2011–12 Minnesota Timberwolves season
The 2011–12 Minnesota Timberwolves season was the 23rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In their first season with head coach Rick Adelman, the team finished the lockout-shortened season with a 26–40 record, nine wins above their previous season and finished in 12th place in the Western Conference. This season saw the debut of 2009 draftee Ricky Rubio, who was a contender for the Rookie of the Year Award until he tore his ACL and his lateral collateral ligament after colliding into Kobe Bryant during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers and was out for the rest of the season.[1][2] Following the season, Brad Miller retired.
| 2011–12 Minnesota Timberwolves season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Rick Adelman |
| General manager | David Kahn |
| Owners | Glen Taylor |
| Arena | Target Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 26–40 (.394) |
| Place | Division: 5th (Northwest) Conference: 12th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Fox Sports North |
| Radio | WCCO-AM 830 |
Key dates
- June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey[3]
- December 26: The Timberwolves begin the regular season with a loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Summary
NBA draft 2011
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Derrick Williams | Small forward / Power forward |  |
Arizona |
| 1 | 20 | Donatas Motiejūnas (traded to Houston Rockets) | Power forward / Center |  |
Lithuania |
| 1 | 23 | Nikola Mirotić (from Houston Rockets traded to Chicago Bulls) | Power forward |  |
Spain |
| 1 | 28 | Norris Cole (from Chicago Bulls traded to Miami Heat) | Point guard | |
Cleveland State |
| 2 | 31 | Bojan Bogdanović (from Miami Heat traded to New Jersey Nets) | Small forward |  |
Croatia |
| 2 | 38 | Chandler Parsons (traded back to Houston Rockets for cash) | Power forward | |
Florida |
| 2 | 43 | Malcolm Lee (from Chicago Bulls) | Shooting guard | |
UCLA |
| 2 | 57 | Tanguy Ngombo (from Portland Trail Blazers) | Small forward |  |
Qatar |
Roster
| 2011–12 Minnesota Timberwolves roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season
Due to the 2011 NBA lockout negotiations, the programmed pre-season schedule, along with the first two weeks of the regular season were scrapped, and a two-game pre-season was set for each team once the lockout concluded.
| 2011 pre-season game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-season: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
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| 2011–12 season schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Standings
| Northwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Oklahoma City Thunder | 47 | 19 | .712 | 0.0 | 26–7 | 21–12 | 10–3 | 66 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 38 | 28 | .576 | 9.0 | 20–13 | 18–15 | 6–7 | 66 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 36 | 30 | .545 | 11.0 | 25–8 | 11–22 | 9–4 | 66 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 28 | 38 | .424 | 19.0 | 20–13 | 8–25 | 4–10 | 66 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 26 | 40 | .394 | 21.0 | 13–20 | 13–20 | 4–9 | 66 |
| Western Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c-San Antonio Spurs * | 50 | 16 | .758 | – | 66 |
| 2 | y-Oklahoma City Thunder * | 47 | 19 | .712 | 3.0 | 66 |
| 3 | y-Los Angeles Lakers * | 41 | 25 | .621 | 9.0 | 66 |
| 4 | x-Memphis Grizzlies | 41 | 25 | .621 | 9.0 | 66 |
| 5 | x-Los Angeles Clippers | 40 | 26 | .606 | 10.0 | 66 |
| 6 | x-Denver Nuggets | 38 | 28 | .576 | 12.0 | 66 |
| 7 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 36 | 30 | .545 | 14.0 | 66 |
| 8 | x-Utah Jazz | 36 | 30 | .545 | 14.0 | 66 |
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 32 | .515 | 16.0 | 66 |
| 10 | Phoenix Suns | 33 | 33 | .500 | 17.0 | 66 |
| 11 | Portland Trail Blazers | 28 | 38 | .424 | 22.0 | 66 |
| 12 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 26 | 40 | .394 | 24.0 | 66 |
| 13 | Golden State Warriors | 23 | 43 | .348 | 27.0 | 66 |
| 14 | Sacramento Kings | 22 | 44 | .333 | 28.0 | 66 |
| 15 | New Orleans Hornets | 21 | 45 | .318 | 29.0 | 66 |
Game log
| 2011–12 game log Total: 26–40 (Home: 13–20; Road: 13–20) | |
|---|---|
December: 0–3 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–1)
| |
January: 10–8 (Home: 5–5; Road: 5–3)
| |
February: 8–7 (Home: 5–3; Road: 3–4)
| |
March: 7–10 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–7)
| |
April: 1–12 (Home: 0–7; Road: 1–5)
| |
| 2011–12 season schedule | |
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| José Juan Barea | 41 | 11 | 25.2 | .400 | .371 | .776 | 2.8 | 5.7 | .5 | .0 | 11.3 |
| Michael Beasley | 47 | 7 | 23.1 | .445 | .376 | .642 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .4 | .4 | 11.5 |
| Wayne Ellington | 51 | 4 | 19.1 | .404 | .324 | .800 | 1.9 | .6 | .5 | .2 | 6.1 |
| Wesley Johnson | 65 | 64 | 22.6 | .398 | .314 | .706 | 2.7 | .9 | .5 | .7 | 6.0 |
| Malcolm Lee | 19 | 0 | 12.8 | .390 | .200 | .824 | 1.4 | 1.6 | .4 | .2 | 3.3 |
| Kevin Love | 55 | 55 | 39.0 | .448 | .372 | .824 | 13.3 | 2.0 | .9 | .5 | 26.0 |
| Darko Miličić | 29 | 23 | 16.3 | .454 | .432 | 3.3 | .6 | .3 | .9 | 4.6 | |
| Brad Miller | 15 | 1 | 9.7 | .333 | .467 | .833 | 1.3 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | 2.3 |
| Nikola Peković | 47 | 35 | 26.9 | .564 | .743 | 7.4 | .7 | .6 | .7 | 13.9 | |
| Anthony Randolph | 34 | 5 | 15.2 | .470 | .000 | .762 | 3.6 | .6 | .4 | 1.0 | 7.4 |
| Luke Ridnour | 53 | 53 | 33.0 | .440 | .322 | .891 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 1.1 | .3 | 12.1 |
