# 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. Following the season, Brad Miller retired.

## Key dates

* June 23: The 2011 NBA draft took place at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
* 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 | United States | Arizona |
| 1 | 20 | Donatas Motiejūnas (traded to Houston Rockets) | Power forward / center | Lithuania | Lithuania |
| 1 | 23 | Nikola Mirotić (from Houston Rockets traded to Chicago Bulls) | Power forward | Spain | Spain |
| 1 | 28 | Norris Cole (from Chicago Bulls traded to Miami Heat) | Point guard | United States | Cleveland State |
| 2 | 31 | Bojan Bogdanović (from Miami Heat traded to New Jersey Nets) | Small forward | Croatia | Croatia |
| 2 | 38 | Chandler Parsons (traded back to Houston Rockets for cash) | Power forward | United States | Florida |
| 2 | 43 | Malcolm Lee (from Chicago Bulls) | Shooting guard | United States | UCLA |
| 2 | 57 | Tanguy Ngombo (from Portland Trail Blazers) | Small forward | Qatar | Qatar |

## 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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
December 17
Milwaukee
W 117–96
Michael Beasley and Kevin Love(21)
Kevin Love (15)
Ricky Rubio (7)
Target Center 15,013
1–0
2
December 21
@ Milwaukee
W 85–84
Kevin Love (22)
Kevin Love (16)
Luke Ridnour (6)
Bradley Center
2–0 :
2011–12 season schedule :

