There was a disheartening story in the Strib this week about Craig
Smith–not the Rhino himself, of course, who is something of a
feel-good tale, albeit one that won’t totally turn the frog into the
prince. No, the head-slapping part was how the braintrust has told
Smith they want him to work on his midrange game so that when he slots
in alongside Al Jefferson in the frontcourt, they won’t be ruining each
other’s spacing in the low block. The implication, of course, is one
that the Wolves have been making in a dozen different, equally
perplexing ways this season–that they foresee Jefferson as their
center of the future.
 
 
 
 
Mike Trudell/Timberwolves site documented the team’s roadtrip to Seattle and Portland.  During the trip, he asked the players who among them is the best trash-talker:
Mark Madsen, whom everybody loves talking to, said that guys
will often rib him about who’s better 1-on-1, or who gets more minutes.
BUT … "I just ask them one question: How many rings do you have?" In
the NBA, that’s the trump card, Mad Dog. You got it. "There’s no good
answer for that one," Dog concluded.
 
 
 
But there was a sign of progress in at least one area for the Wolves: Brewer’s shot.
 
"He works at it every day," Wolves coach Randy
Wittman said. "I’m not too worried about that. I think it’s going to be
a situation where he’s going to be a reliable open shooter. That’s what
we’ve got to have."
 
A consistent jump shot would take pressure off Brewer moving forward in his career. It would complement his hustle on defense and make him a more well-rounded player.

 

 
 
Clearly, the Timberwolves were disenchanted with Green because they
needed one month to decide not to extend him for a fourth year, making
him an unrestricted free agent. Wolves coach Randy Wittman and Rivers,
backcourt mates with the Hawks in the 1980s, talked about Green more
than once.
 

All Rivers would say was, "He frustrated Randy quite a bit. The
difference between Randy and me was that Randy didn’t feel the need to
play him. We played him anyway." 

 
 
 
Blumel and his buddies went from Bulldogs to sponges as they soaked up
the wisdom of Foye, who is in his second NBA season after starring at
Villanova.

"He really took my game to the next level," Blumel said. "He taught me
ball handling and shooting drills. He taught me how to stay mentally
tough after missing a couple of shots. He taught me how to keep my
head, not fold and not get mad at myself.

 

Wittman will be watching when the NCAA men’s basketball tournament
field is announced today to see where Cornell and his son, Ryan, are
headed. He is hoping the Ivy League champs are assigned a site that
plays first-round games on Thursday, so Wittman possibly can get to the
game in person before the Wolves play Friday at Indianapolis.
 
From the Star Tribune:
The Wolves watched their third chance for their season’s first
three-game winning streak slip away with Tuesday’s home loss to
Portland, where they got a reminder that they once had Brandon Roy.
They got back to winning at Seattle on Friday, propelled by Ryan Gomes’
23 points and 15 rebounds. The week concluded with a 107-96 loss at
Portland on Saturday night.
 
 

Postgame quotes from the win in Seattle.