Injuries May Lead To Retirement For Nikola Pekovic
Veteran Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic has been ruled out for the season, and now has admitted that retirement may be in the cards for him. Pekovic, who will turn 31 next week, acknowledged during a press conference in Serbia that his health issues could make it impossible for him to return to the court, according to a Mondo.rs report (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
“For two years I have struggled with this injury,” Pekovic said of his troublesome ankle and Achilles. “I have been mentally exhausted. This year I went to Minneapolis for two months and I did everything possible to return to the court, but there are times when you simply can’t. I can’t run without pain.”
Pekovic had a couple very productive seasons for the Timberwolves in 2012/13 and 2013/14, averaging 16.9 PPG and 8.7 RPG in 116 games during that stretch. However, he has long been plagued by injuries, having never appeared in more than 65 games in a season. Last year, Pekovic played just 12 times before being shut down, and before training camp this year, Wolves owner Glen Taylor confirmed that the veteran big man wouldn’t play for the team in 2016/17, though he remains on the 15-man roster.
The Wolves are currently on the hook for $12.1MM this season for Pekovic, and $11.6MM in 2017/18. However, the situation is somewhat similar to Chris Bosh‘s in Miami. As of January 31, if Pekovic is ruled medically ineligible to play by a doctor jointly approved by the NBA and NBPA, the team could get salary cap relief for his contract. Pekovic would still earn the remaining salary on his contract, but Minnesota would be able to wipe the deal from its books for cap purposes.
For now, there’s no rush for either side to make a final decision, but as January 31 nears, we’ll likely get a better idea of what the plan is for Pekovic and the Wolves.
Wolves Aren't Playing Their Offseason Acquisitions
- Jordan Hill hasn’t played much since joining the Wolves, but he remains optimistic about his role in the organization and the team’s future, as Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune writes. “In a couple years, man, I feel this team will definitely be a surprise,” Hill said.
- Coach Tom Thibodeau is having trouble finding minutes for Brandon Rush, whom the Wolves signed in the offseason, Youngblood relays in the same piece. “It’s tough to play 10 guys,” Thibodeau said. “We’re settled in a rotation right now. But that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. He’s a good pro, works hard every day.”
Goran Dragic Open To Being Traded?
DECEMBER 23, 1:58pm: Asked about the report that he’s open to being moved, Dragic told reporters that it didn’t come from him, and that it’s not true (video link).
DECEMBER 22, 4:00pm: Rival teams have called the Heat about Goran Dragic‘s availability and found that Miami is open to dealing the point guard, sources tell Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Mannix adds that Dragic is also open to being moved. Minnesota is a team to keep an eye on regarding a potential Dragic trade, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com speculates in his latest podcast.
Two seasons ago, the Heat acquired Dragic believing that he was the missing piece needed in order to compete with the Cavs for the Eastern Conference crown. Since then, the team lost Chris Bosh because of his health issues and it lost Dwyane Wade to the Bulls in free agency, which left Dragic to lead a roster of young, unproven players. Mannix argues that if the Heat are going to rebuild around their young core, the team would be better off trading the point guard.
Earlier in the week, Pat Riley said that any rebuild would happen quickly. “We’ve [rebuilt] twice, first with the addition of Shaq back in 2005, then again in 2008,” Riley said. “And we’re in it again. In this league, you need flexibility. And we have that, so we’re able to make a move quickly. We’ve rebuilt before and we’re going to do it again quickly.”
The Heat, owning a record of 9-20, are in the midst of a disappointing campaign, though Dragic has been a bright spot for them. He’s averaging 19.1 points and 6.7 assists per game while shooting 41.6% from behind the arc. He owns a player efficiency rating of 18.2, which is well above the league average of 15.0.
Dieng Has Emerged As Defensive Anchor
- Gorgui Dieng has become the defensive stopper for the Timberwolves, according to Kent Youngblood of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Coach Tom Thibodeau assigns Dieng to the opponent’s top frontcourt scoring threat. “I think he’s getting better with his team and individual defense. And he has the right mentality for it. He’s a defense-first guy,” Thibodeau told Youngblood. “And, a lot of times, he’s giving up size. He’s small for a center, and he ends up banging with those guys quite a bit. But he’s good fronting the post. He’s a multiple-effort guy. Very good at pick-and-rolls. So he sort of anchors our defense right now.”
Wolves' Owner Urging Patience
- Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is preaching patience in the face of a disappointing start, relays Sid Hartman of The Star Tribune. Minnesota made a coaching change and overhauled its front office during the offseason, but has a 7-19 record after Saturday night’s collapse in the final minutes against Houston. “Well, let’s say that I was hopeful they would get off to a better start,” said Taylor. “Even in all the games they have played, you can see the exceptional talent that we have, and the ability to win. But for some reason or another, which I don’t have an answer for, we just have a terrible quarter in each game and get ourselves so far behind that it’s hard to pull it out. I’m hopeful that we’re getting it figured out.”
