Top 10 Wolves who weren't very good NBA basketball players...but you liked them anyway

[AbeVigodaLive]

Good Call on Beasley. There were a lot of disappointments in those years. There was a 10 game stretch of AK47 where you really saw what a gifted basketball player he must of been in his prime before injuries got him too.

There's a story or two (often hinted at, but never really put into print) about AK47.

There has to be some weird stuff going on there behind the scenes.

- The Hall Pass with his wife has been discussed.
- But he was still a good player, out of the league at only 33.
- Apparently, he has a World of Warcraft tattoo that takes up his entire back?
- I've seen hints that gaming actually affected his game?
- He chose a Russian team over the NBA during the lockout season.
- His NBA career ended when he took a leave for "personal reasons"
- He turned down one year and $10.2M with the Wolves... to sign a 2 year, $6.5M deal with the Nets.
- Considering the Nets owner at the time was a Russian billionaire with political aspirations back home had nothing to do with the Nets signing...

Just a lot of puzzling details that have been kept under wraps a bit...



[Note: Kirilenko, despite being a more passive player than in his youth... was still a clear positive on both sides of the court with the Wolves. (+1.8 OBPM) and (+1.8 DBPM) and 2.9 VORP. I'm too lazy to do the research... but I'd guess those would put him in the top 10 for the Wolves post-Garnett.]

[thedoper]

Good Call on Beasley. There were a lot of disappointments in those years. There was a 10 game stretch of AK47 where you really saw what a gifted basketball player he must of been in his prime before injuries got him too.

There's a story or two (often hinted at, but never really put into print) about AK47.

There has to be some weird stuff going on there behind the scenes.

- The Hall Pass with his wife has been discussed.
- But he was still a good player, out of the league at only 33.
- Apparently, he has a World of Warcraft tattoo that takes up his entire back?
- I've seen hints that gaming actually affected his game?
- He chose a Russian team over the NBA during the lockout season.
- His NBA career ended when he took a leave for "personal reasons"
- He turned down one year and $10.2M with the Wolves... to sign a 2 year, $6.5M deal with the Nets.
- Considering the Nets owner at the time was a Russian billionaire with political aspirations back home had nothing to do with the Nets signing...

Just a lot of puzzling details that have been kept under wraps a bit...



[Note: Kirilenko, despite being a more passive player than in his youth... was still a clear positive on both sides of the court with the Wolves. (+1.8 OBPM) and (+1.8 DBPM) and 2.9 VORP. I'm too lazy to do the research... but I'd guess those would put him in the top 10 for the Wolves post-Garnett.]

I had no idea about the behind the scene stuff. I assumed he wanted to be in with the Billionaire when he went to Russia. The stats seem to fit what I remember of his game as a Wolf, he just seemed like a super smart player. The world of warcraft stuff is kind of hilarious.