Alternate History Minnesota Timberwolves

[jbergey22]

On April 22, 1987 the Minnesota was given a NBA franchise for the first time since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles in 1960. The team was later named the Timberwolves in a vote.

Fast forward to June 15, 1989 and they start assembling a roster with the other expansion team Orlando Magic with an expansion draft. The Magic won the coin flip and elected to pick 1st in the expansion draft while Minnesota will get to pick ahead of them in the NBA rookie draft.

In the expansion draft Minnesota chooses
1. PF Rick Mahorn(former NBA champion)
2. SF Ty Corbin
3. C Steve Johnson
4. PF Brad Lahaus
5. PG David Rivers
6. SF Mark Davis
7. SF Scott Roth
8. PF Shelton Jones
9. F Eric White
10.SG Maurice Martin
11. C Gunther Behnke

In the 1989 NBA Draft the Timberwolves choose PG Pooh Richardson with the 10th overall pick, they choose C Gary Leonard with the 34th overall pick, and SG Doug West with the 38th pick.

The first head coach in Timberwolves history is Tim Swift, a defensive mastermind and great at finding that diamond in the rough.

Transactions Prior to the start of the 1989 Season
*signed Sam Mitchell as a free agent
*signed Sidney Lowe as a free agent
*Signed Tod Murphy as a free agent
*Signed Donald Royal as a free agent
*Signed Tony Campbell as a free agent
*Signed Adrian Branch as a free agent
*Traded Rick Mahorn to the Philadelphia 76ers
*waived David Rivers
*Traded Brad Lohaus to the Milwaukee Bucks for Randy Breuer
*Traded Steve Johnson to Seattle
*Released Mark Davis, Shelton Jones, Eric White, Maurice Martin, and Gunther Behnke
*11/1/1989 Traded Tyrone Corbin, Adrian Branch, & 1992 1st round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Brad Daugherty, Craig Ehlo, & 1992 1st round pick
*11/1/1989 Traded Craig Ehlo, Donald Royal, to the Milwaukee Bucks for Cadillac Anderson, Larry Krystkowiak, and 1992 2nd round pick

[jbergey22]

1989-1990 Season

Top 10
C Patrick Ewing, Knicks
C David Robinson, Spurs
C Hakeem Olajuwon, Rockets
SG Michael Jordan, Bulls
PF Karl Malone, Jazz
SF Larry Bird, Celtics
PG Magic Johnson, Lakers
PF Roy Tarpley, Mavericks
PG Kevin Johnson, Suns
PF Charles Barkley, 76ers

Timberwolves Starting Lineup
---------------------------------------------
PG Pooh Richardson, 3 years 2.3 million
SG Tony Cambell, 2 years 4.1 million
SF Tyrone Corbin, 2 years 3.3 million
PF Tod Murphy, 2 years 1.5 million
C Randy Breuer, 1 year 600k

Depth
SF Sam Mitchell, 3 years 2.4 million
PG Sidney Lowe, 2 years 668k
SF Scott Roth, 3 years 928k
SF Adrian Branch, 3 years 894k
C Alton Lister, 1 year 232k
SG Doug West, 3 years 403k
C Gary Leonard, 3 years 371k
SF Donald Royal, 3 years 571k

Outlook
We were very pleased to get Tony Campbell as an unrestricted free agent nearing training camp. He should provide some consistent scoring on a team that is lacking in this area. Bringing in Minnesota native Randy Breuer, a high school and college hero should help keep the fans interested in what will likely be year with very few wins. Rick Mahorn, our #1 pick in the expansion draft, chose not to report to camp and was sent packing to the 76ers. The front office has been looking at a few different trade options centering around bringing in a decent center and a more classic shooting guard.

1989-1990 Season

October
Opening night at Golden State we fall behind in the 1st quarter 29-11 and fought back the rest of the way only dropping this one 96-105. Sam Mitchell comes off the bench to put up 30 points on 11-17 shooting. Rookie Pooh Richardson put up 22 points and 7 assists in his first game as a pro. Tony Campbell put up 21 points playing 40 minutes. Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin led the Warriors with 19 and 22 points respectively. Ty Corbin was in foul trouble playing only 14 minutes and being held to 2 points. Randy Breuer was 2-13 shooting.

