Ok, so the Wolves' roster has pretty much been finalized by the signing of Dwayne Jones. So I figure this is a preliminary look at our team for the coming season.
Subtractions:
Fred Hoiberg
Sam Cassell
Ervin Johnson
Latrell Spreewell
Anthony Carter (maybe)
John Thomas (maybe)
Additions:
Bracey Wright
Rashad McCants
Dwayne Jones
Marko Jaric
Lionel Chalmers
Nikolai Tskitishvili
Ok, now looking at that list, I almost hyperventilated. There are pretty significant downgrades in proven talent there. Sam Cassell for Marko Jaric, on paper, looks atrocious. But I'm not going to judge any of that until I see these guys play together. For example, does Marko Jaric try on defense? If so, he's got Sam beat by a mile. Now, he can't show you how big they are like Sam, but he gives effort, which will be an absolute must this year.
So, the depth chart looks like this:
PG-
Marko Jaric
Troy Hudson
Lionel Chalmers
SG-
Trenton Hassell
Rashad McCants
SF-
Wally Sczcerbiak
Ndudi Ebi
PF-
Jesus Harold Christ
Mark Madsen
Nikolai Tskskskssksksks
C-
Bowl of Kandi
Eddie Griffin
Dwayne Jones
Ok, that's 13 spots, probably one of them are going to end up "pulling a leg muscle" or something at the end of training camp, which will land them on the DL. I'm gambling that Bracey Wright isn't going to make the team out of camp.
So, is it an upgrade? Are they much worse? Much better? I don't really know. I know that I'm very very glad that Spree and Sam are gone, just so that the Wolves can replace them with basketball players who try and care about playing team ball. True, Jaric may drive us insane, and he was a Clipper, so that's going to be tough to overcome. True, guys like Dwayne Jones and Nikolai are unproven and raw as hell, and might sabotage KG's ability to dominate, but I'll take my chances. I think we're in for a good season. Certainly, the NBA championship expectations have been removed for now, but I think the playoffs are well within sight. And if the defense is there, you never know. That's the miracle of KG. You just never know. I've lived through the bad times. I've seen the worst. At least that lineup above isn't this:
Terrell Brandon (hurt)
Chris Carr
Kevin Garnett
Dean Garrett
Tom Hammonds
Bobby Jackson
Reggie Jordan
Sam Mitchell
Rasho Nesterovic
Andrae Patterson
Anthony Peeler
Dennis Scott
Joe Smith
Trevor Winter
Because the Wolves have fielded that team. And it wasn't fucking pretty. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this year. Should be a good time. I'm glad that Deadzo is not coaching the team this year. I'm glad that Kevin Garnett is still alive. I'm glad that Rashad McCants is ghetto. I'm glad that Mark Madsen is back (although the Caucasian Connection is down to just 2 members now). And you never know. With Wally shooting the lights out, McCants going to the rack with the thunder, Old Dirt Dog hustling down rebounds, Eddie blocking shots (talking about basketball here), and Kevin Garnett existing on the floor, you never know.
Let's do it.
1 comment:
In many ways I'm less excited about this season than I was for last season, but I'm also a little more excited for this season. First and foremost, there won't be another historically awful let down this year like there was last year because the expectations aren't as high - which is also sad.
The roster looks good, but not necessarily better than it was last year, but like you said, there are two less cancers in the lockerroom, so team chemistry should be better. And frankly atleast the roster doesn't include any of the following:
Lance Blanks
Tellis Frank
Gundars Vetra
Dennis Scott
Tom Hammonds
Bill Curley
Cherokee Parks
Winston Garland
Myron Brown
Marlon Maxey
Scott Roth
Trevor Winter
Stanley Roberts
Thank God none of them are forced to fill roster spots cuz they were ALL awful.
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