The Minnesota Timberwolves are about to interview their third NBA head coaching candidate.  

Bernie Bickerstaff follows interviews of Terry Porter & Mike Woodson.

The Portland Trailblazers assistant will interview on Friday with President of Operations David Kahn & Owner Glen Taylor.

Bernie Bickerstaff is the father of former Timberwolves assistant J.B. Bickerstaff—who recently joined the coaching staff in Houston with former Wolves GM & Head Coach Kevin McHale.

Bernie is 67 years old and has ben a head coach with Seattle, Denver, Washington & Charlotte.  He last coached for the Bobcat in 2007 when the team went 33-49.  Bernie’s overall record stands at 415-517 in 13 seasons—with a .445 winning percentage.  Bernie also has experience as a General Manager and a Team President.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to interview Don Nelson as well as a number of other candidates early next week.

That’s all for now, remember to check back daily for all your up-to-date TWolves news, information & updates all year round!  Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

UPDATE: A recent report from ESPN NBA, has the likeliest trade for the Wolves’ #2 will be to the Phoenix Suns for the #13 and Marcin Gortat.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been shopping the #2 pick, quite hard the since the NBA Draft Lottery. They’ve been in talks with a number of teams looking to move up in this week’s draft (6/23).

As you look through past posts you’ll find dozens of trade rumors that continue to pop up nearly everyday. Today, the same team, but a different player has emerged: the Los Angeles Lakers’ Andrew Bynum.

The Wolves have been adamant that they want a veteran big man in return for the #2 pick and Bynum would obviously fill that role.

The Wolves & Lakers were reportedly in talks earlier this week about Spanish big man: Pau Gasol as Kahn is looking for some Spaniards to put around Rubio. However, the Lakers were asking for the #2 pick and Kevin Love as they’re looking to accumulate a lot of young talent. David Kahn has refuted that rumor saying that Kevin Love will be playing for the Timberwolves next season—that’s a promise!

However, Jim Buss of the LA is a big supporter of Bynum and likely wouldn’t let him go, unless they were absolutely blown away by an offer.

Bynum has struggled the past couple years with knee problems, so the Wolves are reportedly hesitant.

The Pacer we’re referring to is not Danny Granger, as his name has been mentioned before, but rather 7-2 Roy Hibbert. The Pacers reportedly offered Hibbert and the #15 for the #2, but the Wolves didn’t bite.

Other veteran big man that have shown up on the TWolves radar recently include: Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut & Washington’s JaVale McGee. However, both of these teams have made it clear they have no intention of trading their young centers. Another is Phoenix big man Marcin Gortat.

That’s all for now, the draft is now just days away as trade chatter is sure to persist. Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

Two former Minnesota Timberwolves have finally attained the Championship Gold in the NBA.  Brian Cardinal played for Minnesota in ‘08-‘09 & ‘09-‘10 and Corey Brewer who started his career in Minnesota and played for the Wolves earlier this season.

Brian Cardinal got his first ring after 11 years in the NBA-playing for: Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Golden State Warriors, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves and finally the Dallas Mavericks.

Corey Brewer was drafted in 2007 by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 7th overall pick.  Through 4 years he’s got his first ring with the Champion Mavericks.  He was traded in the Carmelo Anthony deal from Minnesota to New York.  The Knicks later waived the great defender and the Mavericks later signed him to a 3-year deal.

Cardinal played in 8 of the Mavs’ postseason games, averaging 3.1mpg, 0.4rpg & 0.9ppg.  Not an integral part of the Mavs’ postseason run.  However, after Brendan Haywood went down with an injury, he saw his minutes increase in the Finals provide a lot of hustle, hard work and defense for Dallas.

Brewer saw even less time in the postseason.  He played 6 games, averaging 3.8mpg, 0.7spg & 1.5ppg.  However, unlike Cardinal, Brewer didn’t play at all in the Finals.  In fact, the last game he played in the Finals was 5 minutes in the 1st game of the Playoffs Semi-Finals against the Thunder.

