What? Flynn leads Wolves to 95-93 comeback victory over Nets
Posted on October 29th, 2009 – 2:56 AMBy Jerry Zgoda
Some thoughts and things about the Wolves’ season-0pening victory tonight over New Jersey on Damien Wilkins’ buzzer- beating bank shot, a victory that for the game’s first 41 minutes they had no business winning.
Yes, it’s just one game and yes, when asked on this afternoon’s live chat I estimated Ricky Rubio’s chance at ever wearing a Wolves uniform at something like 35.6897 percent, but…
After watching Jonny Flynn lead the Wolves back with a closing 24-6 flourish, I’m thinking Rubio will never play a game with the Wolves.
David Kahn all along has suggested Flynn’s going to make this his town with his game, his smile and his charisma and if tonight is a sign of things to come, he just might be right.
By the time Rubio’s buyout becomes reasonable in two years, this is long going to be Flynn’s team.
And, no matter what Kahn has said about the two of them playing together, there’s no way those two guys are going to play together 30-some minutes a game. As the season goes on, the bet here is it’ll become more and more obvious that Rubio’s rights will be a chip Kahn cashes at some point.
Other stuff:
- Yes, Corey Brewer’s offensive play (1 for 11 on his first 12 shots, 3 for 14 overall) was enough to make anyone in the Target Center audience convulse, but… the guy made enough plays and had enough defensive presence down the stretch that the Wolves probably don’t win without him on the floor (he had 3 steals, Wilkins 4). He also made a fluid jumper when you least expected it, with the game on the line with 93 seconds left. Afterward, Kurt Rambis said his team tried too hard and had way too many nerves and Brewer was the most obvious example.
- Ryan Hollins is a lot more intriguing prospect than I thought when Kahn signed him. Rambis turned to him when Al Jefferson picked up two quick fouls and when it became obvious the Wolves need more size and athleticism to counter Brook Lopez than Jefferson can provide. He’s got hops and he’s got a jumper and he’s probably only scratched at the player he might be able to become.
– Jefferson called his offensive night (9 points, 4 rebounds) awful in his first regular season game back from knee surgery, but he provided a crucial blocked shot on Lopez in the final 30 seconds that helped set up Wilkins’ winning shot.
Lopez, the guy the Wolves passed on in the 2008 NBA draft because they felt his low-post game duplicated Jefferson’s game, scored 27 points, all of them in the first three quarters.
– Rookie Wayne Ellington, who like Flynn shook two days of flu to play, was on the floor down the stretch with Flynn, Jefferson and Brewer. He played 23 minutes, had eight points, six rebounds and led all Wolves with a plus-13 rating. Somebody asked on today’s chat if Ellington might start before the season’s over and I flatly said no, but Rambis has praised his professionalism (he’s a rookie, remember) and perhaps I was way too hasty.
– The two teams combined to shoot 1-for-15 on threes (0 for 8 for the Nets, 1 for 7 for the Wolves). The night’s first three was made by a fan in a halftime contest.
– Wilkins probably never would have been on the floor for the winning shot if Brian Cardinal hadn’t had to come out of the game late with his finger grotesquely dislocated.
– It’s just one night certainly, but Oleksiy Pecherov’s mere 5:24 played doesn’t bode well for the Wolves picking up his 2010-11 contract option by Saturday’s deadline.
– The Wolves get a bigger test Friday night against LeBron and the Cavs at Target Center. Whoever would have thought the Wolves would be undefeated and the Cavs winless? They’re 0-2 after Tuesday’s home loss to Boston and tonight’s loss at Toronto.
23 Responses to "What? Flynn leads Wolves to 95-93 comeback victory over Nets"
The Wolves drafting Rubio was seriously perhaps, the most exciting moment in Wolves history for me.. perhaps even in local sports history for me, I was REALLY excited by this kid, but something intuitively even within and amongst all the initial draft day excitement, and all along made me feel he’d never be in a Wolves uniform (well maybe he’ll score a role in a local Spanish theatrical production of “Little Red Riding Hood” someday).. but then anyways, by the next day rumors of his potential of staying in Spain for another year and this and that started coming, you know the story you wrote it,….& Now I agree with you Mr Zgoda, it’s a forgone conclusion. I went to the Wolves game tonight, or last night rather, and afterwards at a bar with the fellows I attended the game with, the topic of Rubio was brought up, and I said bluntly how Rubio, he’ll never be in a Wolves uniform. The matter-of-fact tone in how I spoke was kind of met with puzzlement.
