Malik Smith transfers to Minnesota (Yahoo! Sports)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Guard Malik Smith has signed his tender to transfer from Florida International to Minnesota.
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Joe Coleman to transfer from Minnesota (Yahoo! Sports)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joe Coleman is the first player to transfer after the coaching change at Minnesota.
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Minnesota Timberwolves Have Real Shot Now That Rick Adelman’s Returning
Let’s be honest: The Timberwolves needed Rick Adelman more than he needed them.
Adelman, 66, has already had considerable success at his stops with the Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets. Had he retired after this season to care for his ailing wife, Mary Kay, he would go down as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history.
Perhaps it is his quest to win his first championship as a head coach, perhaps it is his relationship with the returning players or perhaps he is happy to see David Kahn go (Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the two did not get along back in 2011).
Whatever it is, he is back and the Timberwolves are better for it.
First of all, Adelman has a good relationship with two pending free agents, Nikola Pekovic and Chase Budinger, as well as Kevin Love—the man Minnesota doesn’t want to see head down to Los Angeles (or elsewhere) in 2015.
Pekovic has blossomed under Adelman’s tutelage, and while he is not as vocal about his relationship with his coach, every sign points to the two getting along. The Wolves had trouble defending inside without their ginormous Montenegrin setting up camp in the paint and they need his offensive production, which has increased every year, to give guys like Derrick Williams and Love a little slack.
Budinger came out and said that he’s interested in returning to Minnesota as long as Adelman is the head coach next season, telling Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, “That’s a big part of it. He knows how I play. I work well in his system. [Adelman’s decision] going to weigh big.”
While Pekovic’s impact is easy to see, Budinger’s contributions are a bit more subtle.
He is an excellent three-point shooter that can also throw down a massive dunk or two during the course of a game. He uses his outside shot to force defenders to play him close and then will sneak past them with his lanky, lithe frame to get to the basket.
Budinger found out how to be an impact player in Adelman’s system and should thrive next season as long as his knees hold up.
Finally, as we all know, Love would have rather played for Donkey Kong than David Kahn. The addition of Flip Saunders is nice, as his reputation as a winning coach should give him credibility among the players, but make no mistake: Keeping Adelman in town is the biggest factor. The double whammy of dropping D.K. and retaining Adelman is a win-win for both K-Love and the Wolves.
In the Wojnarowski article referenced above, the Yahoo! Sports writer says that Adelman wanted to coach Love, as the Oregon native played with his son in high school. The two clearly have a good working relationship and Love has become one of the best power forwards in the game under Adelman.
It also cannot go overlooked that the coach has created a system that Ricky Rubio can thrive in and has been patient with Derrick Williams.
Few players in the NBA can pass like Rubio does, but we wouldn’t see his no-look, behind-the-back, between-a-defender’s-legs, over-hyphenated passes if he was in a system that cramped his creativity. Instead, last year it seemed like everyone knew what they were supposed to do in the corner offense and Rubio, the floor general, knew exactly where his teammates would be at any given time.
While Rubio may be the only person that is disappointed about Kahn’s departure, at least he has the stability of playing for the same coach again this year.
With Williams, let’s not forget that just about everyone had just about left him for dead at the beginning of the season. When the Timberwolves started dropping like flies at the beginning of the season, D-Will got a lot of playing time, but failed to take advantage of it. He was this incredibly athletic forward that just looked completely lost on the court.
Adelman eventually reduced his minutes, but kept sending him out there, allowing him to make adjustments on a game-by-game basis. Towards the end of the season we saw the real D-Will: He was hitting outside shots, slashing to the basket and even started playing some better defense.
Williams is a freak athlete that should be a staple in the Minnesota rotation for years to come. Not only will he hear a familiar voice this year, but he can also go into the season knowing his head coach will be patient with him. Confidence is key for Williams, as it is for many players, and he has every reason to feel secure entering next season with Adelman at the helm.
In the end, not only has Adelman proven that he is an elite coach in the NBA, but he also has a good connection with the key components of the Timberwolves going forward. Love and Rubio are the poster boys, Minnesota’s NBA Jam team. Pekovic is the team’s rock. Williams is the most versatile player. And Budinger is either the sixth man or a converted shooting guard that completes the starting five.
In an ideal world, Adelman sticks around for a couple years, brings a championship to Minnesota and rides off into the sunset, handing a competitive team off to his successor.
That is a pipe dream, of course, but so is keeping Adelman. And for right now, after all Minnesota’s fans have been through, we’ll take that.
Tom Schreier covers Minnesota sports for Bleacher Report and writes for TheFanManifesto.com. Visit his Kinja blog to see his previous work.
