Around the League 2022-23

[Lipoli390]

Lip, do you approve of the Gobert trade at this point?

Lol. Love it, Cool. Thanks for giving me a laugh after watching that horrible loss to the Warriors. :)

[Lipoli390]

The Kings just signed PJ Dozier. That's the sort of late-season signing you make when you're a true contender. He was in the Wolves organization and performing well in he G-League. The Wolves traded DLO for Conley and some more forward-looking minor assets. I'm having a hard time tracking the thinking of TC and his front office executive team.

I'm confused about why you are upset we didn't sign a 26 year old PJ Dozier

I would have signed Dozier even i don't think this Wolves team has a chance to do anything this season. If TC is serious about winning this season, which i thing it he is, then it would have made sense to sign Dozier and cut Rivers. That seems like an easy call to me. Would it have made a material different in the outcome of the season? Probably not given the state of this team. But I can see Dozier making a material positive difference for the Kings because they're a legislative playoff contender this season.

Thanks for the response.

I'm not sure Dozier would be a good representative in the legislature or not. I think they maybe should have gone with Jeremy Lin since he went to Harvard. :)

Lol. The Kings are a legitimate playoff team But maybe the Wolves are a legislative playoff team. :)

[Coolbreeze44]

Lip, do you approve of the Gobert trade at this point?

Lol. Love it, Cool. Thanks for giving me a laugh after watching that horrible loss to the Warriors. :)

Hahahaha. Yes, as Wolves fans we all need some levity to help us cope.

[Wolvesfan21]

Quinn Synder signing with the Hawks. Good for them.

I got to wonder if constantly losing to below .500 teams has to fall some on Chris Finch. It's amazing how terrible they are to sub .500 squads.

How can one franchise always disappoint over and over and over for 20 years. (playing weak and pathetic against other loser squads like themselves)

Maybe the secret TC and Chris Finch plan is to make the Wolves so bad that the fans will beg them to move the team (coming from new ownership).

[WildWolf2813]

Quinn Synder signing with the Hawks. Good for them.

I got to wonder if constantly losing to below .500 teams has to fall some on Chris Finch. It's amazing how terrible they are to sub .500 squads.

How can one franchise always disappoint over and over and over for 20 years. (playing weak and pathetic against other loser squads like themselves)

Maybe the secret TC and Chris Finch plan is to make the Wolves so bad that the fans will beg them to move the team (coming from new ownership).

They didn't have to try so hard.

[thedoper]

What would have the wins prediction thread looked like with the knowledge KAT was going to be out for 50-60 games? I think most predictions would have us right around where we are right now. In spite of all the letdowns this hasnt been a lost season at all imo. The door to the next step is clearly there for both Ant and Jaden. They just need to take it. Happy to keep KAT in the mix until it is crystal clear it is not working. I couldnt think of a worse time to trade Rudy then this offseason unless he has a killer play in, playoff stretch.

[Lipoli390]

What would have the wins prediction thread looked like with the knowledge KAT was going to be out for 50-60 games? I think most predictions would have us right around where we are right now. In spite of all the letdowns this hasnt been a lost season at all imo. The door to the next step is clearly there for both Ant and Jaden. They just need to take it. Happy to keep KAT in the mix until it is crystal clear it is not working. I couldnt think of a worse time to trade Rudy then this offseason unless he has a killer play in, playoff stretch.

I would have predicted a slightly better record than the current record if I had known KAT would miss 55 games. I would have expected the team to win more of the 25 games KAT and Rudy played together. I would have also expected wins against some of the bad teams the Wolves lost after KAT went down. But I've since come to realize that Rudy isn't as good as I thought he was. I never thought he was a very good fit and I hated how much we gave up for him, but I still thought he'd be better than he's been. On the other hand, I never thought this team would be particularly good with Rudy and no KAT. I absolutely think this team would have a significantly better record if, instead of Rudy, they had Vando, Beasley, Beverley and Kessler. Moreover, they'd also have all their 2023 first round pick as consolation. But that's history.

[AbeVigodaLive]

What would have the wins prediction thread looked like with the knowledge KAT was going to be out for 50-60 games? I think most predictions would have us right around where we are right now. In spite of all the letdowns this hasnt been a lost season at all imo. The door to the next step is clearly there for both Ant and Jaden. They just need to take it. Happy to keep KAT in the mix until it is crystal clear it is not working. I couldnt think of a worse time to trade Rudy then this offseason unless he has a killer play in, playoff stretch.

