Hungry Like the Wolf

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Minnesota is the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, they end the year with a 58 and 24 record. Pekovic has played wonderfully at PF using his strength to his advantage and playing completely rested, he is averaging 18.1 PPG. Ronald Sandler is now the starting PG and David McDermott is a scoring machine.

The Timberwolves face Chris Paul's Hornet, if they get past this first round they will be even stronger considering they have David West waiting in the wings for the second round of the playoffs.

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Game 1(W): The Timberwolves defeated the Hornets 125 to 107 at home. McDermott scored 25 points to take home the game's MVP.

Game 2(W): The Timberwolves won game 2 with Ronald Sandler scoring 17 and adding 11 assists. Teoh nearly had a triple double scoring twelve grabbing ten boards and dishing out 7 assists. The game was not without its downside however as Pekovic tweaked his ankle and will be questionable for a few games.

Game 3(W): The Timberwolves won on the strength of their rebounding and their guards. McDermott scored 31, Sandler added 26 and Noah grabbed 16 rebounds.

Game 4(W): The Timberwolves sweep the Hornets, McDermott scored 36, Travis Tennell added 19 with 10 assists off the bench and Noah had 20 points and 14 rebounds.

It will be about a week before David West can get any playing time.

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Game 1(L): The Timberwolves were upset by the 6th seeded Nuggets in the first game. Carmelo Anthony took over scoring 31 in the upset.

Game 2(W): The Timberwolves were able to defeat the Nuggets 121 to 98. The Timberwolves played a great team game, Sandler scored 28 to lead all scorers.

Game 3(L): The Nuggets again upset the Timberwolves this was despite McDermott scoring a game high 32. Carmelo went to the line 20 times and scored 30 points despite only shooting 6-21. Toeh was visibly upset about referee calls and eventually was called for two technicals.

Game 4(W): The Timberwolves played a rough game, but came out ahead. Teoh playing with a newnewed enthusiasm fouled out in the process of guarding Anthony but held him to 17 points. Overall the team defense was fantastic the high scoring Nuggets were held to 90 points.

Game 5(W): Pekovic dominated scoring 38 points, Anthony was held to 16 points the end result was a 10 point win 114-104.

Game 6(L): The Peaks forced a game 7, John Wall scored 29 points with 12 assists to win the game MVP. David West has been coming off the bench due to Pekovic's great play of late.

Game 7:(L) The Timberwolves ended a disappointing post season by losing to the Nuggets in the second round, Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and forced Teoh to foul out. Teoh will be fined by the NBA for arguing that the officiating was incorrect to foul him out. Teoh was two assists shy of a triple double when he fouled out. The largest problem however was that the Minnesota's starting back court was relegated to a total of 14 points.

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In the end the Nuggets took their amazing run all the way to the finals where they lost to LeBron James and the Heat in seven games. Overall I am very encouraged by this year. At the end of the year we proved that Pekovic can play an effective PF in this league, this makes David West's massive contract something I can trade for more roster depth.

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No. 1 Pick goes to NY, despite only having a 3.4% chance, conspiracy theorists go crazy.

No. 2 goes to Phoenix

No. 3 goes to Detroit

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MVP: Dwight Howard
Defensive POTY: Dwight Howard
6th Man: Ronald Sandler(14.3 PPG mostly off the bench)
ROTY: Svyatapolk Guseniv("The Name")
Coach of the Year: Stan Van Gundy
Again no Timberwolve love for any of the all NBA teams or all NBA defensive teams.

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PG

Alvin Stokes: A Well rounded 21 year old prospect who should be able to contribute immediately.

SG

Phil Moore: A young player with an increasing range, he should be a good scorer in a couple of years.

SF

Shota Makharadrze: This Estonian is most likely the No. 1 pick. Shota dominated offensively and defensively in the Euro league as a rookie.

PF

Mike Keys: A rare big man that can shoot from the outside, he will be highly coveted at 23 he is a little old for the draft but he seems to be a late bloomer.

C

Jason Johnson: A huge presence below the basket, but lacks speed and a refined game.

Overall I am not too thrilled about this draft class, despite this the Wolves have the 20th and 28th pick, we will look to add depth and/or trade bait.

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1. Shota Makharadze(No surprise here.)
2. Bart Rivera(SG with explosive first step)
3. Mike Keys(Should be a good PF for Detroit)

Timberwolves
Pick 20: Emeka Howard(a raw but defensively gifted PG, I have trepidation over him considering he shoots below 60% from the FT line and he is a PG)

Pick 28: Bryan Evans(PF whose upside is merely a solid backup.)

Pick 40: Tyrik Knocks(A SG who can shoot when open but that's about it.)

Pick 58: David Dawson(A C who is big and can score off garbage points.)

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No one on the roster has an expiring contract and we are almost 9 million in the hole. The ownership is demanding that I reduce the salaries immediately. I am concerned that I will have to unload talent in exchange for salary space. I lament my position as I think the Wolves are close to being Championship material.

On the trading block
Travis Tennell(Good PG who is no longer the starter and wants a trade)
Emeka Howard(A raw PG who I really find hard seeing with the Wolves long term, he might be highly valued by other organizations.)
David West(He has a huge contract and even though I have an option to not renew his contract next year he holds a lot of value in some circles, especially coming off a career year(although marred by injury in the second half of the season)
Jevin Dixon(A young center that some teams feel might develop into something good, a very valuable trade commodity.)
Joakim Noah(A big expiring contract that has lots of value and has already stated he will not re-sign with the Wolves.)

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Houston Gets
Travis Tennell
Jaokim Noah
Tarik Knox

Minnesota gets
Louis Scola
Kevin Martin
Jeff Smith

Winner: Houston definitely won the trade there is no denying it. Noah is a premier center and Travis Tennell is a starting quality PG. Minnesota does get themselves more bench depth but the lose of Noah will hurt. Minnesota did this trade primarily as a money saving maneuver. The Timberwolves ownership got roundly criticized for forcing the front office to make a move like this.