Wolves close the season against the Pistons tonight...Love wants to know what his role is on the team...Flip Saunders praises Rubio...Hollinger says Darko can be "useful" for the team
Preview for tonight's game against the Pistons:
From the Timberwolves site (AUDIO):
The 2009-10 season concludes on Wednesday night for the Wolves. Jonah and John take a look back at some of the positives in a difficult year for the young squad. They also react to Minnesota's preseason games in Europe against the Lakers and Knicks in October.
From Ray Richardson/Pioneer Press:
Kahn said his offseason plans do not include trading Jefferson or Love, even though they are his most marketable commodities. Jefferson has three more seasons on a $65 million, five-year contract. Love has two more years under contract to the Wolves, paying him $3.6 million next season and $4.6 million in 2011-12.
So unless someone offers Kahn a trade he can't resist, Rambis must come up with a way for his two top players to coexist.
"We're still trying to figure that out ... to see if we can get away with it," Rambis said of using Jefferson and Love together on the court.
One of Kahn's key exit interviews after the season will be with Love, who wants a clearer definition of his role.
"It's not necessarily about starting," Love said. "I just want to know what their plans are for me and what I mean to the team. I need to get some things figured out. I plan to work my butt off in the summer to prove to the organization what I can do."
From the Pioneer Press: Timberwolves player recaps and analyses
From John Hollinger/ESPN:
That said, I must note that Milicic is doing some intriguing things out there. He's averaging eight points per game, shooting 48.6 percent from the floor and, most importantly, providing a real defensive presence for a team with one of the league's weakest front lines on that end. His player efficiency rating (PER) is a respectable 12.82, and according to basketballvalue.com, the Wolves are 2.36 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor.
Milicic is not a star, and he'll never be one. But he's showed in the late-season doldrums that he could be a useful player for the Timberwolves next season.
From Chris Iott/MLive.com: Darko Milicic finds new life with Timberwolves, reconsiders his plan to leave NBA after season
From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune: Rubio gets thumbs up
Washington coach Flip Saunders: "He's a phenomenal open-floor player, phenomenal passer. He lacks a little bit of strength right now. The best thing for him would be to play over there for a couple years and then come over here. If he was here this year, he wouldn't be ready. ... You can't teach sometimes skills and passing ability, things he can do. He does a lot of things very instinctively. Hopefully, the things he needs to work on -- strength and his body -- you can help him develop that. You can't teach court vision, that's the toughest thing to teach, and he's got that."
From Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports: Wall could soon join LeBron’s marketing firm
LRMR briefly represented O.J. Mayo(notes) and used James to recruit Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Jonny Flynn(notes) out of Syracuse a year ago. Sources say James has played a significant role in recruiting Syracuse’s next lottery pick, Wesley Johnson.
From Nick Longworth/University Chronicle: Wolves have promising future