Wolves reject offer from Pacers, Ronzone: Philly keeping other teams wondering, pre-draft workouts continue and more
From Ray Richardson/Pioneer Press:
The Timberwolves rejected the Indiana Pacers' offer to trade the No. 10 overall pick in Thursday's NBA draft for Wolves point guard Jonny Flynn, Minnesota president of basketball operations David Kahn said Monday.
"They called last week," Kahn said of the Pacers. "We turned it down in a second."...
In another development, Kahn confirmed that the Wolves and Golden State have had "preliminary" talks about 6-foot-10 forward Anthony Randolph but denied a trade was imminent.
"It won't take place this week, if it happens at all," Kahn said of the Randolph trade talks.
From Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune:
Cousins declined the Timberwolves' invitation to come to Target Center for a workout. His agent presumably balked because he saw a roster already filled with big young players and wonders where his client would fit. Wolves boss David Kahn said he told Cousins' agent that the Wolves' roster might not remain as it is currently configured and said Cousins' refusal won't determine whether the team drafts him or not.
If Wall, Ohio State's Evan Turner and Favors become the draft's first three picks, the Wolves will have to consider all the factors before passing on Cousins.
From Phil Miller/Star Tribune:
Philadelphia, picking second, "is kind of the question mark," said Wolves assistant general manager Tony Ronzone. "They're posturing [that they'll pick Evan] Turner, but they talked about Wesley Johnson today. They've talked about [Derrick] Favors, too. They're doing what they should do" by keeping other teams wondering, which could produce a trade offer or two.
The Wolves select fourth, behind the Wizards, Sixers and Nets, and have reportedly inquired about the availability of Philadelphia's pick in order to draft Turner, the Ohio State forward. If the Sixers select Favors, the Georgia Tech power forward, or Kentucky forward DeMarcus Cousins, it's possible, if unlikely, that Turner could slip to fourth without a trade.
"Hopefully I can get [new Sixers coach] Doug Collins on the phone today and get him happy and get him fired up and he'll tell me who they're picking," Ronzone joked. More likely? "We'll sit back and see what comes to us," he said. "We're in a great spot."
From Sam Smith/Bulls.com:
The talk is the Timberwolves intend to be very aggressive with their cap space and not accept some veteran or modest talent under the assumption no free agent would go there. As it was pointed out to me, Brett Favre went there because it was a better chance to win. And Favre left New York to go to Minnesota, whose sports teams, including the Twins, have a successful track record and supportive fan base.
The thinking goes like this: The Timberwolves have three firsts and seem willing to part with Al Jefferson, a post up inside player, or Kevin Love. Say Jefferson is in greater demand because he is a bigger scorer. They offer Jefferson and their three firsts, including No. 4, to Denver for Carmelo Anthony. Denver has an aging group with Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups and likely is headed down. Here’s a chance to recoup fast at a time they easily could lose Anthony in a year. So they get a potential star center and a top five pick to build a better core. And maybe pick up something for their veterans as they seem to have peaked. And Minnesota has Jonny Flynn, Love, Darko Milicic and Corey Brewer and goes for LeBron and even maybe works a sign and trade by getting Ricky Rubio to the Cavs and also LeBron out of the conference. Far fetched? Sure, but you never say never in the NBA, and perhaps more significantly, it suggests the bidding for James is hardly going to be among just the four or five teams who gutted their rosters for cap room.
From Bethlehem Shoals/Fanhouse: The Wrath of Kahn: Dissecting the Timberwolves Draft
From Jerry Zgoda's twitter account:
#Timberwolves bring in 7-1 free agent center Cheikh Samb for a look today. He has a connection with new asst GM Tony Ronzone at Detroit
From Jonah Ballow/Timberwolves site:
As the 2010 NBA Draft rapidly approaches, the Wolves continue to evaluate prospects in preparation for Thursday night. One of the most intriguing players in this year's draft entered the practice facility on Monday morning and he certainly did not disappoint. Sophomore Paul George finished one drill with a monster dunk over Bill Laimbeer while showing smooth movement in transition and off screens. George is gaining major steam in most mock drafts, all the way up to No. 12 according to draftexpress.com. Speaking of the No. 12 pick, George will workout for the Memphis Grizzlies this week after vaulting up the draft boards.
From the Timberwolves: Tony Ronzone talks after Monday's pre-draft workouts (VIDEO)
From Ray Richardson/Pioneer Press: Ryan Wittman feels right at home during pre-draft workout for Timberwolves
"Teams will look at him as a specialty player who can come off the bench and make shots," Tony Ronzone, the Wolves' new assistant general manager/player personnel, said of Wittman.
"He definitely knows what's going on. He comes from a coaching family, and all sons of coaches can shoot it."
From Mike Max/WCCO:
The irony is the gym he is trying out in is also the gym Ryan Wittman learned a lot about the game of basketball. That's, of course what happens when you father is Randy Wittman, the head coach of the Timberwolves.