Leading Scorers elsewhere, were Larry Bird 51, Karl Malone 44, Tom Chambers 44, Michael Jordan 43, and Kevin Johnson 41. John Stockton had 19 assists.

On the tail end of a back to back we travel to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers in which we fell 104-126. We ran out of gas in the 4th quarter and gave up 41 points. Pooh Richardson had 34 points and 7 assists before he fouled out late in the game. Tony Campbell had 20 points against his former team. For the Lakers, Magic Johnson put up 33 points with 14 assists and 8 rebounds

Leading Scores elsewhere, were Patrick Ewing 58, Charles Barkley 41, Mark Price 53, Isiah Thomas 49

After 2 straight road losses, Minnesota travels home for their first regular season home game and loses a very close game to Phoenix 115-117 in a game that we led most of the game including taking a 6 point lead into the 4th quarter. Pooh Richardson keeps his hot streak going with 22 points and 10 assists. Tony Campbell scores 20 for the 3rd straight game as well. Sam Mitchell comes in to replace an injured Ty Corbin and scores 23 off the bench. The homegrown hero Randy Breuer disappoints with 8 points and 2-7 shooting and 5 fouls. Kevin Johnson led the Suns with 36 points and 13 assists. Tom Chambers was able to add 33.

On October 23, 1989 the Minnesota Timberwolves win their first NBA regular season game at home against the Houston Rockets. Pooh Richardson and Tony Campbell led us with 28 and 25 points. We took a commanding 18 point 1st half lead and never looked back with a 113-104 victory. Hakeem Olajuwon had 44 points for the Rockets.

Around the league, Patrick Ewing kept up his sizzling start with another 58 point game as the Knicks improve to 4-0. He is averaging 49.5 points through 4 games.

The Timberwolves fall to 1-4 with another home loss. This time Utah comes to town and punches us in the face with a 122-106 victory. Sam Mitchell had 22 points and 11 rebounds filling in for Tyrone Corbin, Pooh Richardson broke his streak of 20 points but had 14 assists. Tony Campbell has 22 points. The combination of John Stockton and Karl Malone worked their magic against us with 30 and 29 points. Stockton added 14 assists.

In other NBA news, Patrick Ewing had 58 points for the 3rd time this year, however the Knicks fall at Golden State. David Robinson blocked 9 shots against Houston.

We are able to win our first round game next as we travel to New Jersey and defeat the Nets 108-105. Tony Campbell leads us in scoring with 28 while Pooh Richardson, who is looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate puts up 23 points and 11 assists. Sam Bowie had 29 points and 17 rebounds for the Nets on 15-15 free throw shooting.

Leading scorers around the league were Hakeem Olajuwon 45, Mark Price 41, David Robinson 40, and Larry Bird 40. Patrick Ewing put up another 38 and was named player of the week for the 2nd straight week.

October comes to an end with a loss at home to Golden State 98-119. We were down early and never were able to push any closer. Tod Murphy was the lone bright spot putting up 30 points. Tony Campbell put up another 20. Chris Mullin was hot the entire game for Golden State scoring 37 points with 9 rebounds and 6 assists.

As October ends we are 2-5 sitting tied for 11th place in the Western Conference 4 games behind the Utah Jazz sitting at 6-1. The Knicks are 6-1 leading the Eastern Conference. Patrick Ewing is currently leading the league in scoring 48.3 PPG and rebounds 10.0 RPG while John Stockton leads in assists with 18.7 APG.

This team isnt a complete disaster as I have been impressed by Pooh Richardson with his consistent play and Tony Campbell. Sam Mitchell has been playing for the injured Tyrone Corbin and doing a decent job. I think if I can get a decent offer for Tyrone Corbin I may trade him. Randy Breuer has been awful at the center position shooting 29 percent(he's 7 foot 3, how is that even possible?). Looking forward a bit I would really like Derrick Coleman in the draft as he seems to fit a need and the forward/center position appears weak in this upcoming draft. While Gary Payton is a possibility as well, I feel very good with what I am seeing in Pooh Richardson right now.

