http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/meet_the_team_at_media_day_061002.html
While some delectable food items were available in the Wolves' practice
facility at Media Day, Minnesota plans to earn its support not through
food-bribery, but on the basketball court.
In the annual season-opening event, players such as KG and Mike James
offered their thoughts in a series of interviews, and posed for a slew
of photographs to be used throughout the 2006-07 campaign.
We took the opportunity to chat with several players, coach Casey and
GM Jim Stack to take an early pulse of the team, starting with the Big Ticket.
FORWARD KEVIN GARNETT
On being around in the offseason: This is probably the most I've been
around here. I normally take off to the West Coast and travel a little
bit, but this year, from the month of August, I've been here with the
guys working out. We all linked up and made it work. There has to be
something within each other if this is going to work, and we're going
to have to take some responsibility. Hopefully we can get things going
in the right direction. After seeing the Twins accomplish the things
that they have, they have been an inspiration, if you will. Kirby has
always been my man -- rest in peace. I've always applied what I learned
from him.
On playing hard: I only have one speed. When I hit the floor, I give it
my all, and when I rest, I rest. I feel like when you preserve, and hold
back, that isn't 100 percent to me. When I hit the floor I only know one
thing, and that's to work. I'm not going to change that or compromise that.
GUARD MIKE JAMES
On media day being enjoyable for him: I'm a people person, and my biggest
thing is that a lot of people have assumptions of who Mike James is.
The reason why I like getting my word out is, instead of having an opinion
about me, why don't you just ask me and I'll tell you about me. Don't come
to your own general conclusion about me through somebody else's opinion.
Find out about me from yourself.
On being excited to play ball: I'm waiting for November 1st. I know that
in order to get there, you have to go through training camp. I'm excited
about the season, and having this new beginning.
On being underrated: We are going to be better than a lot of people are
going to give us credit for this year. No one is really looking at our
talent, they are just looking at our names. But it's good to go under
the radar, because people won't take us as seriously. When we start
playing well, gelling, and getting to know each other better, we're
going to be an even more dangerous team.
On getting questioned despite averaging 20 points and nearly six assists
last year: Everybody says that because I was on a bad team, I was capable
of doing that, or because it was last year. What they don't know is that
I'm still working on new things, still figuring out new tricks.
On his family adjusting to Minnesota: The Minnesota "Nice" is a little
crazy, but as far as my family, they are enjoying it. It's good for my
kids. My neighborhood is the craziest neighborhood -- everyone has a dog,
and at least three kids. It's all either all boys, or all girls, and there
are a lot of people for my kids to play with. It's also good for my dogs,
because they can be social.
GUARD RANDY FOYE
On playing in the Las Vegas Summer League, where he took home MVP honors:
It was fun, just going out there and being able to play with all the guys.
It was getting up and down (the court), and basically just letting it go.
They want to see what you can do, and they know you can do certain things,
so that's what I did.
On playing defense in the NBA: I've been guarding everybody from
Ricky Davis to Mike James every day when we scrimmage. We play about
12 games a day, so I've had a taste of everybody. Even KG, I might have
to switch off and guard him. But nothing changes. If you play hard, good
things happen for you. If you don't, that's when you get embarrassed out
there.
On pushing the tempo: When I play with these guys, I get up and down the
court more. Sometimes they'll look at me like, "Man, he won't stop pushing
the ball," just because in college, I had to do a lot of rebounding, guard
the best player, and I had to score, so it took a lot out of me. But here
with KG getting the rebound, or some other big man getting the ball and
kicking it out to me, it's a lot easier. It's fun, and I'm learning every day.
On Mike James: Mike is cool. We talk and joke around every day. He lets me
know about life in the NBA, and I'm just looking forward to going out there
and being a sponge around the vets.
FORWARD MARK MADSON
On being a Media Day veteran: Today is one of those days that can sometimes
get lost, because we have physicals in the morning, Media Day, and a team
dinner at night. This is the first day I've gotten a workout in, so I just
don't want to lose my conditioning.
On what this team's identity should be: Bringing in Mike James and
Randy Foye, and having Marko Jaric, we need to be a running team.
We need to push the tempo, play exciting basketball with Alley-Oops,
three pointers, and long offensive rebounds. That's what I'm looking for,
and it all needs to go through Kevin Garnett.
FORWARD VIN BAKER
On being in Minnesota: I'm glad to be here. I had gotten some interest from
the organization earlier this summer, and it seemed like a perfect fit.
Being coached by coach Casey in Seattle, and me knowing Kevin since I was
18 and playing on the Olympic team with him, it felt like a perfect fit.
It's important to know people when you're in a given situation, and I'm
excited about it. I think this team has a great chance to do big things,
and I'm fortunate to have that opportunity.
