Randy Foye, sitting with iced knees amidst the rubble of a typical postgame locker room at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center, is looking quizzically at Al Jefferson’s footwear. “What do you got there?” Foye asks, laughing. “Leather shower shoes? Patent leather shower shoes? Oh, wow.”
Hmm. Jefferson does not deny that his shower shoes are of excessive quality. But if you can judge a man by the shoes he wears, then maybe some la-dee-dah flip-flops say something about where Jefferson, the Timberwolves’ 23-year-old center and franchise player, is heading this season. Here’s a hint: Take a pair of E’s and split them with an L-I-T. Jefferson is a beast of a big man, breaking through last year (his fourth in the NBA) with 21.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game…
…If Jefferson can develop into an anchor for the Timberwolves defense this year, Minnesota could be a more dangerous team than last year’s 22-60 mess would seem to indicate. The Timberwolves still need to solve the point guard problem and, even if Jefferson plays well defensively, they are relying on quick development on both ends from 20-year-old rookie Kevin Love.
Minnesota president Chris Wright, whose team ranked 25th in attendance (14,477) last season, said that the Timberwolves’ Club Cambria VIP level is sold out, even though the Wolves finished 22-60 last season. The team began offering a three-pack ticket plan, hoping that those buyers upgrade to six- or 10-game packages in more prosperous years. “People still want and need to get out of the house,” Wright said of those wintry Twin Cities nights. “We think we’re still a viable option.”
4. McHale, Timberwolves: Picking Kevin Garnett directly from high school in the 1995 draft was a great move by McHale. Failing to ever build a consistent winner around him was bad managing. It was seen first as disappointing, but then as desperate. Sending K.G. to Boston to win a championship last season was viewed almost as treasonous by T-Wolves fans.
Yes, Al Jefferson and the young cast are going to improve, but McHale probably won’t be around to see it. Minnesota fans have run out of patience. After 22 victories last season, it will take a miracle to show any rapid rise.
We will be kicking off the Timberwolves 20th Season with a 20 Day Tour of Events. We will be out in the community every day hitting events in all corners of the Twin Cities to continue our branding and marketing initiatives as we launch the new season…
At the end of last season, Kirk Snyder was starting for the Minnesota Timberwolves and playing well.
But as NBA training camps opened late last month and exhibition games began this week, the former Wolf Pack star has found himself without a team.
And while Snyder isn’t in camp, Emens said his client is considering three offers from international teams — one in Europe and two in Asia — and is in conversation with one NBA team, which he declined to name.
