Minnesota Timberwolves History Online Information and NBA Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Minnesota Timberwolves History betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Minnesota Timberwolves History History Early Ineptitude Professional basketball returned to the Twin Cities in 1987, when the NBA granted one of its two new expansion teams (the other being Orlando) to original owners Marv Wolfenson and Harvey Ratner to begin play for the 1989-90 season. Known as the Timberwolves, they made their debut on November 3, 1989 losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on the road 106-94. Five days later they would make their home debut at the Metrodome losing to the Chicago Bulls 96-84. Just two nights later the Wolves would get their first win, beating the Philadelphia 76ers at home 125-118 on November 10th.

The Timberwolves, led by Tony Campbell with 23.2 ppg, went on to a 22-60 record, finishing in 6th place in the Midwest Division. Playing in the cavernous Metrodome, the expansion Timberwolves drew over 1 million fans including the 3rd-largest crowd in NBA history at 49,551 on April 17, 1990 that saw the Timberwolves lose to the Denver Nuggets 99-88 in the final home game of the season.

The next season the team moved into the Target Center and won 29 games, however they fired their head coach Bill Musselman. They didn't fare much better under Mussleman's successor, ex-Celtics coach Jimmy Rodgers finishing with an NBA-worst 15-67 record. Over the next several years, the franchise encountered mediocrity and even a near relocation in 1994 before NBA owners rejected the team's move to New Orleans. Glen Taylor bought the team and named Kevin McHale general manager.

1999-2000

In 1999, the Timberwolves drafted Wally Szczerbiak. He had a solid season finishing 3rd on the team in scoring with 11.6 ppg. Led by Kevin Garnett, who averaged 22.9 ppg and 11.8 rebounds per game, the Timberwolves enjoyed their first 50-win season finishing in 3rd place with a solid record of 50-32. However, in the playoffs the Wolves fell in the first round again, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in 4 games.

2000-2001

Guard Malik Sealy was killed in a car accident in the summer of 2000. Also in that season, a free agent deal signed by Joe Smith was voided by the NBA, who ruled that the Timberwolves violated proper procedure in signing the contract. The league stripped the T-Wolves of five draft picks, fined them $3.5 million and suspended general manager Kevin McHale for one year. (Smith would eventually sign with the Detroit Pistons before re-signing with the T-wolves in 2001.) Despite the trouble the Wolves made the playoffs for the 5th straight season with a 47-35 record. In the playoffs the Wolves were eliminated in the first round again by the San Antonio Spurs in 4 games in the spring of 2001.

2002-2003

2002-03 seemed to look up for the Wolves. Kevin Garnett had a great season, finishing second in MVP voting while averaging a solid 23.0 ppg and 13.4 rebounds per game as the Timberwolves finish in 3rd place with a 51-31 record. With home court advantage for the first time facing the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. After being blown out at home in Game 1 the Timberwolves had a chance to take a 3-1 series lead as they led heading into the 4th quarter of Game 4 in Los Angeles. However, the Lakers came back to win the game on the way to winning the series in six games, as the Timberwolves were eliminated in the first round for the 7th straight year.

2003-2004

In 2003, the Timberwolves made two strong offseason moves, trading away forward Joe Smith and injured guard Terrell Brandon in a multi-player deal for Ervin Johnson, Sam Cassell and embattled guard Latrell Sprewell.

During the 2003-04 NBA season, the Timberwolves became the team to beat in the Western Conference. They finished the season as the top seed in the Western Conference with a record of 58-24, and beat the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings in the first two rounds of the NBA playoffs before losing to the Lakers, the previous Minnesota franchise, in the Western Conference Finals. Kevin Garnett finally earned his first MVP award with 24.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

2004-2005

In the 2004-05 season, the Wolves kept the same team from the previous season. The team was plagued with contract disputes and the complaining of key players Latrell Sprewell, Sam Cassell, and Troy Hudson. Coach Flip Saunders was replaced in midseason by GM Kevin McHale, who took over the team for the rest of the season. The Timberwolves finished 44-38, and missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

During the 2005 offseason, Kevin McHale and the Wolves started their search for a head coach. McHale interviewed Seattle assistant coach Dwane Casey, San Antonio Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo, former coach John Lucas and Wolves assistants Randy Wittman, Sidney Lowe and Jerry Sichting, among others.

On June 17, 2005, the Timberwolves hired Dwane Casey as the new head coach. This was Casey's first head coaching job. He was the Wolves' 7th head coach in their 16-year history.

