Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman says he was 'pleased with the preseason'

The Minnesota Timberwolves went 5-2 in the preseason, and Rick Adelman said after the team's final game on Friday night that he was pleased with what he saw in the preseason. It was a preseason where Adelman was tasked with integrating new arrivals like Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger while dealing with the loss of star power forward Kevin Love.

That said, Adelman did point to a few areas where he would like to see improvement.

"It does surprise me," Adelman said. "I thought we'd shoot the ball a lot better than we have. I thought we'd be better at taking care of the ball in relation to assists. Those two areas have been different than I thought we'd be.

(via Minnesota Star Tribune)

Shooting was one area that GM David Kahn targeted in the offseason, most notably in jettisoning Michael Beasley and Wes Johnson in favor of Budinger and Roy. Upping the team's assist ratio will also be an important area as the team awaits the return of Ricky Rubio, who is currently rehabbing from a torn ACL. The team was led in assist/turnover ratio in the preseason by J.J. Barea and backup point guard Will Conroy, but wing players like Budinger, Alexey Shved and Derrick Williams all had issues with turnovers.

The Wolves, having completed the preseason, are off until Friday, Nov. 2, when they host the Sacramento Kings.