I would have predicted a slightly better record than the current record if I had known KAT would miss 55 games. I would have expected the team to win more of the 25 games KAT and Rudy played together. I would have also expected wins against some of the bad teams the Wolves lost after KAT went down. But I've since come to realize that Rudy isn't as good as I thought he was. I never thought he was a very good fit and I hated how much we gave up for him, but I still thought he'd be better than he's been. On the other hand, I never thought this team would be particularly good with Rudy and no KAT. I absolutely think this team would have a significantly better record if, instead of Rudy, they had Vando, Beasley, Beverley and Kessler. Moreover, they'd also have all their 2023 first round pick as consolation. But that's history.

And there's context to consider.

For example... the Timberwolves are repeatedly and consistently losing to the worst teams in the league in similar ways... with "lack of urgency and effort" as described by the coach, players and writers close to the team.

So while I'd agree that a .500 record without Towns actually sounds pretty solid in a vacuum... we've all experienced HOW this team has made it to this point. And I can't imagine a single one of us on this forum has immensely enjoyed this season or appreciated the (in)consistent effort from this squad.

Personally, I've found it to be very much a drag. Whether we go back to the Gobert trade itself, or the listless losses to the Pistons or Rockets or whoever, to the 4th quarter failures in the past couple of weeks... it's been a slog.

And there's just no way I can look at the results thus far and think "Hey, not bad. This team deserves my money/attention/patience/excuses/et al."



[Note: Last night was a good, but not even close to the most glaring example. The Warriors crowd knew their local team was undermanned and showed their appreciation when they battled back into the game largely due to grit and hustle.]

[WildWolf2813]

They'd still be mediocre. We'd just be crying for Kessler to play instead of Garza.

and then tanking wouldn't be so bad because we'd have a pick. That's about it.

[thedoper]

What would have the wins prediction thread looked like with the knowledge KAT was going to be out for 50-60 games? I think most predictions would have us right around where we are right now. In spite of all the letdowns this hasnt been a lost season at all imo. The door to the next step is clearly there for both Ant and Jaden. They just need to take it. Happy to keep KAT in the mix until it is crystal clear it is not working. I couldnt think of a worse time to trade Rudy then this offseason unless he has a killer play in, playoff stretch.

I would have predicted a slightly better record than the current record if I had known KAT would miss 55 games. I would have expected the team to win more of the 25 games KAT and Rudy played together. I would have also expected wins against some of the bad teams the Wolves lost after KAT went down. But I've since come to realize that Rudy isn't as good as I thought he was. I never thought he was a very good fit and I hated how much we gave up for him, but I still thought he'd be better than he's been. On the other hand, I never thought this team would be particularly good with Rudy and no KAT. I absolutely think this team would have a significantly better record if, instead of Rudy, they had Vando, Beasley, Beverley and Kessler. Moreover, they'd also have all their 2023 first round pick as consolation. But that's history.

And there's context to consider.

For example... the Timberwolves are repeatedly and consistently losing to the worst teams in the league in similar ways... with "lack of urgency and effort" as described by the coach, players and writers close to the team.

So while I'd agree that a .500 record without Towns actually sounds pretty solid in a vacuum... we've all experienced HOW this team has made it to this point. And I can't imagine a single one of us on this forum has immensely enjoyed this season or appreciated the (in)consistent effort from this squad.

Personally, I've found it to be very much a drag. Whether we go back to the Gobert trade itself, or the listless losses to the Pistons or Rockets or whoever, to the 4th quarter failures in the past couple of weeks... it's been a slog.

And there's just no way I can look at the results thus far and think "Hey, not bad. This team deserves my money/attention/patience/excuses/et al."



[Note: Last night was a good, but not even close to the most glaring example. The Warriors crowd knew their local team was undermanned and showed their appreciation when they battled back into the game largely due to grit and hustle.]

I have enjoyed the season. I have looked at it completely from the standpoint of how has the future of our team (Ant and Jaden) developed. There have been all sorts of ups and downs but I really think the development of these kids has been really fun to watch. Especially since we have been through so many iterations of teams lead by players in the early 20s being God awful. Rudy has always just been a glue guy, I feel he's played that role for the most part with this team. I did have higher expectations but all of them were due to Towns being a significant part of the talent on this roster.