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.

Foye falls just short

Once again for three quaters, the Timberwolves lacked spark. Again handing the ball to Randy Foye at the end of the game when all seemed lost provided that spark.

Lets break this down -

First Three Quarters = Lack of Spark
Unrestrained Foye = Sparked huge comeback in fourth

Maybe just maybe it would help to unleased Foye when we are still within striking distance....

Just a thought.

ESPN Coverage

Its amazing how an opinion can change in a week.

Last week Minnesota Timberwolves ranked #26 in the league on ESPN's NBA Power Rankings. This week they rank 15th...

Are they really 11 spots better than they were a week ago, or did ESPN finally run out of columnists to demand that KG be traded?

Oh and Mr. Bill Simmons? I love ya, but it must be hard to bash mediocre Minnesota and demand they trade KG - when you have a suffering superstar on your own beloved team and decide to just blame the coach. Don't pluck a spec from our eye when there's a plank in your own.

KG's Timberwolves finish with a better record then Pierce's Celtics. Guaranteed.

Good News - Bad News

The Good: By holding on against the Denny and his horrible Cardinals, the Vikings may have "saved" their season.

The Bad: By holding on against the Denny and his horrible Cardinals, the Vikings may have "saved" their season.

Wha?

With the win, the Vikings still have a slim chance to make the 2007 playoffs as a mediocre team that will undoubtedly lose in the first round. They also may have helped secure that the 2008 Minnesota Vikings will be a mediocre team that is on the cusp of missing or making the playoffs.

At 5-6 the Viking probably have to run the table and finish 10-6 to make the playoffs. With a game against the Bears and a game in Green Bay on the schedule, this will not happen. Which will leave the Vikings just out of the playoffs and in the middle of the each round of next springs draft. In which they will surely draft solid but not great football players to add to their solid but not great football team. Thus resulting in my less than solid and certainly not great enthusiasm.

Is it too much to ask for some answers for the future? Who's our 2008 QB? Bollinger or Bennett? What is the deal with Troy Williamson? Will we ever have a passing game thats consistent?

As long as the Vikings keep on their 7-9, 8-8 track we'll probably never know. They beat their past in Denny Green this weekend, but in doing so, they're no closer to a better future.