Last season, long-suffering fans were treated to the familiar signs of Spring: the air slowly being pounded out of the ball, listless defense, and the launching of long, contested twos.

As end-of-the-bench flotsam was forced to fill in for injured regulars and the still standing jetsam exposed itself for all of the world — and the Wolves’ Front Office — to undeniably see, the fans groaned their resigned recognition: Spring had sprung.

Signs of Spring in Minnesota

There were fond memories, though…

Kevin Love emerged as an undeniable #1 option, hitting step back 3s and getting to the line at an incredible rate while retaining his status as an all-world rebounder.

Ricky Rubio proved more than a mythical, youtube prodigy from a foreign land, delivering on so many highlight reel promises and providing surprisingly stout perimeter defense — of a quality never before displayed by a Wolves point guard.

Nikola Pekovic bailed out more than a few lost possessions with a quick look to him in the post. You didn’t have to suffer seasons of Darko Milicic’s lazy hook shots to appreciate Pek’s ascension as an unmovable force down low.

These three lineup stalwarts shone bright enough early in the season to not only help the Wolves contend for the playoffs, but hide the dark matter that was left exposed by their early exits.

Even before Rubio’s knee exploded, Pek’s bone spurs hobbled him, and Love was knocked out of the season, Luke Ridnour was forced into yeoman’s work at shooting guard just to give coach Rick Adelman a second ball handler to initiate his Cliff’s Notes, lockout-edition offense.

At season’s end, Adelman demanded known quantities — as if his arrival didn’t signal the end of the ‘talent development’ portion of the David Kahn era.

The binge and purge that followed:

Before the draft, the Wolves traded away their first rounder for Adelman-favorite, Chase Budinger. They let space cadet Anthony Randolph and long-two chucker extraordinaire Michael Beasley walk in free agency. Underachieving good-guy Wayne Ellington was traded to Memphis for defensive spark-plug Dante Cunningham. Perennial punchline Darko Milicic was amnestied and Martell Webster was waived to make room for Nicolas Batum’s offer sheet. After Portland matched, Wesley Johnson was traded to Phoenix to make room for free agent Andrei Kirilenko. Alexei Shved soon followed from Russia with all the youth and promise of a lottery pick. Greg Stiemsma made the Boston switch with Darko complete. Lou Amundson filled out the front line. Leaving Derrick Williams as the lone potential-laden hangover remaining from last season.

That whirlwind of upgrades from embarrassing cluelessness to respectable competence would have been much-appreciated by the long-suffering Wolves’ faithful had it ended at Budinger’s acquisition. The banishment of so many useless parts at once was nothing but a shock for anyone paying attention. Youth and its questionable potential have been traded for age and its questionable durability.

The newest additions need only hold the fort until reinforcements arrive, and be competent, functional pieces after that to qualify as one of the best teams in Wolves history. It promises to be an entertaining ride.

• Brandon Roy can really be our clutch scorer, especially with the Kevin Love out.
• Derrick Williams seems to have regressed even more from his rookie year. At this point it has to be considered a lack of confidence. He just doesn’t seemed to pick up the nuances of the NBA game.
• Andre Drummond is quite possibly one of the largest human beings I have ever seen. He has the muscle mass of Pekovic with a couple extra inches.
• One player who can really help soften the blow of injuries is Nikola Pekovic. The 3rd year center is still going under the radar of most NBA coaches. Until then, he won’t get a double team, resulting in easy baskets for him.
• The offensive still look a little awkward. Hopefully it’s just a rough start, but the Wolves staff was hoping that a full offseason would help the team adjust to the Corner offense fully.
• Drummond really has to improve his BBIQ. His quarter ending foul on a Derrick Williams 3-pointer can’t be a regular occurrence. Thankfully, most of his mistakes happen due to aggression.
• The Pistons are going to absolutely terrible if they can’t get someone else beside Rodney Stuckey and Greg Monroe to help.

2nd Quarter

• Schved has yet to understand pick and roll defense. He either overplays the switch or completely ignores the pick and gets blasted.
• It’s easy to understand why Budinger is loved by Adelman. He does everything that you want from a role player. Knock down an open shot, make the extra pass, hustle on defense, really the perfect role player.
• Even with all the injuries that have happened it’s scary how good the Timberwolves’ depth is. Barea is now the backup point guard while #2 pick Derrick Williams and workhorse Dante Cunningham step in for Love’s absence.
• Speaking of Cunningham, he has been an absolute monster this quarter. He’s had put backs  dunks, and has destroyed the Pistons defensively.
• At this point of the preseason, Barea is arguably better then Ridnour. Luke is purer point guard but JJ’s penetration and
• Right now I’m just nitpicking, but I really feel like the Wolves should take more advantage of Kirilenko’s passing and ball handling
• Detroit is looking like a Development League team right now. It has the talent to be a decent team, especially in a less competitive conference like the East, but they really have to buy into their coaches

3rd Quarter

• Greg Monroe could really be a dominant player if he had the ball in his hands more.
• Lawrence Frank must have lit the Pistons up at halftime. They have really come out to play.
• The Minnesota big men are starting to get pushed around a bit. Even Drummond is trying to push Pekovic around, which isn’t usually the best strategy that you want with a player of his strength.
• Derrick Williams really has to learn how to play defense without fouling. He already has four fouls all while playing subpar defense on Monroe.
• The Pistons are now back in this game after being down more than 20 points.
• It is good to see that Minnesota’s fan base extends well into the Canadian provinces. If they want to become a championship team, they really need a rabid and global fan base.
• It’s being reported that now Luke Ridnour has been taking cortisone shots in his back for mild pain. With the already plagued roster, it looks like Will Conroy might get a chance to make the roster temporarily.
• When Chase Budinger drills a corner three, most people look at either the on target pass or the perfect shot from Budinger. But few people look at the little things that happened to make the play possible. The spacing by other players to make Budinger open or the perfect pick by Dante Cunningham (on that particular play) to seal of his defender.
• One of the more underrated parts of the already underrated Nikola Pekovic’s game is his passing. His European background definitely gives him an advantage in that regard.

4th Quarter

• Dante Cunningham is really dominating this game through pure hustle. While Derrick Williams has had a lackadaisical second half, D.C. has really worked his butt off to contest this starting position.
• Once Rubio is back, you can really look for a player like Budinger or Cunningham to just explode statistically. They are both great finishers and shooters who do it at a high level.
• As explosive as Schved is, there are many different instances where he uses his ability to make mental mistakes. You can understand why he is known for driving coaches crazy.
• It’s good to see Malcolm Lee being brought in as an off guard/combo guard in the mold of Avery Bradley. There was a period where it appeared that we would try to use him as true point guard, something which he is not.
• Schved’s vision will really make him useful during the season, especially when he matches up against other shooting guards or small forwards. At other times, he can use his size to bully his way against point guards.