Bucks Vs. Timberwolves: Minnesota Tips Off Preseason Against Milwaukee

The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to move from intriguing young team to exciting young team with more wins to show for it during the NBA regular season. That process picks up steam on Saturday evening when the Wolves host the Miwaukee Bucks at 7:00 p.m. CT in the first of two preseason games between the teams during the NBA's abbreviated training camp.

The most excitement surrounds heralded rookie point guard Ricky Rubio who is expected to start in his Minnesota debut. Head coach Rick Adelman will be supplying the veteran savvy from the sidelines as he expects to start a lineup with the old man of the crew being 26-year old center Darko Milicic, with the 21-year old Rubio and 23-year old Kevin Love relied on to provide leadership on the floor.

But there is plenty of talent among all of that youth as they look to measure themselves against a Milwaukee Bucks in a bit of a transition but always ready to provide a rugged test under coach Scott Skiles. Point guard Brandon Jennings should make for an interesting matchup for Rubio's debut, with his tendency to put a little flair in his game.

Mike Dunleavy Jr. is a new addition to the Bucks lineup while forward Stephen Jackson is questionable dealing with a back issue and a desire for a contract extension. The Bucks will be most dangerous around the bucket, with center Andrew Bogut looking to take advantage of his skilled post game.

Lazar Hayward Traded To Oklahoma City Thunder From Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves made another move on Tuesday, deciding to send former first round pick Lazar Hayward to the Oklahoma City Thunder and a pair of second round picks. The team also acquired veteran shooting guard Robert Vaden in the move, but Vaden was immediately released.

Hayward was one of the older rookies in the NBA last season as he began his career with the Timberwolves as a 24-year-old without any prior professional experience, but his advanced age wasn't quite enough to help him crack Kurt Rambis's rotation.

Hayward appeared in 42 games for the Timberwolves during his only season with Minnesota, averaging 3.8 points on 36 percent shooting during 10 minutes of court time per game. ESPN's John Hollinger summed up his deficiencies on Monday -- and there were a lot.

Hayward's 9.3 rebound rate is pretty impressive for a 6-6 forward, but that's about the end of the good news. Offensively, Hayward was bad from every spot on the floor; he shot only 56.8 percent at the rim, and didn't make more than a third of his tries any place else. He didn't draw fouls at a high rate or do anything as a ball handler to offset his putrid shooting.

The bigger surprise was his defensive struggles. Synergy's stats rated him the worst player on the team by a wide margin; according to 82games.com opposing small forwards had a 17.5 PER against him. Hayward had a rep as a tough defensive ace in college but was defending mostly 4s and 5s. Matched up against wings, his lateral quickness may be deficient.

Depending on how heavily protected the second round picks are, this may end up being a good deal for the Wolves. Hayward obviously wasn't in the team's future plans and second round picks in a deep draft certainly can't hurt.

Malcolm Lee Signed By Minnesota Timberwolves, According To Report

The Minnesota Timberwolves were quite active on draft night back in June, but many of the transactions were forgotten following the long period of inactivity caused by the NBA lockout. One of those moves was the Wolves acquiring UCLA Bruins guard Malcolm Lee from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for the rights to Nikola Mirotic.

The Wolves apparently signed the 43rd overall pick on Monday morning, shortly after inking first round pick Derrick Williams, according to Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick. Amick reports that Lee has signed a three-year guaranteed deal, a move that's a bit surprising since the majority of second round picks aren't typically afforded that sort of security.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard averaged 13.1 points on 43 percent shooting last season, his third with the Bruins. Once the signing is offical, Lee will be one of three players signed by David Kahn and the Wolves front office following Williams and free agent J.J. Barea.

Derrick Williams Officially Signed By Minnesota Timberwolves

It was all but a formality, but the Minnesota Timberwolves officially signed second overall pick Derrick Williams on Monday morning. Malcolm Lee, the team's second round pick, remains unsigned for the moment.

The Timberwolves officially announced the move by way of the team's public relations Twitter account, but it was long expected to happen within the first few days of training camp opening. The lockout obviously delayed his signing by quite a bit, but he's now under contract for the foreseeable future.

Williams was schedule to make within 20 percent of $3,955,400 -- either above or below -- for his first season under the last collective bargaining agreement. The new rookie salary scale hasn't been released as of yet, but it was assumed to be similar within the first two seasons of the new CBA.

Williams averaged 17.8 points and 7.7 rebounds in his college career, shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 51.1 percent from three-point range in 69 games. His 1,227 total points are the most ever by an Arizona Wildcat in his first two seasons.

