Hungry Like the Wolf

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Finals

Dallas(63-19) was defeated by Miami (57-25) in six games. Lebron James was the MVP of the series.

(I am sorry I meant to post the results for all the playoff games but I exited the playoffs and didn't want to do all the work necessary.)

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The moment of truth has come upon the franchise a lot has been invested in lottery picks for 2011, and the Wolves stand to get 4 picks out of this one draft lottery. Without further ado here are the results.

14. Atlanta
13. San Antonio
12. Philielphia
11. Minnesota
10. Phoenix
9. Minnesota
8. Los Angeles(Clippers)
7. Minnesota
6. Washington
5. Detroit
4. Minnesota
3. Charlotte
2. Toronto
1. Sacramento

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MVP: Dwight Howard 25.1 PPG 14.9 RPG
Defensive POTY: Dwight Howard
Sixth Man: Memhet Okur
Coach Of the Year: Monty Williams(Hornets)
Rookie of the Year: Evan Turner 20.9 PPG

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The entire coaching staff was let go following the season. I feel that this team is going to need a coaching staff with a strong record of developing players since there will be four lottery picks coming into the team next year.

The New Coaching Staff is...

Jeff Van Gundy: Gundy was offered a lucrative amount of money to coach Minnesota, he realizes that it will be years before the team will be a contender, but he sees the team as a challenge and he seemed to really like the ownership and the GM. Gundy's contract is for four years and it is guarenteed, however Gundy and opt out. The new ownership got a massive amount of good press for this hire, fans are starting to get excited.

T.R. Dunn: Although he has no head coaching experience Dunn has had years as in the NBA developing players, he is also a good X's and O's coach, Dunn could easily step in as head coach if needed.

Chip Engellend: Engellend was brought in mainly to help with big men and their development.

Tom Barrise: Barrise was hired to help train wings and guards, Barrise also evaluates defense well.

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1. PF Akin Carr: A 20 year old PF with tremendous upside, he has a post game and the coveted mid-range jumper so many GMs want in their power forwards. Carr is actually a bit of a project, but his upside is unparalleled.

2. SF Bruno Pimenta: The greatest prospect ever to come out of Brazil, Primenta posts up like a PF, but has the speed and shooting ability of a SG.

3. SG Walter Johnson: An expert scorrer and 3pt shooter, who is undersized for his position. This is actually my favorite prospect and I hope he falls to No.

4. SG Xavier Henderson: Despite the fact that lots of scouts love this guy I am not too high on his lack of a jump shot for a SG.

5. SF Adam DeLoach: DeLoach is a lot like Henderson, but DeLoach's height and size make him more valuable.

6. SF/PF Shang-de Teoh: He's 6'9" and he has absolutely dominated against inferior competition from China, little else is known about this fascinating prospect.

7. SF DeMario Bradley: Yet another physical wing in a draft stacked with them, Bradley is a slasher and has the ability to get to the foul line.

8. SF Aaron Conrad: And again another raw young Wing. Aaron Conrad's position in this draft very well might slide considering there are so many more skilled SFs in the draft.

9. PG Shannon Driggards: A college player out of the division 2 school who actually averaged a triple double in college, Minnesota has its eyes on this prospect big time.

10. SG/PG James Whitefield: A tweener guard with good scoring ability and athleticism.

11. C Justin Henderson: The premier post player in this years draft, he has rebounding something that the Timberwolves desperately need.

12. C Mike Griffin: Not a polished player at all, but he possesses all the physical tools to be a dominant center.

13. SF/PF Stephane Walker: A 6'10" player who has the ability to play SF. Stephane Walker needs to add strength, he has a good 3pt shoot for someone of his size.

14. C Maurice Miller: A big man with some skill in the post and not much else. He is raw but talented.

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The Moment of Truth is Here:

1. DeLoach
2. Pimenta
3. Johnson(Minnesota just missed out on their no. 1 choice)
4. Toeh(An exciting prospect out of China.)
5. Bradley
6. Driggers(A shocker at this position, Minnesota was really looking for him to lead the team as the next PG)
7. Tennell(A PG that really showed up during the combines, this pick shocked my but Minnesota was really looking for a PG.)
8. X. Henderson
9. J. Henderson C(the best center in the draft possibly)
10. Carr
11. Whitefield(Minnesota was happy he fell to 11.)
12. Griffin
13 Conrad
14 Turner

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Next... Hungry Like a Wolf The Rebuild Season 2.

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All of the rookies were given max extensions on their rookie contracts. The following players were renounced.

Hamed Haddadi
Corey Brewer(The team will miss his defense, but not his terrible offense, he was too expensive to resign for what the team would get out of him.)
Sebastian Telfair
Maurice Ager
Jamario Moon(The team will not exercise their option, again his defense will be missed but he is not a complete enough player going forward.)

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Going to the Summer League for the Timberwolves are

PG Travis Tennell
SG James Whitfield
SF Shang-de Teoh
PF Kosta Koufos
C Nikola Pekovic
C Hasheem Thabeat
C Justin Henderson

This team should perform well since many of these players might actually start for the team next year. This will be a big indicator of how well the Wolves will do next year.

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Vs. Washington (W) Justin Henderson makes a strong debut with 15 rebounds (8 offensive) and 16 points.
Vs. New Jersey (L) The Wolves lost by 3 points Tennell had a good game with 15 points and 6 assists.
Vs. Detroit (W) The Wolves win this, among many great performances Travis Tennell continued to turn heads, he scored 25 points on 11 shots(14 trips to the line) and also racked up 12 assists.
Vs. Dallas (L) Dallas barely beat the Wolves in this close match up Whitfield had a great game scoring 21 on 14 shots. Justin Henderson continues to get many rebounds.
Vs. The Clippers(W)Nikola Pekovic stole the show scoring 19 and grabbing 10 rebounds. The poor play of Shang-de Teoh are starting to get some experts worried he will not live up to his hype.

Overall Record 3-2
There were many good performances by the rookies only Teoh had a poor outing. All of the loses were close, the Wolves could have easily come out of the summer league 5-0.