A Rebuild In Progress

[LC AAU]

I just realized you got 4 full pages in a matter of the 6 hours I was at basketball today

/life

[James2Stapleton]

wow Rondo 3rd on MVP votes

[DJ Rhude]

Damn Deron Williams had himself a game......I see what you mean about your game sounding like my game.....do everything right until the last couple of seconds

Why'd you go for three though, wanted to go for the jugular or there not enough time left to do anything else?

[Lupe]

finally no more cheese game winners from Mike.

[mfbmike]

Minor Trouble in Paradise = Opportunity for Wolves?



Portland Trailblazers guard Rudy Fernández is no stranger to pressure. A key member of Spain's high-octane national team, fresh off another international championship this summer, Fernandez has let it be known he wants to play a bigger role for the Blazers.

"I want to have a bigger role with the team and play more minutes than I used to," explained Fernandez, "because in the minutes I got I think I've done pretty well and I have to continue growing as a player."

As a rookie for the Trail Blazers last season, Fernández averaged 10.4 points in 25.6 minutes per game, largely as a reserve. However, this season, with Martell Webster back from injury and Jerryd Bayless also seeing more play time, Fernandez has seen his minutes cut in half. (12.2 MPG)

A trade for Fernandez makes a whole lot of sense for the Wolves. Personally, I see Fernandez as the perfect fit to:

- Fill the Wolves glaring hole at the shooting guard position with a player that shoot the 3 and dunk well (two of the most estimated qualities for a wing). Let's not forget his charisma.

- Be the perfect asset to help Rubio's transition to the NBA in 2 years. Rubio and Fernandez (and Sergio Rodriguez, also a member of the Wolves) are long time teammates of Spain's National team and are 2 (3) players that know one another very well on and off the court.

It appears the seemingly unavoidable issues of having too much talent and not enough shots/minutes/payroll are starting to exhibit themselves in Portland.

Let's not forget the Blazers have yet to ink Lamarcus Aldridge to an extension yet either.

Any opportunities for the Wolves here?

The question is what do the Wolves have that they can offer them? Preferably outside of Jonny Flynn, Kevin Love , Ricky Rubio and Al Jefferson.

Maybe some expiring contracts, future picks? The Blazers don't really have any holes in there roster. Essentially, it comes down to if they're looking at freeing up playing time, or saving money to retain their core.

Rudy is the type of player the team needs, and the Wolves can give him exactly what he wants.

Minutes and a starting job.

[mfbmike]

wow Rondo 3rd on MVP votes

Leading the league in assists, top 5 in steals, scoring more than he did last season as well.

Dude is ridiculous. lol.

Damn Deron Williams had himself a game......I see what you mean about your game sounding like my game.....do everything right until the last couple of seconds

Why'd you go for three though, wanted to go for the jugular or there not enough time left to do anything else?

I ran a play that had Wayne Ellington coming off a screen. He came off and was relatively wide open. I probably could've stepped in and took a long 2 but I figured I was open enough. It was a shot he has hit before. I figured it would've went down for him but should've thought twice considering he was already 0-3 from beyond the arch at that point.

Ellington is going to be a solid basketball player. But it's obvious he isn't ready to hold down a starting job yet.

finally no more cheese game winners from Mike.

Yeah, like you do with Peja huh? :captain:

Soo close to hitting .500 there

And Rondo getting it done - boys got some quality

Great work again Mike, you set the bar in here with this franchise.

It feels like it is always 2 steps forward, 3 steps back. lol. Thanks a lot man. Much appreciated.

Thanks for following guys!

[RockSteady]

Rudy + Flynn would be FTMFW! Make it happen man.

[mfbmike]

Wolves Fail To Knock Down Open Shots, Endure 19 Point Loss To Magic

Starting Lineups:
Jonny Flynn PG Jameer Nelson
Wayne Ellington SG Vince Carter
Corey Brewer SF Rashard Lewis
Kevin Love PF Marcin Gortat
Al Jefferson C Dwight Howard

(15-18) 92 vs. 111 (16-15)


Rookie Wayne Ellington had another rough night from the field, scoring 6 points on 3-11 shooting in the Wolves loss Friday night.



Player Of The Game:

Vince Carter

Quote Of The Game:
"Magic? More like voodoo yo. I ain't never seen that many shots look like they were gonna go down and just rim out. The Magic were crashing the boards hard and letting our guys get good looks out there. We just couldn't get them to fall. It was tough." - Sean Williams

Next Game:

[SuperNova854]

tough loss

[goDawgs1433]

MORE LIKE VOODOO YO

[mfbmike]

Ellington Busts Out For Big Game, Pacers Stutter Out Of Half, Wolves Grab Win

Starting Lineups:
Jonny Flynn PG Andre Miller
Wayne Ellington SG Dahntay Jones
Corey Brewer SF Danny Granger
Kevin Love PF Troy Murphy
Al Jefferson C Jeff Foster

(15-19) 105 @ 97 (11-20)


Sean Williams soars in to throw down the alley-oop from Sergio Rodriguez on the break.



Player Of The Game:

Wayne Ellington

Quote Of The Game:
"Wayne was huge for us tonight.The opportunity for him to keep getting significant minutes and hold on to this starting job is right in front of him. If he can find his shot consistently at the NBA level, he'll continue to get these opportunities. There was a story in this morning's paper about an opportunity for us to possibly land Rudy Fernandez from the Blazers. Maybe that had something to do with Wayne's performance tonight. Who knows?" - Wolves Head Coach Kurt Rambis

Next Game:

[mfbmike]

Rudy Rudy Rudy ! zomg...he would be an all star with da wolves...and we can finally get rid of that 2pg backcourt

lol, no kidding. Rudy's the shit.

Great option if you end up getting Rudy, Spanish Connection

:whisper:

You know I already got half of it with Sergio in town. ;)

ur doing better than i thought u would with the wolves

lol, thanks. Trying to stay competitive out here.

That would be an awesome trade mike, I know you'd like to land him.

Will be interesting to see what happens.

You bet. Just a matter of trying to find something that makes sense. Maybe I can work some magic.

Rudy + Flynn would be FTMFW! Make it happen man.

I think it would be great. It may be wishful thinking but I think adding a guy like Rudy would take me from lottery contention to playoff contention with the way some teams are struggling in the West.

Nice write up there Mike.

Fernandez fills that SG spot you need to fill, Sessions could come in off the bench, or Flynn. Good shit. Mike, keep it up.

Thanks. Appreciate it man.

Career high for Brewer?

lol, close, but no. I scored 25 with him earlier in the year, against the Nuggets.

wow they had three players with 10+ rebounds...that's hard to do

It was brutal. I got worked on the boards. Al and Kevin were contained on the glass as well. Ryan Hollins actually came in and grabbed 8 boards for me though. lol.

MORE LIKE VOODOO YO

It's fucking true dude. LOL. I watched a number of 3 pointers look like they were going to fall and just ricochet or toilet bowl out. It sucked. :/

[Kia Kaha]

have you found your future SG??
Ellington was a beast

[goDawgs1433]

Nice win over Granger and your old boys back in Indy.

Seems like the really good teams in this game just get some divine intervention sometimes, rofl. Magic, Celtics, Lakers, etc...someone always watching over them jiggas.

[mike3]

Wayne Ellington was awesome, good to see him stepping it up