## Regular season
### Standings

| Northwest Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
| y-Oklahoma City Thunder | 47 | 19 | .712 | – | 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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
December 26
Oklahoma City
L 100–104
Michael Beasley (24)
Kevin Love (12)
Ricky Rubio (6)
Target Center 19,406
0–1
2
December 27
@ Milwaukee
L 95–98
Kevin Love (31)
Kevin Love (20)
José Juan Barea Ricky Rubio (4)
Bradley Center 17,352
0–2
3
December 30
Miami
L 101–103
Kevin Love (25)
Kevin Love (12)
Ricky Rubio (12)
Target Center 19,356
0–3 :
January: 10–8 (home: 5–5; road: 5–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
4
January 1
Dallas
W 99–82
Kevin Love (25)
Kevin Love (17)
Ricky Rubio (7)
Target Center 15,115
1–3
5
January 2
San Antonio
W 106–96
Kevin Love (24)
Kevin Love (15)
Luke Ridnour (9)
Target Center 14,514
2–3
6
January 4
Memphis
L 86–90
Kevin Love (27)
Kevin Love (14)
Ricky Rubio (10)
Target Center 17,404
2–4
7
January 6
Cleveland
L 87–98
Kevin Love (29)
Kevin Love (14)
Luke Ridnour (6)
Target Center 16,943
2–5
8
January 8
@ Washington
W 93–72
Kevin Love (20)
Kevin Love (16)
Ricky Rubio (14)
Verizon Center 13,095
3–5
9
January 9
@ Toronto
L 87–97
Jose Barea (16)
Kevin Love (14)
Ricky Rubio (6)
Air Canada Centre 14,097
3–6
10
January 10
Chicago
L 100–111
Luke Ridnour (22)
Kevin Love (13)
Ricky Rubio (12)
Target Center 19,356
3–7
11
January 13
@ New Orleans
W 87–80
Kevin Love (34)
Kevin Love (15)
Ricky Rubio (9)
New Orleans Arena 14,295
4–7
12
January 14
@ Atlanta
L 91–93
Kevin Love (30)
Kevin Love (13)
Ricky Rubio (12)
Philips Arena 13,135
4–8
13
January 16
Sacramento
W 99–86
Kevin Love (33)
Kevin Love (11)
Luke Ridnour (9)
Target Center 16,159
5–8
14
January 18
Detroit
W 93–85
Kevin Love (20)
Kevin Love (17)
Ricky Rubio (8)
Target Center 15,598
6–8
15
January 20
@ L. A. Clippers
W 101–98
Darko Miličić (22)
Kevin Love (14)
Luke Ridnour Ricky Rubio (6)
Staples Center 19,492
7–8
16
January 21
@ Utah
L 98–108
Ricky Rubio (17)
Kevin Love Derrick Williams (8)
Ricky Rubio (11)
EnergySolutions Arena 19,911
7–9
17
January 23
Houston
L 92–107
Kevin Love (39)
Kevin Love (12)
Ricky Rubio (12)
Target Center 16,924
7–10
18
January 25
@ Dallas
W 105–90
Kevin Love (31)
Kevin Love (11)
Ricky Rubio (12)
American Airlines Center 20,150
8–10
19
January 27
San Antonio
W 87–79
Kevin Love Ricky Rubio (18)
Kevin Love (16)
Ricky Rubio (10)
Target Center 16,699
9–10
20
January 29
L. A. Lakers
L 101–106
Kevin Love (33)
Kevin Love (13)
Ricky Rubio (8)
Target Center 17,551
9–11
21
January 30
@ Houston
W 120–108
Michael Beasley (34)
Ricky Rubio (8)
Ricky Rubio (11)
Staples Center 14,264
10–11 :
February: 8–7 (home: 5–3; road: 3–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
22
February 1
Indiana
L 99–109
Kevin Love (21)
Kevin Love (17)
Ricky Rubio (6)
Target Center 15,017
10–12
23
February 3
@ New Jersey
W 108–105
Nikola Peković (27)
Nikola Peković (11)
Ricky Rubio (10)
Prudential Center 15,069
11–12
24
February 4
Houston
W 100–91
Kevin Love (25)
Kevin Love (18)
Ricky Rubio (11)
Target Center 19,356
12–12
25
February 7
Sacramento
W 86–84
Nikola Peković (23)
Michael Beasley (14)
Ricky Rubio (14)
Target Center 14,073
13–12
26
February 8
@ Memphis
L 80–85
José Juan Barea (17)
Nikola Peković Derrick Williams (9)
José Juan Barea (6)
FedEx Forum 13,287
13–13
27
February 10
Dallas
L 97–104
Kevin Love (32)
Kevin Love (12)
Ricky Rubio (8)
Target Center 17,119
13–14
28
February 11
New York
L 98–100
Kevin Love (32)
Kevin Love (21)
Ricky Rubio (8)
Target Center 20,232
13–15
29
February 13
@ Orlando
L 89–102
Kevin Love (19)
Kevin Love (15)
Ricky Rubio (8)
Amway Center 18,846
13–16
30
February 15
Charlotte
W 102–90
Kevin Love (30)
Kevin Love (18)
José Juan Barea (8)
Target Center 15,139
14–16
31
February 17
@ Houston
W 111–98
Kevin Love (33)
Kevin Love (17)
Ricky Rubio (9)
Toyota Center 16,836
15–16
32
February 19
Philadelphia
W 92–91
Ricky Rubio (22)
Kevin Love (15)
Ricky Rubio (5)
Target Center 18,759
16–16
33
February 20
@ Denver
L 101–103 (OT)
Kevin Love (22)
Kevin Love (13)
Luke Ridnour (6)
Pepsi Center 17,263
16–17
34
February 22
Utah
W 100–98
José Juan Barea (22)
