Run With The Pack- The 2009-10 T'wolves Story

Alright, so I've decided to revert back to my franchise story days and start up a T'wolves one. I haven't done one of these in about 3 years, so bear with me in the early going, once I really figure out what I'm doing this should be pretty entertaining.

Anyways, before I begin lemme give you guys the background of what this is gonna be. I wanted to add in the rookies for this upcoming year (Griffin, Thabeet, etc.) so I downloaded some rosters and I'm going to put these players onto their respective teams based on ESPN's Chad Ford's Mock Draft. It wont be perfect with the rookies but it will be interesting.

As for the rest of the League, I'm just going to go through and predict some moves, hopefully I'm not too far off lol.

But yeah, I'm excited to get this started and I hope to keep it going for awhile. Once I get the rosters done and I find someone to make me a banner I should be up and running so stay tuned!

Wolves look for new leadership and winning attitude.
By Troy Messier - Star Tribune


Welcome to the Pack: Jerry West (left) and Avery Johnson (right) are the newest pieces of the Wolves puzzle.

The Timber wolf is normally a pretty intimidating creature. Strong, quick, and smart, this beast seems to be one of nature’s perfect predators. As for the NBA’s Minnesota T’wolves, weak, slow, and well… bad are much better ways to describe them.

Following a disappointing 24-58 season in 2008, Minnesota has had quite a bit of movement this summer. From coach to GM to players, the team needed to make smart moves for smart players.

But you may ask, “Where do they start? They were awful everywhere.”

The re-assigning of much maligned GM Kevin McHale to an “undisclosed position” was one of the many obvious moves to start the ball rolling this summer.

The next logical move has to be a replacement for McHale’s roller coaster 14 years as the teams VP of basketball operations. The move was a surprising one, as T’wolves management negotiated a contract with Laker great and former Grizzlies GM Jerry West. West, who has been out of the league since 2007, will turn 71 this year. West’s age may be a concern, but his eye for talent is not.

The team’s personnel shift continued when the team hired former Mavericks coach and current ESPN analyst Avery Johnson as the head coach. Though Johnson has been considered by some as a over-bearing personality to say the least, he can coach, and with three first round picks in the years Draft he will have pieces to play with.

As the team goes through the draft and the free agency period, the fans an only hope that new management can weild what the McHale years could not-- wins.


Next Post: Draft recap and rookie profiles.

Alright, so what I did with the off-season is I added in the prospects via free agency and placed them as different mock drafts suggested they might go. I also did a test sim to see where diff players would sign so I could have a general idea of where to place this years free agents.

Major Free Agent Moves:

Carlos Boozer to Detroit (4yr deal)
Jason Kidd to New York (2yr deal)
Allen Iverson to Charlotte (1yr deal)
Jamal Crawford to Toronto (3yr deal)
Rasheed Wallace to San Antonio (2yr deal)
Shawn Marion to Sacramento (3yr deal)
Charlie Villanueva to Memphis (5yr deal)

2009 NBA Draft Recap
The T'wolves enter this draft with a very un-Minnesota like 3 first round picks. Following the Joe Smith debacle in 2000, the NBA stripped the team of its next five first round pick, so draft flexibility is something new to fans in the land of 1000 lakes.

The real story of this year's draft may have come from across the Atlantic. Spain's Ricky Rubio, a potential top-3 pick, has been dealing with a contract dispute with European team DKV Joventut. Rubio has spoke out, telling some that he "wont pay out of his pocket" to play for a team like Memphis or Oklahoma City. These complaints may be driven more by agent then player, but by the looks of it he may have scared off a few potential suitors.


#6 Rubio's contract problems scared off the first 5 teams in the draft but the T'wolves jumped on the opportunity to add a potential all-star at PG to go with bigs Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Rubio, 19, may turn out to be the steal of the draft with the Wolves grabbing him at 6. Rubio brings a youthful flare and moxie the team has lacked since Stephon Marbury left town in 1999. Although he lacks real range on his jumpshot, that can be fixed with good coaching and some time in the gym.


#18 BJ Mullens is a guy who many felt made a mistake leaving early for the draft. With only one underwhelming year at Ohio State under his belt, the former number one recruit in the country will be a project for the Wolves. Mullens' size and athleticism is somthing many GMs marvel at, but the mental lapses and complete lack of consistency make some scratch their heads. Mullens wont contribute much at first, but with time he may end up being a very solid player.


#24 DaJuan Summers is an intriguing prospect. With 2 young players alreday on board, the team went with the Georgetown junior at number 24. Summers is an NBA-caliber athlete and an excellent scorer whose game really slipped toward the end of the season, as did his draft stock. On talent, though, he would rate higher, which would make him a value pick for the Wolves.

ESPN Draft Grade: B+

Next Up: Team Roster

Hey man, looks great so far. Can't wait to see Rubio in action for you guys and see how well he performs.

Yep, liking it so far as well.

Settings
Season Length- 29 Games
Team Chemistry- On
Progressive Fatigue- On
Trade Deadline- On
Trade Override- Off
Injuries- On
Playoffs- Best of 5
Quarter Length- 7 mins
Sim Quarter Length- 12 mins

Roster
Starters
C- Al Jefferson 92
PF- Kevin Love 83
SF- Mike Miller (C) 79
SG- Randy Foye 83
PG- Sebastian Telfair 76
Bench
SF/PF- Ryan Gomes 78
SG- Rodney Carney 77
PG- Ricky Rubio (R) 82
C- BJ Mullens (R) 76
PF- Craig Smith 73
SF- Corey Brewer 74
SF- DaJuan Summers (R) 74
Injured Reserve
PF- Mark Madsen- 69
PF- Shelden Williams- 69
PG- Kevin Ollie- 71

Next Post: Game 1 against NYK!

Start Rubio, he's a lot better than Telfair.

Start Rubio, he's a lot better than Telfair.

Start Rubio, he's a lot better than Telfair.