Last week the Minnesota Timberwolves were excited to get the All-Star Break to give both their bodies and minds a rest.
That week went by pretty darn fast and the Wolves were back at practice on Tuesday afternoon on the main floor of the Target Center. Players were able to travel, rest or in Kevin Love’s case, just play more basketball during their six days off.
The biggest news coming out of practice, though, revolved around Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin. Pekovic (ankle) and Martin (thumb) were both injured going into the break and despite the week off, both players sat out of Tuesday’s practice and will not play tomorrow night against the Indiana Pacers.
“I’ not surprised,” said Wolves head coach Rick Adelman when asked about Pekovic remaining out. “They are hoping to get more activity over the next few days and see what happens. Like I said before, he’s got to get on the court and practice some, not only the injury but the conditioning.”
Adelman noted that Pekovic will do some drill work later this week and he’s unsure about his status for Saturday’s road trip against the Utah Jazz. Pekovic missed nine games going into the All-Star break and even with a full practice, it would be tough to believe he’d be ready for game activity right away.
Martin is expects to be reevaluated on Friday, but regardless of that outcome, the team expects him to make the team’s road trip that starts on Feb. 22 and ends on March 3.
Time is ticking for the Wolves, as they sit six games back from the Golden State Warriors for the eighth seed in the Western Conference with 29 remaining games on the schedule. While a run would be easier with Pekovic and Martin in the lineup this week, that seems unlikely this week.
Corey Brewer knows the Western Conference won’t wait for them.
“Go out and play every game like it’s our last game, because if we don’t win a lot we’re not going to be playing for long.”
The Trade Deadline Looms
Like most seasons in mid-February, the NBA trade deadline is right around the corner – Thursday at 2 p.m. CST to be exact.
And like clockwork, rumors swirl around NBA circles like crazy. In fact, I heard this morning that I was going to be traded from our department for a new coffee machine. I hope there’s no truth to these rumors.
Adelman is open to a trade… as long as it helps his squad.
“I think any time you can add players, that are going to help you , you really gotta look at that,” Adelman said. “… We’re under .500 so, I think Flip and Milt are looking at everything and if something gets serious, we’ll find out about it. Right now I just think , you’ve gotta listen to whatever is going on, but it takes two sometimes three to make a deal.”
Brewer has been flipped around the league twice (both in 2011) and he told media members that just because your name is in the headlines, doesn’t mean you’ll be shipped. He also said it’s the other way around.
“I’ve in the league seven (years), anything can happen. I’ve been traded before, a couple times, so I mean anything can happen…” Brewer said. “Your name doesn’t have to be in rumors and you can get traded.”
Love on the other hand, has had a busy few days.
Trade deadline? What trade deadline?
“I don’t even know when it is, to be honest. The 20th, 21st, 22nd.. something like that,” Love said. “Nobody has even mentioned it really. We just want to get out there and play.”
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