Minnesota Sports Forum

I attended a season ticket holder gathering today with Kevin Martin. He took questions from season ticket holders for about 30 minutes. He's a really impressive guy -- very smart and a class act. A few highlights:

1. He had six other teams contact him during the free agency period trying to recruit him. Minnesota was his first choice. Flip apparently called twice and left messages just after the free agency period started, but Martin was talking with other teams when Flip called.

2. He loves Adelman as a coach. He said he owes a lot to Adelman for his development as a player. When asked what makes Adelman such a great coach, he said it is the fact that Adelman gives you a lot of freedom within the system, allowing a player to get the most out of his abilities. He also said Adelman understands players, drawing on his experience as a former NBA player as well as a coach. He said Adelman was hard on him when he was a rookie, playing him in only 40 games and not putting him on the playoff roster. He said that made him work harder and made him a better player.

3. The one Wolves player he has been in regular contact with is Ricky. He said his first call after agreeing to sign with the Wolves was to Ricky. Apparently the two have been talking quite a bit. K-Mart said he wants to get to know his backcourt mate and make sure they have a really good rapport. He said he has never played with a pass-first PG in his career, so he's really excited about playing with Ricky. He also mentioned that he will be the first true SG Ricky has been paired with in the backcourt. He predicted that Ricky will have a breakout season and become a top ten PG.

4. He is really excited to be here -- mainly because of Adelman, Ricky and Love. He is also excited by the prospect of being a starter again.

5. He said he feels really good physically and is ready to take the pounding required to get back to drawing fouls the way he did before last season.

6. He said the Wolves have the potential to be the top offensive team in the West. He said the team needs to find a way to be a top 10 defensive team.

7. When asked about his defense he answered honestly that he won't be an all-world defender. But he also said that the Thunder played well defensively last season when he was on the court. He also said that he has become more focused on defense the past few seasons and takes pride in working hard on the defensive end.

I came away really impressed and optimistic about what K-Mart will add to the team. I'd feel much better about the team overall if we had a bonafide starting SF.

Lip, Was there any starting SF you think we could have went after besides AK that you would have rather signed then Brewer or Budinger?

Cheers for the post Lip,

I'll be honest, Martin wasn't at the top of my list, but his addition has grown on me. He seems like the perfect fit next to Rubio. If he can return to being the 3 and Free guy he made his career on, then I can't see why we won't be one of the best offensive teams in the NBA. We have a great inside-outside scoring punch, with Pek (inside), Love (inside & outside) and Martin (outside). Those three players there need to take the offensive load on their shoulders.

I understand your concern about not having a bonafide starting SF Lip, but I don't think it is a big deal. Brewer, Budinger and Williams will compete for the starting spot and I have faith that whoever wins that battle will do a sufficient job.

Thanks for the upbeat post, Lipoli. I needed it with the only news the past couple weeks being the lack of movement on signing Pek and Shabazz showing better moves in his hotel room than he did on the court in Vegas.

Despite his unusual release on his jump shot, I've always liked Martin. I always suspected he was a classy guy, and from the sound of it, that's how he appeared in person. Don't get me wrong...I'll take a 40 % 3-point success rate over character any day, but it doesn't hurt to have both in the same package. He has to be salivating thinking about all the open looks Ricky is going to give him.

Fun to hear him say the wolves have the potential to be the top offensive team in the west. I don't disagree, even with Golden State and OKC for competition.

Bleed -- Honestly, I can't think of a free agent SF this summer other than AK47 who I'd consider a bonafide starter and realistic option. Of course, Iggy would have fit the bill, but I don't think he was a realistic option given what GS is paying him and the Wolves cap situation.

KiwiMatt -- No doubt the SF position is in the hands of Derrick, Chase, and Corey. I don't share your faith in those three, but I haven't written off the possibility that one might emerge as the quality starter we need at that position. Right now, I'd put my money on Williams.

The thing is alot of teams don't have a 2 legit starting wings on their team. We have 3 guys that might be fringe starter at the very least legit rotation guys to play minutes there. In some ways I think Bud actually might be the guy I think has the best chance of becoming a long-term starter there with a low floor limited ceiling, but its going to be interesting to see what Williams brings to the position this year because I think he is going to get a shot at minutes there.

We have heard Martin has been working out with Brewer for years talking with Shabazz and saying he wants to mentor him plus chatting it up with Ricky and will probably help him alot on the court, but Martin might influence another guy Williams. He can tell him how Adelman was hard on him and then after a couple years he became a really good player. I can see Martin being a good influence on a number of players. How much will that influence really matter? IDK, but I think its nice to have a vet like him around and the fact that he played for OKC last year is interesting too.

Personally for the money I think Martin was the best SG we could have brought in to this team. I didn't think we would be able to get him, but stuff happened during the FA period that I didn't expect. Its great to see a guy so thrilled to be hear and Lip can probably speak to this but it seems genuine because he mentions to many factors to just be sayin stuff to sound good.

I think Kevin Martin will be a stud here. Nobody has any hope for Shabazz giving us anything?

I'm not giving up on Muhammad making a significant contribution this year, bleed. I recognize that he did not look very good in Summer League, and that at first glance minutes could be tight for him, but I can't overlook the fact that he has been a dominant player at every level he has played. And beyond that, he clearly possesses a great work ethic and drive to excel. That tells me that given a chance, he is ready to make a contribution. I hope that he is able to demonstrate enough competency at SG to earn some minutes there, because barring injuries, it will be more difficult to take minutes away from Brew/Bud/DW at SF.

monsterpile wrote:The thing is alot of teams don't have a 2 legit starting wings on their team.

This is what I was thinking. With Rubio, Love, Pek, and Martin the Wolves have quality starters at four of five positions. Every one of them is a legitimate, quality NBA player and has good size for their position. Last season they had quality NBA players at the 1, 3, 4, and 5, but were undersized and underperformed to a fault at the 2. If the Wolves can get average or better out of the 3 position while staying relatively healthy then I think they will be an exciting team this year.

Can they win it all? Unlikely without a great run by the Wolves and some really bad luck by the favorites. Such is life.

I'm glad to hear about the impression Martin made - reinforces my feeling that it was a quality signing at the price.

Obviously, we'd all love to see AK next to Martin, but I'll admit that I don't know what went on behind the scenes. At the end of the day, I think we have a top-2 PF and are above average at PG, SG and center. Moreover, I like the depth and I like the flexibility to bring in defense or offense.

As for Shabazz, forget the name... it's a rookie who got picked 14 in a weak draft with only had one year of college and maybe some maturity issues. Anyone who expects anything better than D-league from that resume is wearing rose-colored glasses.