Well, here we are.
The 2013 NBA season is in full swing, and its a big year for your Timberwolves.
Kevin Love is back, Kevin Martin is here, Nikola Pekovic is locked up, and Corey Brewer version 2.0 graces Target Center (already better than version 1.0).
The one thing about the Wolves offseason that is a question mark? Did they make the right choices in the NBA Draft.
Let’s recap.
Minnesota originally held the No. 9 pick, with which they selected Michigan point guard Trey Burke.
They then traded Burke to Utah, receiving the 14th and 21st picks, with which they selected UCLA forward Shabazz Muhammad and Louisville center Gorgui Dieng.
The reason for the trade is point guard Ricky Rubio, who is firmly entrenched as one of the building blocks in this Minnesota organization.
Now you’re caught up, and this is where the great debate will rage. Was it the right thing to do to trade Burke and keep Rubio while selecting Muhammad, or will the Wolves live to regret throwing Trey to the curb.
In the inaugural edition of this series, Burke got some rough news, as word came down that he would miss two-to-three months with a broken finger.
Still, to keep the 3-headed debate fresh in your mind, we figured we should update the progress of the talented trio since it has been a month since we last came to you with this feature.
TREY BURKE: An official update from Burke’s employer, the Utah Jazz, came out yesterday, and he has been cleared for individual basketball drills less than a month after surgery on the finger.
Burke will also continue his conditioning and physical therapy and be re-evaluated Nov. 25.
That means the end of the month is when the heat will really get turned up on this segment, prepare yourselves.
SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD: Head coach Rick Adelman has never been big on playing rookies, and Muhammad is no exception.
The UCLA alum has appeared in just three of the Wolves eight games, and has logged just 11 total minutes in those contests. He is last of 14 Wolves in points, with just two.
At this point, Burke is closing in rapidly on Muhammad in this rookie race without playing a game yet.
RICKY RUBIO: The only one of the three seeing serious minutes is having his ups and downs.
The Wolves have been playing well, so there is a feather in Rubio’s cap as the point guard and facilitator at Target Center, and his 8.9 assists per game is fourth in the league.
On the negative, his shooting has been atrocious. 32 percent from the floor ranks dead last among players averaging at least nine shots per game. Gross.
SUMMARY:
With Burke coming along and Utah having a desperately bad point guard situation, the next installment of this post should have a few more minutes logged on the floor.
Until then, someone get a telescope to find Shabazz and the broad side of a barn so Rubio can hit something.
