The Minnesota Timberwolves made a handful of off-season moves that made people forget that the Kevin McHale era was over, and second year General Manager David Kahn may in fact actually know what heโs doing. Sure there was the Darko Milic contract (4 years, 20 million total) that raised some eyebrows, but the majority of Kahnโs moves made most Wolves fans, especially this one, believe that there was in fact a light at the end of the tunnel. Really.
Additions of Michael Beasley, Martell Webster, and Kosta Koufus (although the jury is still out on his significance) through trades; Wes Johnson and Lazar Hayward through the draft; Milic through re-signing; and purchasing the contract of Nikola Pekovic were all moves that show the fan base the Wolves are moving in the right direction.
One acquisition that seemed to have slipped under the radar was the July 14 signing of veteran guard Luke Ridnour.
Ridnour came off a 2009-10 campaign with the Milwaukee Bucks in which he was a 28 year-old mentor to the absurdly raw Brandon Jennings.
Ridnour played in all 82 games for the Bucks in which he averaged 21.5 minutes per game, 10.4 points per game, and a solid 3.1 assist to turnover ratio; many thought he was destined for the same situation in Minnesota, mentoring the young Johnny Flynn.
Just a handful of days after the Ridnour signing was announced, the Wolves got some bad news; Flynnโs hip required surgery and was deemed likely to be out 3-4 months. Instantly Ridnourโs role changed.
Statistically Johnny Flynn was one of the worst, if not the worst, starting point guards in the NBA last season. Even so, this year is a year in which the Wolves need to prove to the league that they are a team that would be competitive night in and night out; which was often times not the scene last season. The Flynn injury looked as though it was just another tale in the woeful post-KG history of the Timberwolves franchise. That is why Ridnour will be so key this season, especially until Flynn gets back to 100%.
Ridnour will carry the burden of controlling the offense, and playing far more minutes than what he thought he would when he inked his 4-year $16 million dollar contract this summer. With that burden comes the added pressure of keeping a fan base on their feat and excited about the 2009-10 Wolves, even though they were seemingly dead last season. That remote level of excitement has been seen as recently as Tuesday nightโs overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers.
If Ridnour struggles to carry the load (he wonโt have much help from journeymen guard Sebastian Telfair) from the point guard position, the position that I feel hands down is the most important on an NBA team, and the Wolves start off say 2-8, the fans will write this team off and wonder when Twins Spring Training starts.
The Wolves need the 2010-11 campaign to be a season in which they show the league that they arenโt far from being a playoff contender. If Ridnour does his job and keeps the Wolves a few games shy of .500 by the time Flynn comes back, and mentors the second year guard like he did with Jennings; he will have proven he was worth the 16 million that Kahn invested in him.
-Brett Cloutier
Brett and Mike Gallagher do a weekly podcast at www.thebackdoorcut.mypodcast.com and you can follow him at twitter.com/brettcloutier
