It was the Wolves media day this afternoon and this exchange with Randy Foye was probably the most interesting conversation I had.
Who is the leader of this team? I asked Foye, point blank.
"I'll take it," Foye said instantly. "I am the leader. There is pressure in that but I like it. I don't think there are a lot of people in their career get a chance to say, `I was the leader of an NBA team.' That's how I am approaching things and how people approach me. I am the leader."
In the locker room as well as on the court how will your status as the leader change the way you behave? I asked.
"My motto is that you practice what you preach and you lead by example," Foye answered. "If you are in the locker room goofing off before a game and someone else is watching and I'm supposed to be the leader, [they will think], well I can do that too. Well I might be able to go out on the court and perform, but that person who is goofing off, he can't do it. So I am just going to come in with a straightforward attitude...my situation growing up, I am a natural born leader; I never was a follower of like anything. If someone said, Oh let's go do this, if it didn't feel right I wasn't going to do it, even if he was my best friend."
Third question: Who are you most looking forward to playing with this year?
Foye: "I am looking forward to definitely playing with Al. I'm looking forward to playing with Theo, because the way he's playing, he blocks everything. I'm looking forward to playing with Corey, and with Gerald, just because I love lob passes, and I'm looking forward to playign with my boy Craig, my best friend. And I'm looking forward to playing with the guys I played with last year. And with Ryan Gomes, because I played against him in the Big East and I know how he likes the ball."
Otherwise, Coach Wittman confirmed that Al Jefferson will likely be playing a lot of center, although he doesn't want to wear him down defending against the bigger bangers in the league--Dampier of Dallas was specifically mentioned. And Witt did say that Marko Jaric will be given a look at point guard, and made it clear that Marko gets frustrated when he doesn't get touches and that getting touches for Marko wasn't something he went out of his way to do last season; the implication being that Marko doing some point time would kill two birds with one stone in that respect; make Marko happy and give the Wolves a vet at the point when Foye and presumably Telfair need a blow.
Al Jefferson was impressive. It wasn't clear to me whether he requested it or it was given to him by management, but he will be ensconced in KG's locker space, a circumstance that he responded to with a nice blend of "I'm honored" and "I'm not the least bit intimidated." When I asked him why his game took such a big jump last year, he essentially replied that it was the first time he really dedicated himself to working hard and getting himself ready to go, even with the injuries. And when I asked if he felt the Wolves needed to prove something to him just as much as he needed to prove something to management, he said being traded for Kevin Garnett was proof enough on management's commitment. When another person asked about re-upping his contract, rumored to be in the works, he demurred and said he's just concentrating on playing ball.
Gerald Green offered nothing but platitudes to a variety of questions, which doesn't mean anything about how he'll play on the court but also offers zero insight into what makes him tick.
The Wolves head out to Turkey and won't be back for a couple of weeks. By then, the sifting of the roster will have begun. It is a shame, though perhaps financially understandable in these lean times for journalism, that neither the Strib nor the PiPress are sending their beat writer along.
Happening to have a layover in Istanbul on Saturday, I figured I would check out the game.
It wasn't pretty.
Granted it was the first game for a team of which little is expected this year, and which has had half of its roster turn over, not to mention the generally poor showing by NBA players versus international teams in recent years. But still, one would have expected that even these guys would have little trouble with a team that starts Loren Woods at center and is manned by a number of other apparent NBA castoffs and undrafted locals. As it happened, the Wolves blew a 9-point lead and found themselves down a point with just a few minutes to play. Only a few foul calls and Randy Foye free throws at the end allowed them to avoid a potentially embarrasing loss. Not that it would have meant much in itself.
Nevertheless, I came away with these thoughts:
1. Randy Foye did nothing to silence the doubters in his ability to be a playmaker. The 3 assists credited to him in the boxscore seem generous, as he did nothing to catalyze the offense. Which is probably part of the reason why Sebastian Telfair got as many minutes as he did -- a fair amount of them with Foye at the 2 -- and he seemed marginally more in control, though he couldn't hit from outside until a few key threes late in the game.
2. Gomes and Green were a little raw, but the most impressive athletes out there, so I'm looking forward to watching them his year. Chris Richard also played with a lot of energy in his 20 minutes.
3. Al Jefferson ate up the boards, but was very quiet on the offensive end. I can't tell you if it was more that he was being guarded well or that his teammates just couldn't get him the ball, but I expected him to be more dominant against this level of competition.
4. Corey Brewer did a lot of little things, but continued to be offensively challenged.
All in all, the Twolves (save RD, or course) were tentative on offense, rarely got out and ran (contrary to the Wolves' brain trust's promises), and often couldn't finish. Not the NBA showtime that the crowd clearly hoped to see. The two Turkish teenage boys sitting next to me, like a large minority in the crowd, were clearly rooting for the Wolves, but they did little to justify their support.
If you want to see a (brief and diplomatic) Turkish take on the game, here's one:
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=85399
For what it's worth, I'll be in London when the Wolves are there, and will do some writing for SI.com.
Not doing Istanbul, though. Too vivid memories of what happened to another Marquette U. guy (Billy Hayes, "Midnight Express") over there. :-)
Somebody I know was going to be talking to Foye earlier this week. My one question for my friend was "how confident does Foye seem?" Looks like we can check that box.
Given our line up right now, putting Al at Center more makes sense to me. We've got a litttle more wiggle room at the 4 with him at Center than we would at Center if Al played the 4. Plus, Blount starts the game on the bench.
I heard that rumor as well, has anyone been able to find confirmation??? Nothing yet from ESPN or the Strib.
Oh, and by the way...Trenton Hassell traded to Dallas for Greg Buckner.
Shooter got one right!
Hi Britt -
Interesting exchange with Randy. A few questions for you:
1) Was anyone besides Ricky and Richard missing? I saw a link to some of the pictures, and I didn't see any of Hassell, Jaric, Telfair, or Ratliff.
2) A Strib story on Richard's contract situation made it sound like McHale was very close to a deal to be completed by Sat. morning. Did you hear anything?
3) How do you think Wittman will do this year? He certainly sounds like he understands that problems of last year, and way he'd like to play this year, etc. Last year, though, there seemed to be a disconnect between his "tough talk" and his actions, such as giving Blount lots of minutes despite apathetic play. It was hard as a fan to determine how much was Witt's choice, how much was KG appeasement, and how much was tanking.
Thanks!
It's a shame that some local media won't be there when the Wolves play the Celtics in London. Lots and lots of storylines. I really hope this group can win a few games early and generate some interest. I will miss KG immensely, but we weren't going anywhere with him, either. There will be new things to talk about and watching a team grow can be most entertaining.