How do I get a job at Timberwolves.com

Jonah Ballow from Timberwolves.com is doing a summer interviewing series with Craig Smith talking about summer movies! How do I get a job like that?

This week, they talked Star Trek, Transformers, X-men, Terminator and even a little old school talk about Back to the Future. In fact Craig Smith says, “There is nothing better than hopping in the Delorium and going back in time and to the future.”

Perhaps Craig Smith can build his own Delorium and change the future for this Timberwolves team.

Craig Smith Audio on Timberwolves Site

There is some funny Craig Smith audio on timberwolves.com It’s kind of a pain to download the mp3 file (can’t their web people reconfigure it so it plays right on the site!?), but I downloaded it – hey I am a true Minnesota Timberwolves fan! Craig Smith, aka "The Rhino," talks about working out in his hometown Santa Monica, California. The funniest thing is listening to Craig Smith talk about himself in third person – “The Rhino is working out on the beach, “The Rhino eats yogurt for breakfast…” He doesn’t do it for the entire interview, but even one reference to himself in the third person cracked me up. There is a bunch of background noise and Craig Smith confesses he is at the iPod store giving the interview –glad he is taking the off-season so seriously. Other interesting note, Craig Smith takes the Boston Celtics in 6 to win the NBA title. Hmmm…He is from California, where is his loyalty to the Los Angeles Lakers? He sounds like a NBA player scorned…He also says he would take Pierce over Bryant any day – wow.

Timberwolves Free Agents

Awhile back on the Timberwolves web site the Timberwolves put up a free agent poll that read:

Which Wolves restricted free agent is the top priority?
Ryan Gomes
Sebastian Telfair
Craig Smith
Kirk Snyder

This seems a bit like a no brainer to me, I voted for Ryan Gomes. After you vote, you get to see the results – here is what it said:

Ryan Gomes 56%
Sebastian Telfair 21%
Craig Smith 18%
Kirk Snyder 5%
Total Responses: 1166

That means that 58 people voted for Kirk Snyder…seriously? Perhaps they just randomly chose a name they liked? What would be the explanation for 58 people to choose Kirk Snyder over any of the other three? Timberwolves fans, I just shake my head in confusion.

Timberwolves roster ever changing

The Minnesota Timberwolves roster is sure to look different next year. There are five players that are eligible as free agents (in alphabetical order by last name):

> Ryan Gomes
> Chris Richard
> Craig Smith
> Kirk Snyder
> Sebastian Telfair

They are all eligible to negotiate through their agents with every NBA team starting July 1. Don’t forget, the Wolves have the right to match any offer made to any of the five players and retain their rights, but I don’t see a few of these guys coming back.

I am guessing that Craig Smith won’t be back because he doesn’t seem to jive real well with Al Jefferson and every Timberwolves fan knows that A.J. is the man on the team and we need to build a team around him. I am also willing to bet we let Kirk Snyder go as well. I am hoping the team will sign Ryan Gomes, hopefully he won’t be too expensive. I would also like to see a deal for Sebastian Telfair. I am indifferent to Chris Richard. It will be an interesting summer for the NBA Timberwolves, that’s for sure.

Minnesota Timberwolves Training Camp 2007

The Minnesota Timberwolves training camp is in full swing. The Wolves spent week one in Istanbul, Turkey where they practiced and then played in the first ever NBA game in Turkey. The Wolves managed to beat Efes Pilsen (Istanbul) by a score of 84-81. The Wolves then said good-bye to Turkey and hello to England, London to be exact. The Timberwolves are practicing in London’s state of the art O2 center which can seat 23,000 basketball fans and has been compared to Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers.

While in London, the Timberwolves will play Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics in an exhibition game this Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN2. I know I will be tuned in to see what the Wolves look like in action.

My biggest concern for the Wolves so far (besides the fact we lost our “Big Ticket” and we are rebuilding) is that there are so many injured players. The Wolves are starting to look like the Twins did a few months back. Four Wolves players are "officially" injured - Craig Smith (sprained left ankle), Rashad McCants (sore right hamstring), Mark Madsen (right shoulder surgery) and Marko Jaric (sprained left ankle) and Randy Foye has struggled with tendinitis in his knee. Come on guys, get healthy and get ready to play some tough NBA games!

Smith and Foye excel in Vegas

Craig Smith and Randy Foye were killer Minnesota Timberwolves rookies last season. Both players are still young, and participating in summer leagues are still a priority to the Wolves inside-outside duo. Thing is, they are some of the best young players in the league, and the competition in the rest of the Las Vegas NBA Summer League isn’t up to Foye and Smith’s talent level. Craig Smith has absolutely dominated opponents inside during the summer league, averaging 21.8 points per game and 6.0 rebounds. Foye boosted his coaches’ confidence considerably by shooting a lights-out 53.8% from three-point range. The Timberwolves haven’t had a consistent three-point threat since the Fred Hoiberg playing days, and the role desperately needs to be filled if the Wolves want to compete with run and gun teams like the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors. Foye and Smith encouraged Wolves fans by putting up some serious summer league numbers, but time will tell if they can do it when it counts.