sports
Jerry Zgoda missed the entire Kevin Garnett era, but he's back covering the Timberwolves after working the beat for their first four seasons two decades ago. In between, he covered a bit of everything: Gopher men's and women's basketball and NCAA athletics, golf, outdoor recreation, sports media and a little Vikings and Twins.
Wolves sign Lazar Hayward
Posted by: Chris Miller under Wolves players Updated: December 31, 2012 - 11:48 AM
The Timberwolves are bringing back Lazar Hayward to fill the roster spot caused by Josh Howard's injury.
They signed Hayward, a free-agent forward today, with terms of the deal not announced. He had been released by Houston earlier this season.
Here is the Wolves' release:
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has signed free-agent forward Lazar Hayward. Per team policy, terms of the contract will not be disclosed.
Hayward, drafted by the Washington Wizards in the first round (30th overall) of the 2010 NBA Draft, was originally acquired by Minnesota in a draft night trade on June 24, 2010. In 2010-11, he appeared in 42 games as a rookie with the Wolves and finished with averages of 3.8 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 10.9 mpg. The 6-6 forward was traded to Oklahoma City on Dec. 13, 2011 for two future second-round draft picks. After spending one season with the Thunder, Hayward was traded to Houston on Oct. 27, 2012 and was released by the Rockets prior to the start of the 2012-13 NBA season. Hayward has appeared in 69 NBA regular-season games with Minnesota (2010-11) and Oklahoma City (2011-12), posting averages of 2.9 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game.
Hayward played collegiately at Marquette University where he started 118 of 138 games, and averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from behind the arc. The second all-time leading scorer in Marquette history with 1,859 career points, Hayward played in a school-record 138 games and earned Second Team All-Big East and Honorable Mention AP All-American honors as a senior.
Postgame: Wolves heating up in December
Posted by: Kent Youngblood under Wolves postgame Updated: December 29, 2012 - 10:41 PMBy ending a two-game losing streak the Wolves improved to 14-13 tonight. And while that might not seem particularly stunning, consider this: It is their best start after 27 games since 2005-06.
The Wolves finished this month 7-5, their first winning record in December since going 8-6 in 2004.
Before tonight’s game coach Rick Adelman was talking about how good his team has been in the face of multiple injuries and a revolving, changing lineup. Well, the Wolves did it again Saturday. Ricky Rubio started suffering back spasms in practice Friday. He was still sore Saturday and, after trying to warm up before the game, became a late scratch.
But, playing with a three-guard rotation, the Wolves figured out a way to win. Luke Ridnour struggled with his shot, but made a big baseline jumper in the fourth quarter. Alexey Shved finished with 12 points and 10 assists and J.J. Barea scored 10 points. The three guards combined for 26 points, 19 assists and six turnovers.
Here are some other observations from this evening:
--Sid Hartman makes a better door than window. Sir Sid stood up for the final moments of the game, making it rather difficult for the scribes sitting behind him to see the action.
--Boy did Nikola Pekovic rebound from an illness-induced, two-point performance against Houston. Pek was unstoppable for the Wolves tonight, especially late. He has been the Wolves’ leading scorer in five of the last nine games.
--Shved continues to grow. He had 10 points and five assists in the second half.
--The Wolves front court of Pekovic, Kevin Love and Andrei Kirilenko combined for 71 points and 34 rebounds.
That’s about it for tonight. Have a great weekend.
Roy to explore "additional treatment options'' on knee; Rubio out tonight
Posted by: Kent Youngblood under Wolves injury report, Wolves players Updated: December 29, 2012 - 7:01 PMThe Wolves just gave us this release from Brandon Roy:
"Last week while practicing, I suffered a setback in my recovery," Roy said in the statement. "I've felt better since the recent surgery (on his right knee Nov. 19). The past two days I have been weighing all of my options as I try to continue my basketball career. I have decided to explore additional treatment options and an extensive rehabilitation plan. My goal has been, and continues to be, to return to the basketball court as healthy as possible in order to help our team."
President of basketball operations David Kahn will be talking shortly. I will update this blog when I have more information.
Meanwhile, the team just announced Ricky Rubio will miss tonight's game with back spasms.
Roy contemplating retirement?