The good thing is that no matter what we choose to do with Rubio we have time on our side and that is the most important bargaining chip.
After seeing Lawson play a couple of games it sure would have been nice to know that Rubio wouldn’t show up. He appears to be a stockier version of Flynn. That could be a case of playing with better players thou.
Somehow Rambis has to get Al to stop with the nonchalant attitude early in games. A true superstar player brings it ALL game.
Great to get a win and start off right.
It’s unfortunate though it’s no secret Rubio is just a trade chip (it’ll be clearer with time, afterall Rubio declined that deal that Kahn feverishly worked out to alleviate his buyout, and for matters as Jerry mentions in this blog, of this becoming Flynn’s team).. so teams will likely feel less inclined to have to give away as much to arrest Rubio from our hands, but like you allude to Korea, the longer time goes on, the better he becomes; the more we can get in return. ..I’m unsure though how Rubio eventually wanting badly to come into the NBA, in time, and his agent Fegan, surely itching/chafing severely as time goes on, for him to come to the NBA, will play for us. Kahn is an incredibly intelligent, thoughtful, and careful man, I hope though he wont take some trade proposal he might otherwise wouldn’t of charity to Ricky.
Wouldn’t it be funny if Rubio ended up going to Milwaukee and doing a timeshare with Brandon Jennings, not because of Jennings’ catty anti Rubio circa draft time comments to the press, but just for irony’s sake.
Hollins had less rebounds than Jonny Flynn…enough said
The only way I see Rubio playing for the Wolves is if he grows another inch or two and is willing and able to play SG. He’s only 19, so it’s possible. I just don’t think it’s very probable.
Hopefully he plays well for his Euro team over the next two years and his value stays the same or increases instead of dropping. As long as Kahn can make something positive out of it in the end, I’ll personally be OK with the whole mess.
It was nice to see the wolves come back and win last night, unfortunately I wasn’t much of a believer and left the game after 3 qtrs.
Why do people not realize unless the CBA changes that Rubio won’t be coming over to the NBA for THREE YEARS? Enough already with this 2 year stuff. If he waits 3 years he can sign for any amount. So basically as long as his value stays high and he plays well in Europe there is no reason for him to come over in 2 years. It would cost him tens of millions of dollars!
he can sign for any amount in 3 years, but how much is a team (the Wolves or otherwise) willing to pay for an unproven NBA rookie (no matter how flashy he is in Europe) that is much more than what he is already guaranteed as a 5th pick (3-4 million), which will only increase over the next 2 years? that year he waits and plays for his kinda small salary (less than 7 figures I believe) is less money in his pocket.
further on that note, say he decides to wait 3 years - he might sign a contract with whomever (again, Wolves or otherwise) for lets say 3 years, at 5-6 per (so max 15-18 million, plus whatever bonuses). that is a reasonable offer fora guy of his talent, yet unproven in the NBA.
but, say he comes over in 2 years, and takes his guaranteed rookie deal of probably 4 years with the options being picked up, which would start at roughly 4 mill, and escalate from there. over that same 4 year span, he makes roughly the same amount as that 3 year span he would be in the NBA plus the 1 extra year he stays in Europe. in addition, since he’d actually be playing in the NBA, he’d get endorsements for that extra year he’s here, and is one year closer to that max contract that he covets. not to mention he gets NBA playing experience and arguably more minutes than his 22 minutes a nite he gets.
just read he’d still be subject to 2009 draft wages, but that is still quite a sum…
jama: taylor is on the board of govs and is well liked in the NBA FO, he will most certainly get this matter addressed in the next CBA and Rubio will be fisted w/o lube.
done talking Rubio until draft nears and rumors/speculations on his being traded begin to circulate.
Not a bad block by AJ huh?
AJ finally showed up in the 4th quarter; Rambis got under his skin at half-time and that is good to see. he has to realize he’s capable of more than just low-post scoring.
Rubio will be with the Wolves in 2011. Why? (1) Because he provides an “x” factor, a one of a kind player and (2) because his stock value was highest on either side of the 2009 draft.
Keep in mind, Rubio is the guy that Kahn guaranteed would be the starting PG “the minute he enters Target Center.” Since then, as Rubio opted to stay in Spain, Kahn has backtracked on this commitment.