On being familiar with KG: It's great, because KG and I have been friends
since he came into the league. I've always admired him. We had a tough
meeting in the playoffs, when they had us down 2-1, and so that was when
we first got close, and we were close in the Olympics as well. He is a
great personality and a great spokesperson for this league. Now that I get
an opportunity to play with him, it's even more special. I think we have a
great time off the court, and will find it on the court. He's a tremendous
player, and I think we're going to have a lot of fun.
On his game: I feel great. I've worked my butt off for three months in
Houston, playing against pros like Emeka Okafor, Chris Wilcox and others,
and I feel really good. I'm excited about camp, and I'm looking forward to
it. A lot of people ask what's in my tank. I wake up just like everyone
else -- excited about getting on the court and trying to go out at people.
It's also one less power forward that I have to go against.
On getting on the court for training camp: Oh man, I'm so excited. I came
here and worked out on Monday, and it was just the best feeling to be out
playing with the team. Most of these guys I've played with: Mike James, KG,
Mark Blount, and Ricky Davis. I'm excited about helping this team win and
putting it back to where they want to be.
On how he ended up in Minnesota: We started talking earlier in the summer,
and although I spoke to other teams, this is where I wanted to be. Once
they showed interest, I thought it was the perfect place to be. I do remember
playing against Minnesota last year thinking it would be a great place to
play.
On Minnesota needing an additional body down low: I know KG and Mark Blount
like to play in that high post, so it's a great opportunity to get back to
doing what I do best, which is going down in the middle of the paint and
relieving some of that pressure. When Kevin catches it up top, I want to
duck it in and go to work. I'm a student of the game, and know that this
is a good place to be if you have a post game.
HEAD COACH DWANE CASEY
On media day: I think it's a good introduction for our players, especially
the new guys, to get to know the players, faces, and just get more
comfortable with everybody.
On this being the second time around: I feel a lot more settled. I know
what I'm dealing with, I know who the players are. I know what certain
guys can do, and what I want to do. When you know what you're dealing with,
you can be a lot more comfortable, and it helps me relax as a coach.
On the offseason being a long one: Any time you go home without making the
playoffs, it's too long of an offseason. The main thing is getting the guys
back in, and acclimated to training camp. I feel good about the additions of
Mike James and Randy Foye, who are very, very valuable pieces, and having
the surprise of Craig Smith, who worked very hard this summer and learned
what we're trying to do. Eddie Griffin has really worked to get his weight
down and did a great job getting his body in shape. There are a lot of
positives going into training camp this year.
On Vin Baker: I've known Vin for a long time, and I know that at his core
he is a great person. He still has something left in his tank. He knows
how to play, with his 14 years of NBA experience. He's probably done some
things in his life, but we are not perfect people, and I believe in giving
second chances.
On what he wants to be the Wolves' M.O.: First of all, we want to establish
a defensive identity, be a team that attacks penetration, attacks the boards,
and creates offense. On the offensive end, we want to be a running team.
Push the ball in transition, push the ball to create an up-tempo type game.
We don't want to come down and pound it into Kevin all the time. We want
to start building that in training camp, and continue with it throughout
the year.
GENERAL MANAGER JIM STACK
On the team heading into training camp: We felt like we were able to address
certain areas with Mike James, an explosive scorer who hits clutch shots,
and Randy Foye, who had a terrific summer league. We're looking for big
things from him as well. We signed Vin Baker for some frontcourt help,
so we feel like we have a good mix. We have some elder statesman in
Kevin Garnett and Mark Blount, some guys that are moving into the prime
of their careers with Trenton Hassell and Ricky Davis, Marko Jaric and others,
and we have a good core of young players underneath that. I feel good about
our group of players.
On bringing 13-year NBA veteran Vin Baker into the fold: We knew we wanted
to add one more frontcourt player, and he was among a list of guys we had.
As we got further down the process, by bringing him in and interviewing him,
he turned out to be the guy that had all of the stuff that we were looking
for. We're pleased that we have Vin on our roster heading into camp.
On transitioning from offseason movement and training to coaching on the
court: The coaches meet all summer, and know the guys that we're talking
about, and it's all about putting them into positions to be successful.
That's what coaching is, and we added a few guys to this staff with
(assistant coaches) Randy Whitman and Bob Ociepka that I think will
really help out. It's a collaborative effort where we've done a lot of
talking and planning, and hopefully the finished product starts tomorrow
as we get things moving in the right direction.
On head coach Dwane Casey's style of play: The reason Dwane came in the
first place was that he had a defensive background, and we got a little
bit away from that in the second half of the year. I think we want to
bring our focus back to that. We know we have players that are capable
of being explosive scorers, but the challenge becomes seeing if we can
be cohesive defensively.
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