WOLVES AWARDS 2012-13

A season that started with such great expectations yet ended with such disappointment still deserves to be feted. So here are my Wolves Award Winners for the 2012-13 season...

MVP – Ricky Rubio

When this guy is on the court, he makes everybody else better, which is what any singular Most Valuable PLAYER should be trying to do in a TEAM sport. When he’s handling the ball, anybody who’s open can expect a pass at any moment, often in spectacular fashion. On defense, he’s adept at stealing the ball and taking charges, always a step ahead. If he finally gets to work reconstructing his broken jump shot, he could be a league threat for MVP. His combo of youth and competitiveness give him room for legit improvement.

Sixth Man – Dante Cunningham

One of the most solid Pups on the roster this season, Cunningham played hard both ways and never took a night off. He gave the Wolves 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, and the infectious kind of hustle that often ignites the kind of spark competitive teams need in second unit leaders.

Most Improved – Derrick Williams

Another slow start turned into steady improvement in the season’s second half for the Wolves second-year forward. His athleticism is top notch, and he began using it to finish around the rim more as the season wore on. He’s still subpar on D, but he’s still just 21 years old. If he’d’ve stayed in college he’d be a senior next season. If I were new GM Flip Saunders, I’d keep Williams and trade Love for the best shooting guard Love could buy. The Wolves have a higher ceiling with Ricky as the de facto leader rather than Love, anyway.

A very happy Pi Press photo.

Rookie of the Year – Alexey Shved

Forced into playing more minutes this season than he should’ve made Shved look worse than he is at times, but he averaged 8.6 points per game over the whole season, was one of the few healthy Wolves (despite his sleight frame, the biggest knock on him coming in), and he has a nice shot from outside though he went cold as the season wore on. He could be a nice sixth man scorer and passer off the bench with continued improvement.

Coaches’ Award – Andrei Kirilenko

The coaches’ award always went to the hustling, glue-y, good guy on every high school squad I’ve ever been a part of. This has got Andrei’s name all over it. He sort of swooned and succumbed to various injuries as the season went on, like many other Wolves in 12-13, but when he was out there, you could count on him. I hope the Wolves get three more good years out of him somehow.

Swagger Award – J.J. Barea

Barea is a guy I run hot and cold on—loving him when he actually passes (which is rare, though he is capable) and hits threes, hating him when he overdribbles and horses up garbage down low that gets swatted after exasperating overdribbling. But you gotta give the musclebound little gnat credit: He’s got swagger. One of my favorite moments was when he bull-charged Ray Allen and then scoffed at Ray-Ray when Ray-Ray threw a little fit. Which was fitting, because everybody knows Barea would floor Ray-Ray in a fight, if it came to that. Plus, and I know this is old news, but doesn’t he date Miss Universe? That’s swagger.

Mr. Reliable – Luke Ridnour

The Matador is a real turnstile on D, but I like his pluck, and he’s been surprisingly reliable over his three seasons in Minny thus far, averaging between 11 and 12 ppg, shooting a high percentage from three and from the line, and consistently doing more than he should be asked to do. He was the only T-Wolf to play all 82 games in 12-13, starting them all. And in an injury-riddled season, that’s even more impressive.

Mr. Energy – Chris Johnson

Picking this lanky, shot-blocking, rim-rattling, lightning bolt of a back-up center was a great move for the Wolves this season. When he was in, their was more electricity on the team. Unfortunately, Adelman hated playing him, it seemed. There must be a reason, but I haven’t figured it out yet.  He’s 27 years old. I’d give him another year here.

No-Nonsense Award – Nikola Pekovic

Love this guy’s attitude, look, and production. Love his tattoos. I’m not sure he’s a championship defender—which seems to be the best reason to employ a center in today’s NBA. I’m also worried that the little injuries he routinely suffers are a bad sign that his considerably burly body could break down. The Wolves’ll have a tough decision on their hands this offseason if somebody offers him big bucks that they have the right to match in Pek’s restricted free agency.

Best Name - Mickaël Gelabale

It's just fun to say. And fun to hear my boys call him Jell-o Balls, because they really think that's his name. And he wasn't too bad of an emergency pick-up player. Kind of like a poor man's Latrell Sprewell, without the choking and bad attitude.