NBA Free Agency 2011: Timberwolves Sign J.J. Barea

The Minnesota Timberwolves will gain some championship level experience as they have reached an agreement to sign Dallas Mavericks guard J.J. Barea, who helped the Mavs wint he NBA title last season. Barea has played all five years of his career with Dallas, and last season he averaged 9.5 points in 20 minutes per game:

A combo guard whose diminutive size forces him to largely play the point, Barea had a few nice postseason performances for Dallas in 2011. But overall, he shot poorly in the playoffs, just 41.9 percent from the floor and 32 percent on three-pointers.

Barea is expected to mesh with forward Kevin Love much like how he did with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas. Barea is now expected to split time at point guard with import Ricky Rubio, though both could play at the same time too. Barea's speed and ability to get to the basket will also be an asset.

Minnesota Timberwolves Training Camp 2011: Kevin Love Excited To Return To Court With Timberwolves

Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love plays like a savvy veteran so it is easy to forget the emerging team leader of young Wolves, is himself young at just 23 years old.

After averaging 20 points and 15 rebounds per game last year by putting up double-doubles at a record clip, Love started training camp on Friday in great shape and ready to play. Fox Sports North caught up with Love during the Media Day portion of camp which revealed a fit Love with taught chin, the result of dropping 25 pounds during the offseason/lockout.

Love is excited to get started with the new young players on the team in Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams, along with veteran coach Rick Adelman taking over to mold the young players into winners. Adelman will lean on Love to provide leadership and the power forward is more than willing, regardless of what his age shows in the program.

As far as leadership goes, I've done a lot of growing up this summer. I don't want people to look at me like I'm a 22-, 23-year-old, 24-year-old kid anymore. Really, that is just a number. It's something that Rick and I talked about. I really have to step up and first and foremost just show it on the court, night in and night out and in practice and begin to be more vocal. I know that the players on the team definitely respect me. I respect them. Hopefully, we can all bring it together as well.

Minnesota Timberwolves Training Camp 2011: No. 2 Pick Derrick Williams Ready To Start Pro Career

A lot of attention in the Minnesota Timberwolves' training camp will be on Ricky Rubio and new head coach Rick Adelman, which could be a good thing for No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams, who arrived at camp and is trying to get accustomed to the NBA as quick as possible.

He nearly had to wait a year to do that, too -- Williams was so worried about the season being canceled, he almost signed a contract in Spain that may have prevented him from returning to the T-Wolves after the lockout [via Washington Post]: 

"Good thing I didn’t (sign)," Williams said. "I’m still here and I’m just glad we’re about to play." [...]

"It’s just good to get out there and play again," Williams said. "I haven’t played a game since march so it was good to get out there again."

Of course, Williams is also paying attention to his new point guard and head coach:

"[Rubio's] a great passer," Williams said. "He caught me off guard a few times with his behind-the-back passes." [...]

"[Adelman's] going to work with what he has and I think we have the perfect team full of athletes who can run," Williams said. "A lot of us can shoot and I expect us to get up and down the court a lot."

Timberwolves Training Camp 2011: Media Day Begins Camp, Martell Webster Out Indefinitely

The young and promising Minnesota Timberwolves officially gathered with new head coach Rick Adelman for the first time as the Wolves went through the Media Day to begin training camp.

One of those young and promising talents won't be on the court during training camp, though. Shooting guard Martell Webster has been ruled out indefinitely for the Wolves as he continues to recover from microdiscectomy surgery he underwent for his back on September 28th.

Webster is heading into his seventh NBA season but is still just 25 years old has struggled to stay on the court during his career. Last season, back issues force Webster to only play in 46 games after being acquired in a draft day trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Webster is hoping the short-term absence to take care of his back will lead to a long-term solution for the remainder of his NBA career. The guard should be plenty motivated to work through the recover process since the collection of wing players for the Wolves will make earning playing time a challenge.

NBA Free Agency 2011: Timberwolves Not Likely To Go After Chris Paul

Chris Paul, the talented point guard for the New Orleans Hornets, is one of the biggest prizes on the NBA trading block. When transactions begin on Friday he is expected to have a lot of attention from most teams in the NBA. The Minnesota Timberwolves could be a nice fit for him, but Bill Simmons does not think that they have the assets or the ability to pull off the trade:

Minnesota can offer the best package (Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams), but there's no way Chris Paul is signing an extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Ricky Rubio is still looking to make his mark as the Timberwolves' point guard, and Paul is a player looking to go somewhere where he can eventually sign a contract extension and stay for the long. David Kahn has already said that trades are not a priority right now for MInnesota, and the team will likely try to build through free agency.

