The Pekovic Watch begins (and a little bit of Garnett)

From the Octagonian Oregonian (seriously, what kind of a paper name is that??):

A league source said on Monday that the Blazers, who hold the No. 10 pick in the first round, have interest in two restricted free-agent centers: San Antonio's Tiago Splitter and Minnesota's Nikola Pekovic.

So, as expected, the Blazers' money and Paul Allen's personal grudge will likely hurricane together in the form of an $11-12mil/year offer to Pekovic (they currently sit at just over $11.6mil in cap space) Because of Pritchard. And Penn. And Kahn. And Adelman. And Webster. And Batum. AND REASONS.

Dear Paul Allen: Timberwolves?

While I think the likelyhood of keeping Pek has gone up with the Saunders buying in (or, more accurately, with some of the more reticent partners being bought out) I still also believe that someone's going to put close to $14mil/year on the table for him (likely a Dallas/Houston/Atlanta 'we struck out on Dwight Howard' tantrum) in which case the Wolves will have a massively complex decision to make.

ALSO

This is idle chatter of sorts. But with Doc Rivers switching coasts, the futures of both Paul Pierce and KG are up in the air. Garnett in particular was adamant he wouldn't leave Boston, but also that he didn't want to play for anyone but Rivers. And now those two things are very mutually exclusive.

Here's the thinking. The Wolves have already discussed a deal for Paul Pierce (albeit distantly). That makes sense. He's got a lot of miles and has never been a stunning athlete, but he's cagey, versatile, can shoot the lights out when he gets going, and has a work ethic that rivals anyone short of Kobe (yeah, I'm not a big fan either, but give the guy credit. He works his ass off) Pierce would also be cheaper, as he has a buyout in his contract.

Garnett on the other hand has a no-trade clause that basically means he can decide his own future. He wants to play for a contender and that's fair. He's earned that right. But Rivers went to LA and David Stern is hellbent on making sure KG doesn't follow him.

Soooo.....Timberwolves...?

We're not quite a contender, and even Garnett....even with his legs under him...wouldn't necessarily change that. There's also the rather turbulent history between KG and this franchise. But Garnett still loves this state. He still loves the fans. He deeply respects Adelman and still loves Flip. I'm guessing there's a better-than-50% chance Garnett buys into the ownership group in a couple years anyway.

Garnett would be a rather ideal big man to pair with Love. He'd also fit quite well into Adelman's system. I think the fans are at a place where we'd welcome him back, and certainly the PR guys would be overjoyed to have him on posters and tshirts again. And if we can land Paul Pierce first? Extra incentive, right? Granted, there are a couple reeeaaalllllyyyy big hurdles that would need to be cleared for this all to happen. But it's worth thinking about.