Monday, February 12, 2007

Wolves Updates 2/12

The Timberwolves are hosting a "Nickname the Rookies" contest. After seeing this week's list of choices, I hope that Randy Foye and Craig Smith have either veto power or an "opt-out of contests where frustrated fans can vent their anger towards the team by suggesting godawful names by which to refer to me" clause in their contracts.


Sid Hartman writes that owner Glen Taylor says:
-"he is not in the mood to change coaches for a while" and that Randy Wittman will be back next season as the team's head coach.
-currently, "there are no deals cooking to improve the team."
-Eddie Griffin's buyout "will take some time to resolve" and that he will not be rejoining the team


Mike James' reaction to his first non-start of the season:
He wasn't happy when he found out Saturday from coach Randy Wittman that he wouldn't be starting Sunday's game against the Boston Celtics. It wasn't what he had imagined for himself when he joined the Wolves...

James was indicating that he could have been — and might yet be — a better fit elsewhere. His reaction to the change in the starting lineup?

"He's the boss (Wittman), so you've got no choice but to … whatever he says goes, so I can't worry about nothing I have no control over," James said. "I don't think that it was right, but that's his decision, so that's what he went with."


Randy Foye on learning that he was replacing Mike James in the starting lineup for the Celtics game:
"[Wittman] just said, 'I think we need a change' and he asked me if I was ready," said Foye, a rookie from Villanova. "And obviously I'm not going to say no. So I said yeah. He said keep playing how I'm playing. Go out there and make plays."


From Rick Alonzo/Pioneer Press:
Wittman said he doesn't know for sure whether Foye will be the long-term starter in place of Mike James. It appears Foye will start for the foreseeable future. It wouldn't make sense to yank him in and out of the lineup.


Stephen Litel/ SportsPage Magazine with a letter to Mike James about the player not starting last night.