[jbergey22]

November
The beginning of November brings an asset we had been working to get for the past 3 weeks in center Brad Daugherty from Cleveland. We needed to get a younger center with upside to replace Randy Breuer while Cleveland was looking for a strong perimeter defender to help slow down the Chicago Bulls dynamic duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen and had Hot Rod Williams earning the starting minutes. We trade SF Tyrone Corbin, Sf Adrian Branch, 1992 1st round pick for C Brad Daughery, SG Craig Ehlo, and 1992 1st round pick. Cleveland was not going to budge unless we swapped #1 picks in 1992 and took on the salary of Craig Ehlo.

Soon thereafter we were able to ship Craig Ehlo and SF Donald Royal over to the Milwaukee Bucks for PF Cadillac Anderson, PF Larry Krystkowiak and a 1992 2nd round draft pick.

These trades were able to accomplish a couple of things for the Minnesota franchise. We really needed to find a center that we could feel confident in for the next few years and secondly we were able to build some frontcourt depth by bringing in a couple of younger forwards from a team stacked at the power forward position with similar players in Fred Roberts and Brad Lohaus.

*I am trying my best to use restraint and not make trades with the computer that dont make any sense at all. They do a pretty decent job already but I had to find a decent enough rational for Cleveland to trade a #1 pick from 3 years ago for a decent small forward. I am not really sure why Brad Daughery isnt rated higher and wasnt even starting for Cleveland. He is currently 3 stars with the potential of 3.5 stars. Corbin is a 3 star player as well with great defensive abilities. From Cleveland's point of view they are probably thinking the 1992 pick will be a lottery pick as well where as I have no intention of still being a lottery team in 1992.

PG Pooh Richardson
SG Tony Cambell
SF Sam Mitchell
PF Tod Murphy
C Brad Daugherty

Cadillac Anderson
Larry Krystkowiak
Sid Lowe
Randy Breuer
Scott Roth
Alton Lister
Doug West
Gary Leornard

Later on that night, we play a road game at Houston and lose 82-97. Pooh Richardson was ice cold 6-21 while Tony Campbell got himself in foul trouble and scored 14 points. Brad Daugherty had 6 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out trying to defend Hakeem Olajuwon, who ended with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Around the league, Patrick Ewing put up another 44 points while Darrell Walker put up 44 as well. Larry Bird scored 41 and the surprising rookie Sherman Douglas had 41. Douglas is off to a fast start for Miami averaging 27.9 points and 8.8 assists.

On the second night of a back to back we travel back home to face the Nets and lose 111-127. Pooh Richardson had another poor shooting night going 9 for 27(1-12 from 3) while Tony Campbell has another 22 points. Brad Daugherty has a nice game with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dennis Hopson went off for the Nets with 31 points. I may have to have a discussion with Pooh Richardson about passing more. I like that he has confidence however I dont need him taking the most shots every game.

*I toyed with the league settings a bit before this game by moving pace from -3 back to -1 because rebounds seemed a bit low. I also changed 3 point factor to 20 percent as certain teams were still taking more three point attempts than they were back in 1989. I am very impressed by the simulation engine other than rebounding just seems a bit low. It is strange to think that 30 years ago teams attempted just 6.6 3 point attempts per game while in 2019 most teams are well over 30.

On November 4 we lost another game to another top notch Center as we travel to the Garden to face the Knicks and lose 100-115. Pooh Richardson and Tony Campbell each had 17 points while Brad Daughery struggled with foul trouble again only playing 17 minutes scoring 6 points. Patrick Ewing scored 48 points just a bit above his season average.

In other news Karl Malone had 53 points for Utah while Stockton chipped in 20 dimes.

On the tail end of a back to back playing at the Boston Garden we get our most impressive win of the young season edging out the Celtics 125-120. Pooh Richardson, Sam Mitchell, and Tony Campbell had 30, 28, and 26 points respectively. Larry Bird tried to will Boston to victory with 37 points and 13 rebounds and 5 blocks but came up short.

