FNG wrote:I've often said that Russell was one of my favorite players on the team from a personality standpoint. His interviews were informative and straightforward and demonstrated a high BB IQ. That IQ didn't translate to the court though, especially on defense. I don't think DLo was an absolute douche, and I know he developed some friendships on the team. But for some reason he's a guy who seems to wear out his welcome, for one reason or another...it seems like he's been on the trade block his entire career. And for weeks I've been intrigued by what Jon K has not been saying on the Barreiro show. Dan doesn't need to play nice because he really doesn't need access to the players to do his job, and he has been effusive in his belief that Russell needed to go. But Jon K is different, and it's been clear to me for a while that what he has been saying out loud is about half of what he wanted to say...the chuckles between him and Dan on amny occasions indicated that. And Jon is Minnesota Nice incarnate, so he's also never going to go nuclear in a column. But what he has said out loud and what he has written comes through loud and clear to me...DLo had to be moved, and the intention of the team to move him predates Rudy. I won't cheer for DLo now because, like others, I don't cheer for the Lakers. But I will start cheering for DLo again once the Lakers move him...he lasted two years with them last stint, but I think this one will be shorter.
Many of us here, including me, thought we wouldn't get much back for Russell because of his reputation around the league. But we were wrong...to get a perfect fit veteran PG plus a wing with some upside is a terrific return.
I think the reason why Russell has been on a number of teams over the years has more to do with his value on the court than any issue with him personally. Russell wasn't good enough for every franchise that moved him but other teams wanted him and one of those was the Wolves. Russell was either good enough or had the potential to be a player that teams wanted and then wasn't good enough to build around. It will not be surprising if he is on another team next year. Will that because Russell is some cranky or bad dude? No and it's not hard to come up with reasons why the Lakers would move on including some general dysfunction on that team which has been there for quite some time now and to some extent has been there the whole time that Russell has been gone.
FNG wrote:I've often said that Russell was one of my favorite players on the team from a personality standpoint. His interviews were informative and straightforward and demonstrated a high BB IQ. That IQ didn't translate to the court though, especially on defense. I don't think DLo was an absolute douche, and I know he developed some friendships on the team. But for some reason he's a guy who seems to wear out his welcome, for one reason or another...it seems like he's been on the trade block his entire career. And for weeks I've been intrigued by what Jon K has not been saying on the Barreiro show. Dan doesn't need to play nice because he really doesn't need access to the players to do his job, and he has been effusive in his belief that Russell needed to go. But Jon K is different, and it's been clear to me for a while that what he has been saying out loud is about half of what he wanted to say...the chuckles between him and Dan on amny occasions indicated that. And Jon is Minnesota Nice incarnate, so he's also never going to go nuclear in a column. But what he has said out loud and what he has written comes through loud and clear to me...DLo had to be moved, and the intention of the team to move him predates Rudy. I won't cheer for DLo now because, like others, I don't cheer for the Lakers. But I will start cheering for DLo again once the Lakers move him...he lasted two years with them last stint, but I think this one will be shorter.
Many of us here, including me, thought we wouldn't get much back for Russell because of his reputation around the league. But we were wrong...to get a perfect fit veteran PG plus a wing with some upside is a terrific return.
I think the reason why Russell has been on a number of teams over the years has more to do with his value on the court than any issue with him personally. Russell wasn't good enough for every franchise that moved him but other teams wanted him and one of those was the Wolves. Russell was either good enough or had the potential to be a player that teams wanted and then wasn't good enough to build around. It will not be surprising if he is on another team next year. Will that because Russell is some cranky or bad dude? No and it's not hard to come up with reasons why the Lakers would move on including some general dysfunction on that team which has been there for quite some time now and to some extent has been there the whole time that Russell has been gone.
I guess we really don't know., and there could be a variety of reasons. But generally where there's smoke, there's fire. And there was certainly a lot of smoke the first time Russell was shipped out.
