SportsLine.com Report
May 23, 2000

1999-2000 in review

The tragic death of Malik Sealy quickly made the Timberwolves forget another first-round playoff exit.

Sealy, 30, was killed in an automobile accident in the early morning of May 20 on the way home from Kevin Garnett's 24th birthday party.

Garnett idolized the St. John's star while he was growing up and throughout his career has worn No. 21 in Sealy's honor.

"(It's) messed up that my man's gone, but I know he's gone to a better place and that's what's keeping me so strong," Garnett wrote in response to fans' condolences on his web page. "I think of the good times both on and off the court. I feel so special because my dream of not only playing in the NBA came true, but to play with a guy who I grew up trying to be like, my life is so complete, I only wish you all were me and that you all could have been around him like I was blessed to be."

Sealy replaced Anthony Peeler as the team's starting shooting guard 22 games into the season with the team a disappointing 9-13. The Timberwolves finished 41-19 with Sealy starting.

They surpassed the previous franchise high for victories by five and were one of six teams in the powerful Western Conference to win at least 50 games. Over the season's final 62 games, only the Lakers and the Trail Blazers had a better record then the Wolves' 43-19.

The pessimist, however, would harp on the Wolves' continuing inability to find some size down low, their tendency to fire jump shots over defenses rather than trying to break them down and the small number of free throws and 3-pointers that they shot. Finally, they will note that, once again, the Wolves went one-round-and-out in the playoffs, a pattern that is getting older with the fans than it is even with the players and coaches.

NBA history has not been kind to teams that plateau at the first round of the playoffs for any extended periods. Five previous teams have done it a total of seven times prior to the Wolves, and on six of those occasions, there were coaching changes at some point from Year 1 through Year 5. Also, on three of the seven occasions, the teams regressed and missed the playoffs entirely in Year 5.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: The Wolves finally established themselves as something more than road kill, posting the best mark in away games (24-17) in team history. That includes a 23-10 mark over the final 33 road games, after a 1-7 start. The Wolves also had ended the 1999 season with 10 straight road defeats.

SEASON LOWLIGHT: It was loss No. 5 in their season-worst streak of eight consecutive defeats, but it was the absolute nadir of their season. The Wolves led lowly Golden State by 20 points in the first half of a Dec. 11 home game, then collapsed in a 104-76 loss. That unprecedented (in team annals) 48-point swing not only was the most embarrassing moment of the Wolves' season, but it probably bought Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo a couple more weeks before he got canned.

KEY STAT: The Wolves were strong finishers, compiling a 40-4 record when taking a lead into the fourth quarter. And then -- oops! -- they twice lost games in the first round against Portland by coughing up the leads they had built over three quarters.

The Personnel File

MVP: Kevin Garnett. He was the team's focal point, its best player on offense and on defense and its leading scorer and rebounder. Beyond that, Garnett was the most popular sports figure in the Twin Cities since Kirby Puckett was helping the Twins win the World Series in 1987 and 1991.

Finally, Garnett became only the ninth player in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a season, joining the ranks of Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Billy Cunningham and Sidney Wicks in that statistical feat.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: Everyone knew that rookie Wally Szczerbiak could shoot. Everyone also expected him to struggle defensively in the NBA due to a lack of quickness and to be almost exclusively a perimeter shooter with questionable ball-handling skills.

Well, for the first few months, the Wolves' small forward actually did his best work on defense and when taking the ball to the basket. His outside shot, probably from neglect, was rusty. As it was, Szczerbiak averaged 14.6 points on 55 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds over Minnesota's final 32 regular-season games.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Anthony Peeler was supposed to be the team's starting shooting guard but failed in that role, replaced in the starting lineup by Sealy. Peeler ended up as a streaky, part-time scorer, averaging 9.8 points and shooting 43.6 percent.

COACH: Flip Saunders has led the Wolves to a 180-178 record (.503) since taking over as the team's head coach in December 1995. That might not seem like much, except that the franchise -- and four previous head coaches -- had a composite record of 132-380 (.258) before Saunders took over. Saunders is considered an "offensive genius" by many on the team for his ability to react and delve deep into his fat playbook.

He brings a point guard's mentality to his job and is constantly on his feet during games. He knows, however, that the Wolves need to advance beyond the first round if he is going to keep his reputation strong in the Twin Cities. His NBA playoff record: 4-12.

Offseason tinkering

THE DRAFT: The Wolves do not have a first-round pick, a situation that the NBA is not crazy about, given that the draft will be held at Target Center this spring. Saunders and Kevin McHale, however, aren't flustered at all, even though the pick was packaged in a deal that brought inconsistent contributors Bobby Jackson and Dean Garrett.

McHale is convinced that, especially for a non-lottery pick, the NBA's mandated three-year guaranteed contract can be a hardship if the player isn't a bona fide prospect. Besides, the Wolves' starting frontline and top backup in the frontcourt all were 24 years old or younger, so plunking another rookie on this squad wouldn't serve the current agenda.

FREE-AGENT MARKET: The priority is to re-sign forward Joe Smith, coming off his second season with Minnesota, which means that the Wolves still are limited in what they can pay him. They can offer a two-year deal at the league's average salary or a one-year contract with a basic 12.5 percent raise over 1999-2000.

If Smith completes a third season with Minnesota, the Wolves could pay him without restriction, up to the league's prevailing maximum salary.

Guard Bobby Jackson isn't bound by any restrictions from the collective bargaining agreement, in terms of what the Wolves can pay him. But he might not want to languish as a backup and scrap for minutes with Terrell Brandon and William Avery on the roster. Also, the Wolves might not be willing to pay Jackson as much as a club with grander plans for him. He only made $900,000 last season, but could triple that by landing some team's mid-level exception.