Elsewhere Patrick Ewing scores 63 points, Terry Porter 58 points, and Mark Price 45 points. John Stockton had another game of 20 assists.

Always tough for a young team to perform on the road after a huge emotional win and this was exactly the case November 7th, 1989 when we traveled to Dallas after our win with Boston and lost 102-109. Tony Campbell had 21 points. Roy Tarpley was a beast for Dallas with 22 points and 14 points. Ronaldo Blackman also chipped in 21 points.

A hard fought battle the following next against the World Champion Detroit Pistons losing in overtime 112-119. Tony Campbell scored a season high 35 points while Sam Mitchell had 22. Pooh Richardson with 15 dimes playing 46 mintues. A balanced effort by the Pistons without Isiah Thomas saw 3 players with 20 or more points. Joe Dumars with 14 assists taking on the role of playmaker in Thomas's absence.

In other news of the night Larry Bird put up 54 in a huge win at Chicago. Patrick Ewing puts up 43. The mailman Karl Malone delivers a win and 40 points in a home game against the Clippers.

We follow that up with a heartbreaking home loss, this time against the Clippers 113-115. Tony Campbell was able to capitalize at the free throw line going 18-25 on his way to 28 points. Sam Mitchell had 22 points. Benoit Benjamim was a force for the Clippers with 28 points on 16-16 free throw shooting. Gary Grant chipped in 15 dimes.

Across the league Mark Price, Charles Barkley, and Doc Rivers all put up 40+ while Michael Jordan and Tim Hardaway both had 8 steals in their games.

Playing shorthanded at home against Dallas with Mitchell, Breuer, Krystkowiak and Lister all sitting out we are able to knock off the Mavericks 112-98. Instructions in practice this week were given to work the ball inside and it seemed to pay off as Brad Daugherty had 19 points, Cadillac Anderson had 20 points and 14 rebounds while Tony Campbell paced us with 28. Roy Tarpley had a nice game for Dallas with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Patrick Ewing led the Knicks to another win with 43 points while Charles Barkley had 42 as the 76ers destroyed Charlotte. Gary Grant had a 19 assist game against Portland.

On November 15th we reach another milestone by having our first two game winning streak edging out Denver at home 109-102 behind 34 points from Tony Campbell. Brad Daugherty played well scoring 16 points on 4-4 shooting. Danny Shayes and Fat Lever led Denver with 29 and 25 points respectively.

In other games Chris Mullin, Kevin Johnson, and Isiah Thomas all scored over 40. Magic Johnson had a 21 assist game for the Lakers while Stockton put together another 19 assist night.

The new offense seems to be working as we won our 3rd game in a row, this time we travel to Sacramento and knock off the Kings 107-102. Tony Campbell scores 25 while Brad Daugherty scores 24. Sam Mitchell returns from injury and puts in 18 points. For the Kings Danny Ainge tried his best to carry the Kings to win with 31 points and 9 assists. Rodney McCray also had 23 points on 9-11 shooting. Pervis Ellison, the number 1 draft choice this past year really seems to be struggling this year averaging 6.1 points and 4.3 rebounds despite starting every game and playing 24 minutes per game.

The winning streak has reached 4 games after winning a home game against one of last years expansion teams Miami Heat 107-93. Pooh Richardson, after struggling for a few games, rebounded with 23 points and 13 assists. Tony Campbell put up 25 points. We held Sherman Douglas to 13 points which was 16 below his season average.

The winning streak ends on the 2nd night of a tough back to back at the 1 loss Utah Jazz 97-118 as Tony Campbell sits out with a sore arm(shooting too much?). Pooh Richardson scores 21 points on 10 assists. Karl Malone had 41 points for the Jazz while John Stockton scored 21 points with 16 assists.

Back home on November 25, 1989 we are able to convincingly beat the Seattle Supersonics to win our 5th game out of 6. Pooh Richardson scores 28 with 15 assists as Sam Mitchell puts up 30. Tony Campbell sits out another game but should be back shortly. Nate McMillan scored 28 points before fouling out for Seattle.