Nikola Peković (12)
Luke Ridnour Ricky Rubio (6)
Target Center 18,776
17–17
35
February 28
@ L. A. Clippers
W 109–97
Michael Beasley Derrick Williams (27)
Kevin Love Ricky Rubio (7)
Ricky Rubio (9)
Staples Center 19,243
18–17
36
February 29
@ L. A. Lakers
L 85–104
Michael Beasley Martell Webster (14)
Anthony Randolph (9)
Ricky Rubio (9)
Staples Center 18,997
18–18 :
March: 7–10 (home: 3–3; road: 4–7)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
37
March 1
@ Phoenix
L 95–104
Kevin Love (23)
Kevin Love (10)
Luke Ridnour (8)
US Airways Center 15,071
18–19
38
March 3
@ Portland
W 122–110
Kevin Love (42)
Kevin Love (10)
Ricky Rubio (12)
Rose Garden 20,644
19–19
39
March 5
L. A. Clippers
W 95–94
Kevin Love (39)
Kevin Love (17)
Ricky Rubio (6)
Target Center 19,509
20–19
40
March 7
Portland
W 106–94
Kevin Love (29)
Kevin Love (16)
José Juan Barea (7)
Target Center 17,118
21–19
41
March 9
L. A. Lakers
L 102–105
Nikola Peković (25)
Nikola Peković (13)
Ricky Rubio (10)
Target Center 20,164
21–20
42
March 10
New Orleans
L 89–95
Kevin Love (31)
Kevin Love (16)
Luke Ridnour (10)
Target Center 20,123
21–21
43
March 12
@ Phoenix
W 127–124
Kevin Love (30)
Nikola Peković Derrick Williams (8)
Luke Ridnour (9)
US Airways Center 14,568
22–21
44
March 15
@ Utah
L 105–111
Gordon Hayward (26)
Kevin Love Derrick Favors (16)
Luke Ridnour (13)
EnergySolutions Arena 18,053
22–22
45
March 16
@ L. A. Lakers
L 92–97
Kevin Love (27)
Kevin Love (15)
Luke Ridnour (11)
Staples Center 18,997
22–23
46
March 18
@ Sacramento
L 99–115
Kevin Love (21)
Kevin Love (11)
José Juan Barea (4)
Power Balance Pavilion 15,616
22–24
47
March 19
@ Golden State
W 97–93
Kevin Love (36)
Kevin Love (16)
José Juan Barea Luke Ridnour (10)
Oracle Arena 19,596
23–24
48
March 21
@ San Antonio
L 100–116
José Juan Barea (18)
Kevin Love (12)
José Juan Barea (11)
AT&T Center 18,581
23–25
49
March 23
@ Oklahoma City
L 140–149 (2OT)
Kevin Love (51)
Kevin Love (14)
José Juan Barea (14)
Chesapeake Energy Arena 18,203
23–26
50
March 25
Denver
W 117–100
Kevin Love (30)
Kevin Love (21)
Luke Ridnour (6)
Target Center 20,023
24–26
51
March 27
@ Memphis
L 86–93
Kevin Love (28)
Kevin Love (11)
Luke Ridnour (5)
FedEx Forum 14,769
24–27
52
March 28
@ Charlotte
W 88–83
Kevin Love (40)
Kevin Love (19)
Luke Ridnour (14)
Time Warner Cable Arena 10,540
25–27
53
March 30
Boston
L 79–100
Kevin Love (22)
Kevin Love (11)
Luke Ridnour (8)
Target Center 19,356
25–28 :
April: 1–12 (home: 0–7; road: 1–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
54
April 1
@ Portland
L 106–119
Kevin Love (26)
Kevin Love (9)
Luke Ridnour (6)
Rose Garden 20,359
25–29
55
April 2
@ Sacramento
L 108–116
Kevin Love (23)
Kevin Love (7)
Brad Miller Luke Ridnour (6)
Power Balance Pavilion 12,279
25–30
56
April 4
Golden State
L 94–97
Kevin Love (29)
Kevin Love (12)
José Juan Barea (8)
Target Center 17,161
25–31
57
April 7
@ New Orleans
L 90–99
Kevin Love (29)
Kevin Love (12)
José Juan Barea (7)
New Orleans Arena 15,520
25–32
58
April 9
Phoenix
L 90–114
Kevin Love (25)
Kevin Love (13)
José Juan Barea Malcolm Lee (5)
Target Center 17,274
25–33
59
April 11
@ Denver
L 107–113
Anthony Randolph (28)
Derrick Williams (8)
José Juan Barea (15)
Pepsi Center 15,823
25–34
60
April 12
L. A. Clippers
L 82–95
Nikola Peković (17)
Michael Beasley (10)
José Juan Barea (11)
Target Center 16,016
25–35
61
April 14
Oklahoma City
L 110–115
Michael Beasley (26)
Nikola Peković (13)
José Juan Barea (10)
Target Center 19,552
25–36
62
April 16
@ Indiana
L 88–111
José Juan Barea (14)
Derrick Williams (10)
José Juan Barea (9)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 11,845
25–37
63
April 17
Memphis
L 84–91
José Juan Barea (28)
Nikola Peković (11)
José Juan Barea (8)
Target Center 16,709
25–38
64
April 19
@ Detroit
W 91–80
Nikola Peković (23)
Anthony Randolph (10)
José Juan Barea (12)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 12,458
26–38
65
April 22
Golden State
L 88–93
Nikola Peković (19)
Nikola Peković (16)
José Juan Barea (12)
Target Center 15,872
26–39
66
April 26
Denver
L 102–131
José Juan Barea (20)
Nikola Peković (10)
José Juan Barea (5)
Target Center 14,824
26–40 :
2011–12 season schedule :