But Kahn is committed to seeing Rubio in a Wolves uniform in 2011.
As for Jefferson, I find no reference to Rambis getting “under his skin,” medschoolmatt, of what are you referring?
if you read the story about the game on the sports page, it read that Rambis called the team ’soft’, which Al did not take too kindly.
I suspect arenal is right and there will be changes to the CBA that are favorable to the Wolves in regards to Rubio. I would guess most NBA owners would be in favor of closing this loophole, and most of the existing players (who have been subjected to the rookie scale) would be fine with it, too.
Even if the CBA doesn’t change, Rubio is still going to be limited by the cap room or exceptions that the team with his rights holds. I’d be surprised (unless he blossoms into a 20+ ppg scorer on top of his other contributions) if a team would be willing to go past the MLE to acquire him.
I can understand the sentiment that Rubio will never play here, that by the time he can sign Flynn will be entrenched. And it is true that it would be a gamble if Flynn is a solid starting PG to try to either replace him or even bring in Rubio to see what he can do. But the sad part with this scenario is that there is no way Flynn will ever be the PG that Rubio will be. And, there is no way the Wolves can get full value in trading a player or the rights to a player who has never set foot on an NBA court.
Analysis of the Wolves’ comeback win, Flynn’s fourth-quarter dominance, Lopez owning the paint, and more:
http://mnhowl.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/season-opener-flynn-credible-comeback/
I still can’t believe the Wolves won that game. I watched all night, and rolled my eyes while moaning, several times as I witnessed the teams ineptness, as the Nets margin widened. Then the fourth quarter began, and I started to think maybe they can close the gap and not lose so decisively. I’ll be doggone, those guys kept fighting and would not give up. This was real pleasure to me; to watch a team never give up. I will always support a team that fights and never quits. Friday, the Cavs will bring even more muscle, and I do not expect a Wolces win. But as long as they continue their fight, I am behind them. My hats off to you Wolves players. Keep it up.
The Cavs are going to kill us. LeBron is a night mare matchup for this team….too big for Corey to guard, too fast for Gomes. Plus they’re going to be angry and on a mission….they’d never live down losing to use to start the season 0-3.
Last night was….something of a miracle really. I guess the best thing I took from it was we finally have a coach who will let the young kids take their hits and still stick with them. After the terrible shooting in the first half, McHale or Wittman would never have played Corey or Flynn in the second. So last night was a really good indicator that Rambis meant what he said about getting the youngsters burn being more important that trying to win every game. And hey, last night i paid off…like Jerry said, we wouldn’t have won without Jonny or Corey out there in the fourth.
And Rambis is definitely right that everyone was on nerves. Corey just happened to be the most obvious. But no one on the team shot well, all things considered.
Oh, two more things:
1) Corey completely redeemed himself in my eyes with his unbelievable defense in the fourth. Jerry mentioned it came into question how good Corey would need to be defensively to warrant burn through all the bad shooting. Well…he made a case for actually being that good defensively in the fourth when he completely shut down Yi. That play near the end when he blocked Yi, then stole the ball off the rebound was an incredible stand.
2) That final shot from Wilkins was unbelievable. He showed some fantastic ball IQ…if you watch the replay, he was way out on the three point line with his hands up when Flynn took his last shot, then immediately ran right to the front of the hoop. A lot of guys would just stand out there and watch. Very intelligent play by Wilkins to stay active.
Bryan: You’re right, the Wolves will get killed tomorrow night by the Cavs. They can’t match LeBron, or Shaq. But I’m watching for fight and desire to improve; while gaining some respect from teamates, fans, and other teams. I’m expecting a long season, but displays of last nights desire and fortitude, will keep me interested. Long-term, could be great fun. There is another Minnesota team who currently, while undermanned, is not playing w/ fight, fortitude, and desire. And they are losing the support of their faithful.
Even when they were down double-digits with six minutes left, or whatever it was, the team looked calm to me. Nice to have a guy like Flynn that can get to the paint or get his shot when he wants; I think that was a huge part of why the team looked different last night. They don’t have converted SG’s trying to run point in crunch time when they need a leader with the ball.
Floor burns, guys playing help defense…they’ll have a lot of tough shooting nights, but they’ll steal a lot of games (and win a lot of fans) if they can just stay calm and keep working hard on the defensive end.
But the number one thing? We’ve got a bona fide PG, and a pretty damn good PG backup, too.
