It's easy to get more excited about the Timberwolves than a rational person would; they have what looks like an easy pick for rookie of the year in Rubio (actually Leonard is just about as good but I'll wager a lot of money that he's not going to even be in the top 5 in votes), and arguably the game's best power forward in Kevin Love (if he'd only stop whining).
Almost Average to the Rescue!
But then...you look at the rest of this roster. Dre recently joked with me on Twitter that the Wolves might set a record for worst won-loss record on a team with two players above WP48 .250 on it. I laughed at him at the time but now I'm not amused. We have to keep in perspective that Love's teammates last year were terrible. Historically bad.
This is why I am excited about the return of Martell Webster, and the fact that Wayne Ellington and Anthony Randolph are getting more playing time. No, really.
None of these players are good. I'd call each and every one of them "below average" players:
| Raw Stats | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Min | WP48 | Wins | PTS | REB | AST | TO | BLK | STL | PF |
| Ellington 09-10 | 1384 | .030 | 0.9 | 17.5 | 5.5 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.5 |
| Ellington 10-11 | 1182 | -.030 | -0.7 | 16.6 | 4.4 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 3.5 |
| Ellington 11-12 | 193 | .079 | 0.3 | 13.7 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 3.2 |
| Randolph 08-09 | 1129 | .104 | 2.5 | 21.2 | 15.4 | 2.1 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 6.0 |
| Randolph 09-10 | 749 | .112 | 1.8 | 24.6 | 13.8 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 5.9 |
| Randolph 10-11 | 591 | .017 | 0.2 | 24.8 | 13.0 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 5.0 |
| Randolph 11-12 | 137 | .092 | 0.3 | 23.5 | 8.4 | 0.4 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 5.6 |
| Webster 05-06 | 1070 | .029 | 0.7 | 18.1 | 5.8 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 4.0 |
| Webster 06-07 | 1759 | .048 | 1.8 | 15.7 | 6.5 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 3.4 |
| Webster 07-08 | 2132 | .082 | 3.6 | 18.0 | 6.7 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 3.6 |
| Webster 08-09 | 5 | -.342 | -0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Webster 09-10 | 2005 | .094 | 3.9 | 18.4 | 6.4 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 3.7 |
| Webster 10-11 | 1095 | .071 | 1.6 | 19.9 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 4.4 |
| Average PF(2008 - 2011) | 1224 | .099 | 2.5 | 20.5 | 11.2 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 4.8 |
| Average SG(2009 - 2011) | 1169 | .099 | 2.4 | 20.8 | 5.5 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 3.5 |
| Average SF(2005 - 2010) | 1908 | .099 | 3.9 | 21.2 | 7.5 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 3.7 |
But "below average" is a monumental upgrade from "terrible":
| Raw Stats | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Min | WP48 | Wins | PTS | REB | AST | TO | BLK | STL | PF |
| Beasley 08-09 | 2009 | .063 | 2.6 | 26.8 | 10.5 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 4.4 |
| Beasley 09-10 | 2328 | .080 | 3.9 | 23.8 | 10.3 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 4.6 |
| Beasley 10-11 | 2365 | -.100 | -4.9 | 28.4 | 8.3 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| Beasley 11-12 | 222 | -.109 | -0.5 | 19.5 | 10.6 | 1.5 | 4.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 4.8 |
| Johnson 10-11 | 2068 | .018 | 0.8 | 16.5 | 5.6 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 3.8 |
| Johnson 11-12 | 255 | -.086 | -0.5 | 11.5 | 6.0 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.8 |
| Milicic 03-04 | 159 | -.227 | -0.8 | 14.5 | 13.0 | 2.1 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 10.0 |
| Milicic 04-05 | 254 | -.214 | -1.1 | 12.7 | 8.1 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 5.9 |
| Milicic 05-06 | 767 | .044 | 0.7 | 16.6 | 9.4 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 5.8 |
| Milicic 06-07 | 1913 | .050 | 2.0 | 16.0 | 11.0 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 1.1 | 5.5 |
| Milicic 07-08 | 1663 | -.035 | -1.2 | 14.6 | 12.2 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 5.3 |
| Milicic 08-09 | 1034 | .069 | 1.5 | 15.5 | 12.3 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 6.2 |
| Milicic 09-10 | 685 | .022 | 0.3 | 15.1 | 10.6 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 5.7 |
| Milicic 10-11 | 1685 | -.052 | -1.8 | 17.3 | 10.3 | 3.0 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 6.5 |
| Milicic 11-12 | 222 | -.060 | -0.3 | 13.4 | 11.2 | 0.9 | 3.2 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 6.1 |
| Average SF(2008 - 2011) | 1422 | .099 | 2.9 | 20.8 | 7.4 | 3.6 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 3.6 |
| Average C(2003 - 2011) | 1351 | .099 | 2.8 | 17.8 | 12.7 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 5.4 |