By Chris Cates, TalentedMrRoto.com
October 1, 2006 - 12:14 p.m.

2005-06 OVERVIEW

Back in 2003-04, the Wolves were on top of the Western Conference. Finishing the regular season 58-24 and entering the playoffs as the one seed, things had never been better and looked to be set for the foreseeable future. Oh, how quickly things change.

Expect Randy Foye to be a top contender for the Rookie of The Year award. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)

Today, only one man (Kevin Garnett) remains from that season’s starting lineup, and after consecutive seasons finishing outside of the playoffs – both of which ended with a worse record than the previous year – a different Timberwolves team will be taking the court. They’re different in many ways, but the biggest change will be seen when they will finally start to realize the urgency of Kevin Garnett’s situation. This is a man that’s been in the league 10 years, has produced numbers unmatched by most in recent memory, and has stuck with a franchise that has looked downright ugly at times, loyal ‘til the end and confident that things can turn around. Garnett is suddenly on the wrong side of 30, and while he’ll likely play well into his late 30’s – but his window is quickly closing.

Combine that urgency with a new and much improved backcourt (Randy Foye and Mike James), and you’ve got a product that could do some damage both in the real world and the fantasy world in 2006-07. With the two backcourt additions, the number of serious threats on the roster increases from two to four, and there’s no arguing that a team fielding Garnett, Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Foye and James will fare much better in all aspects of basketball (including fantasy) than a team sending out Garnett, Blount, Davis, Marcus Banks and Trenton Hassell every game. Expect across-the-board improvements this season from a Minnesota team that’s both hungry and angry.

ADDITIONS:
Randy Foye, G
Mike James, G
Craig Smith, F
Loukas Mavrokefalidis, F

LOSSES:
Marcus Banks, G
Anthony Carter, G
Ronald Dupree, F

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:
C – Mark Blount
PF – Kevin Garnett
SF – Ricky Davis
SG – Randy Foye
PG – Mike James

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN 2006

This will be an improved team in 2006-07 from a fantasy perspective. Kevin Garnett is likely ecstatic heading into the season as the Wolves now have four legitimate options in the starting lineup. No more Marcus Banks, no more Trenton Hassell – it’s the Randy Foye and Mike James show now. I expect numbers to go up all around, from Mike James’ already-good assist totals to Ricky Davis’ overall numbers, to Garnett’s rebound and assist totals – which surprisingly declined last season.

Look for Marko Jaric and Troy Hudson to see very limited playing time this season, as the addition of Mike James and the versatility of Randy Foye could lead to the two being irrelevant. Expect Jaric to see more time than Hudson simply because of Hudson’s complete uncertainty heading into the season (he may not even play this year). However, given the minutes he’ll likely play, he doesn’t figure to hold much value.

As we all know, Eddie Griffin has serious upside given his boards, threes and tremendous block numbers from the center position. He marks yet another Minnesota player whose status isn’t completely clear. He’s the kind of guy that could take serious minutes away from the poor-rebounding Mark Blount at some point in the season, as he averaged a full board more than Blount last season in nearly 10 fewer minutes per game.

I am extremely confident that Kevin Garnett will improve on last season’s numbers and anchor what looks to be a very solid starting five to fantasy success this year. A lot falls on Foye and how he adjusts to NBA play, but all indications show that he’s more than ready. One has to believe he’s a leading rookie of the year candidate at this point. If Mike James proves that he can run the show with the assist-efficiency he showed in Toronto, points should be no problem to come by, and there will be plenty of fantasy value to be had on this roster.

KEY BENCH POSITIONS / POSITION BATTLES

Rashad McCants – It’s easily forgotten, but Rashad McCants ended last season very strong, scoring in double digits in each of his final 12 games. He had microfracture surgery in June that was expected to keep him out four to six months (which places him at a possible December return), but as of now, his status is still unknown. He’s listed as a backup SG in the depth chart, which should be considered a positive at this point. If/when he comes back, all he has is a rookie ahead of him on the depth chart. While it’s a very good rookie, Randy Foye is indeed still a rookie and could be subject to some ups and downs this year. When he will be back and how many minutes he’ll play regularly are the two big questions heading into this season, and at this point, only time will tell.

