Andre Miller will turn 40 before this Wolves season is over. Tyus Jones won't even be 20 yet (unless the Wolves make the playoffs, which we'll get to in a minute).
They are the oldest and youngest players on a team of extreme veterans and extreme youth, a point underscored during Monday's training camp media preview session that felt a lot like the first day of an internship.
With fun and self-interest in mind, I asked both point guards the same question: In a 3-on-3 game featuring Jones, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins on one team with Miller, Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince on the other, who would win?
Their answers weren't surprising, though in combination with other things said Monday they did illustrate the crux of this Wolves season.
Said Jones: "There's a big age gap, for sure. But you always go with yourself. I'm going to say we would come away with the victory, but it would be a big difference in style of play for sure."
Said Miller: "The vets will win. We're tougher, we're older and meaner."
The Wolves have plenty of other young players and a few other veterans, but that hypothetical game was picked to match a mentee against a mentor: Miller vs. Jones at the point, Prince vs. Wiggins at small forward and Garnett vs. Towns in a big-man battle.
Much of media day was spent on questions about how much those three young guys could learn from the old guys, and how much the old guys could teach the young guys. How quickly the lessons are absorbed — and how willing everyone is to accept a slow building process — will go a long way toward determining team chemistry and a victory total that is anyone's guess but still secondary to long-term plans.
