Wolves: Let the offseason game-playing begin
http://www.startribune.com/511/story/527681.html
By the time you read this, even in cyber-form, you will be too late.
No matter how eager you were to woo a coveted NBA free agent, someone
beat you to him, at least for the first contact.
At 12:01 a.m., a few of the NBA's most alluring available veterans
heard knocks at their doors, opened up and wondered if Ed McMahon or
Publishers Clearing House was out there: limo, red carpet, private
jet fueled up and ready.
Meanwhile, the dogs were barking, the cell phones were chiming.
It's shopping season!
The period from July 1 to July 12 is called a moratorium in the NBA,
but only in terms of actually signing free agents or consummating trades.
All the other stuff -- negotiating, posturing, dickering, denying,
leveraging, finagling, handshaking, whispering and, best of all,
leaking to the media -- is fair and legal and virtually nonstop for
the better part of two weeks.
The Timberwolves figure to be in the thick of it, too, even as they
take a squad of draft picks, youngsters and hopefuls to Las Vegas for
participation in the NBA's largest summer league. This place -- with
16 teams playing five games each July 6-14 -- will be a hub of offseason
activity.
"Free agency is going to be another big challenge for us, in getting
better players," coach Dwane Casey said.
Said vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale: "I've said
all along, I'd like to add a couple older players and a guy who can
stretch the defense out."
Here are the three components of an NBA team's offseason plan (free agency,
trades, draft) and how each relates to the Wolves:
Free agency
Guard Jason Terry is expected to stay in Dallas. Same with Peja Stojakovic
in Indiana. Detroit's Ben Wallace, Atlanta's Al Harrington and Sacramento's
Bonzi Wells are looking for bigger paydays than the Wolves want to spend.
(Even if willing, they'd have to work out sign-and-trade deals.)
But Toronto guard Mike James is a name that has been mentioned at
Target Center. James, 31, for years was an underrated backup bouncing
through six organizations. Then he averaged 20.3 points and 5.8 assists
last season -- numbers that would have ranked second and first on the Wolves.
Up front, some of the best available players -- Seattle's Chris Wilcox,
Denver's Nene, Cleveland's Drew Gooden -- are restricted, which means
their teams can match any offer. That hasn't stopped McHale in the past;
he bid for Ricky Davis and Damien Wilkins in recent years but came up empty.
Casey has a few old pals from his Seattle days on the market: Reggie Evans,
Flip Murray and Vladimir Radmanovic, though the first two overlap with
current Wolves' skills. Radmanovic can play up-tempo and shoot from the arc.
Of the Wolves players free to leave, guard Marcus Banks is the top
priority. But there isn't as much urgency since Randy Foye arrived
via the draft.
Banks' agent, Mike Higgins, said this week that the super-quick but
raw point guard is seeking a five-year contract starting at the full
midlevel price ($5 million in 2006-07), which might be too rich for
the Wolves.
Forward Justin Reed is likely to be back, after the Wolves made him
a qualifying offer Friday, giving them the right to match outside bids.
Trades
McHale said that much of the GM chatter heading toward the draft
extended to other offseason maneuvers. "Most of the trades that you're going to do later are talked about now," he said Tuesday.
One player being shopped, with Minnesota allegedly a destination,
is Denver forward Kenyon Martin, who still isn't fully recovered from
last year's knee surgery, has $70 million left on a bloated contract
and was suspended in the playoffs for arguing with coach George Karl.
The draft & beyond
Casey and his staff will take a 13-man squad to Las Vegas, including
Foye, Bracey Wright and second-round pick Craig Smith. Others with
NBA experience include Reece Gaines, Ansu Sesay and Paul Shirley.
Also, forward Eddie Griffin -- making headlines for all the wrong
reasons -- has been asked to attend, for practice time if not some
game minutes.
The coaching staff will be working on its chemistry, with assistant
Randy Wittman added to the mix. It still isn't clear whether assistant
Johnny Davis will be involved, his role unclear since Wittman's return
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