Time for the Wolves to Show Their Teeth

Has anyone noticed that any team in the Central Division would be the top team in the Northwest Division? As of today that is the case, and it will remain this way for the rest of the season unless the either Kenyon Martin recovers from his injuries or the Timberwolves figure out some way to put a team behind Kevin Garnett. Since the biggest issues in Denver are injury related it hardly seems worthwhile to elucidate their hardships. On the other hand, the Wolves problems are far more roster related and are, therefore, much more fun to discuss. While trading Garnett is certainly one solution, trading a superstar almost never works out for the teams involved. Excluding the Rasheed Wallace trade, when was the last time that either team in a superstar trade won a championship? Think of this Wolves team like the Sixers when Sir Charles was in his final years with the team. In 1992, the team was faced with the prospect of either miraculously finding a team that could play with Barkley or trading him and finding players that could help them in the future. Ultimately Barkley was traded to the Suns and neither team has won a championship since then. It is not necessary for the Wolves to make a similar mistake. Through intelligent roster management and on the court play, Minnesota can go from being a one-horse team, to a team with a legit shot at winning a championship.

As prolific as he was as a player, it might be time for the Timberwolves to part ways with Kevin McHale the GM. It isn’t necessary that the moves he’s made have been bad; they just haven’t been good. Adding Michael Owolokandi seemed like a good idea at the time; he had been mired in Clipper-land and was ready to step out and play. The Wolves actually won the sweepstakes to get him. Adding Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell didn’t seem like bad moves either. Trading Marbury and Terrell Brandon also seemed to make sense at the time. One can even overlook the Joe Smith debacle because he was a productive player for the Wolves when he was on the team. All that being said, with the exception of 2004, the Wolves have not been a playoff factor; and that’s with Kevin “perennial MVP candidate” Garnett leading the way. It is time for Wolves ownership to ask, “How many unproductive moves can a guy make before we have to replace him?” They should start asking that question soon because its not too late for the Wolves since they have the best player in the game, they just need to figure out how to surround him with even the littlest bit of talent. Garnett’s face has become that of the franchise and they must reward him for his hard work.

The problem with the Wolves isn’t necessarily their first eight guys. While Garnett, Kandiman, Wally Szczerbiak, Eddie Griffin, Troy Hudson, Marko Jaric, Trenton Hassell and Rashad McCants are underperforming, it’s the Wolves lack of depth that hurts them. Their bench is just not strong enough to be a team that only puts one star player on the floor. The Wolves can either upgrade their roster by trying to acquire another star, or by strengthening their bench with players that compliment Garnett. But what if, there was some way to do both? What if the Wolves could just drop another player in to start and make a difference while at the same time adding enough depth to the team to make a championship run possible? As far-fetched as that may sound, it is possible.

McHale’s worst move was trading a first round pick and Sam Cassell (in a contract year) for Marko Jaric. This move not only cost them a still productive, albeit hobbled slightly, player as well as a draft pick for Jaric, who is no better than Cassell. While there are some moves that go down as bad or lopsided, this one is one that will go down as one of the worst possible moves a team could make. Rather than entering the season with two substantial expiring contracts, in Olowokandi’s and Cassell’s, they only enter with one. This move limits their off-season flexibility and has cost them a draft pick. It is loosing the pick to acquire a player that is at the same talent level as the one traded that hurts the most. This was a truly atrocious move, but recovery is still possible. Jaric is a legit starting point-guard on most teams, including this one. As bad as Kandi has been, he’s still as good a center as a lot of teams have in this league. Garnett obviously isn’t going anywhere so it is the swing positions that are the issue on the roster. You can start Hassell, a lock down defender who models his game after that of Bruce Bowen, if you have another player on the floor that can make up for his offensive shortcomings. That player was supposed to be Wally Szczerbiak, but at 14.8 points a game, he’s not making up for anyone. The key to the Wolves success is to somehow revamp these two positions.

While trading Szczerbiak isn’t a necessity, since he could get back to all-star form, it is a necessity for this plan. It looks like the Orlando Magic might be willing to part with Steve Francis for the right package, and as odd as it may sound, the Wolves might have the right package. If they offer Szczerbiak, McCants and Owolokandi for Francis and Stacey Augmon, they might be able to pry Francis from the Magic. This would give the Magic quite a few big expiring contacts (since Kandi’s would add one to Kevlin Cato’s and Tony Battie’s) as well as another shooter to free up the inside for Dwight Howard. McCants is also an interesting prospect with tons of potential and could join with Jameer Nelson to become the backcourt of the future for the Magic. This trade would give the Wolves a legit second star in Francis. The move would allow Jaric to play some shooting guard and Hassell to play small forward. This is only one step, since it would leave the Wolves without a lot of depth in the front. The next step is to trade Troy Hudson to a team that is desperate for a point guard. The Lakers could really benefit from his leadership and playmaking abilities. A trade of Hudson for Chris Mihm could make a lot of sense for both teams. The same qualities that would make him appealing to the Lakers would also make him a Larry Brown favorite. A trade for Jerome James could be totally realistic. Hudson and James have almost the same contract. James, while not being a “good” NBA center, could be every bit as productive as Olowokandi. This would give the Wolves a much better shot at wining with their starting-lineup.

But how, you ask, do these trades solve the Wolves bench problem? Somewhere right now Latrell Sprewell’s children are crying out to their daddy for food that he can’t afford to bring them. At this point it seems that only Miami and Minnesota can help get Spree enough money to satiate those youthful cries. Sure he was a cancer, sure he’s slowed a step, but the fact remains that Spree can flat out play. He has two or three years in him and if the Wolves offer him two years at a little bit more than he’s worth, he would almost have to take it at this point. He and Garnett get along and, as they did in 2004, could lead this squad to victory. Locking up Spree would be the Wolves final move to bolster them for success. This would give them a roster of:

PG- Steve Francis SG-Latrell Sprewell SF- Trent Hassell
PF- Kevin Garnett C- Jerome James
Bench- Marko Jaric, Stacey Augmon, Eddie Griffin, Richie Frahm, Anthony Carter, Ronald Dupree and Mark “Mad Dog” Madsen.

While this roster isn’t a lock to win a championship, it certainly has a much better chance of accomplishing this than the current roster does. The moves necessary to create this roster are all within reason and would make any GM look very smart. It gives the Wolves the depth as well as the star power that they need to succeed. The times have come for Wolves ownership to step up and aggressively try to acquire a solid roster to support Garnett. While they did it once, it is imperative that they continue to do it. If Garnett is secretly asking for a trade, maybe the Wolves should reward him and make these ones.