Minnesota T-Wolves Blog – Page 76 – NBA Blog

Al Jefferson out two games with personal matter

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that center Al Jefferson has left the team to tend to a family member’s illness in Florida. Jefferson will miss the next two Wolves games – Friday, Nov. 13 vs. Dallas and Saturday, Nov. 14 at Memphis. He will re-join the team early next week.

This season, Jefferson in nine games is averaging 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.44 steals per game and is shooting just 43.0% from the field. He’s not quite himself yet and still coming back after being injured.

Timberwolves file lawsuit over signage rights

The Minnesota Timberwolves Limited Partnership filed a lawsuit today in Hennepin County District Court seeking resolution of a dispute with AEG, the operator of the Target Center, arising out of AEG’s failure to give its consent to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ proposal to install signs on the Second Avenue North exterior face of the Target Center.

The lawsuit alleges that the contractual arrangements relating to Target Center provide that AEG’s consent is required in order for the Minnesota Timberwolves to install additional exterior signs on Target Center, and that AEG is not permitted to withhold its consent “unreasonably.” The Minnesota Timberwolves claim AEG has unreasonably withheld its consent.

“We generally have a fine relationship with AEG and regret that we have been forced into filing this lawsuit,” said Rob Moor, CEO of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He added that the parties had engaged in months of negotiations and mediation in an effort to settle the dispute, “but the parties simply have a fundamental disagreement over our contractual rights.”

The Minnesota Timberwolves are seeking a temporary injunction to prohibit AEG from erecting signs of its own on the exterior to the Target Center or from seeking to negotiate with the City of Minneapolis or potential advertising sponsors with respect to exterior signage, asserting that AEG has no right to do so.

Timberwolves hire Darrick Martin

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team has named 13-year NBA veteran Darrick Martin as the team’s Assistant Director of Player Development. Martin will aid Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development J.B. Bickerstaff with the all of the team’s player development initiatives.

“I’m very excited to welcome Darrick to our staff,” Timberwolves Head Coach Kurt Rambis said. “He’s been around this league a long time and will be a tremendous resource for our players, both on and off the court.”

Martin began his NBA career with the Timberwolves, joining the team as a free agent midway through the 1994-95 season. He went on to play 13 seasons in the league, including stints with the Vancouver Grizzlies, L.A. Clippers, Sacramento Kinds, Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors. Martin’s best statistical seasons came during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 campaigns, when he appeared in all 82 games both years for the L.A. Clippers and averaged 10.9 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. The UCLA alum owns career averages of 6.9 points and 2.9 assists in 514 career games.

Despite beginning his career with the Timberwolves, Martin is best remembered for his second stint with the team during the 2003-04 season. After joining the Minnesota midway through the season, Martin went on to appear in 16 of Minnesota’s 18 playoff games during the Wolves’ run to the Western Conference Finals, and was the starting point guard for Games 4, 5, and 6 of the conference finals series vs. the L.A. Lakers.

Oleksiy Pecherov shining for Wolves

Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (via blog):

Timberwolves forward Oleksiy Pecherov has become the team’s most improved player, and he’s done it in the past three games. When Pecherov, as Wolves coach Kurt Rambis puts it, “learns how to compete in this league and gets a better understanding of our offense and defense,” the Wolves might get quality production out of a player they weren’t sure about.

The 7-foot Pecherov, a three-year veteran from Ukraine, came to the Wolves from the Washington Wizards in June in the draft-day trade that shipped out Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Pecherov was a relative unknown, but that could change.

Rambis has started Percherov the past four games, and his career-high 24 points against Boston Wednesday night will keep him in the starting lineup.

Timberwolves exercise Corey Brewer, Kevin Love options; decline Oleksiy Pecherov option

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team has exercised the fourth-year option on guard/forward Corey Brewer and the third-year option on forward Kevin Love. The Wolves declined to extend forward Oleksiy Pecherov for next season.

“We are happy to extend Kevin and Corey for next season,” said David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations. “All of us have been impressed with the determination displayed by both players this summer to make themselves better players through conditioning, hard work and skill development. I believe both have the drive and desire to be special players in this league.

“As for Oleksiy [Pecherov], I spoke to him this morning that he should not interpret this decision as if Coach Rambis and I believe he has no future with our organization. Far from it. Because of our cap flexibility next season, we could re-sign Oleksiy next summer if it is in our mutual interests. He is a young player with potential, who is just seeing significant playing time for the first time in his career.”

Brewer, a third-year forward from Florida, appeared in just 15 games for the Wolves last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury on Nov. 29, 2008 vs. Denver. After averaging 5.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game as a rookie, Brewer increased his scoring to 6.2 points per game last season and is averaging 12.3 points per game thus far in 2009-10.

Love, the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, appeared in 81 games for the Wolves as a rookie, averaging 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. His 29 double-doubles on the season were the most in the NBA among rookies and the most ever by a rookie in Wolves franchise history. Love averaged 12.5 points and a league-leading 11.5 rebounds per game in his four preseason appearances before breaking a bone in his left hand on Oct. 16 at Chicago.

