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Most of us Hoopusters were expecting this to be the case even without an announcement, but the Wolves made it official today:
Flip confirms that Nikola Pekovic will be out for the remainder of the season.
— MN Timberwolves (@MNTimberwolves) March 30, 2015
Injuries have become an ever-increasing concern for the big man, as they continue to occur more and more frequently and keep him out for longer and longer stretches. He will have played in just 31 games this season, a career low. It's not unthinkable that he may be forced into early retirement a la Yao Ming.
The Wolves grabbed a fully functional backup center off waivers in Justin Hamilton, but now with Gorgui Dieng suffering from facial dents, they're back to a single true center on the roster. As it would probably (and very unfortunately) be wise to consider Pekovic as a part time player at best for the remainder of his career, the prospect of drafting Karl Towns or Jahlil Okafor is now more appealing than ever.
Among his season highlights this year: being BFFs with Thad Young's son and nearly killing Devin Harris. That's the full range of the man. So we'll at least always have the legend of the Peksecuting, ice fishing, Olympic sprinting, kid loving, bone crushing, tattoo'd & bearded Montenegrin teddy bear forever etched in Minnesota sports lore.