Antoine Walker Traded to Timberwolves

Remember the good old days of Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury, Tom Gugliotta and Christian Laettner?

Fuck I miss the mid-90s.

 

So KG, Starbury, and two white guys who never deserved to see the floor of an NBA game. Laettner was only riding off the coattails of his shot at Duke.

 

I don't care. They were fun to watch. It was before Marbury was an established star, Garnett was shaping into his dominant form, and Gugliotta was as good a small forward in the NBA from 1996-99. He averaged 20.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in 96-97. I'm pretty sure Gugliotta earned a place on the floor.

As for Laettner, he was good enough to be in the NBA. By no means was he a factor in anything the Timberwolves did. But I still miss him in a Minnesota jersey.

 

I stand corrected. One white guy who never deserved to see the floor of an NBA game. Much like Shawn Bradley, but that's beside the point. Hell, someone needs to get photographed for posters.

 

Minnesota is definitely not turning into the Bulls. The only player of any value that they got for Garnett is Jefferson, who is good but is a lot less than what they could have gotten for Garnett a year ago. Corey Brewer was an awful pick. And they don't have much else. They'll obviously have a lottery pick after this season, but most likely McHale will screw that up too.

Early on, I actually thought McHale was doing a good job. Garnett and Marbury were good picks, and the trade for Guggliota worked out. But soon thereafter, McHale made blunder after epic blunder. He's definitely competing with Isiah for the worst GM in the league. His only saving grace is that unlike Isiah, his team isn't capped out long-term and paying a ton of luxury tax.

 

And who doesn't like posters?

 

Corey Brewer was an excellent selection for the T-Wolves. He has tremendous upside and is going to grow into a scorer in the league. They have a solid core of young talent. Randy Foye running the point, Rashad McCants manning the two, Corey Brewer should be starting at SF, Antoine I could see playing the 4, and Jefferson at center.

That gives Minnesota a solid team to build around. I will compare them more to Charlotte than any other team. The emergence of Loul Deng killed my idea.

 

Yes, he was. Big man who could pass, shoot the 17-footer and get it done in the paint. Had he, in the days just beyond his prime, gone to a team like the Celtics with Pierce, Walker, Williams, Battie, McCarty, etc., the Celtics would've won a title, or at least made the finals. I also liked when Erik Strickland was the point guard for the C's.

 

This is an absolutely ridiculous statement. Divac was a good center I'll give you that but if you think those Celtic teams with the addition of Divac would have won a title your delusional. Williams, Battie, Mcarty and Strickland? Wow just fuckin wow!

 

"Wow just fuckin wow!" What, is this an episode of Friends?

How many C's games did you watch back then?

The Celtics were one player away, a true center. I lived in New England then and watched most of their games. They were a solid team, which needed just a center to complete the puzzle. The East wasn't all that dominant then. Remember how teams like the Sixers and Pacers made the finals and blew miserably against the Lakers in the finals? The Celtics were as good as those teams but didn't have a true center. Vlade was a fantastic fucking player who helped the Kings get to Game 7 of the Western finals. Remember that? Yeah, you do. Vlade, Webber, Bibby was the equivalent to Pierce, Walker and Vlade, then throw in "I LOVE WALTER!" and Battie and some of the other complementary players.

Unless you watched the C's in-depth back then, you really don't have an argument, other than "Wow, just fuckin wow!"

 

Look back at this team.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2002.html

What's it missing? A veteran center who could score inside, shoot outside -- MAKE FREE THROWS -- and what a mofo passer!

Vlade Divac.

 

Getting out of the East and winning a championship are completely different. Not a single team coming out of the east back then could touch the Lakers or the Spurs. I think you highly overate the talent around Pierce and Walker. Pierce is legit and Walker is a chucker.
Would they have gotten out of the East, maybe, would they win a championship not even close.