Ten Questions: Timberwolves.com on Garnett Trade

August 2, 2007

Mike Trudell

On Wednesday, we tracked down Celtics.com beat writer Peter Stringer to find out more on the reaction in Boston to the Kevin Garnett megadeal. Now it’s time to hear from the other half of the trade.
Always-colorful Timberwolves.com beat writer Mike Trudell took time out of his schedule Thursday to break down Minnesota’s perspective on dealing KG and the reshaped Wolves roster.

Now poised to launch a rebuilding project without Kevin Garnett, the Timberwolves made two excellent choices during the 2006 NBA Draft, when they selected Craig Smith (5) and Randy Foye (4).

Hornets.com: Given what Kevin Garnett meant to the Timberwolves over the past 12 years and the loyalty he has shown to the franchise, does it make you feel better about this trade to see him go to a team that appears to have legitimate chance to contend in the Eastern Conference?

Trudell: That’s an affirmative, without any question to the contrary. It seems fair to say that everyone here in Minnesota has nothing but love for Kevin Garnett, and wishes him success as defined by a championship. We’ll be excited to watch KG roll with PP and Jesus Shuttlesworth in Beantown next year, particularly in an Eastern Conference where most squads would struggle to grab the seven or eight seed in the West. But to be fair, KG, Ray-Ray, J-Rich and Zach Randolph give the East a nice boost. Bottom line, we’re glad KG’s in the East, but are equally excited to watch all of the young, talented players we have mesh together. For real.

Hornets.com: What is your favorite memory of Garnett during his dozen years in the Twin Cities?

Trudell: This is easy. For me, it’s been routinely dunking on KG during our frequent one-on-one matchups in the practice facility. Either that, or watching KG repeatedly pump his fist onto his heart atop the scorer’s table when we beat Sacramento to earn a spot in the Western Conference Finals in 2004. That almost made me cry with joy, like after David Hasselhoff learned that Pamela Anderson had signed her “Baywatch” contract.

Hornets.com: What do you think has been the average Timberwolves fan’s reaction to this trade in the days following the announcement?

Trudell: This is just my personal opinion, but it’s seemingly been a mixed bag – if somewhat bittersweet – reaction. If it’s possible to look past the emotional connection to Kevin Garnett, this trade made basketball sense and had to happen.
There are no mixed messages about how grateful the franchise has been to have Kevin Garnett, and that he will be missed a great deal is not up for debate. But the bottom line is, this trade gives Minnesota the chance to rebuild the team from the ground up. The execs here really tried to build a championship team around KG in the past three seasons, but it just wasn’t working out, and a change needed to happen. That the Wolves were able to get four young, athletic players with tremendous upside in addition to two first-round picks is terrific; to have money flexibility is great; and to give current Wolves like Randy Foye, Craig Smith, Rashad McCants and Corey Brewer the chance to grow with Jefferson, Green and Co. is exciting as well.

Hornets.com: What about the reaction of Timberwolves players?

Trudell: I’ve had the chance to speak with every player on our team and to watch them respectively interact with the Ticket, in addition to seeing every other team in the NBA come in here and pay respect to KG, it’s very apparent that players love playing with Garnett and have a great amount of respect for him. So, of course, the players will miss him. Like on any team, some of the Wolves were inevitably closer to KG than others, but all respected him. The other side of this question is that NBA players realize that they’re involved with a business and simply understand how it works. Lastly, I’m guessing some of the Wolves are really excited about the prospect of building their own stars.

Hornets.com: When the decision was made to pull the trigger on this deal, how much of a factor was it that the T-Wolves won 32 games last season and 33 games in 2005-06? Meaning, did it make more sense to commit to a long-term rebuilding plan than to continue trying to scratch and claw for a low-seed playoff berth every season?

Trudell: Let me answer this question with a question of my own. How many abidiginals do you see modeling?

Hornets.com: With so many new players expected to be a part of the team’s plans in 2007-08, what will be considered realistic expectations in terms of wins and losses for next season?

Trudell: Head coach Randy Wittman is the kind of guy that expects his team to perform and win regardless of circumstances. There will be no excuses here, just because it’ll be one of the youngest teams in the NBA. There are some terrific players that will wear a Wolves jersey next year, and it’s counterproductive to line up against San Antonio and say, “Go ahead Tim and Tony, you guys got this one.” Did I answer your question? No. Whatever. But expectations for this team shouldn’t be judged in terms of wins and losses, but on effort and improvement. They’ll be excited to play hard... I think we can promise that much.

Hornets.com: Of the players Minnesota received in the trade from Boston, who are you most excited about seeing in a Timberwolves uniform next season?

Trudell: I love Al Jefferson. He’s a beast. He nearly won me my fantasy season last year with his perhaps unexpected nightly double-doubles (until he sat out during fantasy playoffs... trust me, he’ll hear about that soon), but what I was most excited to hear came from my Celtics.com guy, Pete Stringer, who said that Jefferson is determined to be a great player. With the kind of talent he obviously has, that determination is what’s going to make him a perennial All-Star. That’s the same determination I see in Foye, Smith, Brewer and McCants. Word. I also think it’d be fun to try to get a shot off on Theo Ratliff (Insert Marv Albert NBA Jam voice: “REJECTED!”).

Hornets.com: Based on what some teams have received in recent trades when dealing a superstar player, what is your assessment of the Timberwolves obtaining a few young players with potential, along with two future No. 1 draft picks?

Trudell: I’ll go with the Baby Bulls model on this answer. If you stockpile the right kind of young talent and truly attempt to grow it within your organization, you give yourself a lot of leeway in terms of wheeling and dealing in the future. Think about the teams involved in trade talks for big-time free agents in these last two years... Teams want young talent, draft picks, and expiring contracts. On paper right now, it appears that we’ll be in a very good spot for the next several years. Even if only half of the young guys we have develop, you’re talking about a dangerous team in a couple of years.

Hornets.com: With Corey Brewer, Ricky Davis and Gerald Green on the squad, any thoughts on having an intrasquad dunk contest at halftime of the Wolves’ home opener?

Trudell: That looks great on paper, doesn’t it? I was on the Wolves Caravan around smaller Minnesota towns with Ricky Davis, and RD pulled a few stupidly difficult dunks at 9 a.m. because a few kids asked him once. When I say stupidly difficult, I mean they looked like dunks from Playstation II’s “NBA Streetz.” Brewer can do some silly things as well, but Gerald Green? Man. If you kids out there that are set for the SAT analogy section get this question, you’ll know what to do: “Gerald Green is to dunking as Jessica Alba is to hot.” That would be true.

Hornets.com: With Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff and Sebastian Telfair, the Wolves now have seven players on the roster who’ve played for the Celtics recently. You also have an assistant coach, Jerry Sichting, who contributed for the 1980s Celtics. Any plans in the works for an alternate green road jersey next season?

Trudell: Negative, ghostrider. The pattern is full.

Opinions expressed are those of the writer only, and do not necessarily represent those of the Minnesota Timberwolves.