## Player statistics
### Ragular season

| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Derrick Williams | PF | 66 | 15 | 1,418 | 311 | 38 | 30 | 31 | 583 | 21.5 | 4.7 | .6 | .5 | .5 | 8.8 |
| Wesley Johnson | SF | 65 | 64 | 1,469 | 177 | 59 | 35 | 48 | 393 | 22.6 | 2.7 | .9 | .5 | .7 | 6.0 |
| Kevin Love | PF | 55 | 55 | 2,145 | 734 | 111 | 47 | 28 | 1,432 | 39.0 | 13.3 | 2.0 | .9 | .5 | 26.0 |
| Luke Ridnour | SG | 53 | 53 | 1,750 | 141 | 252 | 56 | 16 | 639 | 33.0 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 1.1 | .3 | 12.1 |
| Wayne Ellington | SG | 51 | 4 | 973 | 99 | 33 | 26 | 10 | 311 | 19.1 | 1.9 | .6 | .5 | .2 | 6.1 |
| Anthony Tolliver | SF | 51 | 0 | 882 | 153 | 22 | 18 | 19 | 208 | 17.3 | 3.0 | .4 | .4 | .4 | 4.1 |
| Nikola Peković | C | 47 | 35 | 1,264 | 346 | 31 | 29 | 31 | 651 | 26.9 | 7.4 | .7 | .6 | .7 | 13.9 |
| Martell Webster | SF | 47 | 26 | 1,140 | 168 | 40 | 31 | 17 | 324 | 24.3 | 3.6 | .9 | .7 | .4 | 6.9 |
| Michael Beasley | SF | 47 | 7 | 1,087 | 207 | 45 | 18 | 19 | 541 | 23.1 | 4.4 | 1.0 | .4 | .4 | 11.5 |
| Ricky Rubio | PG | 41 | 31 | 1,404 | 171 | 336 | 91 | 8 | 436 | 34.2 | 4.2 | 8.2 | 2.2 | .2 | 10.6 |
| J. J. Barea | PG | 41 | 11 | 1,032 | 114 | 232 | 21 | 0 | 463 | 25.2 | 2.8 | 5.7 | .5 | .0 | 11.3 |
| Anthony Randolph | PF | 34 | 5 | 517 | 123 | 19 | 13 | 35 | 252 | 15.2 | 3.6 | .6 | .4 | 1.0 | 7.4 |
| Darko Miličić | C | 29 | 23 | 472 | 97 | 17 | 9 | 25 | 134 | 16.3 | 3.3 | .6 | .3 | .9 | 4.6 |
| Malcolm Lee | SG | 19 | 0 | 243 | 26 | 31 | 8 | 4 | 62 | 12.8 | 1.4 | 1.6 | .4 | .2 | 3.3 |
| Brad Miller | C | 15 | 1 | 146 | 19 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 9.7 | 1.3 | 1.6 | .3 | .1 | 2.3 |

## Awards and records

* Ricky Rubio was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for December – January and earned an NBA All-Rookie First Team selection.
* Kevin Love earned an All-NBA Second Team selection.
* Kevin Love scored a franchise record 51 points in a double overtime loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 23.

### 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 and returned on January 29.
* On December, Malcolm Lee underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and was out for two months.
* Martell Webster had surgery on his back in December and returned to practice with the team in mid-January.
* Kevin Love earned a two-game suspension after stepping over Luis Scola during a game against the Houston Rockets on February 4.
* Ricky Rubio tore his ACL during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 9 and missed the remainder of the season.

## Transactions
### Overview

| Players Added Via draft Malcolm Lee Derrick Williams Via free agency José Juan Barea Via trade Brad Miller Robert Vaden (later waived) | Players Lost Via trade Jonny Flynn Lazar Hayward Via free agency Sebastian Telfair |

### Trades

| June 23, 2011 | To Minnesota TimberwolvesBrad Miller Draft rights to Nikola Mirotić Draft rights to Chandler Parsons Future first round pick | To Houston RocketsJonny Flynn Draft rights to Donatas Motiejūnas 2012 second round pick |
| June 23, 2011 | To Minnesota TimberwolvesDraft rights to Norris Cole Draft rights to Malcolm Lee Cash considerations | To Chicago BullsDraft rights to Nikola Mirotić |
| June 23, 2011 | To Minnesota TimberwolvesDraft rights to Bojan Bogdanović 2014 second round pick Cash considerations | To Miami HeatDraft rights to Norris Cole |
| June 23, 2011 | To Minnesota Timberwolves2013 second round pick Cash considerations | To New Jersey NetsDraft rights to Bojan Bogdanović |
| June 23, 2011 | To Minnesota TimberwolvesCash considerations | To Houston RocketsDraft rights to Chandler Parsons |
| June 27, 2011 | To Minnesota TimberwolvesDraft rights to Tanguy Ngombo | To Portland Trail BlazersFuture second round pick |
| December 13, 2011 | To Minnesota TimberwolvesRobert Vaden 2012 second round pick Future second round pick | To Oklahoma City ThunderLazar 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. The Chinese Basketball Association, however, only allows its clubs to sign foreign free agents who could play for at least the entire season.
Played in other leagues during lockout :
| Player | Date signed | New team | Opt-out clause |
| Nikola Peković | August 16 | KK Partizan (Serbia) | Yes |