Timberwolves today

Sunday Night’s Recap

Phoenix 120, Minnesota 112: In the team’s first road game of the 2009-10 campaign, the Wolves dropped a 120-112 decision to the Phoenix Suns at U.S. Airways Center. Despite falling down by 17 points in the fourth quarter, the scrappy Wolves fought back, trimming the Suns lead to as little as five points on a Ryan Hollins 15-foot jumper with 3:13 remaining. However, on the next possession, Grant Hill answered with a three-pointer pushing the Suns lead back to eight points and the Wolves could not get any closer. Ryan Gomes led the way with season-highs of 23 points and 15 rebounds. Al Jefferson added 21 points and Corey Brewer scored a career high with 19 points. All five Phoenix starters scored in double figured topped by Channing Fry’s 25 points. Minnesota is now 1-2 on the season.

Leader of the Pack: Wolves point guard Jonny Flynn entered last night’s game leading all rookies in scoring with 17.5 ppg. The 6-0 guard led the Wolves in scoring in the first two games with 18 points (13 points in the fourth quarter) and 17 points respectively. His 35-point two-game total to start his career is the second-most by a Wolves rookie. Donyell Marshall had 38 points in his first two games to start the 1994-95 campaign. Flynn finshed with 11 points vs. Phoenix.

Big Al: Entering last night’s game, Al Jefferson has feasted on the Suns since joining the Wolves. In the six games he has played against Phoenix as a member of the Wolves, Big Al has posted averages of 28.7 points and 15 rebounds. Jefferson finished with a season-high 21 points and 8 rebounds in last night’s game.

Monday’s Game: Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m. – FSN/KFAN-AM: The Timberwolves wrap up their brief two-game road trip tonight at STAPLES Center as they battle the L.A. Clippers beginning at 9:30 p.m. Minnesota won last year’s season series by a 2-1 count, with both wins coming in Los Angeles. In the all-time series, the Wolves hold a 43-35 advantage and are 17-22 in Los Angeles. There will be a couple of familiar faces on the Clippers roster as Minnesota goes against former teammates Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair, who were traded to the Clippers during the summer.

Utah Flash hire Mark Madsen as assistant coach

Jody Genessy of the Deseret News reports:

The Mad Dog is coming to Utah.

The really good news about Mark Madsen’s arrival in the Beehive State is that he’s coming to coach basketball, not to give dancing lessons.

Madsen, who became legendary for his funky championship-celebration gyrations after his Los Angeles Lakers won an NBA title earlier this decade, is joining the Utah Flash’s coaching staff this season.

The former NBA player, who most recently was with the Minnesota Timberwolves, announced on his personal Web site late Thursday night that he was invited to be an assistant on head coach Brad Jones’ staff this season. The Flash confirmed the hiring in a Friday morning press release.

“I am very excited about joining the Utah Flash organization,” Madsen said. “Not only for the opportunity to assist head coach Brad Jones and to learn the Utah Jazz system, but also to share my knowledge and experience with the players.”

The Flash are a cool D-League team. Their owner likes to make a bit of noise, in a good way. It’ll be fun to check on them once in a while just to see how Madsen adjusts and learns the new job.

Kevin Love has hand surgery

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love underwent successful surgery on Tuesday evening to repair a fracture in his left hand (fourth metacarpal). The procedure was performed by Dr. Andrew Weiland of New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery and involved the insertion of three screws into Love’s hand. The typical recovery time for this type of injury is six to eight weeks.

Love suffered the injury during the third quarter of the Timberwolves’ Oct. 16 preseason game at Chicago. In his four preseason appearances, Love averaged 12.5 points (.471 FG%) and 11.5 rebounds per game.

Mavericks trade Nathan Jawai to Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has acquired 6-10 forward Nathan Jawai and cash considerations from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. The pick is protected through the 55th draft position.

“Nathan is a young project who likely will add depth to our roster at his position,” said David Kahn, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operation. “We were contemplating this trade prior to Kevin Love’s hand injury, so this move is not intended to replace Kevin in the short term by any means. That would not be fair to Nathan. Rather, this move provided us an opportunity to work with a young player with size, and later determine if he could be a fit for us.”

Jawai, a native of Sydney, Australia, was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 41st overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, and was subsequently traded to Toronto as part of the deal that sent Jermaine O’Neal to the Raptors. Jawai appeared in six games during his rookie season, playing a total of 19 minutes. He also appeared in 14 games for the Idaho Stampede of the NBA D-League, averaging 11.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the field.

Prior to entering the NBA Draft, Jawai played one season in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL), where he averaged 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the Cairns Taipans. Jawai was the 2007-08 NBL Rookie of the Year, the 2007 NBL All-Star Game MVP and earned All-NBL Second Team honors.

Kevin Love out six weeks with broken left hand

The AP reports: Minnesota forward Kevin Love fractured a bone in his left hand during the Timberwolves’ 94-90 preseason loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night and will likely miss about six weeks.

InsideHoops.com editor says: The report says Love’s hand hit Oleksiy Pecherov’s elbow, causing the injury. This obviously hurts the Timberwolves, who rely on Love as one of their key young building blocks. It puts even more pressure on Al Jefferson, who already receives huge attention from defenders.