Hollins + Sessions + Future 2nd Round Pick for Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair (Welcome Back!)
Jonny Flynn out 3 to 4 Months with Hip Surgery
The “Big” Trade. Ha. At least we dumped Hollins! God he was worthless
From the Official T-Wolves Site
From Jon Krawczynski at the AP
The Minnesota Timberwolves announced the team has traded center Ryan Hollins, guard Ramon Sessions and a future second-round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for the player contracts of guards Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair.
“I want to thank Ramon and Ryan for their time with us last season,” said David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. “With the arrivals of Luke Ridnour, Michael Beasley, Nikola Pekovic and the signing of Darko Milicic, it was clear that Ramon and Ryan would have lesser roles this season if they were to remain. This move provides them a better opportunity in Cleveland and adds to our flexibility both this season and beyond in relation to the salary cap.”
From Jerry Zgoda’s Blog:
The Timberwolves’ payroll continues to shrink.
They have traded point guard Ramon Sessions and forward/center Ryan Hollins — two players David Kahn signed last summer to multi-year deals — as well as a 2013 second-round pick to Cleveland for two players who likely will never wear a Wolves jersey.
They receive in return guard Delone West and former Wolves guard Sebastian Telfair.
Not long after the Wolves traded away one of their three point guards, Marc Spears from YahooSports! reported that Jonny Flynn will need hip surgery that will keep him out three to four months.
Expect West to be waived by an Aug. 5 deadline so they can pay him only $500,000 of a mostly non-guaranteed $4.6 million salary.
Telfair probably will be either bought out of the final year ($2.7 million) of a three-year deal Kevin McHale originally signed him to three years ago or traded away before training camp, if the Wolves can find a team willing to take him.
The deal further pares the Wolves’ payroll.
Expect them to sign a veteran point guard to a one-year minimum contract as their next move.
– Jerry doesn’t seem overly excited about this. Count me in with him. We have already been discussing this all night in the TWB Forums, so no need to repeat all that here. Just check out the link and join the convo!
Wolves Will Definitely Cut Delonte West, and save $4.1 Million Dollars
From Marc J. Spears at Yahoo Sports/Twitter:
Wolves will waive Delonte West, source tells Y! Sports.
Please Click “Read More” for Additional Wolves News/Reactions and the Flynn Hip Injury…
Sessions is “Ecstatic” About Being Traded to Cleveland
Can you blame him? I sure as hell can’t. Not the way they mis-managed him and his minutes last season. Playing him on our crappy second team and forcing him into our awful hybrid-triangle… ugh. He got lucky, there is a solid chance he thrives in Cleveland next season.
From Chris Tomasson at AOL Fanhouse:
The agent for guard Ramon Sessions says his client is “ecstatic” about going to Cleveland.
Chubby Wells said he got a call Monday night from Minnesota president David Kahn confirming his client is heading to Minnesota.
Sessions goes from the Timberwolves with center Ryan Hollins and a 2013 second-round pick to the Cavaliers for guards Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair. The News-Herald of suburban Cleveland had first reported trade specifics.
“I talked to Ramon and he’s ecstatic,” Wells said in an interview with FanHouse. “He’s really, really excited about going to what he thinks is a good situation.”
Yahoo Sports Reporting on Flynn’s Hip Surgery
From Jerry Zgoda at the Star Tribune:
Shortly after the Wolves traded away one of their three point guards, YahooSports! reported that Jonny Flynn –who started 81 of 82 games as a rookie last season — will need surgery to repair a hip injury and will miss the next three to four months.
A Wolves spokesman said he couldn’t confirm that Flynn will need surgery, but that timetable would cause him to miss training camp and perhaps the first month of the season.
Neither West nor Telfair likely will play for the Wolves. They almost certainly will buy West out of the remaining $4.6 million year left on his contract for $500,000 by an Aug. 5 deadline.
– Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. At least keep Telfair? He was solid that second season with the Wolves. FML.
Kahn Deserves ‘Some Credit’ (But Not for Darko?)
From Charley Walters at the Pioneer Press:
David Kahn has had the unenviable task of building the Minnesota Timberwolves, essentially from scratch. The Wolves president of basketball operations has been on the job slightly more than a year, and if you take a close look at his moves, it seems he’s pretty much on his way to constructing a young, decent starting lineup.
Point guard Ricky Rubio is in Spain preparing for the world championships next month in Turkey, but appears headed for Minnesota for the 2011-12 season. Rubio, the No. 5 overall pick in last year’s NBA draft, doesn’t turn 20 until October. Although he’s unproven, he could be the Wolves’ point guard for years.
The Wolves have Kevin Love, 21, a proven rebounder and passer who was a No. 5 overall draft pick, at power forward. Love is a core player who should be in Minnesota for many seasons.
Kahn’s trade with Miami for Michael Beasley for a couple of second-round draft picks was terrific, assuming Beasley grows up — and can play small forward on a regular basis instead of power forward. Beasley is just 21, was a No. 2 overall draft pick and can score.
– I like the Darko signing. Very reasonable contract to boot. Hater.
Yay For Cheerleaders. Our Saving Grace
From Randball:
Perusing the Wolves’ web site the other day, we noticed that the first round of auditions for this year’s dance team is tonight. It made us legitimately curious: just what does it take to be a dancer for a professional sports team? What are the demands? What goes on behind the scenes? So we reached out to Twitter pal Anne — another member of this vast universe who we have only met electronically — and she obliged with a funny, interesting and informative run down. She’s a Wolves fan and a former member of the dance team. A quick bio, from her:
Anne Ulku is a full-time freelance graphic designer living in Minneapolis. Anne danced with the Minnesota Timberwolves for four years while juggling a full-time job and finishing her BFA at MCAD. Now with a sole focus in graphic design, she still finds time to dance — whether it’s ballet classes, attempting to break dance or salsa on the weekends. You can follow her tweets: @aulku. And check out her website: anneulku.com.
This is a tale of talent, dedication, shirt-tossing, awkward gawking and phone number requests denied. Please do enjoy. Anne?