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A year ago, our friend Tim Allen traveled out to Las Vegas for summer league. He did so with his usual infectious enthusiasm and excitement.
He spent a week staying in a house with other SB Nation bloggers, attending games, taking note of NBA fashions, and doing stupid things like walking 10 miles in the Las Vegas heat. He had a fantastic time, which shines through in the article he wrote: What I Learned From NBA Summer League.
That same day, he wrote a quintessential Tim Allen article bidding farewell to Wayne Ellington, one of his favorite players, who was traded to the Grizzlies for Dante Cunningham. Tim loved Wayne because character was important to him. He would always choose the players who showed class on and off the floor, and took time for fans over pure talent. It was as important to him that the team he rooted for had good people on it as good players. He and I spent a lot of time arguing about that. I hope he would be happy with the makeup of this year's Wolves.
Two weeks later, he left us.
So as Summer League comes around once again, we remember Tim Allen, Wolves fan and friend. He is missed.
The Wolves take on the D-League entry this afternoon at 5:30 CDT. Players to keep an eye on are, of course, the Wolves draft picks, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, both of whom have guaranteed contracts, Chris Johnson, another player with a guaranteed contract (let's see if we can spot that added 15 pounds), and Lorenzo Brown, the Wolves second round choice who has a shot at making the club this fall.
Talk about it here if that's your thing.
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