Even though, neither were big contributors for the Mavericks this season or postseason, but nonetheless they’ve both got their rings.

Thanks for reading and remember to stay tuned for all the up-to-date TWolves news, information and updates all offseason long.  Thanks for reading-CONGRATS MAVS & GO WOLVES!

The Washington Wizards are reportedly VERY high on Arizona’s Derrick Williams, who is projected to go #2 by almost all mock drafts and analysts.  That of course means they’d have to swing a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the #2 pick in this month’s draft (23rd).

The Minnesota Timberwolves have spoke recently and although they have teetered back-and-forth on whether they intend to keep the pick, there stance currently, is that they would like to keep the pick and the player they draft with it.  However, many ‘observers’ disagree.

The Washington Wizards are looking for someone in the small forward/power forward position to replace either Rashard Lewis or Andray Blatche in the starting lineup (one of or both of these players could become available if they get Williams).

However, a recent report states that although the Wizards are very interested in Williams, they aren’t one of the most active teams trying to trade up to the #2 pick.  Reportedly, the Wizards haven’t made any offers yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t by draft night.

One trade scenario that I found rather interesting came from Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune via Twitter.  Zgoda tossed out a scenario of Minnesota’s #2 pick for Washington’s #6 pick and the young athletic center JaVale McGee.  The Minnesota Timberwolves have stated since grabbing the #2 pick in the Lottery, if they’re going to make a trade they’d like a veteran big man.

The other team, beyond the Wizards that’re looking hard at the #2 pick, are the Phoenix Suns.  One trade scenario there could be Steve Nash for the Wolves’ #2 pick.  The Wolves are EXTREMELY high on Nash and have stated in the past that they’d like to bring him in to be a mentor to the young Ricky Rubio.  Unlikely, but a possibility. 

Chad Ford of ESPN has also stated that Cleveland, Utah, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, Philadelphia, Memphis and the LA Lakers have shown interest in “trading up”.

That’s all for now.  The NBA Draft is now just 3 weeks away and this certainly isn’t the last trade rumors we’ll hear regarding the Wolves’ #2 pick.  Thanks for reading and remember to visit this site all year round, bringing you all your up-to-date TWolves news, information and updates.  GO WOLVES!

The 2011 NBA Draft is just 19 days away. The Minnesota Timberwolves have teetered back-and-forth on whether they plan on keeping the #2 pick as well as the #20.

At one point there were rumors of the Wolves trading the pick to the Pacers along with Rubio & Beasley for Danny Granger. A week or so later, it was a three-team trade involving the Cavaliers & the Pistons (which eventually fell through, because the Pistons needed more out of it) that would sent DETs Rip Hamilton & their #8 pick to CLE, then MIN would send their #2 pick to CLE for their #4 & #8.

In a scenario (THERE WERE NO TALKS OFFICIALLY ABOUT THIS) Star Tribune reporter Jerry Zgoda came up with a potential trade for the Wolves. Because they’ve been looking for an athletic center, Zgoda thought that the Wolves could send the #2 pick to the Wizards for young athletic center JaVale McGee as well as their #6 pick (the Wizards are reportedly very high on Enes Kanter, who really wants to play in D.C.).

However, the Minnesota Timberwolves still hold the pick and at this point it seems likely by most, that they’ll be keeping the pick and whoever they draft with the pick.

Yesterday Assistant GM Tony Ronzone said that the team, for now, is not trading the #2 pick. “I say, right now, we’re keeping two and we really like where we’re at with 2,” Ronzone reiterated.

Although most in the TWolves “brass” say the team intends on keeping the pick (including owner Glen Taylor), most “observers” believe the Wolves will make a move before draft night.

Stay tuned for more updates, news & information all offseason long. Thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

Wesley Johnson of the Minnesota Timberwolves was honored earlier this week, by making the 2nd All-Rookie Team in the NBA.  

Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers and John Wall of the Washington Wizards headlined the 1st team, along with them: New York’s Landry Fields, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins and San Antonio’s Gary Neal.

Wesley Johnson finished 7th overall in the final voting for rookies (conducted by NBA coaches).  He averaged 9ppg and 3rpg for the Wolves in his first season.

UPDATE: According to ESPN NBA, UNC-forward Harrison Barnes has decided to return for his sophomore season and bypass the 2011 NBA Draft.  Barnes had this to say, “As a team, we’re preparing for a special season.  My offseason plans are to diligently work on honing my basketball skills in all areas with one team-goal in mind—to bring the 2012 National Championship home to UNC.”  With this, Barnes is now a No. 1 or 2 prospect for the 2012 NBA Draft.  (UPDATE: Monday April 18, 2011 2:47pmCT).

The Timberwolves’ season mercifully came to an end earlier this week as they fell to the Houston Rockets 121-102 and finished the season on a 15-game losing streak and with a 17-65 record.

While the TWolves were getting beat by the Rockets, the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to defeat the Washington Wizards, putting the Wolves in lone possession of the League’s worse record.

With that awful record, the Timberwolves have the best mathematical chance at snagging the top pick in the Draft this summer.  There’s a 25% chance that they’ll be able to obtain the #1 pick, however, they could drop as far as #4 in the Draft.

There’s a number of different players they could select in the Draft, but we’ll take a look a the potential top 4 picks for the Timberwolves.

#1 Kyrie Irving: If the Timberwolves do indeed grab the top pick in the Draft, there’s almost no doubt from anyone that they’ll take Kyrie Irving.  He’d be a terrific talent at the point guard and they’d almost certainly trade away Jonny Flynn.  With Ridnour on the roster and Rubio, reportedly intending on coming over for next season, they may have to move a few pieces around.  He’s got a high basketball IQ and a toughness on defense that makes him a good athlete.

#2 Harrison Barnes: There’s no word yet on whether or not Barnes will indeed decide to enter the Draft.  Indications are he is intending to go back to North Carolina next season, but if we have the #2 pick and he’s available, there’s no doubt the Wolves will heavily consider Barnes.  Barnes has great potential as well as a great mid-range and 3-point game.

#3 Derrick Williams: Williams is a lot like Beasley and is a proven scorer in college basketball.  If we slide to #3, I’d expect the Timberwolves to take the Arizona product.  Though we’ve got a bevy of talent and potential at the forward positions already.  He is a bit of a tweener, but he’s got a great jump shot and the ability to score from nearly any spot on the court.  

#4 Enes Kanter: With Perry Jones and Jared Sullinger both returning to school, Enes Kanter is the most likely 4th pick for the Timberwolves.  It is highly unlikely, in fact it’s a 75% chance that the Wolves won’t fall beyond the 3rd pick.  Enes Kanter could potentially be the starting center for the Wolves if drafted.  He is just 6-10, but he’s tough, physical, can even handle the ball and score from just about anywhere. The Turkey-native is somewhat un-athletic, but Kanter is a great potential with some people drawing comparisons to Andrew Bogut.

The Timberwolves will certainly get a good talent in the upcoming draft and someone that should be a valuable part of the Wolves’ future.  The Wolves’ biggest question marks remain at the point guard and center positions.  The fact is however, the Wolves are going to take the best talent available, whatever the pick.

More updates and stories will be made available on this site, before and after the Draft Lottery and of course before and after the Draft.  Until then thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!  Enjoy the NBA playoffs!!

The Minnesota Timberwolves closed out their 2010-2011 campaign with a 121-102 loss to the Houston Rockets at the Target Center.  The Wolves were without Kevin Love, Darko Milcic and Jonny Flynn and shorthanded they fell short to the Rockets.  This was their 15th-straight loss, 65th overall and had them finish the season 17-65-worst in the NBA!

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Washington Wizards in their last game (last night) to give us the lone-worst record in the League.

