Timberwolves vice president Kevin McHale said last week that Al Jefferson, who in his first season with the team averaged 21 points per game despite being the focus of other teams’ defenses, proved to be a really “unique” player at scoring despite double and triple teaming. “That guy can score in a shoe box,” McHale said at his annual season ending news conference.
Jefferson, 23, who just finished his fourth NBA season, averaged 11.1 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the NBA. Former Timberwolf Kevin Garnett averaged 20.8 points and 10.4 rebounds in his fourth season.
McHale said the Wolves will retain the key players on their roster and see what happens next season. After finishing with a 22-60 record, McHale said the Wolves are capable of improving by 19 to 20 wins next season. Essential, he said, will be for the team to win more close games than they lose, something that didn’t happen last season as the Wolves missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season and tied with Memphis for the third worst record in the league.
The team has five restricted free agents and probably won’t sign all of them. The five are Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, Kirk Snyder and Chris Richard. McHale had particular praise for Gomes, the team’s starting power forward who is likely to return with a new contract. Decisions on restricted free agents will have to be made after the NBA draft on June 26, McHale said.
Rookie forward Corey Brewer was a disappointment to some fans because he wasn’t able to become a regular starter and he made 37 percent of his shots, averaging 5.8 points per game. McHale said Brewer lost confidence in his shot but that Brewer is an “unbelievable worker” and that the former Florida star “has the heart of a champion.”
A questioner referred to Randy Wittman’s record as an NBA coach as “abysmal.” Wittman’s three-plus seasons coaching record with Cleveland and the Wolves is 96-192. “I think Randy is growing as a coach,” McHale said. “I think that’s what you’ve got to do.”
Someone else asked about the Wolves’ inefficiency at defending opponents on the perimeter, away from the basket. McHale, who has headed the team’s basketball operations since 1995, said it’s an issue that’s concerned him for “12 or 13 years.”