2009-2010 Minnesota Timberwolves Preview

2008 Record: 24-58, 4th in Western Conf. Northwest Division
Head Coach: Kurt Rambis, 1st season
Key Additions: F-G Quentin Richardson, G-F Damien Wilkins
Key Losses: G Randy Foye, G Mike Miller, G Sebastian Telfair, F-C Shelden Williams
1st Round Draft Picks: G Wayne Ellington, G Jonny Flynn, G Ricky Rubio
2nd Round Draft Picks: F Henk Norel

2008-'09 Timberwolves Review:

How's this for a season of basketball that was over before January? Things got so bad in Minneapolis that maligned General Manager Kevin McHale fired Coach Randy Wittman and took over on the bench himself. The team lost 13 straight games to fall to 4-23 before Christmas, and in one of those losses, the T-Wolves fell by 23 points to the Clippers... at home. The post-Kevin Garnett era is, quite unsurprisingly, producing a lot of cold and ugly winters at the Target Center.

2009-'10 Timberwolves Preview:

Don't go, Ricky Rubio.

Oh, what a fine mess President David Kahn got himself into... and what a situation new Coach Kurt Rambis will inherit.

Kahn--a new executive who took over for McHale--decided to load up on point guards when blessed with the fifth and sixth picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. The jury is out as to whether Rubio (fifth pick) or Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn (sixth pick) is the better player, but the bottom line is that Kahn overdrafted at one position, costing Minnesota the ability to fill other needs on the floor. With Corey Brewer languishing at small forward after a decorated collegiate career at Florida, and Kevin Love--for all his offensive skills--lacking the toughness needed to become a premium player at both ends of the court, the T-Wolves lack imposing performers outside of 6-10 center Al Jefferson. Undersized and unable to defend (the Wolves wish they could have gotten Bruce Bowen instead of seeing the old Spur go to the Milwaukee Bucks...), this team will be howling with pain in the season to come. This will be the case with or without Rubio, a Spanish talent who is mulling over a decision about his basketball future. Rambis might be a defensive guru who helped toughen the world-champion Lakers last season, but even his most determined efforts might not be enough to transform a deficient roster.

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By Matthew Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

> View the entire 2009-2010 NBA preview here at ProBasketball-fans.com