Dlo definitely earned his way out of LA with immaturity. But his departure from Brooklyn had more to do with the opportunity to get Durant. And Golden State wound up with Dlo because they wanted to maintain Durant's salary slot, even though Dlo wasn't a great fit. And then Rosas really wanted Dlo. The Wolves trading DLo was more about fit and financials than anything else, even if there was some mild friction building. I don't buy the douche bit.
Obviously I get grouped in with the Dlo haters, but am NOT a Dlo hater, I'm a hater of paying Dlo anywhere near a max contract... huge difference there. I know I don't post here often, but please don't categorize me as a Dlo hater, just because I thought the name was funny and he was overpaid. I don't think he's a douche. I've always said he seems like a good guy and a solid teammate and I still think that. He was 100% justified in ripping on Gobert. For what Rudy makes, he sucks. He's a Worse value than Dlo ever was. My issue on this board wasn't as much Dlo, it was the irrational Dlo love and people thinking he was worth the trade and the contract he's been paid. If DLo would have been making 15/year over his twolves tenure, I actually would have been a fan. When you have a 40 mil a year center who can't catch a pass and can't make a shot outside of two feet, you damn well better have people pissed, if you have any heart at all. I actually like Dlo more now for being pissed about the whole Rudy thing, because it was total BS from day one. The fact that Dlo ends up being the scapegoat to cover TC being a complete retard is an absolute joke. Good luck Dlo.
D-Mac wrote:Obviously I get grouped in with the Dlo haters, but am NOT a Dlo hater, I'm a hater of paying Dlo anywhere near a max contract... huge difference there. I know I don't post here often, but please don't categorize me as a Dlo hater, just because I thought the name was funny and he was overpaid. I don't think he's a douche. I've always said he seems like a good guy and a solid teammate and I still think that. He was 100% justified in ripping on Gobert. For what Rudy makes, he sucks. He's a Worse value than Dlo ever was. My issue on this board wasn't as much Dlo, it was the irrational Dlo love and people thinking he was worth the trade and the contract he's been paid. If DLo would have been making 15/year over his twolves tenure, I actually would have been a fan. When you have a 40 mil a year center who can't catch a pass and can't make a shot outside of two feet, you damn well better have people pissed, if you have any heart at all. I actually like Dlo more now for being pissed about the whole Rudy thing, because it was total BS from day one. The fact that Dlo ends up being the scapegoat to cover TC being a complete retard is an absolute joke. Good luck Dlo.
Good post, DL. Like you, my issue wasn't DLO, it was the trade that brought him here and the money he was paid. But the DLO deal looks brilliant now compared to the Gobert deal. :). I also applaud DLO for voicing his frustration with Gobert's play. Can't fault someone for speaking truth even if it's an unpleasant one. In fact, it's typically the unpleasant truths that people in power need to hear. My sense is that TC doesn't want to hear it and that's not a good sign. As a fan, I'm not mad at Rudy Gobert. He is what he is and I don't believe his issues have anything to do with effort. He didn't ask to come to the Wolves. I'm unhappy with the Wolves front office for making such a dunderheaded trade that nearly every NBA observer thought was lopsided in favor of the Jazz. Here's my favorite quote from TC just a few weeks before the Gobert trade: Tim Connelly: "I'm here not to mess it up. This team is on the right direction." While watching the video of him saying that I looked really closely to see if it was an imposter. It had to be, right? There's another quote where TC acknowledges that his strength is drafting, not trades. Self awareness is a strength, but only if you use it to guide your actions. Nuff said. Let's see how the season plays out.
I'm also far from a DLo hater...quite the opposite, in fact. But I'm an unabashed Wolves lover, and it was pretty clear from the start that our ceiling wasn't high enough with DLo as our PG.
FNG wrote:I'm also far from a DLo hater...quite the opposite, in fact. But I'm an unabashed Wolves lover, and it was pretty clear from the start that our ceiling wasn't high enough with DLo as our PG.
Jon Krawczynski has already backtracked much of these comments, by the way. His Twitter responses tell a different story than what he said on the radio. It was more about frustration than toxicity. Frustration can be a good thing. It shows you give a shit. It's just a shame that D'Angelo Russell's character was dragged through the mud on his way out considering everything he did for the team and the fans. We can certainly close this chapter of the Timberwolves and move forward, but I think this thread jumped the gun on faulty assumptions.
