Monthly Archives: May 2014

by | May 25, 2014 · 2:36 PM

The Kevin Love Trade: How Bad Does Flip Wanna Be?

badasflipwannabe

Patrick J: There has been a lot happening around the Wolves over the past week. First, we got word that Kevin Love was likely going to use his early-termination option to explore free agency after the 2014-15 season.

At the same time, there were murmurs that the Wolves were looking closely at former Timberwolves player and Raptors coach Sam Mitchell as Rick Adelman’s replacement as Twolves head coach.

When we last wrote, both of these stories had an air of uncertainty around it. Woj had broken the Love story in one of his “should-I-really-believe-this” megaexclusives. And the Mitchell news crept upon us out of nowhere and felt like a shock to the system.

Since then, the Kevin Love news has only gotten more play, while the Sam Mitchell rumor quickly went away (Eds. Note: There has been some speculation that Mitchell could end up as an assistant on Joeger’s staff) –replaced by the rumor that current Grizzlies coach and Minnesota native Dave Joerger will be the one who succeeds Adelman on the Wolves sideline.

The Inbox below is a list of scenarios that do not seem implausible ways in which the Wolves could decide to go with whatever type of “rebuilding” strategy they will have to do, assuming that Love is traded and Joerger is hired.

Continue reading below the fold to see how we rate them… Continue reading →

Advertisement

4 Comments

Filed under INBOX

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | May 20, 2014 · 3:35 PM

INBOX: Kevin Love, Wolves, Parting Ways? + Sam Mitchell!

kevlaaarrr

So, this week we learned that Kevin Love has given the Wolves’ leadership notice that he intends to exercise the early-termination option in his contract after next season and become an unrestricted free agent.

It was Adrian Wojnarowski who reported it, so take the story for what it’s worth.

COINCIDENTALLY (?), word leaked that Sam Mitchell is a strong candidate for the Wolves coaching job.

If, like most Wolves fans, you felt as though you’d been double-tapped after reading those news items, continue reading below. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Filed under INBOX

Tagged as ,

Link

Canis Hoopus Roundtable Part I

Patrick and I, along with some other Wolves writers that you are familiar with, participated in a little Roundtable/Q & A over at Canis Hoopus. Go check it out.

Comments Off on Canis Hoopus Roundtable Part I

by | May 19, 2014 · 10:42 AM
by | May 9, 2014 · 8:00 PM

Learning from The Machine: Some Observations about Past Timberwolves Draft Picks

Learning from The Machine

Learning from The Machine

I recently read an interesting paper, entitled “Profiting from Machine Learning in the NBA Draft (paper available here).” The author of the paper is Philip Maymin, Assistant Professor of Finance and Risk Engineering at the NYU School of Engineering. Maymin has written several articles applying machine learning techniques to NBA basketball.

Here’s the study’s abstract: I project historical NCAA college basketball performance to subsequent NBA performance for prospects using modern machine learning techniques without snooping bias. I find that the projections would have helped improve the drafting decisions of virtually every team: over the past ten years, teams forfeited an average of about $90,000,000 in lost productivity that could have been theirs had they followed the recommendations of the model. I provide team-by-team breakdowns of who should have been drafted instead, as well as team summaries of lost profit, and draft order comparison. Far from being just another input in making decisions, when used properly, advanced draft analytics can effectively be an additional revenue source in a team’s business model.

Based on The Machine’s* projections, we’re going to discuss some choice decisions the Wolves made in past drafts.

Continue reading →

Comments Off on Learning from The Machine: Some Observations about Past Timberwolves Draft Picks

Filed under INBOX, Timberwolves

Tagged as , , , ,

by | May 3, 2014 · 3:44 PM

Wheelman Presents: The Punch-Drunk Podcast, Vol. 5, Part 2 (The Timberwolves Coaching Search Edition)

Andy G's mom likes Mike D'Antoni.

Andy G’s mom likes Mike D’Antoni. (Original photo from Twitter.)

The Punch-Drunk Podcast has been on hiatus for a while. But now it’s back. With more discussion of the Wolves’ vacant coaching position. (Eds. Note: Andy G’s stanky-leg Comcast internet connection cut out at the very end, so when the Comcast Gods restored connectivity, the pod was split into two parts. This is part two. Part one is here. )

In this edition, we recover from Comcast-induced technical difficulties, discuss the pros and cons of some potential candidates for the Wolves’ head coaching position, and speculate that Andy G’s mom has a crush on Mike D’Antoni.

1 Comment

Filed under Podcasts

Tagged as , ,

by | May 3, 2014 · 3:30 PM

Wheelman Presents: The Punch-Drunk Podcast, Vol. 5, Part 1 (The NBA Playoffs First Round Edition)

Mike "Nude Boozer iPhone autocorrect" Budenholzer has the Hawks poised for game seven in Indiana.

Mike “Nude Boozer iPhone autocorrect” Budenholzer (left) has the Hawks poised for game seven in Indiana. Spurs coach Greg Popovich has his own game seven against Dallas.

The Punch-Drunk Podcast has been on hiatus for a while. But now it’s back. With more NBA playoffs. (Eds. Note: Andy G’s stanky-leg Comcast internet connection cut out at the very end, so when the Comcast Gods restored connectivity, the pod was split into two parts.)

In this edition, we discuss the first round of the playoffs, our favorites in the five upcoming Game Sevens, our nickname for Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, and whether the playoffs so far offer any lessons for the Timberwolves in their effort to contend for a playoff spot next season.

1 Comment

Filed under Podcasts

Tagged as , ,