In other action Hakeem Olajuwon scored 62 points with 22 rebounds for the Rockets.

Back on the road, traveling into Texas to face the San Antonio Spurs does not go well as San Antonio beats us 117-97. Pooh Richardson did all he could to keep us in it by scoring a career high 46 points on 17-30 shooting with 9 assists. He becomes a much more aggressive scorer with Tony Campbell out of the lineup. The Admiral David Robinson scores 36 with 13 rebounds for the Spurs while Terry Cummings pitches in 23 points.

Another rookie point guard in Miami had a 47 point, 15 assist night leading the Heat to a win over Milwaukee. Roy Tarpley gathered 21 rebounds against the Hawks in a losing effort.

Traveling West for a game at Seattle after a 1 night stay in Texas did not go well. We lost a heartbreaker to Seattle 110-112 despite leading by 10 going into the 4th quarter. Pooh Richardson led us again with 30 points while Tony Campbell returns with 25 points. Dale Ellis and Nate McMillan led the Sonics in scoring with 23 and 22 points respectively.

Ending the month of November with a loss at home against Philadelphia 100-117. Tony Campbell scores 29 points while Sam Mitchell had 22. For the 76ers it was the Charles Barkley show with 42 points and 10 rebounds. Johnny Dawkins had 12 assists for the sixers.

A lot of positive momentum in the month of November with the trades and the 4 game winning streak. We are currently in 10th place at 8-15 in the West, 3.5 games from the 8th spot. The Jazz are dominating the West with a 20-1 record. In the East, The Knicks are looking like the team to beat with a 19-2 record. Patrick Ewing looks like the front runner for MVP at the moment with Karl Malone not far behind. Ewing is currently averaging 47.3 points per game. John Stockton leads the NBA in assists with 19.2 assists per game. Charles Barkley leads the NBA in rebounding with 11.5 rebounds per game.

[jbergey22]

December

We start December off with a loss at Phoenix 122-131. Sam Mitchell breaks out for 39 points while Tony Campbell and Pooh Richardson chip in 25 and 20. For the Sun they were led by Tom Chambers with 31 points with all 5 starters having 10+.

Across the league, Larry Bird had 58 points for the Celtics in a loss at Orlando(Celtics have been very inconsistent). Other top scorers included Ken Norman, Karl Malone, and Mark Price all topping 40.

I am starting to worry about Brad Daughery being a long time option at center. His 5.2 rebounds in 26 minutes per game is not what I am looking for. He also is averaging less than 1 block per game. I may move on from him in the offseason if he doesnt improve. I guess there was a good reason Cleveland had him on the bench.

Continuing our travels in the West, we make a trip to Los Angeles and lose to the Lakers 102-117. Sam Mitchell scores 23 while Tony Campbell puts up 21. The Lakers were led by Magic Johnson and his 24 points on 10 assists.

Back home in familiar settings we are able to break our losing streak by defeating Portland 117-108. Tony Campbell scores 32 while Pooh Richardson has 24 points with 13 helpers. Brad Daughery had nice balanced game with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. Clyde Drexler topped the Blazers with 25 points and 11 assists.

In other NBA news, Patrick Ewing puts up 57 as the Knicks topple Atlanta. Larry Bird puts up 52 in another Celtics home loss. Magic Johnson puts up 40 points with 17 assists as the Lakers defeat the Milwaukee Bucks.

After a much needed 3 day break we head back on the road to Orlando to face the other expansion team at Orlando and fall 91-101. Sam Mitchell topped us with 30 points. Pooh Richardson was awful going 2-17 from the field. Orlando was led by Terry Catledge with 32 points on 13-14 shooting.

On the 2nd night of a back to back we travel to Charlotte to battle the Hornets and come out on top 97-86. Tony Campbell had 16 points and 13 rebounds while Pooh Richardson had 17 points and 13 assists. Sam Mitchell led us in scoring with 19. Del Curry had 20 points for Charlotte.

David Robinson scored 42 with 23 rebounds and 9 blocks as San Antonio knocked off Atlanta. Isiah Thomas put up 43 against a struggling Indiana team.