The Houston Rockets took control early and by halftime the Rockets lead 69-52.  However the Timberwolves sparked a 32-17 run that had them down 83-86 late in the third quarter and after three quarters the Wolves were down by just one point 89-90, heanding into that final quarter.  After scoring 37 points in that 3rd quarter the Wolves could only muster 13 points in the 4th to lose the game 121-102.

The Timberwolves had just 9 active players for the game.  They started Luke Ridnour, Wesley Johnson, Michael Beasley, Anthony Tolliver and Nikola Pekovic to begin the game.  At halftime, Nikola Pekovic took himself out with a sore achilles tendon and didn’t play the rest of the game.  Anthony Randolph started the second half at center.  Without Jonny Flynn (gone for personal reasons) and 3rd string Sebastian Telfair inactive the Timberwolves had Wayne Ellington come off the bench to run the point.  

The Timberwolves were led by Michael Beasley who scored a team-high 34 points and added 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals.  Anthony Randolph had a great game once again, in 32 minutes off the bench he scored 23 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.

The Rockets were led by a career-night for their young small forward: Chase Budinger, Chase scored a career-high 35 points and added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.  Kevin Martin added 25 (12 of which came from the FT line (12-13)) as well as 5 boards and 2 assists.  Courtney Lee played 31 minutes off the bench and scored 22 also added 5 boards and 2 assists.  Goran Dragic started at point guard for the Rockets and he recorded his first triple-double in the win.  Dragic had 11 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists

Neither of these teams will be heading to the playoffs this weekend, which start in a mere 48 hours!  The Rockets’ loss last Friday to the Sacramento Kings dropped them out of contention.  

That’s all for this season, you can expect some updates on the Wolves this summer as well as a year in review for this year’s Wolves coming soon.  Furthermore, updates on the draft, Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love’s summer workouts and any potential moves both w/the coaching staff and new players all that and more!  Until then, as always thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!

UPDATE: The Denver Nuggets were defeated by the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier tonight, 104-89.  It was for the second time THIS WEEK.  (UPDATE: Friday April 8th, 11:10p.m.)

UPDATE: Both Kevin Love and Darko Milicic will travel with the Wolves on this 2-game road trip, however both are listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game in Denver, furthermore neither player practiced today.  Kevin Love said after sitting out practice, that if he doesn’t play tomorrow night, then he’ll most likely shut it down for the season.  (UPDATE: Friday April 8th 2011, 2:11p.m.)

Saturday night the Minnesota Timberwolves will square off at the Pepsi Center with their division rivals the playoff-bound Denver Nuggets.  This will be the first-time the Wolves will get a chance to play the new-look Denver Nuggets since that blockbuster Carmelo Anthony deal.

The Timberwolves are currently skidding on a 12-game losing streak and are the NBAs worst team as the Cavaliers sit a 0.5 above them.  Wolves: 17-62, Cavaliers: 17-61.  The Timberwolves continue to face the NBAs elite teams and without K-Love, it makes it all the harder to compete.  After the Nuggets game, they have two more: @Phoenix on April 11th and their last game, back at the Target Center vs. the Houston Rockets on April 13th.  The Cavaliers on the other hand will face the Bulls, the Bucks and finish out the season against two beatable teams: the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons.  If the Wolves maintain the worst record in the NBA, they’ll have the best mathematical chance at the #1 pick (25% chance).

The Nuggets on the other hand are playoff-bound as they currently hold the 5th seed in the bracket and will be looking to add to their win total as they currently sit at 48-30.  As of right now, by the current standings, the Nuggets will be facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.

The Timberwolves are coming off a loss Wednesday night to the Phoenix Suns as they were defeated 108-98 at the Target Center.  They were without All-Star Kevin Love, still dealing with a groin injury.  Also, Darko Milicic had originally injured his ankle in the game against Miami, but re-injured it 10 minutes into the game Wednesday night, no word yet on whether he’ll be able to play.

The Nuggets are playing the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, in what could be a preview to their playoff matchup.  Tipoff for that one is set for 7pmCT.