PLAYERS WE LOVE

Pretty much every starter other than Mark Blount:

Randy Foye – I absolutely love this guy this year. A lottery pick that moves straight into the starting lineup, Foye was the MVP of the Vegas Summer League finishing with an average of 24.8 points per game on 53 percent shooting. Read any scouting report, and you’ll see time and time again that Foye is very good at penetrating and plays excellent defense (among many other things, obviously) – two skills that are going to get him on the court and keep him on the court. There is that whole bit about him being a rookie, but he is – by all accounts – extremely poised for a first-year player and should dispel any preconceived notions early on.

Kevin Garnett – After back-to-back seasons in which the Wolves missed the playoffs, I fully expect KG to bring it all this season with hopes of doing something special in Minnesota before it’s too late. Last season was a season of lows for Garnett, but it was nothing too alarming and with this year shaping up like it is, look for an increase in the numbers that dropped. His points, rebounds and assists totals were all his lowest since 2001-02, but a quick look at the roster reveals two questions with easy answers: 1) Who will take rebounds from him? If you answered nobody, you would be correct. 2) Will his assist numbers increase now that scorers Randy Foye (20.5 PPG for Villanova last year, 24.8 PPG in Vegas summer league) and Mike James (20.3 PPG last year) have joined the team? If you answered yes, you would be correct again. Add those factors to his motivation to win after Minnesota’s worst season with him on the roster since his rookie year, and any reports of his fantasy value being on the way down seem laughable.

Mike James – Needless to say, this is a more talented team than Toronto. And while the lack of great talent on the Raptors’ roster last season may have contributed to his increased point totals, it surely didn’t give him any help in the assist category. The Wolves have put together a very good team with scorers in the starting lineup, and that 5.8 assists per game from last season could easily turn into 6.5-7.0 per game, maybe more if James decides to take a back seat in the scoring department. I don’t expect much of a drop off in scoring, however, as last season’s output didn’t just come out of the blue – he has increased his scoring totals every year he’s been in the league, no matter what jersey he’s been wearing at the time.

Ricky Davis – If all goes right, Ricky Davis can put up numbers unlike most in the league. He’s shown in the past that 20/5/5 is very much a possibility, and with more talent surrounding him this season than at any time with the Cavs or Celtics, 18/4/4 is not only attainable, it’s likely, and could look like a low estimate come season’s end.

PLAYERS TO AVOID

While I don’t think any fantasy-relevant player on the roster should be avoided completely, there is one case in which there is room for concern: Mark Blount. More than anything else, you want boards and blocks from your center. If you fail to pull down five boards per game when you’re getting nearly 30 minutes of action every night, you’re almost a liability. In Blount’s case, he scores enough to hold value and has shot better than 50 percent from the floor in each of the last three seasons, but don’t let the fact that he’s playing on a good team and scores some points from the center position trick you into reaching for him – the combination of the points and the more-than-serviceable one block per game barely cancel out his terrible rebound totals, if at all. It should be noted that by placing him here I’m not saying don’t draft him, I’m just saying to know what you’re getting into before picking him.

BOTTOM LINE

You have the best power forward in the league. You lost no one of value in the off-season and have brought in a new backcourt consisting of a lottery-pick shooting guard and a point guard that finished last season top-20 in both points and assists per game. What’s more, your starting small forward is one of the more versatile players in the league and is coming off one his two best seasons in the league. You, my friend, have fantasy value across the board. And such is the case with the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. There’s lots of fantasy value present on this team, and they aren’t loaded with firepower off the bench meaning the starters will likely log more minutes – which is what we want, as very few of us will be running the Trenton Hassell’s of the world out there on a daily basis. Don’t be afraid to take a gamble on any of the big four, and an early pick on Garnett will prove to be worth your while when he improves his statistics across the board after slight dips in all the major categories last year.

The views expressed by TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.

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