Dunking With Wolves
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First impressions of Wolves new acquisitions can be tricky

By Tim Parochka

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The Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Kevin Garnett right before the trade deadline in February. The fan base, myself included, exploded with excitement!

Then, the Timberwolves traded for the draft pick that became Tyus Jones right before the Cleveland Cavaliers made their selection on draft night and the fan base, myself included, erupted!

And while it wasn’t nearly as exciting as the other acquisitions, the Wolves also signed Nemanja Bjelica and the fan base I was very thrilled.

In the moment, the new additions to the Timberwolves’ roster stated above felt something like winning the lottery…..it erased all the crappy, negative stuff out of our minds – for a couple of hours – because when something great happens in sports, nothing seems to be wrong. It’s the power of sports.

The first impressions of all of those players’ added to the team was incredibly high, but once those first few moments become a few days, a few weeks, then you can really make an unbiased opinion, if you are willing too.

For me, the Kevin Garnett addition was the best trade ever at first glance. Da Kid was coming home, so no doubt I was thinking that. I grew up watching KG and he was back. Of course, I still think it was a good trade, but a day later I realized that he was only going to be playing 20 minutes a night and averaging 6 to 8 points per game — not quite the same as the last time around.

When the Wolves first traded for the 24th overall pick, they were immediately heading to the NBA Finals the next season because we got Tyus. At least in my head, anyway.

He’s the home state legend who started on the varsity team at Apple Valley High School in 7th grade, so of course I thought the Wolves were heading to the Finals when we acquired him. A few days later, I came back to reality and thought that Jone would likely be an average backup point guard for a majority of his career.

When the Wolves signed Bjelica, I absolutely thought that he would have an immediate impact on the team because he has a special skill set. There aren’t many players in the NBA that have point forward skills.

Check out the below video. He looks like a player that can do it all.

He can put the ball on the floor and score, he can shoot it, you’ll even see him blocking a couple of shots…..but then I looked up Jonny Flynn highlights in a Timberwolves uniform and it looked like he could do the same thing, more or less.

Point forwards can be useful in the NBA, of course. They can score and create for their teammates, but often one of the best assets that they possess is their defensive versatility. Point forward’s can often match-up with almost any player on the floor because they have the strength and quickness to do so.

Of course, Bjelica is known as an inept defender, so my opinion completely shifted in 24 hours. I still believe Bjelica will help the team, but he won’t be as valuable as the modern-day, Draymond Green and Boris Diaw versions of the point forward.

The saying is “don’t make decisions when you are angry”, or something like that. Well, don’t make a decision (or a strong opinion) when you’re super happy either.

In this case, don’t let your first impressions of an acquisition affect your overall opinion — especially if that player isn’t a franchise changing player.

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