Thursday, August 30, 2007

I Heart KG is moving

I am now over at Twolves Blog. Please come check it out.

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/30/2007 11:25:00 PM Comments: 16

Wolves Updates 8/30

The Timberwolves site on Al Jefferson and Randy Wittman hosting kids from the Minneapolis Waite House:
The 58 kids and two Waite House staff members in attendance at Wednesday's lunch-in at NBA City and shopping spree in the Target Center's media room were on a school bus when the I35W bridge collapsed...


Jefferson on why he decided to help out:
"Being a young guy, I was real shocked when (the trade) happened," Jefferson said Wednesday. "So I got through that. I got here and I realized this was the best situation for me.

"Then (the bridge collapse) happened and it was just like, 'Wow.' So it was a strange time for me. Then we had to come back and redo the press conference a week later. It was just bad for me. A lot of things were happening in a short period of time. So I knew I had to do something then."

WCCO has video of the event. Other players donated money to benefit the kids and there are also plans to them shopping for winter clothes.


Ted Silary/Philadelphia Daily News on Eddie Griffin's funeral.


From Matt Steinmetz/Examiner.com:
It will be a long season in Minneapolis. It is unrealistic to expect Minnesota will lose Kevin Garnett and get better. Ricky Davis, Al Jefferson and Mark Blount? That’s not good enough.


The Nuggets waived former Timberwolves player Anthony Carter.

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/30/2007 02:18:00 AM Comments: 2

Wolves assistant to Sacramento

From the Sacramento Kings website:
The The Sacramento Kings today added Rex Kalamian to their coaching staff as an assistant coach, it was announced by Kings' President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie.

"Rex brings a lot of experience to the job," said Petrie. "Reggie intervied a lot of people and felt he would be the best fit for the remaining vacancy on his staff. We all look forward to working with him and the contribution he can make."

Kalamian, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves, enters his first season with the Kings and 15th year overall in the NBA. He served as an assistant coach for player development for the Denver Nuggets in 2004-05.

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/30/2007 12:58:00 AM Comments: 1

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Mark Cuban on KG

From Mike Fisher/Dallas Blog:
“We went after KG hard. But – and maybe I shouldn’t say this – dealing with Minnesota was very tough. They didn’t want to trade him but they knew they had to. I guess we’ve been on the other side of that, with guys we had to trade that we didn’t want to trade. ...

“We thought we were very close on Draft Day. We were waiting for the phone to ring, we were waiting on a call from Minnesota. It was that close. But it never turned out that way. Our goal was to try to make a deal that wouldn’t hurt our roster as it was. You don’t want to go out there with Dirk and KG and three guys named Moe. You’ve got to have a team. We tried, but in the end, we didn’t offer as good a deal as Boston."

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/29/2007 09:28:00 PM Comments: 0

Miami turns down "overtures" from T-Hud

From Barry Jackson/Miami Herald:
The Heat declined overtures from point guard Troy Hudson, a proven scorer.

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/29/2007 01:05:00 PM Comments: 0

Wolves Updates 8/29

Al Jefferson and Coach Wittman are hosting lunch and providing school supplies for the kids from the Waite House, the program whose kids and staff were on the school bus on the I-35W bridge when it collapsed.


Kare 11 has video of Corey Brewer and Chris Richard at the Minnesota State Fair.


From Mike Max/WCCO:
The recently-acquired Wolves player, Al Jefferson has moved to the Twin Cities and is working out with coaches daily.

And did you know first round pick Cory Brewer was offered a scholarship by every SEC team coming out of high school but one? The only one not to offer him one was Kentucky, who then head coach Tubby Smith told Brewer he was not big enough.



Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site talks to Randy Foye about his offseason. On Brewer looking to him for leadership during the summer league, Foye said:
I've played against Corey before, and he knows that I'm quiet and humble, but I'm an assassin. I'm not the rowdy type that needs to tell everyone what I'm doing. I'm not the type to dunk and look in the crowd; if I dunk, I'll look at my teammates and say, "Good pass." I'm not playing for the crowd, I'm playing for my teammates. Hopefully the younger guys around me see how I act in that leadership role and can do the same thing.


Click here for info on the league's "official secondary ticketing partner" for the October preseason game between the Wolves and the Celtics.



posted by Lil Dice @ 8/29/2007 01:53:00 AM Comments: 0

Hassell and Hudson attend Griffin's funeral

Along with Garnett, Troy Hudson and Trenton Hassell attended Eddie Griffin's funeral in Philadelphia.


Mike Jensen/Philadelphia Inquirer on the service for the player.


Gilbert Arenas on Griffin's death:
I heard about Eddie Griffin. Oh man. I didn’t know him personally, but for a guy who was in my draft, you just have to hope he rests in peace and give condolences to his family. When I found out I was like, “What?! Oh my God!” When I called other players it was all the same, everybody was going crazy and just like, “Damn. How’d he get hit by a train?”

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/29/2007 01:44:00 AM Comments: 0

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Aschburner gives the team a "C-"

Steve Aschburner/SI.com grades the teams in the Northwest Division and gives the Wolves a C-.

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/28/2007 03:37:00 PM Comments: 0

Griffin's funeral

SI.com on Eddie Griffin's funeral:
Kevin Garnett, his former Timberwolves teammate, former Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker and former NBA coach John Lucas were among the 200 friends, players and family members who attended the service at First African Baptist Church.


