I'm liking this trade more and more...
It was a blowout in the Target Center, as the Minnesota Celtics manhandled the Boston Celtics.
All four of the players that the Wolves acquired from the Celtics played at least 18 minutes and had notable contributions. A few days ago I was mourning the loss of yet another first round draft pick. Now, I see what the point was. The two "throw-ins" in the trade both played very well today--especially Marcus Banks.
The day after the trade happened, some Wolves executive (I forget who it was exactly) was interviewed for a rather length portion of the game. He went on and on about how much they wanted Banks and how they wouldn't have done the trade without him. I thought it was mostly just BS at the time, meant to comfort fans who--like me--were pissed off about losing yet another first round draft pick.
After watching Banks play tonight though, I can definitely see why the Wolves wanted him so much. He's extremely quick, he can get to the basket, and has very good body control. The way he played tonight actually reminded me a bit of another former Wolves point guard.
The story behind Banks is that he is actually quite talented, but for one reason or another got on Doc River's bad side. He's been sitting on the bench or playing limited minutes for the majority of the season.
If Banks can continue to play the way he did tonight, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Wolves try and move either Jaric or Hudson before the deadline. Of course, I may be getting a little bit ahead of myself...
All four of the players that the Wolves acquired from the Celtics played at least 18 minutes and had notable contributions. A few days ago I was mourning the loss of yet another first round draft pick. Now, I see what the point was. The two "throw-ins" in the trade both played very well today--especially Marcus Banks.
The day after the trade happened, some Wolves executive (I forget who it was exactly) was interviewed for a rather length portion of the game. He went on and on about how much they wanted Banks and how they wouldn't have done the trade without him. I thought it was mostly just BS at the time, meant to comfort fans who--like me--were pissed off about losing yet another first round draft pick.
After watching Banks play tonight though, I can definitely see why the Wolves wanted him so much. He's extremely quick, he can get to the basket, and has very good body control. The way he played tonight actually reminded me a bit of another former Wolves point guard.
The story behind Banks is that he is actually quite talented, but for one reason or another got on Doc River's bad side. He's been sitting on the bench or playing limited minutes for the majority of the season.
If Banks can continue to play the way he did tonight, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Wolves try and move either Jaric or Hudson before the deadline. Of course, I may be getting a little bit ahead of myself...