Minnesota Timberwolves Schedule Opens With Kevin Durant At Target Center

The Minnesota Timberwolves released their 2011-12 NBA schedule on Tuesday night, and while it could have been worse, it definitely doesn't start out easy for the team and new head coach Rick Adelman. The Wolves will open on Dec. 26 with a match-up at home against Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Target Center.

The Wolves' schedule features two stretches where they will play three games in three nights, the first of which features road games against the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors before hosting the Chicago Bulls at home on a Tuesday night.

The team will have six total games broadcast on national television with the first being televised on ESPN as the Wolves take to the road for a match-up against Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 2. The Wolves will host the Phoenix Suns in April for a game to be played on ESPN 2 while four games -- against the Orlando Magic, twice against the Portland Trail Blazers and finally a game between the Wolves and New Orleans Hornets -- will be played on NBA TV.

The Wolves will not have to visit the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers or Chicago in the East -- research first pointed out by the Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda.

Minnesota Timberwolves Schedule 2011-2012 Announced Tonight

The NBA Lockout has already cost teams 16 games out of its regular 82-game season, but starting on Christmas the revised 66-game schedule will now go through April 26. For the Minnesota Timberwolves, the full 66-game revised slate will be announced tonight at 7 p.m. The schedule itself will break down like this:

Individual Team Schedule Breakdown

Conference Games: 48

• Play 6 teams 4 times (2 home, 2 away)

• Play 4 teams 3 times (2 home, 1 away)

• Play 4 teams 3 times (1 home, 2 away)

Non-Conference Games: 18

• Play 3 teams 2 times (1 home, 1 away)

• Play 6 teams 1 time at home

• Play 6 teams 1 time away

Back to Back to Backs: All teams with at least 1; no more than 3

Playoff Back to Backs: Possible in second round

The way it breaks down, six Eastern Conference teams will not be coming to the Target Center this season. The playoffs are now scheduled to begin on April 28, just two days after the scheduled end of the regular season.

Minnesota Native Devean George Wants A Role On The Timberwolves

NBA Free Agency 2011: Shane Battier, Jamal Crawford And Chuck Hayes All Options For Minnesota Timberwolves

NBA free agency began in earnest on Monday morning as teams were finally able to contact players themselves. The Minnesota Timberwolves were reported to make a few interesting contacts with the top players being Shane Battier, Jamal Crawford and Chuck Hayes.

Crawford averaged 14.2 points per game last season while playing for the Atlanta Hawks while Chuck Hayes registered career-highs in both points (7.9) and rebounds (8.1) for the Houston Rockets. Battier is a bit of a pipe-dream for Minnesota, but the veteran defensive-stopper would certainly provide veteran leadership.

1500ESPN's Darren Wolfson has more on all three, as far as their involvement with the Wolves is concerned, but Battier is perhaps the most interesting.

A team source indicates the Wolves, maybe above everyone else, would love to land forward Shane Battier. Like Hayes, Adelman is a huge admirer when Battier busted his butt for him with the Rockets. David Kahn, the Wolves' president of basketball operations, made it a point late last season and early in the offseason to emphasize how badly a veteran leader is a must-have. Well, Battier is the best available. The problem is Miami is reportedly set to offer him its full midlevel exception. If winning right away is the top priority, the Wolves' chances for landing Battier are slim.

Would Battier relocate to Minnesota if they opened their checkbook? It won't take too long to find out as players are able to officially sign with teams on Friday.

NBA Free Agency 2011: Utah Jazz May Be Interested In Unrestricted Free Agent Sebastian Telfair

The Minnesota Timberwolves are not expected to be very active in free agency or the trade market before the season tips off on Christmas, according to President of Basketball Operations David Khan. That means the fate of unrestricted free agent Sebastian Telfair, who has spent three of his seven NBA seasons with the Timberwolves, hangs in the balance. Per The Salt Lake Tribune, the Utah Jazz may have some interest in the six-foot guard: 

The Jazz are expected to primarily focus on adding a proven backup point guard, and could use veteran minimum contracts to fill out the remainder of their roster.

Utah has expressed initial exploratory interest in unrestricted free agents Rasual Butler, Sebastian Telfair and Roger Mason, a source said.

The Miami Heat is another team that could pursue Telfair's services.

Telfair averaged 7.2 points, three assists, and 1.5 rebounds in just over 19 minutes per game. Telfair is still only 26-years-old and has shown some signs of improvement over the last couple seasons, so it's possible a team could acquire a diamond in the rough. For the 2.7 WinShares Telfair's worth, Tom Ziller ranked Telfair as the No. 79 free agentavailable.

Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors: Free Agency, Trades Not A Priority

David Kahn met with the media on Thursday. Surprisingly, he said the Minnesota Timberwolves probably wouldn't be involved in many trade or free agent rumors during the lockout-shortened offseason.