D-Mac wrote:Obviously I get grouped in with the Dlo haters, but am NOT a Dlo hater, I'm a hater of paying Dlo anywhere near a max contract... huge difference there. I know I don't post here often, but please don't categorize me as a Dlo hater, just because I thought the name was funny and he was overpaid. I don't think he's a douche. I've always said he seems like a good guy and a solid teammate and I still think that. He was 100% justified in ripping on Gobert. For what Rudy makes, he sucks. He's a Worse value than Dlo ever was. My issue on this board wasn't as much Dlo, it was the irrational Dlo love and people thinking he was worth the trade and the contract he's been paid. If DLo would have been making 15/year over his twolves tenure, I actually would have been a fan. When you have a 40 mil a year center who can't catch a pass and can't make a shot outside of two feet, you damn well better have people pissed, if you have any heart at all. I actually like Dlo more now for being pissed about the whole Rudy thing, because it was total BS from day one. The fact that Dlo ends up being the scapegoat to cover TC being a complete retard is an absolute joke. Good luck Dlo.
Good post, DL. Like you, my issue wasn't DLO, it was the trade that brought him here and the money he was paid. But the DLO deal looks brilliant now compared to the Gobert deal. :). I also applaud DLO for voicing his frustration with Gobert's play. Can't fault someone for speaking truth even if it's an unpleasant one. In fact, it's typically the unpleasant truths that people in power need to hear. My sense is that TC doesn't want to hear it and that's not a good sign. As a fan, I'm not mad at Rudy Gobert. He is what he is and I don't believe his issues have anything to do with effort. He didn't ask to come to the Wolves. I'm unhappy with the Wolves front office for making such a dunderheaded trade that nearly every NBA observer thought was lopsided in favor of the Jazz. Here's my favorite quote from TC just a few weeks before the Gobert trade: Tim Connelly: "I'm here not to mess it up. This team is on the right direction." While watching the video of him saying that I looked really closely to see if it was an imposter. It had to be, right? There's another quote where TC acknowledges that his strength is drafting, not trades. Self awareness is a strength, but only if you use it to guide your actions. Nuff said. Let's see how the season plays out.
Exactly! I don't hate Rudy at all. His effort seems very good and he seems like a great teammate. He's another guy that I'd like at 15/year. TC has made several good moves, but when you make one huge move that bad, the good small moves don't really matter. Those TC quotes always make me laugh. I don't know if it was an emotional decision or what, but when you're making what he's making to sit around and watch basketball, that can't happen and he should no longer have a job. I don't hate him, it's seems like he's trying, but that's inexcusable. Like I said from the start, it was lazy (and you were saying similar things from the start). I don't have a problem giving up 3-4 first round picks for a player, but Rudy was a terrible choice. I would have offered 2 firsts and the same players (except Kessler) for Brandon Clarke. How great would he look starting next to Kat?! There were SO many better options than Rudy! Lazy, lazy, lazy. This team can still have a bright future obviously, but I think we're a first round exit this year, when we could have gone farther with some smaller, less expensive tweaks. Again, Slo Mo signing was great, but it just doesn't matter much when you make a trade that stupid.
Camden wrote:Jon Krawczynski has already backtracked much of these comments, by the way. His Twitter responses tell a different story than what he said on the radio. It was more about frustration than toxicity. Frustration can be a good thing. It shows you give a shit. It's just a shame that D'Angelo Russell's character was dragged through the mud on his way out considering everything he did for the team and the fans. We can certainly close this chapter of the Timberwolves and move forward, but I think this thread jumped the gun on faulty assumptions.
I've read the same twitter responses and agree with you wholeheartedly. I'll add that while DLO's character was being assailed, the more important issue was overlooked - i.e., the impact of the trade on the Wolves the remainder of this season. Watching DLO last night with the Lakers was a reminder that we're losing quite a bit.
