Cole Aldrich News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/cole-aldrich/ Minnesota sports, but different Tue, 03 Jul 2018 12:35:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Cole Aldrich News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/cole-aldrich/ 32 32 Timberwolves Sitting at the Kids’ Table of NBA Free Agency https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-sitting-at-the-kids-table-of-nba-free-agency/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-sitting-at-the-kids-table-of-nba-free-agency/#respond Tue, 03 Jul 2018 12:35:38 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=10252

The NBA offseason, free agency in particular, is sending monsoon style waves throughout the sports world.

However, one summer after making a significant splash of their own, the proverbial waters in the land known for it’s 10,000 (plus) lakes, have remained relatively calm.

After closing up the month of June by waiving Minnesota native Cole Aldrich, the Timberwolves swan dove into the start of free agency by re-signing the 29 year-old, Derrick Rose.

Before moving onto Monday’s roster moves, I’d like to let the (current) record show that I was way off on this whole D-Rose experiment. That’s my bad. I f*cked up, okay. Sue me. Mistakes happen.

Despite frustration surrounding the late season acquisition of the former MVP, thus far, this whole Derrick Rose experiment has played out well-beyond any of my expectations.

With Jamal Crawford basically out the door, bringing back the Tom Thibodeau favorite for just over $2 million is a no-brainer. In the absurdly wealthy world that is the NBA, that amount of money is pocket change. Case and point:

Anywho, now that I have a clear(er) conscience, here’s how your Minnesota Timberwolves started out their work week:

With Minnesota withdrawing a nearly $5 million qualifying offer, it’s evident that the organization is willing to part ways with the Serbian-born, Nemanja Bjelicia. By reasonable accounts, the artist known as Bjelly will be onto his next one.

Bjelicia’s Wolves career:

As for Tom Thibodeau’s team’s newest addition, Anthony Tolliver, first and foremost, it’s evident that he fancies himself a sniper:

Tolliver, who spent the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons with the Wolves, is fresh off a career-best shooting year. As a member of the lowly Detroit Pistons, Tolliver’s most recent campaign saw him average 2.0 made three pointers (4.6 attempts) per game.

Second of all, the 6’8″ 240 pound veteran can defend. Early indications are that Tolliver will basically slide right into, what was formerly, Bjelicia’s bench role. With all due respect to Nemanja, Tolliver’s ability to effectively guard multiple positions is far superior.

Hey, speaking of being able to guard multiple positions:

While Minnesota’s handful of moves seem logical, in the grand scheme of NBA things, their current list of completed transactions is child’s play.

Johnny Minnesota (@TheJohnnyMN)
MinnesotaSportsFan.com

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/timberwolves-sitting-at-the-kids-table-of-nba-free-agency/feed/ 0 Tue, 03 Jul 2018 07:35:38 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves The Timberwolves are in Danger of Missing the Playoffs… Again. https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/the-timberwolves-are-in-danger-of-missing-the-playoffs-again/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/the-timberwolves-are-in-danger-of-missing-the-playoffs-again/#respond Fri, 09 Mar 2018 23:31:17 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=8451

For many Timberwolves’ fans (including myself), Thursday was viewed as somewhat of a shit-show. On top of the on the court defeat, Tom Thibodeau, and company, made the unpopular decision to acquire PG Derrick Rose. They might as well call us CoLe ALdrich with those two L’s.

The (38-29) Timberwolves will be in action again, Sunday afternoon. With the world-champion Warriors coming to town, don’t hold your breathe on MN snapping their three-game losing streak. However, on the bright side of things (sorry, Steph), the best shooter of all-time will be sidelined.

With just over a month of regular season basketball remaining, let’s examine where the Wolves stand on their quest to reach the postseason for the first time since 2004:

Western Conference Standings:

One minute you’re tied for third in the West, and talking home-court advantage. The next, Jimmy Butler is out and you’ve dropped to sixth (Spurs have better win %), in aggressively quick fashion, . Damnit! As Tupac said, “things changed.”

After Sunday’s game vs. Golden State, the immediate future doesn’t get any brighter. This tough part of the schedule will conclude with contests in Washington and San Antonio, before wrapping up at Target Center vs. the Rockets.

What kind of geographically challenged individual made that decision?

Anywho, like when tomorrow morning’s hangover starts to cease, the Wolves will eventually experience some relief. Actually, when you look at the entire slate of remaining contests (15 games), it’s not that painful. Out of the other top nine teams in the West, five of them (Portland, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Los Angeles) have a more difficult remaining strength of schedule.

I was extremely encouraged (and surprised) to see that both ESPN and Basketball-Reference listed (as of Friday) Minnesota with an 88% chance of reaching the postseason. That feeling went away when I noticed that each of them gave the Raptors over a 23% chance to win the NBA finals. To me, that seems like some fraud-ass numbers.

via GIPHY

Naturally, how the season wraps up will largely depend on the status of Jimmy Butler. Per TNT, coach Thibodeau wouldn’t put a timetable on the All-Star’s return. Despite saying that he is thinking “long-term,” Thibs did note that “rehab is going according to, if not, better than planned.”

With that vague injury update said, if you force me to be a broke-ass version of Nostradomus, Minnesota barely gimps themselves into the post-season.

via GIPHY

Assuming that forecast comes to fruition, snapping the earlier-mentioned playoff hiatus will be a blessing. On the glass-half empty side of things, a first-round shellacking at the hands of Houston or Golden State doesn’t sound too appealing either.

Regardless of my not overly confident prediction, time will only tell what the hell happens. Over the next few weeks, keep your eyes on the NBA standings. While you check out where Minnesota sits, don’t forget to stay woke on those Oklahoma City Thunder:

Johnny Minnesota @TheJohnnyMN
Minnesota Sports Fan MinnesotaSportsFan.com

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/the-timberwolves-are-in-danger-of-missing-the-playoffs-again/feed/ 0 Fri, 09 Mar 2018 19:56:30 +0000 Minnesota Timberwolves