In the 2005 Draft, the Timberwolves selected Rashad McCants, a shooting guard from North Carolina with the 14th overall pick of the 1st round. The Timberwolves also selected Bracey Wright, a guard from Indiana with the 17th pick of the 2nd round (47th overall).

During the offseason, they traded All-Star Sam Cassell and a protected future first-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for Marko Jaric and Lionel Chalmers. They also signed free agent Nikoloz Tskitishvili.

On January 26, 2006 the Wolves traded forward Wally Szczerbiak, centers Dwayne Jones and Michael Olowokandi, and a future first-round draft pick to the Boston Celtics. In return they received forward/guard Ricky Davis, center Mark Blount, forward Justin Reed, guard Marcus Banks, and two second-round draft picks. In a separate trade on the same day, the Timberwolves traded Nikoloz Tskitishvili to the Phoenix Suns for a 2006 second-round draft pick.

2006-2007

The Timberwolves selected future Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy with the 6th pick in the 2006 NBA draft. They then traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers for the seventh pick, Randy Foye as well as cash. They also selected Craig Smith with the 36th pick, Bobby Jones with the 37th pick, and center Loukas Mavrokefalidis with the 57th pick. On January 23, 2007 Dwane Casey was fired as head coach by GM McHale. McHale explained in a news conference that it was inconsistency by Casey that led to the firing. In his one-and-a-half seasons as head coach, Casey had complied a losing record of 53-69. They finished the 2006-07 season with a losing record of 32-50, partly by Casey (20-20) and assistant coach Randy Wittman, allowing them to keep their 2007 first-round pick. Despite fan protests, McHale is returning for the 2007-08 season.

The Timberwolves had the seventh pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

On June 14, 2007 it was officially announced that the Timberwolves traded PG Mike James and F Justin Reed to the Houston Rockets for Juwan Howard.

In the 2007 NBA Draft the Timberwolves selected Corey Brewer and Chris Richard from the National Champion Florida Gators.

On July 31, 2007, the Minnesota Timberwolves reached a deal to trade the face of the franchise for 12 years, Kevin Garnett, to the Boston Celtics for Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes and two first-round draft picks - the largest combination of players and picks ever traded for a single player in NBA history.

Season-by-season records

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
Minnesota Timberwolves
1990-91	29	53	.354
1991-92	15	67	.183
1992-93	19	63	.232
1993-94	20	62	.244
1994-95	21	61	.256
1995-96	26	56	.317
1996-97	40	42	.488	Lost First Round	Houston 3, Minnesota 0
1997-98	45	37	.549	Lost First Round	Seattle 3, Minnesota 2
1998-99	25	25	.500	Lost First Round	San Antonio 3, Minnesota 1
1999-2000	50	32	.610	Lost First Round	Portland 3, Minnesota 1
2000-01	47	35	.573	Lost First Round	San Antonio 3, Minnesota 1
2001-02	50	32	.610	Lost First Round	Dallas 3, Minnesota 0
2002-03	51	31	.622	Lost First Round	LA Lakers 4, Minnesota 2
2003-04	58	24	.707	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals	Minnesota 4, Denver 1 Minnesota 4, Sacramento 3 LA Lakers 4, Minnesota 2
2004-05	44	38	.537
2005-06	33	49	.402
2006-07	32	50	.390
2007-08	0	0	.000
Totals	627	817	.434
Playoffs	17	30	.362

Sportsbook Expert Columns
	NBA odds: Does Mo Williams make Cavs East's best? - WagerWeb Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook Cleveland superstar LeBron James has been clamoring for a true No. 2 scoring option on the Cavs since he arrived on the NBA scene, and it appears the team finally has gotten him one.The Cavs received read full article...
	NBA odds: Blazers' Oden taking big steps toward return - WagerWeb Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook Last year’s No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft, Greg Oden, is clearly progressing in his return from 2007 knee surgery, as he worked out in front of the media for the first time since that surg read full article...
	NBA odds: Childress bolts Hawks for Greece - WagerWeb Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook Leave it to the Atlanta Hawks to get cheap a season after the team finally showed some life, even taking the Boston Celtics to the limit in the first round of this past year’s NBA playoffs.But t read full article...
	NBA odds: Deng gives Bulls an ultimatum - WagerWeb Sportsbook Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook Luol Deng turned down a $57.5 million extension from the Chicago Bulls last offseason, which looked like a bad move when he and the Bulls had down years.Deng, a small forward, is a restricted free age read full article...