The Detroit Pistons are poised to sign the shot-blocker for the stretch
run if he clears waivers within 48 hours, which is expected given that
a team taking him off waivers would have to pay $3.7 million. Ratliff
would be returning to his first team. The Pistons drafted him 18th
overall in 1995, and he played two seasons there.
 
 
 
Ratliff is in the last year of his contract and is
due to make $11.6 million this season. If the Wolves buy out that deal,
and it appears they will, he would be eligible to sign a new contract
with the Pistons and be on their playoff roster as long as the buyout
is completed by Saturday.
 
 
  
 
The Pistons expect to sign center Theo Ratliff for a prorated portion of the $1.3 million veteran’s minimum after he clears waivers Saturday. He can then sign early next week.
 
 
 
It’s almost sad to see Theo Ratliff, a Sixers All-Star in 2000-01, trying to hang in with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The power forward/center who developed as an outstanding weakside shot-blocker has fought his way through a series of back and knee surgeries.
 
"I’m still chasing the same thing everybody else is chasing, trying to
get on a winning team, on a championship team, possibly having a chance
to win," he said.
 
 
 
Rick Alonzo/Pioneer Press on Rashad McCants:
He has been effective, too, averaging 18.6 points
while shooting 50 percent in five games since the NBA all-star break.
But that doesn’t mean he thinks his role as a reserve who provides
scoring punch is working out well.
 
"No," McCants said. "I’d rather be a starter, play
more minutes, get more production. But whatever Coach (Randy Wittman)
wants me to do, I’m going to do. The role he’s giving me, I can accept
it regardless if I like it or not. I really do feel like I’d be more
effective in the starting lineup, playing 40-something minutes. But
that’s not my role."
 
 
   
 
Preview of tonight’s game at Cleveland:
 
Click here for the forum’s game thread.  
 
 
 
10,000 Takes wants you to vote for the best anagram from Ryan Gomes’ name.
 
 
 
It should be easier to hear Timberwolves broadcasts in the southeast and southern metro beginning tonight when its games begin airing on KGBY (107.5 FM) as well as BOB 106. Both stations are owned by Dennis Carpenter.
 
KGBY, which also is known as La Mera Buena and carries several hours of
Spanish-speaking programming a day, had aired select Wolves games in
Spanish the past three years. This move means those broadcasts will
stop.
 
Instead, Alfonso Fernandez will host a half-hour pregame show in Spanish on KGBY that will begin an hour before tipoff.
 
 
 
The team is also trying to entice early buyers in a campaign called
"Let’s Build It" that begins Saturday by offering significant discounts
on full season tickets. That includes a limited-time offer of a $25
per-game, per-seat charge for a spot in Target Center’s lower bowl.
Seats in the upper deck, with a single-game value of $20, are being
offered for $9 per game through a season ticket.