SB Nation Minnesota - Bucks Vs. Timberwolves: Minnesota Opens Preseason Against Milwaukee

Bucks Vs. Timberwolves: Minnesota Tips Off Preseason Against Milwaukee

2011-12-17T15:12:15Z

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

2011-12-14T00:36:05Z

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

2011-12-12T23:11:00Z

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

2011-12-12T22:50:04Z

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

2011-12-12T14:37:17Z

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

2011-12-12T00:41:07Z

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

2011-12-11T05:13:49Z

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

2011-12-10T13:43:12Z

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.