| Ricky Rubio | 41 | 31 | 34.2 | .357 | .340 | .803 | 4.2 | 8.2 | 2.2 | .2 | 10.6 |
| Anthony Tolliver | 51 | 0 | 17.3 | .390 | .248 | .745 | 3.0 | .4 | .4 | .4 | 4.1 |
| Martell Webster | 47 | 26 | 24.3 | .423 | .339 | .792 | 3.6 | .9 | .7 | .4 | 6.9 |
| Derrick Williams | 66 | 15 | 21.5 | .412 | .268 | .697 | 4.7 | .6 | .5 | .5 | 8.8 |
Awards and records
- Ricky Rubio was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December – January [4] and earned an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection.[5]
- Kevin Love earned an All-NBA Second Team selection.[6]
- Kevin Love scored a franchise record 51 points in a double overtime loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 23.[7]
All-Star
- Kevin Love participated in his second All-Star game as a reserve for the West in the 2012 NBA All-Star Game and won the Three-Point Shootout.
- Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams participated in the Rising Stars Challenge. Williams also participated in the Slam Dunk Contest.
Injuries and disciplinary actions
- Brad Miller underwent surgery on his left knee during the offseason [8] and returned on January 29.[9]
- On December, Malcolm Lee underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and was out for two months.[10]
- Martell Webster had surgery on his back in December [11] and returned to practice with the team in mid-January.[12]
- Kevin Love earned a two game suspension after stepping over Luis Scola during a game against the Houston Rockets on February 4.[13]
- Ricky Rubio tore his ACL during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 9 and missed the remainder of the season.[1]
Transactions
Overview
| Players Added Via draft Via free agency
Via trade
|
Players Lost Via trade Via free agency |
Trades
| June 23, 2011 | To Minnesota Timberwolves Brad Miller Draft rights to Nikola Mirotić Draft rights to Chandler Parsons Future first round pick |
To Houston Rockets Jonny Flynn Draft rights to Donatas Motiejūnas 2012 second round pick |
| To Minnesota Timberwolves Draft rights to Norris Cole Draft rights to Malcolm Lee Cash considerations |
To Chicago Bulls Draft rights to Nikola Mirotić | |
| To Minnesota Timberwolves Draft rights to Bojan Bogdanović 2014 second round pick Cash considerations |
To Miami Heat Draft rights to Norris Cole | |
| To Minnesota Timberwolves 2013 second round pick Cash considerations |
To New Jersey Nets Draft rights to Bojan Bogdanović | |
| To Minnesota Timberwolves Cash considerations |
To Houston Rockets Draft rights to Chandler Parsons | |
| June 27, 2011 | To Minnesota Timberwolves Draft rights to Tanguy Ngombo |
To Portland Trail Blazers Future second round pick |
| December 13, 2011 | To Minnesota Timberwolves Robert Vaden 2012 second round pick Future second round pick |
To Oklahoma City Thunder Lazar Hayward |
Free agents
| Additions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Date signed | Former team |
| José Juan Barea | December 14 | Dallas Mavericks |
| Subtractions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Date signed | New team |
| Sebastian Telfair | December 9 | Phoenix Suns |
Many players signed with teams from other leagues due to the 2011 NBA lockout. FIBA allows players under NBA contracts to sign and play for teams from other leagues if the contracts have opt-out clauses that allow the players to return to the NBA if the lockout ends.[14] The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.[15]
| Played in other leagues during lockout | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Date signed | New team | Opt-out clause |
| Nikola Peković | August 16 | KK Partizan (Serbia) | Yes |
See also
References
- "Ricky Rubio has torn ACL". ESPN. March 9, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
- http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7729283/minnesota-timberwolves-expect-ricky-rubio-back-6-9-months
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2012-05-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Irving, Rubio take Rookie of the Month honors for January". NBA.com. February 1, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-08-11. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
- "Irving, Rubio headline 2011-12 NBA All-Rookie First Team". NBA.com. NBA.com. May 22, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-08-28. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
- "LeBron, Durant highlight 2011-12 All-NBA First Team". NBA.com. NBA.com. May 24, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- Kevin Love's 51-point night not enough as Wolves fall to Thunder in two OTs, Star Tribune. March 24, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Brad Miller could miss six months after knee surgery, Sporting News. Jun 5, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Brad Miller 2011-12 Game Log, basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Malcolm Lee Injury: Timberwolves Rookie Sidelined For Six Weeks, SB Nation. December 30, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Martell Webster has another back surgery, Star Tribune. December 10, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Martell Webster returns to practice, ESPN.com. January 17, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Wolves' Kevin Love suspended 2 games, ESPN.com. February 7, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- "FIBA: NBA stars can play overseas". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. July 30, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2011.
- Sun Xiaochen (August 21, 2011). "New rule shuts door on NBA stars". China Daily. Archived from the original on August 30, 2011.
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