Pass the Mayo

I went to bed last night thinking the Wolves messed up and took the right guy in the draft. When I woke up this morning, my wife was already up watching the news and said "the Timberwolves traded that guy they drafted for some guy named "Love."

My heart sank. You knew this was going to happen, right?

Here we go again! McFail! Then, I settled down and poured over the details of the trade on the internet. Basically the Wolves give Mayo, Greg Buckner, Antoine Walker & Marco Jaric to Memphis for Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal & Jason Collins. Now, I am not going to pretend to be a big basketball aficionado and break down the X's and O's of this deal. If you want that, Neil K. added a link to an excellent Britt Robson article in his comments on the previous post (thanks Neil!).

Here are my impressions of this trade:

1. Obviously, people are freaking out because of the horrible history the Wolves had had with Kevin McHale trades. His last couple (Boston and Miami) may actually work out in the Wolves favor in the long run. Not that handing Kevin Garnett to Boston didn't "help" them mind you.

2. Let's face the facts - O.J. Mayo will probably turn out to be the next Magic Johnson. That is The Way Things Go. Would he have been happy in Minnesota? Who knows. Will Mayo even remain in Memphis? Who knows. These guys tend to "pout" and demand a trade if they are not HAPPY in the situation. Hey, it's a hard life. See Stephon Marbury for details.

3. It seems that McHale and the Wolves always wanted Love. I give them credit for NOT taking him with the third pick, and actually trading for him to get some additional stuff in return. Love is McHale's kind of guy. Heady. A Gamer. All that crap. Kind of dorky looking, which is perfect. What bugs me the most about Love is that pencil-thin "beard" that "the kids" seem to like. Man I hate those.

4. The Wolves have rid themselves of Marco Jaric and his comedic, yet immoral contract. This move cannot be overstated. Seriously, Jaric must feel like he is stealing every time he gets paid. Now, he is going to marry a supermodel. How bad did this guy suffer in a previous life to get this kind of stuff handed to him?

5. Mike Miller can shoot three's. That's good.

6. The Wolves, I guess, freed up all kinds of cap room for future free agents. The only problem with this is that most basketball players want no part of Minnesota in the winter. Except the heady gamers.

7. Hey, ESPN's Chad Ford likes the trade. Who is Chad Ford? I don't know.

Well, that's all I've got. I know a bit more about baseball, hockey and football than I do about basketball. I tried playing basketball when I was a lad, but I broke my glasses every time. I mean every time.

What do you think about this trade? And more importantly, how about them Twins!!

Jeff