The Wolves just completed their annual "media day" at Target Center, shuffling players and coach Rick Adelman up to a podium one by one -- and sometimes two by two -- to talk about the forthcoming season.
It's on: Wolves media day kicks off training camp, season
The Wolves shuffled players and coach Rick Adelman up to a podium one by one -- and sometimes two by two -- to talk about the forthcoming season. First practice is Tuesday afternoon in Mankato.
October 1, 2012 at 10:23PM
Some highlights off the top of my head:
* Both Adelman and David Kahn said they don't expect any roster additions or changes, at least not in the coming days.l
* Adelman seemed quite happy with a remade roster that gives him more versatility, more veteran leadership and more guys who know how to play the game. When asked how much of what he wanted he got from the summertime changes that added Andrei Kirilenko and Brandon Roy as well as others, he said, "We'll see."
He said he was stunned how the team fell apart last season after Ricky Rubio was injured.
"It was pretty evident last year we had a huge dropoff" when we had injuries," he said. "You have to look at people you have & how they respond."
He also said, "I think we have a chance to be a lot better in a lot of areas. When you look at Brandon and Andrei, they know how to play. That's a big difference."
* Kahn said newly signed backup center Greg Stiemsma will be limited some in 5-on-5 play during training camp as a precaution for his plantar fasciitis foot injury that bothered him last season.
* Adelman said it doesn't make sense to play Roy in the one preseason back-to-back games Oct. 12 and 13, and said he'll use that time instead to look more at Alexey Shved and play Chase Budinger at shooting guard more.
Roy seemed surprised when told that and agreed it probably didn't make much sense, but said he definitely intends to play back-to-back games during the regular season.
* Kirilenko and Shved had quite a chemistry together during a joint media interview sessions. They've knowing each other for years and Kirilenko told a story of seeing a photo of a 5- or 6-year-old Shved holding up a signed Kirilenko jersey.
Shved corrected him in his broken English and said he was more like 11 or 12 when the photo was taken.
* Kirilenko on him and Shved arriving in Minnesota: "We prove Russia can invade the United States, in terms of basketball."
* The Blazers didn't waste much time handing out Brandon Roy's No. 7 jersey number. They've given it to camp invitee Coby Karl.
"Did they?" Roy asked. "I hope he wears it well. I didn't know that."
Roy added he's pals with Karl, the son of Denver coach George Karl, so he seemed OK with the decision.
* Unlike Kevin Garnett, Stiemsma says he still has former Boston teammate Ray Allen's phone number stored in his cell.
"I still got it, I still got it," he said, smiling.
* The Wolves will televise two preseason games on FSN and carry two radio games on WCCO 830 AM: They'll televise the two Target Center home games, Oct. 13 vs. Chicago and Oct. 16 vs. Maccabi Bazan Haifa and will radio broadcast the Oct. 13 Bulls game and an Oct. 26 game against Milwaukee at Green Bay.
They roll out the ball for the first training camp practice tomorrow at noon in Mankato. And no, practices aren't open to the public (or media).
The “sticky” ball that coach Chris Finch so deplores showed up for the first game, after a preseason when offense happened smoothly. On defense, “resistance” was missing, the coach said.