LVP – Kevin Love

Oh how I wish Kevin Love possessed a greater reservoir of humility. The 18 games he played this year cost the Wolves $13.7 million. And that’s pretty poor value, deserving of the designation of Least Valuable Player, to me. Oh, and when he wasn’t playing, he was talking shit about his owner and GM and teammates and franchise. Or breaking his hand on somebody else's face. Or waiting to have ill-timed knee surgery. Or Tweeting. You want to put the right value on Love? Here’s a checklist:

Excellent rebounder. Above average three-point shooter for a power forward. Defensive liability. Referee abuser and whiner. Floor-bound clod with a limited post game. Black hole. Self-gratifying attention seeker.  Out-of-touch, over-hyped youth. Trade bait.

Ugliest Jumper – Greg Stiemsma

Okay, this isn’t very nice. And Stiemer barely beats Rubio in this category. I actually like Greg. His work ethic, hustle, shot-blocking, foul-taking, rebounding, and elbow-giving. But when he tries to shoot from anywhere further out than four feet, I want to puke. The arms straighten too quickly, the jump is mistimed, and the ball seems to deflate as it wobbles through the air on the way to the hoop. As Oscar Schmidt, the great Brazilian Olympic shooter once said, “Some people, they play the piano. Some people, they move the piano.” Put your gloves and work boots on, Greg. You got pianos to move.

Most Uninspired Performance – Kevin Love, Yahoo article

Love spouting off to Adrian Wojnarowski  in an ill-timed article during the season was a petulant move by the Wolves’ lone (barf) All-Star. Among my least favorite quotes:

  "I don't know who labels people stars, but even [T'wolves owner] Glen Taylor said: I don't think Kevin Love is a star, because he hasn't led us to the playoffs," Love told Yahoo! Sports. "I mean, it's not like I had much support out there. That's a tough pill to swallow."

"I have a very, very good memory, and I always remember the people who have done right by me, and the people who have done wrong by me," he says. "It will be embedded in my brain, and something I won't forget about. There's no telling what will happen. I would love to compete for a championship in Minnesota, but …"

You want legit respect? Make a playoff run with your team. Then talk.

Biggest Disappointment – Injuries to 2-Guards

Brandon Roy, Chase Budinger, and Josh Howard all briefly manned the two-guard slot for the Wolves in 12-13.  They all went down with major injuries, unfortunately, which left the likes of Luke Ridnour (a back-up point), Alexey Shved (a Russian rookie), or JJ Barea (a gnat) playing the two. The Wolves were right to go hard after Nic Batum last offseason, who had a fine year in Portland and would’ve fit nicely in Minny. This position should be the main one to shore up this offseason.

Best Game – Brooklyn or Indy

The Wolves busted the Nets’ asses in Brooklyn with a monstrous 32-10 fourth quarter to cap an amazing 107-96 comeback win on November 5, just three games into the season. It was an especially satisfying win since the Wolves did it with, mostly, their bench—in particular Shved, Budinger, Barea, and Cunningham. But then just four days later, the Wolves took out the Pacers at Target Center on a last-second Andrei Kirilenko-to-ChaseBudinger lay-in that raised the Wolves’ record to 4-1 and gave T-Wolves fans, who were just weeks away from getting back both Love and Rubio, hope to burn.

Worst Game – Laker No-Call Against Kobe Bryant 

Apparently it wasn’t bad enough that Kobe Bryant ran over Ricky Rubio (wrecking Rubio’s knee in the process) only to have the refs call a block on Rubio, which gave the Lakers a cheap win over the Wolves at Target Center in the Spring of 2012. I guess the refs decided that, one year later, they’d pull the same shit, letting Kobe get away with a grievous hack on alast-second Rubio three-point attempt with the Wolves down 120-117 in the spring of 2013 at Target Center. 

Worse yet: It was the Wolves’ 22 loss in a row to the Lakers, a streak that dates back to March of 2007. 

Worser yet: Kobe’s quote following the game. “That’s not a foul,” said Bryant. “They ain’t calling that shit. I don’t think I got him. That’s a tough call to make… even if the refs gave it to him, we still would’ve won it in overtime. 

Worstest yet: The NBA admitted that the refs blew the call in an official league statement two days later…which meant absolutely nothing in reality.

Best Individual Play - Rubio Behind-The-Back x 2

Ricky’s double behind-the-back dribble drive and scoop versus the Spurs late in the season. The most beautiful in a season’s worth of sweet Rubio-themed Wolves highlights in 2012-13.