The key players for Minnesota will be: Michael Beasley-with Kevin Love, most likely out he’ll need to continue his solid play, but he’s also got to remember to get his teammates involved, to often he tries to put them on his back and doesn’t trust his team, one of the many problems for these Young Wolves this season.  Wesley Johnson-we know he’s got it in him to be a solid offensive contributor, but since his 29-point eruption against the Lakers, he’s faded and isn’t helping them out at all on the scoreboard.  THE BENCH-they’ve been solid lately, headlined by Martell Webster, Anthony Tolliver and Anthony Randolph, these guys are good enough to combine for 50pts a game off the pine.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they are all well into the double-digits by the end of the night.

The key players for Denver will be: Wilson Chandler: Chandler has been one of my favorite players this season, he’s really improved his game and is a threat on both ends, he is their sixth man, but he’ll see plenty of time against the Wolves’ forwards.  DEN’s PGs Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton: These are two young and quite talented point guards that split time as the floor general, Ridnour and Flynn need to step up their game to deal with these two.  Nene-with Darko possibly out, Pekovic will be matched up against Nene, in what should be a very physical and fun matchup to watch, Nene’s a beast on the block and is tops in field goal percentage in the NBA.

Tipoff is set for 8:30pmCT from the Pepsi Center Saturday night.  A full-gameday recap can be found on this site following the final horn.  Until then, thanks for reading, enjoy the game and GO WOLVES!

The Minnesota Timberwolves continue their rough stretch of games against the elite teams in the NBA. Tomorrow night’s matchup is no different. The T’Wolves will be going up against the Big Three and Co.: The Miami Heat.

The T’Wolves have now dropped 8-straight games and the schedule won’t be getting any easier as they wind down another season.

The Miami Heat are playoff-bound, while the Wolves sit high in the lottery, however, if the Heat are expecting the Wolves to “roll over & die” they’ve got another thing coming.

The Timberwolves are coming off a blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday: 108-91.  It was the first game back for Kevin Love, but it wasn’t enough for the Wolves as they fell to the Best in the East.  

The Miami Heat are coming off an embarrassing loss Tuesday night to the NBAs worst team: the Cleveland Cavaliers.  It was another return of LeBron James to his former stomping grounds, but the Big Three couldn’t defeat the lowly-Cavs.  They played the Washington Wizards, Wednesday night and earned a 123-107 win, lead by James with 35 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 8 assists.

Miami is obviously lead by their “Big Three”: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade & Chris Bosh. I don’t know whether or not the League will be suspending Ilgauskas & Juwan Howard of the Heat after the small “brawl” against the Wizards between Z and Wall as well as Howard and McGee. The Timberwolves will have to match up: Ridnour/Bibby, Wes/Wade, Beasley/LeBron, Love/Bosh, Darko/Dampier.

The Timberwolves will need big performances from Beasley & Love if they want to keep this one close and if Wes Johnson can step up his game like he did a week or so ago against the Lakers and Randolph can bring energy and points off the bench, they could steal a win from a very solid ball club.

The biggest issue for the Timberwolves will be matching up with that Big Three. Johnson is just a rookie and not a sensational defender, which you have to be if you’re going to stop D-Wade. Beasley is a sub-par defender and much more interested in scoring the ball and again, against a guy like LeBron, that can’t happen. Love and Bosh should have a good battle. Love is certainly a bit more physical than Bosh, but Love is a bad interior defender and Bosh’s quickness could be an issue on the elbows as Bosh drives the lane.

This will be the second game back for All-Star forward Kevin Love after he missed 3 games with a groin injury. All players participated in practice earlier today (Thursday) and reserve rookie center Nikola Pekovic, who has missed the past two games with a hip injury has been “upgraded” to probable for tomorrow’s game.

Tipoff is set for 7pmCT and a full-gameday recap can be found on this site following the final horn. Until then, as always, thanks for reading and GO WOLVES!