Trading Jefferson might be brilliant
Trading Al Jefferson away to the Utah Jazz might end up being the best move of the off-season, if preseason results are any indication. With a 4-1 record and 10 days to go before the start of the season, the Wolves are looking not at all like the 15-win team they were last season. Many of the newcomers, from Michael Beasley to Wesley Johnson, as well as the returning Kevin Love, all seem revitalized.
Unloading Jefferson’s contract also had the effect of a weight loss dietary supplement, in that it has placed the Wolves well below the league salary cap, leaving them room to make moves if an intriguing talent becomes suddenly available; so while the team currently looks much better, it could improve even more. Because there’s finally room for the team to make moves.
Quite a contrast to the state of the team at the end of the 2009 season, when McHale had mismanaged the team not only into being a loser, but a loser with no draft picks and no young talent and too many guaranteed contracts for underperforming players.
