The T-Wolves win their first game, but still get criticized.
Dream season
A trade here, a free-agent signing there, and the Wolves are on their way to the conference finals. Can you believe it?
Pioneer Press
The pile at midcourt got so big that, frankly, coach Flip Saunders became nervous.
Somewhere in that sweaty, smelly, laughing, crying, celebrating bunch of Timberwolves were his all-stars, Kevin Garnett and Andre Miller. And when 255-pound teammate Rodney Rogers jumped on top of the gyrating mass, Saunders gasped almost as loudly as that hill of humans.
“All I could think was, ‘No injuries, guys; we’re going to the conference championships!’ ” Saunders said later with a laugh. “I think A.D. (Antonio Daniels) bruised his arm a little bit, but he said it was worth it.”
And why not? The Wolves on that brisk Minnesota night in May 2003 accomplished what no one had thought possible a year earlier: a showdown with the Sacramento Kings for the right to go to the NBA Finals. This after winning a franchise-record 57 games, earning home-court advantage in the playoffs and playing into the second round for the first time.
“We haven’t just taken a step,” Garnett said after extricating himself from his mountain of teammates. “We’ve taken steps. But we’re not done yet.”Improbable? Not when you consider the moves that might have been made by management after Minnesota lost in the first round of the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season in 2001-02. Such as trading guard Wally Szczerbiak for Miller. Or signing Rogers, a free agent. Then swapping shooting guard Anthony Peeler for Daniels. And more.
Not when you consider what might have been in 2002-03 — if only ….
All right, hold it right there. I’m sick of this garbage. It seems as if they’re giving away cash to anyone who takes a cheap shot at the Timberwolves, cause it’s all the rage among sports reporters. This article above, attempts to take a look into the crystal ball and figure out what would have happened had the Wolves been able to make more moves in the off-season. Suddenly this guy thinks that by making a few moves the Wolves could have gone from what he thinks is a possible lottery-run to the Conference finals, and I can’t help but ask – What’s he smoking? Sure, the Wolves could have pulled off a move here or there that would’ve improved the team, but guys this is a team that’s only sprung a few leaks, believe me, this ship is far from sinking. What if we gave ol’ Robbi his “dream team” for the Wolves… Would they really end up in the Conference Finals? Well to do this we’d have to lose Wally Szczerbiak for Andre Miller. That means we don’t sign Troy Hudson, so he’s out too. We lose Peeler for Antonio Daniels. And we get Rodney Rodgers via free agency. So this is what the team’s starting lineup looks like with this group, compared to what the Wolves have now.
Point Guard – Andre Miller vs. Troy Hudson
Shooting Guard – Umm…no Wally or Peeler…maybe Daniels or Kendall Gill? vs. Wally Szczerbiak
Small Forward – Kevin Garnett vs. Kevin Garnett
Power Forward – Rodney Rodgers vs. Joe Smith
Center – Rasho Nesterovic vs. Rasho Nesterovic
Let me tell you this. The team on the right is no better than the team on the left. Troy Hudson is a lot better than we all thought. Plus if Brandon comes back what are you going to do? You now have two players at the same leadership position that warrant fat contracts. This doesn’t work – look at the Patriots. The one team has absolutely no 2 guards. Andre Miller can have fun racking up assists passing to Kendall Gill. KG and Rasho stay the same. There’s an upgrade at power forward, but that’s the least of the Wolves concern as they already have a backup at that position with some ok guys. So for all the whining everybody had done about the Wolves off-season, there really wasn’t much improving possible. You can’t trade Wally for a point guard without shopping Brandon to some other team. And what are you going to get in return for a broken point guard that’s better than clearing 10 million off the cap each year if he retires. And if he returns, there’s no need for a trade anyway.
It’s not just the locals though. Bill Simmon’s, I love your stuff. You’re my favorite sports writer, but it would be an understatement to say I was a bit miffed at your NBA Preview. After wading through your paragraphs on Denver, Golden State, Cleveland, and Chicago, I finally reach your thoughts on the T-Wolves:
9. Minnesota
I’m not in the mood.
What is that? I don’t think there is a more disrespectful way to write about a team than to not even respect them enough to disrespect them. You could have trashed them and gone on with your preview. Sure I would have been steamed, and I am steamed that you didn’t even give them a playoff spot, but this was the lowest blow going. I’m not in the mood. Well buddy, maybe I just won’t be in the mood to read your column next time…not that you care….or that I probably will read it anyway…but…..grrr…..
So you see here’s the type of garbage I have to deal with everyday just to check up on the T-Wolves. And after the Wolves win their opener, you would think there’d be some local writer willing to pat the Wolves on the back for a victory well earned. Well, let me tell you, their backs have gotten very little attention. Instead, we get headlines like, “Well, a Win’s a Win.” What is this garbage? Your team wins it’s opener, is tied for first place in the division with only one other team, and all you can say is a win’s a win? What about – Wow! Troy Hudson scores 22 – Aren’t we glad we picked him up this year! You think Billups was putting up 22? What about – until they took KG, Troy, and Peeler out of the game, the Wolves had a 25 point lead? Did Denver rally, yes, but those guys were out, and it’s the first game of the season. Let’s get a little positive here, unless you feel like complaining for the next 81 games. I mean, why root for this team? It’s so much more fun to criticize it. Sure, things aren’t rosy, but you think you’re constant bashing of KG, of Flip Saunders, of Kevin McHale, of Troy Hudson is going to make them get any better? Guess again. Look we’ve got 81 games left. That’s 324 more quarters of basketball. 3,888 minutes of game time. And if this team can does what I believe it can do, we’ve got more than one playoff series to watch too. So if you don’t like the direction the Wolves have taken, you’d better get used to it, cause it’s not changing any time soon. These are our guys this season, this is the team we’ve got to get behind. Let’s make this the best season in Wolves history. Things are rough, but the easy road isn’t always the best one anyway. To quote a certain man with a 126 million dollar contract – “Life is tough. You can’t run from everything.”