Back to back wins for our Timberwolves as we travel to Milwaukee and beat the Bucks 114-104. Brad Daugherty has his best game for us putting up 26 points with 9 rebounds on 10-12 shooting. Pooh Richardson helped out with 19 points and 14 assists. The Bucks are a well balanced team and had no scorers over 20 points.

On night two of a back to back sequence we travel to Dallas and lose 104-107 in a back and forth game as we blew an 8 point 4th quarter lead. We were led by Tony Campbell and his 24 points. Brad Daugherty chipped in with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Derek Harper put up 31 for the Mavs while Roy Tarpley attacked us with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

In other league news, Isiah Thomas scored 50 in a loss. Charles Barkley scored 44 with 16 rebounds as Philadelphia topped the Knicks 150-138 in overtime.

Back home against Milwaukee and we snag a 116-108 victory for our 2nd win against the Bucks in a week and a bit of revenge for Randy Breuer, Cadillac Williams, and Larry Krystkowiak. Brad Daugherty had a nice game with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists almost getting the leagues second triple double this year. Pooh Richardson chipped in with 19 points and 11 assists. The Bucks were led by Paul Pressey, who came off the bench, with 19 points.

On December 20, 1989 we were able to defeat Washington at home 114-108 behind 29 points from Tony Campbell. Tod Murphy and Cadillac Anderson chipped in 22 and 20 points repectively. Pooh Richardson fouled out after 18 minutes scoring only 6 points. Darrell Walker put up 33 points for the Bullets while John Williams tallied 23 points. On the season Darrell Walker is scoring 30.7 points per game with 6.1 assists and 6.6 rebounds.

In other games Isiah Thomas put up 50 in a win at Philadelphia. Roy Tarpley had 26 boards in a home win against Milwaukee.

Back home two days before Christmas and we hold Sacramento to 79 points in a 97-79 thrashing holding a 21 point lead in the first quarter and never looking back. Sam Mitchell led us in scoring with 21 points. The output for the Kings was do dismal they didnt even have any performances worth mentioning.

Patrick Ewing scores 59 for the Knicks while Clyde Drexler has another great passing game with 17 assists.

On Christmas Day the Timberwolves put on a fine performance winning a road game at Portland 104-90 which leaves us 15-19 only 1 game behind Denver for the 8th playoff spot. Tod Murphy led us with 21 points while Pooh Richardson chipped in 18 points and 11 assists. For Portland Clyde Drexler put up 16 points and 11 assists.

With the 1989 year coming to the end and being the back end of a back to back the wolves travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers and get blown out 102-125. Sam Mitchell led us in scoring with 25. Pooh Richardson had 15 point with 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Tony Campbell sat this one with a strained abdominal. For the Clippers Danny Manning had 27 while Gary Grant had 23 points and 11 assists.

In other league news Patrick Ewing scores 66 and Darrell Walker scores 50. Patrick Ewing on the year is averaging 46.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.9 blocks per game. He is shooting a whopping 65 percent. At this point he is locked in on winning the MVP.

[jbergey22]

So I decided to fast play this forward a bit and new I am reconsidering using this as a dynasty. I had league settings set up with a hard cap trying to replicate 1989 and a bunch of the stars switched teams during free agency. Also, the 1992 1st round pick I swapped with Cleveland in the Brad Daugherty trade ended up being the #2 overall pick in which I was able to turn into Shaq.

I was able to make the playoffs the 1st year and each year after through 1992.

I was also a bit annoyed with 3-4 players averaging 40+ points in that first year. It seems that as each year went on the scoring leaders normalized. Perhaps it has to do with the way the players import on historical.

In summary, it felt a bit too easy when I was able to make the playoffs as an expansion team the 1st year. And now being able to turn a draft swap into Shaq. The challenge part is kind of over.

Im sitting with a lineup of
Pg Pooh Richardson
SG Hersey Hawkins(1st team All Star)
SF Detlef Schrempf
PF Jayson Williams
C Shaq O'Neil

I won 58 games during the 1992-1993 season.