S65 Timberwolves Press Conference

[JNR]

Welcome to another press conference. I don't always do these, and by now we all know why. My motivation ebbs and flows like the mighty ocean. Sometimes I care too much to the point where losses keep me up at night, and I daydream about missed opportunities. Sometimes I'm just here so I don't get fined, man. But right now I'm feeling good. I think this team is talented, and I think the last season and this offseason have me excited for what we can accomplish in the coming months.

Let's talk about last season. Lenz and Xue finally started to click on their two man game, and we had some nice pieces around them take shape. I made some depth acquisitions through the season and we ended up as the 5th seed with 51 wins. We cruised to a 3-1 lead over the Suns, then nearly blew that lead and had to gut on a game 7 win on the road. Then we did blow a 3-2 lead to the Lakers, who would go on to lose to the Warriors. All in all it was our most successful season since the OG/Mitchell days.

So that got me excited for the offseason, and I like what we ended up doing. We did have to see Ross Finch go to Washington. We loved him last year, but we just didn't agree on the contract terms. We acquired Chris Dunkle in the deal and hope he can match Ross's production. Then in UFA we brought back Lenz, of course, who was first team last year and looks to get even better. Then we signed quality depth in bringing back Bam Adebayo and signing Tony Vansickle and Jamar Mahan. Finally, as the offseason ended we sent Joseph Ford, Darryl Laclair, Rudolph Coppage, and one of our draft picks this year to bring in Thurman James, who we think will fit well next to Sandoval. The team feels complete right now, but we won't ever rule out making more moves.

This season will be tough as we are in the Lakers division now, and they have been dominant for a long time. We anticipate that our starting lineup this season will be

C: Robert Sandoval
PF: Thurman James
SF: Xue Huo
SG: Lenz Durrenberger
PG: Daniel Jauregui

With Vansickle, Dunkle, Mahan, and Peyton Siva giving quality minutes off the bench. We would love to challenge for the division, and if we can make a deep run in the postseason we'll be ecstatic. We now open the floor for questions.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Xue Huo and Lenz are both obviously really top tier players who can do it all, but beyond them, what is this team's identity going to be and what aspects of the game will the T-Wolves emphasize?

[MexicanMamba]

Based on the preseason, it would seem that your star, Xue, played a bit passively on offense. Do you see this continuing into the regular season? And are you comfortable with his approach?

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[RPF]

Sam Smith, Ballsacksports: Is it fair to say that this is a championship or bust season for your team this year?

[JNR]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: Xue Huo and Lenz are both obviously really top tier players who can do it all, but beyond them, what is this team's identity going to be and what aspects of the game will the T-Wolves emphasize?

Our identity is BIG, SLOW and SKILLED.

[JNR]

Based on the preseason, it would seem that your star, Xue, played a bit passively on offense. Do you see this continuing into the regular season? And are you comfortable with his approach?

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I am not too worried. I can adjust the gameplan and make sure he gets the touches he needs.

[Eazy P]

Do you see your team as constructed making a deep playoff run?

[JNR]

Sam Smith, Ballsacksports: Is it fair to say that this is a championship or bust season for your team this year?

Not at all. I will consider it a successful season if I win more games, or if I get to the conference finals.

[Darth Vegito]

What would you say your odds are of outdoing last season? And if better than 50/50, why?

[JNR]

I think it’s around 60%. We have more talent this year, and both of our stars got even better. However the new divisions and conferences change everything. We could do worse just because we’re in the same division as the Lakers now.

[Black Superman]

Desert here:

I think your division may be the toughest and deepest division in the league this year(on paper). Are you expecting to win the division? If things start rocky would you look to trade?

[JNR]

Desert here:

I think your division may be the toughest and deepest division in the league this year(on paper). Are you expecting to win the division? If things start rocky would you look to trade?

I am not expecting it. The Lakers are an all time team led by a great GM. I DO think it’s possible and I will work my hardest at it. And if things aren’t going well early I will likely look to improve, yeah.

[greepleairport]

A common theme in these questions has been your battle with the Lakers; however, it seems the Lakers have torn things down a bit in the offseason, and may continue to do so. What do the Lakers still have that makes them the toughest competition for you?

[cashcab]

Do you think you'll be building around Lenz Durrenberger in the foreseeable future?

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[JNR]

A common theme in these questions has been your battle with the Lakers; however, it seems the Lakers have torn things down a bit in the offseason, and may continue to do so. What do the Lakers still have that makes them the toughest competition for you?

The GM for starters. There’s also still a lot of talent there. Probably more talent than we’ve got if I’m honest.

[JNR]

Do you think you'll be building around Lenz Durrenberger in the foreseeable future?

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We just gave him 400 million dollars, so I certainly think so.