Post All Star Break: Wolves still have work to do

If you are a fan of the Timberwolves you have been pleasantly surprised at how well the baby Wolves have been playing this year. It hard to point your finger at one thing that has made last years worst team in to a team one game out of the 8th seed in the western conference. The easiest thing to do is credit Kevin Love for his MVP-like play. Last year he made huge strides by becoming a double-double machine. This year he has taken his game to another level and is arguably the best power forward in the game because of his rebounding and in and outside scoring ability.

Love has been fantastic but we can not forget about the addition of Ricky Rubio and what he has done for the team. If you do not watch the Wolves play, you will never understand his value. His 11 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds per game have been what we expected, just not this soon. His shooting percentages are low (37% from the field) but those were expected coming in. Outside of stats, he keeps this team together. He plays with high energy all the time and is always looking to push the ball. He keeps his teammates engaged because they know that if they are open, he will find a way to get them the ball. If he is not looking to score he’s keeping the offense flowing. There is a reason why in the first month of the season, Rubio lead all NBA players in 4th quarter minutes. His defense has been underrated and his 2.4 steals per game is second in the league behind Mike Conley. The best thing about Ricky is that because of his skill set the Timberwolves are able to play two and sometimes three point guards on the floor at once. It is not unusual to see Rubio and either Luke Ridnour or JJ Barea on the floor at the same time. We can also credit the poor play of the wings for this. Rubio has been very good statistically but if you watch the games, you know his value to the team is almost equal to Kevin Love’s.

Outside of Rubio and Love, there has been another surprise, the emergence of Nikola Pekovic. The hard nosed big man is the definition of a bruiser. Coming into the league he was compared to Luis Scola and just in his second year, he is already living up to those comparisons. He’s tough inside and knows his limitations. He has turned into a great compliment to Love in the paint.
The downside is that the wing play has been mediocre at best. Wes Johnson transformation into a shooting guard has been a terrible experiment. He’s not a guard and please, I do not even want to get started on his shooting. He is shooting 38% from the field, 21% from deep and 63% from the line. He does not scare anyone on the defensive end and his 2 rebounds a game pretty much places him in the top-5 of the ‘why does this person start in the NBA’ list.

Michael Beasley started the year off strong as he found his role with the new look Wolves in Adelman’s system. An ankle injury sidelined him three weeks and it has been down hill from there. The team learned to play and win without him and with Derrick Williams eager for more minutes it is all but certain that Beasley will be traded by the March 15th deadline.

Derrick Williams has had a slow start to his rookie season. At times he has shown why he was taken 2nd overall. He is loaded with talent and physical gifts. Unfortunately, the majority of the time he has shown that he has a lot of learning to do and should be happy that he was not forced in to a starting role. For now he is a consistent ESPN top-10 highlight almost every game.

So where do the Timberwolves go from here. If they make a run, they could find themselves in the playoffs. They still have glaring weaknesses on the wing and could use another ball handler. A guard or forward that can create his own shot would be great. With the trade deadline two weeks away here are a few ways the Wolves can improve their team and possibly sneak into the playoffs.

First, make the easy decision and get rid of Beasley. The kid has talent but needs to be on a veteran team. He is not in the Wolves future plans so it is best to part ways now. If they can get a first round pick in the back half of the draft, they have to make the deal. Remember the Wolves acquired Beasley for a second round pick, so if they can flip him two years later for a first rounder David Kahn deserves some credit. The Lakers, Pistons and Celtics have all been rumored to have interest in Beasley and his expiring deal.

The next move needs to be made for a wing that can create his own shot. This move has to be made without giving up any core pieces. That rules out names such as Monta Ellis and Kevin Martin. Players in play are Ben Gordon, OJ Mayo and Stephen Jackson. Gordon and Jackson bring defense to the table and all three bring much needed outside shooting. Stephen Jackson is not the type of player I would place in a young lockeroom, so that leaves Ben Gordon and OJ Mayo. With Mayo you have to hope he will resign this year and hope it will be for a reasonable price. Gordon is locked in for two years and if it does not work, the Wolves still have their amnesty clause. Gordon is the player the Wolves should target first. He is a veteran and the asking price will be very low for him. Low risk high reward scenario.

Outcome: If the Minnesota can flip Beasley for a future pick and turn a combination of role players including Anthony Randolph into either Ben Gordon or OJ Mayo, they have a legit chance at sneaking in to the playoffs. If not, they at least would have a more balanced team and rotation moving forward.

--Justin Lovett
@J_Lovett26