The Record

Bold outlook for T- Wolves

By: Adam Pribyl

In the wake of a miserable season for the Gopher hockey team, an extremely disappointing sea- son for the Gopher men basketball team (thanks Royce White), and a hopeful Wild season coming together, I wanted to take a bit of time to check in with another Minnesota team that everyone has forgotten about.

For anyone that knows me, they could tell you I am an avid fan of the Timberwolves. Always have been, and always will be. In recent years I have taken a lot of flak from people for this fact. However, I am here, ready and confident to say that the Timberwolves will win a championship in two years, I guarantee it. Here is why:

1. David Kahn: The new GM of Timberwolves operations came in and cleaned house before the start of the season. He trimmed all the excess fat left over from the Kevin McHale era, clearing up a lot of cap space. He has shown that he isn’t scared of mixing it up, mak- ing bold moves with a long term vision in mind. He also made some key pick-ups in Ramon Sessions and Ryan Hollins that fit our new up-tempo trianglish offense.

2. 2010: While I realize this year isn’t going very well, that’s fine by this Wolves fan. We potentially could have three first round draft picks this year, two in the top 10 if everything falls into place. With talent like John Wall (Kentucky) coming to the draft, this is a good thing. Also, 2010 is the Mecca of free agency years. Players like King James, D-Wade, Dirk Nowitski, Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh all will be available for free agency, and as of right now the Timberwolves have the most money to spend.

3. Ricky Rubio: Many are skeptical, but look at sports like baseball and hockey, where players are drafted and don’t see playing time in the big leagues for years while they develop. Rubio is only get- ting better, and we have his draft rights. Even if he never sees a Wolves uniform, you can bet that we will be trading his draft rights for a very nice value.

4. Kurt Rambis: The Wolves coach played on a number of championship teams with the Lakers, and has been groomed by the Zen master himself, Phil Jackson, for a head coaching job. He has the energy and teaching capacity to take this team to the next level.

So just watch the Wolves this year. Corey Brewer is playing like everyone expected he would coming out of college, Johnny Flynn is learning fast and will be one of the greats and K-Love and Big Al are finally learning how to play together down in the post. This young core combined with a big free agency and draft will make us a championship team. Remember, you heard it here first.

This is the opinion of Adam Pribyl, an SJU senior.

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