Also:
Griffin's sister, Marian Middleton, told the crowd to ignore stories that portrayed Griffin as troubled or spoiled, and that indicated there was anything suspicious about his death. Middleton said Griffin was excited about spending upcoming birthdays with his nieces and nephews and would never waste those opportunities because he loved his family.

"Everything you read, throw it in the trash, like he was so unhappy and it was all planned," she said.

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/28/2007 03:30:00 PM Comments: 0

Updates Part II

From Britt Robson/On The Ball:
Anyone scanning Minnesota's roster will notice a void of veteran leadership, at a time when the post-KG wake promises to wash up all kinds of pecking order disputes, even as Randy Wittman implements the hard-ass discipline that has been the most frequent justification made for his rehiring. Bottom line, the Wolves need Howard's level head and mitigating demeanor, especially with clubhouse balm Mark Madsen waylaid by a watercraft incident. Too bad for Juwon, who isn't getting any younger and wants a shot at a ring-- or at least a chance to believe his role as lead babysitter will lead to tangible rewards before he retires.


Ryan Gomes "led his team to victory" in the 15th Annual Osgood Shootout.


On the NBA Live Summer Camp in Canada on Wednesday:
Along with Arenas, NBA stars Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics), Josh Howard (Dallas Mavericks), Monta Ellis (Golden State Warriors), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns) and Randy Foye (Minnesota Timberwolves) will be on hand to have their go-to moves authentically represented in NBA LIVE through motion capture.


Wolves assistant Rex Kalamian is one of the coaches for the NBA Korea Development camp.

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/28/2007 12:32:00 PM Comments: 0

Wolves Updates 8/28

Click here to watch Corey Brewer and Fred Hoiberg golfing with WCCO's Mark Rosen and hear the rookie talk briefly about his love for golf.


KFAN's Sludge and Lake talk to Brewer and Chris Richard at the Minnesota State Fair. Click here to listen.


Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site chats with assistant GM Rob Babcock about the Fiba America's Tournament.


Ryan/Hoops Addict interviews Ballhype's Jason Gurney about the site.




posted by Lil Dice @ 8/28/2007 02:07:00 AM Comments: 0

Monday, August 27, 2007

Wolves Updates 8/27

From the Tatum Cadmus Blog, Chris Rock on the Garnett trade:
"It's like Dick Cheney and Halliburton,” Rock said. “It makes no sense (for the T'Wolves)…I almost expect to see Kevin McHale announced as the new coach of the Celtics.”


Shoals/Fanhouse- "There's a Logjam Up in Minny"


Click here for info on the 25th Anniversary of the song 'NBA Rap'


John Lucas on Eddie Griffin:
"He'd give you the shirt off his back," said John Lucas, the former NBA player and coach who has turned to counseling troubled athletes. "I had two friends put out of their house. Ed took them in. They slept on his sofa. He put blankets on them. A lot of ways, he was selfless to a fault."


From Shira Springer/The Boston Globe:
"When he gets back onto the court for a drill, the intensity level goes up about five notches," said former Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey of Garnett. "If a guy's slacking off, he'll tell a guy, but he leads by example. He'll embarrass guys. He's always the first one to dive on the floor.

"He can't stand young guys not giving their all and working as hard as he does. If a guy matches his intensity in practice, he'll love that."


Ben Bolch/LA Times on O.J. Mayo:
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound guard has also displayed his considerable skills in pickup games throughout the Southland against an impressive array of NBA players, including Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Sam Cassell and J.J. Redick.


Maurice Draine/Hibbing Daily News on the new Celtics

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/27/2007 01:35:00 AM Comments: 1

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Wolves Updates 8/26

Eddie Griffin's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday.


Jerome Solomn/Houston Chronicle and Larry Mcshane/AP on Griffin's path to the NBA.


From Michael Cunningham/South Florida Sun-Sentinel:
Agent Bill Neff said he's been in contact with the Heat about guard Troy Hudson. The 10-year veteran played 34 games last season with Minnesota.


From Charley Walters/Pioneer Press:
 The Timberwolves report that they have heard from fewer than 30 season-ticket holders who said they would drop their seats because of the trade of Kevin Garnett to the Celtics. The Wolves are trying to get them to reconsider.

Glen Taylor, who has vowed to become a hands-on owner of his Timberwolves this season, plans to accompany the team to training camp in Turkey and Great Britain this fall.


Stephen Litel/Hoopsworld- The Case For Starting Corey Brewer.


Bullets Forever lists Juwan Howard as the 15th best Bullets/Wizards player of all time.


HoopsAddict with "Celebrity-NBA Namealikes- The Musical."


UCLA's Kevin Love on playing against Garnett in pickup games.


Reggie Miller on why he's not making a comeback:
"Um . . . I don't know. I don't know. I've been wrestling with this all day. I'm sure I'll keep wrestling with it. I know I could have done it. And it would have been fun to play with KG (Kevin Garnett). It was hard telling him I wasn't going to do it. I don't know if Boston can win a championship, but I think they're going to be one of the best teams in the East, and they'll definitely have a chance to go a long way.''

posted by Lil Dice @ 8/26/2007 02:26:00 AM Comments: 0