[外電] Minnesota Timberwolves Report: Big man puts on a show
http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ci_9470630?nclick_check=1
All eyes were on Stanford's Brook Lopez on Tuesday morning when the
Timberwolves put the 7-foot, 260-pounder through a rigorous 90-minute workout
on the first day teams were allowed to audition potential draft picks.
The Wolves have the No. 3 pick in the June 26 NBA draft.
Lopez, 20, worked exhaustively on shooting and footwork drills with vice
president Kevin McHale, assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg and assistant
coaches Jerry Sichting and J.B. Bickerstaff. Former NBA player Jim Petersen,
the team's television analyst, was recruited to defend and get physical with
Lopez in the low post.
Petersen, 46, more than held his own, even stuffing a couple of Lopez's
shots. He joked later he would be agreeable to a deal to return for the $1
million veteran minimum.
"He is fairly athletic; I was surprised with his shooting ability,'' Petersen
said of Lopez.
"He really impressed me with his ability to shoot the basketball from the
perimeter. He can really stroke the basketball. He has some things we can
teach him with regard to post knowledge, the skill sets and all. The
limitations he has offensively in the post he can learn because he has that
nice stroke. Overall, I was more impressed than I was coming into the
workout.''
Lopez, who has a 7-foot-5 wingspan, appeared to be dragging in the final
minutes of his workout, which ended with full-court sprints capped by a
jumper or free throws. He acknowledged the speed of the game was much quicker
than in college, where he averaged 19.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals a game in
helping Stanford advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
"I thought (the workout) went really well,'' said Lopez, who will work out
again with the Wolves today and then work out for the Sonics in Seattle later
this week. "I think I can come in here and help the team win.''
While head coach Randy Wittman watched from the sideline, Hoiberg primarily
ran the workout, and McHale jumped in with pointers and demonstrations.
"It is a one-on-one workout,'' McHale said. "He shot well, and he did some
things. I thought he shot well from (15- to 18-foot) range. He's actually got
three-point range. ... You want to see him in situations where you are a
playing with Al Jefferson.''
McHale plans to have Lopez return for the second of two allowed visits.
McHale and his staff plan to travel to Houston on Monday for more workouts of
potential draftees. The Wolves and Rockets will have a joint workout in which
they will watch about 30 players. The Wolves also are trying to arrange an
individual workout with O.J. Mayo of Southern California.
"We are trying to find guys that complement. You are trying to find the best
guy available," McHale said.
"We will assess for that third spot eight or nine guys pretty hard. Then we
will assess a whole another level of guys in case we move out of that three
spot. We have a lot of guys we are looking at.''
Briefly: Lopez was excited to see the success of Lynx rookie Candice Wiggins,
who also attended Stanford. "I've watched a couple of games of hers,'' he
said. "I'm glad to see she is going well. I'd like to see her if she was
around.'' She was not. The Lynx played Tuesday night at Atlanta.
McHale, who had a hall of fame playing career with the Celtics, was asked
about the NBA Finals between Boston and the Lakers that begins this week.
"I'm a lot more concerned about who we will draft at No. 3 than who will win
between the Celtics and the Lakers.''
McHale, on the firing of Detroit coach Flip Saunders: "I just heard about
that. In the NBA, you get hired and you get fired. I'm sure right now coaches
are making pretty good money on their way out the door.''
Winona State's Jonte Flowers and the University of Minnesota's Dan Coleman,
Spencer Tollackson and Lawrence McKenzie will participate in a Wolves workout
session on Friday.
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