With the Finals still two days away, and a long weekend just ended, there is not a lot going on for us NBA and Wolves junkies. But a couple of things:
Darren Wolfson has a new podcast, in which he reports, not surprisingly, that the Derrick Rose rumors are not coming from Minnesota, and that he doesn’t expect Rose to be a main target for the Wolves. Of course we know that the Wolves current front office is remarkably tight-lipped, so I would not expect them to tip their hand on any of their summer plans before they execute them. As we discussed at length last week, Rose to the Wolves is unappealing on numerous levels, so hopefully Doogie is right about this, but as with everything, it will have to await the event.
The Iowa “G-League” team that the Wolves have acquired are holding a press conference today to unveil their new name and branding now that they are associated with the Wolves. Our intrepid David Naylor will actually be there and will file a report on the goings-on. Naylor isn’t high usage, but his mobility is impressive.
The Wolves announced the hiring of former Gopher (and TImberwolf) John Thomas as Vice President of Community Engagement last week. Among his goals will be to help the current players get involved in community projects, working with their basketball camps, and connecting the team with Wolves and Lynx alumni.
That’s about it for today. I expect draft workouts at Mayo Clinic (as opposed to those that agents organize) to start ramping up in the coming days. I’m never sure whether those mean much, but we’ll start seeing them.
Today in History
1431: Joan of Arc burned at the stake in Rouen.
1498: Columbus sets sail on third trip to America
1510: Portuguese forced out of Goa (India) by Yusuf Adil Shah.
1539: Hernando de Soto reaches Florida. Is late, misses out on Early Bird Special.
1783: First daily newspaper in U.S. begins publishing in Philadelphia
1808: Napoleon annexes Tuscany.
1814: Treaty of Paris is signed returning French borders to their 1792 extent.
1848: Mexico ratifies treaty “selling” large swaths of the West and Southwest to the U.S.
1868: “Decoration Day,” later renamed “Memorial Day” first celebrated in the North.
1908: First federal Workmen’s Compensation law approved.
1912: Marines sent to Nicaragua.
1922: Lincoln Memorial dedicated in Washington, DC.
1937: Memorial Day Massacre: Chicago police kill 10 steel workers union marchers.
1961: Dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, DR.
1965: Vivian Malone is first black graduate of the U. of Alabama.
Today’s Musical Birthday
Stephen Malkmus, born in 1966.