wolves/nba
Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could keep lies from conquering the minds of the weak. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part.
Follow Randball on Twitter
ESPN's Chad Ford gives Timberwolves one of five worst grades in NBA for their offseason moves
Posted by: Michael Rand under Wolves news Updated: July 24, 2012 - 3:25 PM
Will Alexey "Crossover Panda" Shved help the Wolves more than ESPN thinks?
ESPN's Chad Ford has revised his offseason NBA grades, and he isn't particularly kind to your Timberwolves. Keep in mind, this is just one man's opinion (and an insider opinion, for that matter). Far be it from us to completely agree, since we did recently argue that sometimes the best deals are the ones a team doesn't make.
But still, here is what Ford had to say:
The Timberwolves had the right idea in pursuing Batum. He would be a nice fit at small forward. The $46.5 million price tag is a lot, but Rule 1 of Restricted Free Agency 101 says you have to dramatically overpay to convince a home team not to match. The Wolves didn't overpay enough, and the Blazers, as expected, quickly matched the offer.
Roy is by far the most interesting pickup; no one knows if his knees will hold up enough to make him worth the $10 million the Wolves are paying. If he's healthy enough to be a contributor, this was a good move. If not, the Wolves won't have much to show for their offseason other than adding Budinger and Shved -- two shooters who don't bring a lot more to the table.
The waiving of Milicic via the amnesty clause only highlights how silly their offer was to him two years ago. Ditto for the dumping of Webster. The Wolves gave up a mid-first round pick for him last year.
Overall, short of Roy having a miraculous recovery, the improvements this summer have been minimal. Somewhere, Kevin Love is pouting.
He gives the Wolves an overall grade of C-, which is among the five worst doled out for any NBA team. Just so you know.
explore the Wolves/NBA
ADVERTISEMENT
| Minnesota - LP: V. Worley | 3 | FINAL |
| Atlanta - WP: P. Maholm | 8 |
| Cincinnati - WP: A. Simon | 7 | FINAL |
| NY Mets - LP: B. Parnell | 4 |
| Los Angeles - WP: H. Ryu | 9 | FINAL |
| Milwaukee - LP: W. Peralta | 2 |
| Oakland - LP: J. Parker | 1 | FINAL |
| Texas - WP: R. Wolf | 3 |
| Arizona - LP: T. Cahill | 1 | FINAL |
| Colorado - WP: J. De La Rosa | 4 |
| Washington | 1 | Top 9th Inning |
| San Francisco | 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 2 | Bottom 8th Inning |
| Toronto | 2 |
| Chicago Cubs - J. Samardzija | 6:05 PM |
| Pittsburgh - F. Liriano |
| Detroit - J. Verlander | 6:05 PM |
| Cleveland - U. Jimenez |
| NY Yankees - H. Kuroda | 6:05 PM |
| Baltimore - J. Hammel |
| Seattle - B. Maurer | 6:05 PM |
| LA Angels - J. Williams |
| Philadelphia - C. Lee | 6:10 PM |
| Miami - K. Slowey |
| Boston - C. Buchholz | 7:10 PM |
| Chicago WSox - H. Santiago |
| Kansas City - J. Shields | 7:10 PM |
| Houston - J. Lyles |
| St. Louis - T. Lyons | 9:10 PM |
| San Diego - B. Smith |
| Indiana | 7:30 PM |
| Miami |
| Pittsburgh | 6:30 PM |
| Ottawa |
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters