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| Wednesday, August 15 Users: Smith debacle dims hopes for T-Wolves |
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The Minnesota Timberwolves are a franchise in limbo -- too strapped to acquire another superstar and too far from the league cellar. In an effort to clear the bar, Minnesota took a play out of the Vikings manual in drafting the risky Loren Woods, a top collegiate player passed over by many teams. The dust has finally settled from the Joe Smith disaster, and now the question is whether Smith can complement Kevin Garnett in the paint. With a core of young players, the T-Wolves should reach the postseason, but how long will mediocrity be tolerated in the Twin Cities? In discussing the Summer Spotlight on the Timberwolves, we posed this question: As a Wolves fan are you content the way it is or should there be drastic changes? Here are your answers.
Your Timberwolves Feedback
Chris
The sum of the parts of the T-Wolves is much greater than any of them individually. And yes, that includes Kevin Garnett. What the T-Wolves need is an individual dominating scorer, a player who can put up 25-30 points each and every night. Enough said.
Michael
Yes, I am content, and here's why: 1. Flip Saunders likes this team, and I think he knows a little more about basketball than you or me! 2. The new rules will favor smart coaches (aka Flip), and long, tall, athletic big men (aka Kevin Garnett, Joe Smith, Loren Woods), especially on defense. 3. Smith is only 26 years old and plays much better when teamed with Garnett -- he will be better than he has shown to date (plus, Kevin McHale likes him). 4. CONTINUITY is more important than making drastic changes that might well backfire (i.e. team chemistry). 5. Barring major injuries and a first-round matchup with the Lakers, the Wolves will advance this year to the second and very likely the third round -- you can take that to the bank!
Douglas
The Wolves will definitely need an overhaul, if not now, then in a couple of years. Their team is full of complementary players with neither leadership skills nor playoff experience. Other than Kevin Garnett, they have nobody to make other players better or dominate a game. The lack of a legitimate 1-2 punch with Garnett will sentence the Wolves to eternal mediocrity.
Zak
The Wolves need to trade Terrell Brandon for some draft picks. He is an above-average point guard who is a good jump shooter but not a penetrator. With the money that he makes, he needs to be an elite point guard in the NBA. Joe Smith is not the answer here in either. He is a power forward, not a center. Even if Loren Woods is a steal, the Timberwolves will be fighting to make the playoffs with teams like Houston and the Clippers.
Josh
I had such high hopes for the Wolves. After drafting Wally Szczerbiak, I thought "maybe" they might get to the second round of the playoffs. Unfortunately that didn't happen, and with the "Joe Smith" fiasco, these Wolves are destined to be mediocre for a while. And by the time they can get their draft picks back, Kevin Garnett won't be able to help. The future does not look good for the Wolves unless there is some major restructuring.
Jimmy
As history has shown, it usually takes two elite-level players to win championships. The Bulls had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, the Spurs had Tim Duncan and the Admiral, and the Lakers, of course, have Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. It's the lack of a second star player that will keep the T-Wolves from ever emerging as a legit contender. Kevin Garnett is an amazing player, but he needs help. Terrell Brandon, Wally Szczerbiak and Joe Smith are all good, but with all due respect, none of them can really be considered elite-level. I think they should offer up two or perhaps all three of these players in a trade and see if they can't land a major star.
Chris
The Timberwolves have become Minnesota's most stagnant professional sports team. With the perennial playoff-bound Vikings, the surprising Twins and the upstart Wild, the Wolves are slowly but surely getting squeezed out of the picture. This team lacks that spark and promise present during the Stephon Marbury/Kevin Garnett years. The Wolves replacing that combo with Terrell Brandon/Garnett is equivalent to the Vikings replacing the Dante Culpepper/Randy Moss combo with Doug Flutie/Moss. It works, just not as dynamically. At this point, the Timberwolves' brain trust of Kevin McHale and Flip Saunders need to make moves that may hinder the team in the near future, but bring back that excitement lost from a few years ago.
Chris
The Wolves will forever remain a mediocre team, and nobody deserves it more. The salary they shelled out to Kevin Garnett forever changed the face of sports, and they deserve to pay for it. The Wolves have no cap room to go after anyone else as long as they're paying Garnett his millions. And Joe Smith ... who's Joe Smith? Marc Jackson would've been a much better investment at center. Without a true center in the middle, they can't take the next step.
Elton
Whether the Timberwolves' organization was right or wrong, Commissioner David Stern's punishment of the club in regards to the Joe Smith ordeal was too severe. All it did was further set back any chances a "small-market" team had of making a run in the playoffs. People are growing weary of the same core of teams making it to the finals. It's time for a change.
Jon
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