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Minnesota Timberwolves: Fantasy Perspective

by Stephen Kersey on October 17th, 2007

After the Timberwolves traded away Kevin Garnett and entered full throttle rebuilding mode, everything you used to know about that team has to go out the window. Without Garnett, this Minnesota squad is a totally different team with different goals.

No longer will the T’Wolves be thinking championship, instead their main goal will be to locate and grow their young core players. It’s going to be another two or three years until people in Minnesota seriously consider the T’Wolves a playoff team.

What makes this situation tough is there are so many players on the T’Wolves who may or may not be fantasy factors. The only real fantasy stud on their team is Al Jefferson. Aside from him, it’ll depend on which players are getting minutes.

Here’s a look at the Timberwolves’ players and their possibly fantasy impact:

Al Jefferson – Jefferson was the crowning piece of the Garnett deal. He’s a stud in the making that should be ready to produce this year. He’s a very good low post scorer who can rebound at a fantastic rate. His feel for the game is phenomenal and he still has room to get a lot better.

Ricky Davis – Davis is getting a lot of fantasy love but his situation is shaky. He doesn’t exactly fit with the youth movement and could easily find himself behind younger players. However, he’s also a likely candidate to be traded to a contending team in need of a scorer. Davis’ fantasy appeal is completely dependant on whether or not he’s starting and playing big minutes.

Randy Foye – Foye showed good promise last year in his rookie season. He can play both guard positions and has a good knack for scoring the ball. He’s not going to average a lot of assists because he’s not a pure point guard, but he should find himself starting at point guard at some point this season.

Craig Smith – After a fine rookie season, Smith is going to look to expand his game. Although he’s undersized, he can rebound and is a beast down low.

Gerald Green – Green is a guy who looks to score. Fantasy wise, his upside is somewhat limited as it stands because he doesn’t rebound or get many assists.

Corey Brewer – Brewer is a rookie with a good deal of potential. He could become a very good fantasy player if he gets minutes because he’s a threat to rack up steals, blocks and rebounds in bunches.

Rashad McCants – McCants has struggled with injuries but he’s another shooting guard option that can score the ball for Minnesota.

Ryan Gomes – Gomes had big games with the Celtics over the last couple seasons. He’s an all around player who can put up fantasy stats at nearly every category.

Sebastian Telfair – Telfair is a very talented point guard. Problem is he’s undisciplined and not very strong. If he could slow down and attempt to learn the game, he has the potential to one day be a starter.

Marko Jaric, Mark Blount, Greg Buckner, Juwan Howard, Theo Ratliff – These five guys could have solid fantasy value or they could have absolutely no value. It’s tough to tell because they are veteran players on a team trying to rebuild. If any of these players earns a starting spot or gets traded, that’s when they’ll enter the fantasy equation.

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POSTED IN: Fantasy Draft, Fantasy Sleepers, Player Analysis