Unlike the case with Oladipo, the comparison model pumps out a group of largely uninteresting comps for KCP. This

Mar 7, 2013; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (1) drives the ball up the court against the Kentucky Wildcats during the second half at Stegeman Coliseum. Georgia defeated Kentucky 72-62. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

really should not be too concerning though as I think it says more about how weird his college line is. 8.7 rebounds and 8.6 3PA per 40 is getting into Troy Murphy or Kevin Love territory… but KCP is doing it from the two spot. It isn’t like he is just floating around under the hoop on defense either given his impressive 2.5 steals per 40 rate.

I like KCP a lot but his shot distribution makes me a little uncomfortable. He fails to get to the rim and settles for jumpers far too often. In this sense he is the opposite prospect of Oladipo and not in a flattering way. KCP can still be useful without being a major threat to attack the paint, but I think it puts a cap on his potential and may make him more dependent on pairing with a complimentary point guard.

The biggest issue that stands out to me with KCP is how weird his lack of media hype is. He is a high usage guard who averaged 18.5 points per game as a sophomore and was similarly prolific (though in fewer minutes) through the first half of his freshman season. His numbers and highlights tell the story of a physically dominant athlete who slams home dunks and makes impressive plays. In short… he is the type of player ESPN et al. usually drool over. What did the poor guy do to miss out on all of the media attention? I started asking this question earlier last season when KCP was performing better than the much more popular freshman shooting guards Rivers, Beal and Waiters but he started missing shots and I shut up. This season KCP held strong throughout the entire season and still got minimal love. That may be changing as I see him slide up the mock drafts weekly, but I am still left baffled by his omission from the spotlight.

Ricky Rubio gets a year-in-review post at timberwolves.com with some nice highlights (the Rising Stars Challenge pass to Bradley Beal was my favorite gif of the year) and this nice detail on Ricky’s summer plans:

Rubio spent last summer in the Twin Cities while rehabbing that left knee, working closely with physical therapist Andre Deloya as well as the rest of the Wolves’ training staff. He worked tirelessly trying to return to the court within the first two months of the regular season, and he succeeded with his Dec. 15 return.

This year will be a little different.

Rubio said he plans to spend his offseason back in Spain this summer. The goal was to take three weeks off after the season and then get back to work—during that time, he did spend a few days in Minnesota before heading to Puerto Rico with a few of his Wolves teammates.

It’s a new challenge for Rubio, who has never had a traditional NBA offseason. Last year he focused on getting healthy. This year, he has the chance to truly prepare for the upcoming campaign knowing exactly what the rigors of an NBA season is like.

“It’s something I always thought about … since I was 14,” said Rubio, referring to NBA offseason preparation. “I didn’t have a lot of time to work on my things [last year], and I’m going to do it.”

Apr 24, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol (16) reacts during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at AT

The possibility that Nikola Pekovic could catch an offer as large as a $13 or $14 million starting salary this offseason and the Wolves choosing to balk at matching it (though it seems less and less likely of late) — that, combined with the news that the Timberwolves were one of many to interview Maryland center Alex Len, makes you wonder how the Wolves would feel about taking on Gasol’s expiring $19 million contract this year before he becomes an unrestricted free agent next year. Losing Pek, making a move for Pau and adding Len as a third big would be a nice backup plan — assuming Pek would fetch any kind of perimeter scoring punch in a sign-and-trade (Korver and Morrow from Atlanta?).

The availability of Derrick Williams seemed to have little impact on the Lakers before the trade deadline this year. Although he averaged a semi-respectable 12 points and 6 boards filling in for Kevin Love, he is firmly behind Love on the depth chart and now that the small forward experiment is without a doubt over, his $5 million would be better spent elsewhere and his opportunity could be in Mike D’Antoni’s smallish lineup.

With Kobe Bryant spending the majority of next season recovering from injury, the Lakers situation has changed quite a bit. They’ll be more dependent on their bigs and Steve Nash, and will be in need of opportunistic scoring. Williams could fill the same offensive black hole with anemic rebounding-role A’mare Stoudemire once did alongside Steve Nash in Phoenix.

The Wolves could throw in Luke Ridnour, Greg Stiemsma, Alexey Shved and UCLA alum Malcolm Lee and they could cut half of them or send Ridnour back up to Portland where he and Shved could fetch them Wesley Matthews.

Wait. Why don’t the Wolves just go after Wesley Matthews and keep Pek?