Playbook to get the scoop on Pekovic.
Here’s a fantastic, thorough and articulated analysis of Wolves (soon-to-be) newcomer Nikola Pekovic.
Via Jerry Zgoda’s Twitter page:
Jonny Flynn having hip surgery in Colorado today. Sounds like 3 -4 month time is right, should know more 2day after surgery. #Timberwolves
Trading Ramon Sessions the day news breaks that Flynn needs surgery?
How Timberwolves-like?! You know, ironic?
With Flynn out going into the season, the Wolves now have to find a back-up point guard. Do they trade Koufos for one? Do they sign a veteran to a one-year, veteran minimum deal to back up Ridnour? Or do they let newly acquired Sebastian Telfair get another chance in a Wolves uniform?
It’s safe to say that things haven’t gone as planned this summer. Our offseason of questionable moves have only been the reason for others around the league to ridicule this flailing franchise as it teeters on the edge. Will things ever turn around?
No, better question: Will things ever bottom out?
What do you guys think? Express your mind in the comments below.
Unveiled during today’s presser to introduce Luke Ridnour to Minnesota was the reason why rumors surrounding Ramon Sessions’ fate is exactly that; just rumors.
Last season Jonny Flynn injured his hip and was bothered through the end of the season. That injury has continued to nag him this summer even keeping him from playing in Las Vegas for summer league.
During today’s presser, Kahn mentioned that Flynn’s hip is continuing to nag and that they are looking into different treatment options to patch him up. Kahn made it clear that he does not want to go into the season with three point guards…If they’re healthy, that is. It would be a serious logjam if we did.
If Flynn’s hip grows into a serious problem which could require surgery or any long-term treatment that goes beyond October, the Wolves will be content rolling into the season with two healthy guards in Ridnour and Sessions. Both have the tools and drive to compete for a starting job and the wherewithal to slide back into a reserve role behind the other.
That should answer any questions on Sessions. There’s no reason to panic and trade him away frantically, similar to what happened with Al Jefferson. The Wolves will hold onto him to see if his market grows or to find out whether Flynn will be ready to go by the start of next season.
Some good stuff out there today; good enough to put out your favorite Wolf Tracks! Here are today’s Wolf Tracks:
Timberwolf Tracks:
The Timberwolves report sales of about 400 new season tickets from their “pay the pick” promotion that priced seats based on their NBA lottery pick (No. 4). That means those season tickets sell for $172 apiece.
The Wolves say they have an overall season-ticket renewal rate of about 85 percent on a full-season equivalent of nearly 6,000 tickets.
Via Darren Wolfson’s Twitter account:
It’s obvious that the Wolves are keenly going after Lee but nothing will happen until the “Big 3″ pick their spots (Ugh this is becoming annoying!)
Wolf Track: Sessions to Cavs?
July 19, 2010 — JSteinmeyerThe rumors are starting to flare and things are heating up:
Bringing in Ridnour was a sure enough sign that Sessions was going to be packing his bags very soon. But is it worth it?
Two very similar players coming from the same situation in Milwaukee. What makes Kahn think that Ridnour can come in and do things differently than Sessions did this past season? Was it the career year he had for the Bucks this past season? Many analysts, John Hollinger’s very outspoken about this, call Ridnour’s past season a serious fluke, which makes you wonder if Kahn only compared statistical years between Ridnour and Sessions. If so, this could be a wrong move considering the age difference between the two. But Ridnour’s experience could actually work well for the Wolves. He could mentor Flynn like he did to Jennings in Milwaukee.
According to the report, if Sessions does indeed get traded to the Cavs, we will receive Delonte West in return. Instead of keeping West, he would then be released before Aug. 5th because his $4.6 million contract is only guaranteed for $500,000 (It says it all above.)
Kahn is really just trying to open up cap space. With this move we can actually knock $4 million off the books; the potential trade just means Sessions for Ridnour in the long run. But for what? What is the reason for shedding all this cap space while other teams are frantically going on spending sprees?
Well, next summer with negotiations over a new bargaining agreement and a lockout looming, the amount of money that players can potentially acquire will decrease because of the different rules that teams will be playing with around the salary cap — That’s why many players are looking to cash in this summer rather than next; more stability. So instead of paying a max contract this year, next year’s max contracts could be considerably less. The Wolves are setting themselves up nicely to acquire a solid player at the trade deadline or next summer due to all this cap space we will carry into the season. And all of this starts with these penny pinching moves that Kahn is making.
Smart guy after all takes via national media.