Posted by: Kent Youngblood under Wolves injury report, Wolves players, Wolves pre-game Updated: December 29, 2012 - 2:11 PMIt appears the Wolves and Brandon Roy are at or near a decision about Roy’s immediate future, and whether the NBA will be a part of that future.
Roy was not part of the Wolves’ morning shootaround Saturday. This a day after he missed Friday’s practice for what the team called personal reasons.Also Saturday came a report that Roy had suffered setbacks from his return from right knee surgery.
On Thursday Roy, who had the surgery Nov. 19, took part in a vigorous practice, and said how he recovered from such a hard workout would give him a good idea of when he could return to action. Indeed, Roy even hinted that a strong Friday practice might prompt him to lobby coach Rick Adelman to play Saturday.
He has not practiced since then.
President of basketball operations David Kahn, who was at Target Center Saturday morning, declined comment. But it appears clear a decision has to be made concerning Roy, whether it be further rehab, getting a second opinion on the knee or ending his NBA comeback by retiring again.
Knee issues forced Roy into retirement, and he missed all of last season. After undergoing platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, Roy felt good enough to attempt a return to the NBA. He went through training camp and most of the preseason before bumping knees in a game late in the preseason. He appeared in the team’s first five games before pain in the knee eventually forced Roy to undergo an arthroscopic surgery, his seventh such procedure.
Saturday morning Yahoo! Sports reported Roy has had setbacks in his recovery from that surgery that has delayed his return to action.
Love getting better
Wolves forward Kevin Love said this morning that his body has felt as good as it has all season over the past couple days and he’s looking forward to rebounding from his difficult game against Houston Wednesday.
“It’s fun to actually have my body feel good out there,” he said. “And it has the last couple days.”
Love has been plagued with injuries much of the season, starting with the two broken bones in his right hand sustained before the start of the season while doing knuckle pushups at his home. He has also battled the flu, some back pain and a painful poke in the eye. All, he said, have made it difficult both to get his conditioning to where it needs to be and to find a rhythm with his shot.
“But I have to look at it like 2013 is right around the corner,” Love said. “And every game is a new day, a new time to improve the team, improve myself, and keep pushing through this.”
Love said his hand still sometimes feels stiff and his shot sometimes feels strange coming off his hand. He admitted that his conditioning has not yet been where it needs to be.
But both, he said, are coming along.
“I was just getting back really to myself as far as conditioning goes, and then I got poked in the eye, and I couldn’t do anything for five days,” he said. “That was definitely tough, and coming back on the 26th was no exception, having just had a shootaround and no workouts. You know, I just hope to stay healthy for the rest of this year, 2013 and beyond. There’s still a lot of games left, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Roy misses practice for personal reasons
Posted by: Kent Youngblood under Wolves players, Wolves practice news Updated: December 28, 2012 - 3:42 PM
Wolves guard Brandon Roy, working his way back from knee surgery, missed Friday's practice due to personal reasons.
The team didn't specify what those reasons were. But, given Roy's history of knee problems, his attempt at a comeback this season, and the work he has put in to return from his latest surgery, it's hard not to wonder whether the absence Friday was knee-related.
"As far as I know it's personal reasons," coach Rick Adelman said. When asked later if he thought the absence was knee-related, Adelman said, "I have no idea. Just personal reasons."
Roy has been working hard to return from Nov. 19 surgery on his right knee. In a recent interview he said his knee had responded well to the procedure and that he had not contemplated leaving the game again. After a hard practice Thursday Roy said he felt good and, given another good practice Friday, hoped to return to action Saturday against Phoenix.
Now any return will have to be pushed back.
Meanwhile:
--Adelman said Ricky Rubio has been cleared to play up to 24 minutes a game, but whether he will or not depends on how well Rubio is playing and how the game is going.
--Chase Budinger said there have been no setbacks from his November surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. He said he hopes to return in time to play "20-plus" games, which means he is aiming for a mid-March return.
--Adelman said Kevin Love -- who declined to talk with reporters Friday -- appears to be out of rhythm so far this year, with his injuries a possible contributing factor. "It's just something he's going to have to work through, play through," Adelman said. "He's really important in the way we play. When he's making shots it opens it up for everybody."
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