Hard Nosed Hayward
From Jonah Ballow at Timberwolves.com:

There is one specific play that will always result in gigantic smiles and a round of applause from the coaching staff. It’s quite possibly the most difficult call for the referee crew as the defender slides in front of the driving offensive player to draw a charge. A second of silence usually follows the collision before the man in stripes places one hand behind his head and the other arm fully extended, pointing in the opposite direction.

Aside from a blocked shot, the offensive charge is a momentum changing play, which proves the amount of physical pain a player is willing to endure.

The No. 30 overall pick in the 2010 Draft understands the importance of this small but important aspect to the NBA game. Lazar Hayward posted some nice offensive games in four outings during the Wolves summer league action. However, his attention to detail on the defensive side of the floor quickly caught the eye of NBA fans escaping the sweltering Vegas heat inside the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion. On multiple possessions, Hayward needed assistance from his teammates to peel him off the hardwood after drawing a charge.
Nemanja Bjelica Signs With Spanish Team Caja Laboral

From Jerry Zgoda’s Blog
From Neil Leitereg at Examiner.com

Timberwolves second-round pick Nemanja Bjelica on Monday signed a five-year contract with a buyout option to leave for the NBA after two years with Spanish club Caja Laboral, the team for which newly signed Spurs prospect Tiago Splitter played.

That buyout option would place Bjelica, a point guard in a 6-foot-10 power forward’s body, with the Wolves in 2012, which also could be the year Ricky Rubio joins them if the 2011-12 NBA season is lost, or mostly lost, to labor strife.

Bjelica proved to be a difficult catch for Caja Laboral, as the 6-foot-10, 235-pound player was courted by a number of clubs including Olympiacos of the Greek League and the Timberwolves organization.

The Serbian-born forward spent the last two seasons playing for Red Star of the Serbian Super League, where, during 2009-10, he averaged 18.1 ppg and 7.2 rpg.

Wolves New Uni Watch Continues…

From Howlin’ T-Wolf and Peeps on Twitter:

RT @WolvesCMO: Tweaked uni announcement set for 8/16. Uniforms w/ some improvements will be unveiled on social media platforms 1st. #twolves

Please Click “Read More” to Continue with NBA News and Bad TWolves News…

 


The NBA is the biggest Sport on Twitter – Over 2 Million followers

The NBA has surpassed 2 million followers on Twitter, easily the most for a sports league.

The league says that http://www.twitter.com/nba and feeds from its 30 teams and more than 165 players, have drawn more than 23 million combined followers.

The NFL had nearly 1.7 million followers on its official page as of Monday night, while Major League Baseball was around 970,000.

According to Twitter, the NBA set a record on the site when fans generated 3,085 tweets per second following the Lakers’ victory over the Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA finals.

– Hahaha @ MLBBaseball.  And I wonder how the NHL is doing lolz?

ROY Tyreke Evans Drive Fast

From the AP via the Star Tribune:

A video released by the California Highway Patrol shows Evans speeding past vehicles on Interstate 80 in his purple Mercedes. CHP officers say he was driving 120 to 130 miles per hour.

The video of the 20-year-old NBA Rookie of the Year was shot from a plane on Memorial Day weekend.

After being stopped by police, Evans was arrested at gunpoint.

Authorities say the video offers evidence that Evans may have been racing another vehicle.

 

And From the Negative/Uniformed News Department…

More Mindless Kahn Bashing

From The Great Western Forum Blog:

David Kahn is an idiot. 

For all the rambling about teams like the Clippers being cursed, the Hornets being cheap, or the Thunder having Jay Bilas-like upside, there should probably be a new discussion. The Timberwolves are run by a buffoon. 

Kahn is an educated man, graduating from UCLA with a degree in English, meaning he might engage you with an intelligent take on Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass,” could gush about the honor in which Young Werther shot himself or edit the heck out of a thesis. At the same time, though, it hardly means he is qualified to run a Minneapolis Starbucks, more or less a franchise in a billion dollar industry. 

In fewer than 18 months Kahn has morphed into an Isiah Thomas-like tornado in Minnesota, without, of course, the on-the-court status of NBA legend. He must be as popular in Minneapolis as Jimmy Jam and Prince, only the exact opposite. 

– Sigh.  It gets so tiring hearing this nonsense over and over and over…

From a 2011 Mock Draft. Of course, it’s Bleacher Report so……..

The Minnesota Timberwolves might have the best young starting 5 in Flynn, Brewer, Johnson, Beasley and Love.

– Lol… no.