Timberwolves in a Holding Pattern

Normally, we would be entering the dead period of the NBA calendar. Most of the free agent business has been done, summer league has come and gone, and teams start preparing for training camp. Not much happens from late July through September in the NBA.

I would usually be scrambling for things to write about. Player previews? Seems a bit early. Maybe some Around the League looks at other teams. Yeah. That sounds good. The basketball World Cup is happening, gotta get RBE on the case.

But of course this summer, there is a huge issue hanging over the Wolves--the immediate future of Kevin Love. At least in part because that has to get resolved, the Wolves have done nothing significant with their roster since the season ended. They did not make QOs to Othyus Jeffers or Robbie Hummel, the drafted Zach LaVine and Glenn Robinson III...and that's it.

No trades. No free agent signings. No apparent move to bring back their own UFA, Dante Cunningham. So we wait. And while I think a Love trade is in the offing, it's possible that it doesn't happen. If it doesn't, it's looking more and more likely that the Wolves come back with almost exactly the same roster they had last year. Even if a Love trade does happen, for, say, Wiggins and parts, the rest of the roster looks likely to stay more or less the same.

The Wolves are pretty boxed in with guaranteed contracts and a nearly full roster. Which raises the question: how excited are we to see the same team take the floor in October? The same team minus Kevin Love?

At any rate, we should have a Summer League re-cap from Zach later today.

Today in History

365 Earthquake and tsunami in Mediterranean damages Alexandria
1831: Belgium independence; Leopold becomes King
1861: South wins battle of Bull Run
1873: Jesse James' first train robbery (in Iowa)
1925: Scopes found guilty of teaching Darwinism in "Monkey trial" 
1944: U.S. forces land on Guam
1949: Senate ratifies treaty forming NATO
1969: Neil Armstrong steps on moon
1974: House of Reps. approves 2 articles of impeachment against Nixon

Today's musical birthday is violinist Isaac Stern, born in 1920 (d. 2001).

Strap in. It's Monday.