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Minnesota signs JC transfer Mathieu (Yahoo! Sports)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota has signed point guard Deandre Mathieu to a national letter of intent for next season.
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Minnesota Timberwolves Next Coach is… George Bluth?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are in dire need of some new management. General Manager David Kahn has made numerous personnel blunders during his four year tenure.
I didn’t realize they were this desperate though. Jeffery Tambor, also known as George Bluth from Arrested Development, tweeted this earlier today:
Have been asked to coach for theT Wolves. Honored.
— Jeffrey Tambor(@jeffreytambor) April 26, 2013
Sorry. My bad.Just a meeting to fill out the application to be considered to be interviewed to coach the T Wolves. Sorry
However, Tambor quickly clarified his tweet:
— Jeffrey Tambor(@jeffreytambor) April 26, 2013
There have been some reports that GM David Kahn is going to be fired soon and that former T-Wolves coach Flip Saunders will replace him.
I don’t know if this is some sort of weird marketing promotion for the new season of Arrested Development or if Tambor is a serious T-Wolves fan, but whatever it is, I like it.
Article found on: Next Impulse Sports
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Pitino takes 2 assistants to Minnesota from FIU (Yahoo! Sports)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — New Minnesota coach Richard Pitino has hired two assistant coaches.
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Minnesota Timberwolves Rumors: Is Kevin Love Trying To Force A Trade?
With a 29-47 record heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors, it has surely been a lost season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Injuries have been the primary factor, and forward Kevin Love’s bizarre preseason hand injury set the tone early. There had been hope Love would return from the second surgery [...]
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Minnesota Timberolves Coach Rick Adelman Joins Elite 1,000 Win Club
With the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ victory over the Detroit Pistons, Rick Adelman became the eighth head coach in NBA history to eclipse 1,000 victories for his career.
His latest sideline accolade puts him in the company of Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Larry Brown and George Karl. He was the fifth-quickest coach of the bunch to hit the milestone, having reached the 1,000-win mark in just 1,703 games.
Per Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Adelman acknowledged afterward just how “special” it was to join this elite class of coaches:
It’s special people. Some of the names up there, it’s incredible. I never, ever expected to be with that group. But like I said before, I have had some really special situations and we were able to stay a couple of places for a long time, which doesn’t happen in this league very often. To get that many wins, there are good players involved and good coaching staffs involved and good organizations involved. It was special to get this.
As much as Adelman reveled in his achievement, Berger also reminded us that his future with the Timberwolves, and the league in general, is in doubt beyond this season.
Adelman has missed ample time this year to tend to his ill wife, and earlier in the season he publicly contemplated whether or not he’d be back.
If he does, in fact, decide to walk away from the game, solace can be found in knowing he did so at a high point. Injuries prevented his Timberwolves from contending for a playoff spot, but he is the eighth-winningest coach in NBA history
Admittedly, his departure would still be more bitter than sweet.
Adelman was hired in September of 2011, much to the pleasure of Kevin Love and Co. Under his tutelage, the Timberwolves were destined to ascend from the depths of the league’s basement, where they had been dwelling since Kevin Garnett was dealt to the Boston Celtics. And presently, he’s well on his way.
Prior to Adelman‘s first season at the helm, Minnesota went 17-65 in 2010-11. Last year, (Adelman‘s first), the Timberwolves won 26 games amid a lockout-truncated schedule in 2011-12. Their victory over the Pistons (Adelman‘s 1,000th) was their 29th of the 2012-13 campaign.
Again, injuries have prevented Adelman from bringing Minnesota back to the playoffs, but his impact on the team has been profound. Eighth-winningest coach in NBA history or not, a permanent leave would be difficult to stomach for the Timberwolves, whose players have been left smitten by his work ethic.
“I love playing for him,” point guard Ricky Rubio said following Minnesota’s victory over Detroit (via Peter Kapsner of NBA.com).
Will Rubio and his teammates be playing for him for much longer?
We’re not sure. Minnesota remains an unfinished product, but Adelman has to do what’s best for him and his family.
If he ultimately decides to leave, he’ll always have those 1,000 victories to look back upon; he’ll always have the luxury of knowing he was one of the best at what he does.
“It’s something I never aspired to, never thought about, but I’m glad I got it” (via Kapsner).
In the midst of a campaign that tested Adelman both on and off the court, we’re glad Adelman got it, too.
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Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman wins 1,000
Adelman became the eighth member of the 1,000-win club
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Minnesota hires Richard Pitino as coach
Pitino completed one season as the head coach at Florida International.
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