Thibodeau Managing Expectations
Managing expectations is one of the challenges Tom Thibodeau faces in his first year as coach of the Timberwolves, writes Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune. Many observers thought Minnesota was poised to become playoff contender with a proven coach joining forces with young stars Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine. But the Wolves have started slow, winning just seven of their first 25 games, and Thibodeau keeps reminding them to ignore outside influences. “Those are all projections,” he said. “Sometimes they’re high and sometimes they’re low. The thing is not to get wrapped up in that and to understand where you are and the improvement you have to make. Also, every year is different. Teams change. Personnel changes on every team and you have to understand what goes into winning.”
- Veteran Wolves guard John Lucas III is squaring off against his father tonight for the first time in his NBA career, notes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Lucas III earned a roster spot in Minnesota in the preseason, while the elder Lucas serves as head of player development for the Rockets.“It’s good to see him being back doing the thing he loves to do, being around the game. He’s enjoying it. I like seeing him back out there, passing on his knowledge,” Lucas III said.
Rubio's Poor Play Fuels Trade Talk
“The market for Ricky Rubio has shriveled,” says The Vertical’s Chris Mannix in a video segment published on Twitter. The 26-year-old point guard’s days in the Timberwolves‘ starting lineup may be numbered since the franchise drafted Kris Dunn fifth overall in the summer, and his poor play early this season has some experts wondering whether the team will look to move on sooner than later. In 20 games with the T-Wolves this season, Rubio has posted just 6.9 points per game on .368 shooting, the latter being perhaps the biggest negative limiting the playmaker’s trade value.
Wolves Interested In Acquiring Frontcourt Help
Even after a solid road win in Chicago on Tuesday night, the Timberwolves are just 7-18 this season, a half-game away from tying for the NBA’s worst overall record. Nonetheless, Tom Thibodeau‘s club isn’t giving up on 2016/17 yet, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who says that the team is looking to improve its roster and “trying to crawl off the mat.”
According to Windhorst, who was discussing the Wolves with Tom Haberstroh and Rachel Nichols during Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s TrueHoop podcast, there are rumblings that the team is “starting to call around and looking to trade for frontcourt help” (hat tip to RealGM.com).
As Windhorst points out, the Wolves signed Jordan Hill and Cole Aldrich in the offseason to attempt to fortify its frontcourt rotation, but neither player is seeing all that much action early in the season. Aldrich has averaged 13.2 minutes per game, about in line with his career marks, while Hill has only appeared in three games, playing just 16 total minutes.
Minnesota has some other options off the bench, including Nemanja Bjelica and Adreian Payne, but the team’s lack of effective depth has put added pressure on starters Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng to play big minutes. Still, while adding a reliable veteran big man to their rotation would likely improve the Wolves’ frontcourt play, it’s hard to imagine the team doing anything drastic to upgrade its roster in the short term, given the results of its first 25 games.
If the Wolves do pursue a move sooner rather than later, they’ll have a few more options after today. As of December 15, offseason signees – including Hill, Aldrich, Brandon Rush, and John Lucas III – are eligible to be dealt.
No Bitterness For Thibodeau
Former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said his experience in Chicago was “90% positive” and he has no bitterness toward GM Gar Forman or executive John Paxson over his firing, relays K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links). Thibodeau, who now coaches the Wolves, met with the media this afternoon in advance of tonight’s game in Chicago. He had a record of 255-139 in five years with the Bulls before being let go after the 2014/15 season. Thibodeau added that he would like to have a face-to-face meeting with owner Jerry Reinsdorf. “Jerry was great to me,” he said. “I’ve got great respect for him. At some point, I’ll sit down with Jerry.” (Twitter link).
Ricky Rubio Critical Of Wolves' Effort
- The Timberwolves are tied for the second-worst record in the NBA, and Ricky Rubio isn’t happy with the team’s effort, telling reporters after a recent loss to Detroit that played with no “heart” or “desire.” Rubio, who is considered a possible trade candidate, said over the summer that he wants to play with a winning team, expressing optimism at that time that the Wolves could turn into a winner. That certainly hasn’t happened early on in the 2016/17 campaign.
- The Timberwolves are tied for the second-worst record in the NBA, and Ricky Rubio isn’t happy with the team’s effort, telling reporters after a recent loss to Detroit that played with no “heart” or “desire.” Rubio, who is considered a possible trade candidate, said over the summer that he wants to play with a winning team, expressing optimism at that time that the Wolves could turn into a winner. That certainly hasn’t happened early on in the 2016/17 campaign.
- Timberwolves head coach and team president Tom Thibodeau is still getting accustomed to his dual role in Minnesota, telling Rod Beard of The Detroit News that he has looked at Stan Van Gundy in Detroit as a model for how to handle and delegate those responsibilities.