The AP reports: Corey Brewer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, and the Minnesota Timberwolves shook off poor early shooting and beat the Chicago Bulls 96-86 Tuesday night in a preseason game. The Timberwolves (3-1) made just five of 20 shots (25 percent) in the opening quarter but ended up with six players in double figures. Brewer also had a game-high nine rebounds for Minnesota. Al Jefferson scored 13 points, Rashad McCants had 12, forward Ryan Gomes added 11 and forwards Craig Smith and Kevin Love each scored 10… Chicago center Drew Gooden scored 20 points, Nocioni had 18 off the bench and forward Luol Deng added 15.
Category: Minnesota T-Wolves Blog
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NBA suspends Telfair 3 games
Sebastian Telfair of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been suspended without pay for three games for pleading guilty to criminal possession of a weapon, in violation of the laws of the State of New York, the NBA announced today.
Telfair will be suspended for the first three games of the 2008-09 NBA regular season for which he is eligible and physically able to play.
The following statement is from Minnesota Timberwolves VP of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale regarding today’s three-game suspension of Sebastian Telfair by the NBA: “I’ve talked to Sebastian about the incident. This is something that happened in the past, and he is looking forward to putting this behind him. Since he has been a member of the Timberwolves, Sebastian has been a great teammate and has been actively involved in the community. I couldn’t be more proud of Sebastian’s continued improvement as a basketball player and as a young man.”
Wolves waive Rafael Araujo
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team has released center Rafael Araujo. The Timberwolves’ roster now stands at 18 players.
Araujo, a 6-11 center from BYU, played five minutes (one point, two rebounds) in two preseason games for the Wolves. A former first-round pick of the Toronto Raptors, he signed with the Timberwolves on Sept. 29.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Araujo will probably head overseas.
Oct 10: Nuggets 118, Wolves 95
The AP reports: The Nuggets dispatched the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-95 on Friday night, as reserve J.R. Smith finished with 21 points and Chris Andersen grabbed 11 boards. Now, they’re off to Indian Wells, Calif., to play the Phoenix Suns on Saturday in the NBA’s first outdoor basketball game in more than 35 years… Al Jefferson grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 10 points for Minnesota (2-1), while Corey Brewer had 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter… Rookie Kevin Love turned in a nine-point, 11-rebound game, while reserve Blake Ahearn finished with 17 points and Randy Foye chipped in 16.
Wolves sign David Harrison
The Minnesota Timberwolves today signed free-agent center David Harrison, bringing the team’s training camp roster to 19 players.
Harrison, a 7-0 center from Colorado, was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the first round (29th overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 189 games (33 starts) in four seasons with the Pacers, averaging 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field in each of his four NBA campaigns (53.0% for his career).
A three-year standout at Colorado, Harrison left as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (225; fourth all-time in the Big 12) and field goal percentage (60.2 percent). He earned First Team All-Big 12 and AP All-America Honorable Mention honors following his junior season.
Oct 8: Wolves 88, Thunder 82
The AP reports: Rashad McCants scored 13 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Rodney Carney and Ryan Gomes hit consecutive 3s to help Minnesota spoil the Oklahoma City Thunder’s preseason debut with an 88-82 victory Wednesday night… Al Jefferson added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Wolves (2-0) and Corey Brewer finished with 11 points. Kevin Love and Carney each finished with 10. Damien Wilkins led the Thunder with 19 points, including a layup to tie the score at 78 with 3:04 to play. McCants fouled out on the play, but Wilkins missed the free throw. Wilcox added 17 points for the Thunder, Russell Westbrook had 13 and Kevin Durant finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Wolves to sign David Harrison
The Rocky Mountain News (Chris Tomasson) reports: The Minnesota Timberwolves are coming to Denver, and center David Harrison will be with them. A source said Wednesday that Harrison, a former University of Colorado star, will sign with the Timberwolves (it’s for one year and nonguaranteed). But Harrison, a free agent who played the past four seasons with Indiana, won’t play in Friday’s preseason game against the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.
InsideHoops.com editor says: Harrison must prove himself worthy of being in the league. Right now he’s right on the bubble of sticking around for a while or falling out in a season or two. He’s 26, looked somewhat decent as a rookie (like a good future backup center), then in four seasons doesn’t seem to have improved at all. Time to show something.
Oct 6: Wolves 117, Bucks 79
The AP reports: Rookie Kevin Love scored 13 points and Mike Miller added 12, lifting the Timberwolves to a 117-79 preseason victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night that made Minnesota’s draft day trade look promising. Al Jefferson chipped in 18 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes, and the new-look Timberwolves may have acquired enough offensive threats to improve on last season’s 22-60 mark. Love originally was credited with 16 points, but 1 hour, 15 minutes after the game, the official scoring crew took three points away from Love and added them to Corey Brewer’s total, giving him 12… Rashad McCants scored 22 points and Randy Foye 11 for Minnesota. Charlie Villanueva scored 14 points and Matt Freije and Ramon Sessions had 11 each for Milwaukee.
Big Kevin Love expectations
The St. Paul Pioneer Press (Don Seeholzer) reports: The Wolves believe Kevin Love’s shooting and passing ability will make opposing teams pay for double-teaming Jefferson, as they did all last season. As for the questions about Love’s athleticism, after what coach Randy Wittman saw in the Las Vegas summer league, he said it’s not a concern. “He’s really more agile than people think,” Wittman said. “Is he going to jump out of the gym? No. Is he going to outsprint everybody up and down the floor? No. But other things that go with that make him an enticing player. He’s a very high basketball IQ guy. You like playing with guys that know how to play the game, that know how to read situations and how to read cuts. I think people feed off that. I think it helps everybody.”
Al Jefferson out 2-3 weeks with MCL sprain
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced forward Al Jefferson has suffered a mild sprain of the MCL (medial collateral ligament) in his right knee. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam taken yesterday at TRIA Orthopaedic Center in Bloomington, Minn. confirmed the injury. Jefferson is expected to be sidelined for 2-3 weeks and is expected to be ready by the start of the regular season.
In 2008, his first season with the Timberwolves, Jefferson averaged 21.0 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 1.4 apg and 1.5 bpg, all career highs. Jefferson was one of only four players in the NBA in 2007-08 to average at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. In four seasons in the NBA, Jefferson holds career averages of 13.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 0.9 apg and 1.1 bpg.