BEST TRADE

Anthony Peeler for Doug West

With apologies to Twins pitcher Eric Milton--who looks like a future star but is one of the principals who cost us Chuck Knoblauch--the best local sports swap over the past year has to be the February deal that brought shooting guard Anthony Peeler to the Minnesota Timberwolves from Vancouver in exchange for Doug West. At the time of the trade, Peeler was languishing on the bench for the Grizzlies while West, the last of the original Wolves, remained one of the franchise's most popular players. But nearly nine years of wear and tear in the NBA plus a belated admission of alcohol abuse had put West well past his prime, while Peeler, freed from the doghouse on a bad Vancouver team, played the best basketball of his life during his two-month stint with the Timberwolves this year. After converting 46 percent of his three-point shots for Minnesota, he has already proven to be the best long-range shooter in franchise history. But everybody knew Peeler could score; the pleasant surprise was his deft passing--he averaged four assists per game--and a dedication to team defense. Before Peeler's arrival, the Wolves approached the shooting-guard position as a pick-your-poison proposition: the firm defense and poor shooting of West or the capable scoring but porous D of Chris Carr. Now the team has a player at the position who is in his prime at age 28 and still has a few years to go on his long-term contract. That's an antidote for poison, and an elixir for team chemistry.

««PREV    NEXT»»
BACK TO OUT & ABOUT

1998 Best of the Twin Cities HOME
| THE CITY GRITTY | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT |
| OUT & ABOUT | BOUGHT & SOLD | RESTAURANTS |
| FOODSTUFF | SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL |

Entire contents ©2005, City Pages Media, Inc. 401 North Third Street, Suite 550, Minneapolis, MN 55401 · (612) 375-1015 · All rights reserved. No part of this service may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of City Pages, Inc. except that an individual may download and/or forward articles via e-mail to a reasonable number of recipients for personal, non-commercial purposes.

CITY PAGES: Home | Online & Print Ad Info | Work at City Pages | Contact Us
OUR SISTER PAPERS: Village Voice | LA Weekly | Seattle Weekly | OC Weekly | Nashville Scene