2022 Iowa Wolves thread

[Q-is-here]

Minott ends up with 22 pts, 14 rebs, 5 assts, 3 blocks, and +15 in probably one of his best games for Iowa. A few observations:

- With Garza up with the NBA team, he's starting at Center, so setting a lot of screens and spending a fair bit of time around the hoop defensively. Even though he's built somewhat similarly to McDaniels, he's more of "big" on that side of the floor. He's a better rebounder than McDaniels, but not as quick laterally.

- Offensively, he's a lot better than I expected. To compare him to McDaniels once again, he's got a quicker first step and a bit more shake when he goes to the hoop. His outside shot is a work in progress, but it's been pretty solid so far in Iowa. He's one of these guys that is quicker vertically, if you will, than laterally.

- Probably the best way to think of Minott is that he plays like a big on defense and like a wing on offense. It's an interesting combination, but not too uncommon these days with a lot of big wings playing the 4 these days.

- Defensively, he's definitely got potential as a weakside shot blocker and deterrent. But...he tends to leave his feet a bit too easily and is vulnerable to pump fakes. Not unusual with young, athletic bigs.

- His motor is good, not great. He is not Jarred Vanderbilt flying all over the place and getting floor burns, but he's definitely active out there.

It's fun to watch a guy like him at this stage since he may become a key role player for the Wolves some day, not unlike JMac, Reid and Nowell.

[Monster]

I guess I'll ask this here because I haven't kept up as much even lately when I have watched some games. Is Knight hurt or did Garza at this point simply pass him up?

Luka Garza played four minutes against Indiana when Naz Reid was in foul trouble, but that stint was pretty terrible for the team and Garza looked overmatched defensively. He's still very talented offensively, but I don't think he'll be playable in meaningful games this season.

So yes, Garza played over Nathan Knight in a pinch, but the truth is closer to them both being buried at the end of the bench. I don't think Chris Finch wants to play either of them. We saw that when he went to Kyle Anderson at the five recently instead of punishing a smaller Thunder team.

I heard that Finch questioned going small after that OKC game. It's easy to do that when you lose. Finch is interesting because he clearly likes playing bigger than say Rosas envisioned but he does also like playing smaller in some cases...although still with bigger players. I think it's fair to say he probably went with players he trusted more and were well ahead of both Knight and Garza in the rotation. To some extent that made some sense but I'm with you I may have liked to see him go bigger.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Knight it would seem at some point with Towns out he would get another chance to play some minutes. If not that's probably a good thing meaning other guys are healthy and staying out of foul trouble.

[kekgeek]

PJ Dozier off to the kings on a 10 day contract. Sucks they couldn't protect him in any way

[Q-is-here]

PJ Dozier off to the kings on a 10 day contract. Sucks they couldn't protect him in any way

Yeah, he is a solid, solid glue guy type. Defends, can pass and handle a little, and rebounds well for his position.

[kekgeek]

PJ Dozier off to the kings on a 10 day contract. Sucks they couldn't protect him in any way

Yeah, he is a solid, solid glue guy type. Defends, can pass and handle a little, and rebounds well for his position.

There should but 1 vet 2-way in the NBA. Let vets in the NBA grow with a system, get a little extra money, get opportunities to get back in the NBA and get called up if injuries happened (Mudiay and Dozier could have been called up)

How the system is now it really punishes vets trying to get back into the league. For the wolves to keep Dozier they would have needed to cut Rivers, Forbes or knight and Dozier can't be on a 2-way himself currently because of years in the league.

Would love to see the NBA adopt something like this and help teams and vets out.

[Q-is-here]

PJ Dozier off to the kings on a 10 day contract. Sucks they couldn't protect him in any way

Yeah, he is a solid, solid glue guy type. Defends, can pass and handle a little, and rebounds well for his position.

There should but 1 vet 2-way in the NBA. Let vets in the NBA grow with a system, get a little extra money, get opportunities to get back in the NBA and get called up if injuries happened (Mudiay and Dozier could have been called up)

How the system is now it really punishes vets trying to get back into the league. For the wolves to keep Dozier they would have needed to cut Rivers, Forbes or knight and Dozier can't be on a 2-way himself currently because of years in the league.

Would love to see the NBA adopt something like this and help teams and vets out.

Agreed. We probably could have used Dozier when we were at the nadir of healthy bodies a week or two ago.

Speaking of the Iowa squad, I'm really surprised that Moore Jr. and Minott are not back down there again getting regular minutes and playing time. Garza I understand; he doesn't have much to gain after totally destroying G-League defenses earlier this season.

[Carlos Danger]

There should but 1 vet 2-way in the NBA. Let vets in the NBA grow with a system, get a little extra money, get opportunities to get back in the NBA and get called up if injuries happened (Mudiay and Dozier could have been called up)

How the system is now it really punishes vets trying to get back into the league. For the wolves to keep Dozier they would have needed to cut Rivers, Forbes or knight and Dozier can't be on a 2-way himself currently because of years in the league.

Would love to see the NBA adopt something like this and help teams and vets out.

Interesting thoughts. The G-League was a giant step in the right direction for giving young players exposure/opportunity. I like your angle for vets. Maybe they just have 2 or 3 "non-roster" spots each team can use to rotate guys from their G-league - regardless of age/experience. Basically a combo of current system and what you are proposing. IDK. But I think you bring up a good point about how the current system effects vets.

[Q-is-here]

Well, it looks like Garza, Minott, and Moore Jr. were all moved back to the Iowa club and could be suiting up tonight for their game against South Bay.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm always in favor of professional sports expanding roster limits and putting an even greater emphasis on finding, developing, and/or rehabilitating talent.

With that said, if the Timberwolves wanted to protect or retain P.J. Dozier they could have done so before the season on a non-guaranteed deal. Minnesota had a free roster spot and one of their two-way spots available since pre-season. They instead decided to retain Nathan Knight on a two-year deal with an option on the second year and juggle A.J. Lawson and Matt Ryan on the two-way. Had they not done that, they potentially could have signed Dozier to the 15-man roster and kept Knight on another two-way deal, which may have been the better option. Ultimately, they rewarded Knight for his productivity in limited opportunities and the hard work he's put in since getting to Minnesota. I can't knock that.

[Sundog]

How has Mudiay looked for the Iowa wolves? Is he likely to work his way back to the NBA?