The new era of the Minnesota Timberwolves is upon us. Kevin Garnett has been sent to Boston, Mike James to Houston, Troy Hudson to well, somewhere other than here. Like the beleaguered party host, the Timberwolves still have some guests that haven’t found their way out the door just yet – Ricky Davis, Marko Jaric, Trenton Hassell and Mark Blount. Guys, you don’t have to go home, you just can’t stay here.

Therefore suggested actions to rid Minnesota of these now unwanted guests:

Trade A:

Marko Jaric to New Jersey for Jason Collins

Collins can hold down the end of the bench and serve as a whipping boy against the muscle of the west. Plus, his contract expires two years sooner than Jaric’s.

Trade B:

Ricky Davis to contender at the trade deadline for youth

Yes, it would be great to get Davis out the door sooner. However, with Ricky’s past attitude issues it won’t be easy to find a taker. Minnesota’s best option is to wait for an injury to hamper a contender and then send Ricky out of town. With the lack of experienced scoring options he’ll put up good numbers for the first couple months and then find his way out of town. If he becomes a problem, he gets sent home. If this is made clear, Ricky certainly won’t be an issue in a contract year.

Trade C:

Trenton Hassell to Miami for Michael Doleac and Wayne Simien

Hassell goes to Miami as yet another useful part who won’t ask for the ball. Miami might be the only team in the league with a serious need for veteran swingmen. Right now its Wade backed up by a rookie (Dequan Cook) and Dorell Wright and hope for a black out at the three. Doleac is yet another expiring that could be cut, with Simien an end of the bench part who is cheap and young.

Trade D:

Mark Blount to Cleveland for Eric Snow and David Wesley

Snow and Wesley become default assistant coaches. Wesley expires this season so if needed could be cut and allowed to find another home. Snow has only one year left and has never been known as a locker room misfit. Blount can serve as an additional bench scorer for the Cavaliers. His mid-range jump shooting game would serve him well as a dive and dish option for Lebron.



Opening Day Roster (Davis trade mid-season)

PG: Foye/Telfair/Snow
SG: Davis/Green/McCants
SF: Brewer/Gomes
PF: Jefferson/Smith/Howard/Simien
C: Collins/Madsen/Richard

Cuts: Ratliff, Wesley, Doleac

The roster is still light at 1, 3, 5 but with greater financial flexibility. Howard would undoubtedly opt out and hopefully Davis could be spun off for expiring contracts and a young 1, 3 or 5 at the deadline.

There is also a decent chance this roster doesn’t win 30 games, which puts Minnesota in a perfect position to add a tremendous talent in next years draft. Sure, right now there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of franchise players, but at this point last year, we didn’t know that much about Kevin Durant either.