Are the Wolves the Most Talented Team in the West?

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

I believe a lot of national people are ranking Ant ahead of KAT because he played better than him in the playoffs. The last opportunity for national exposure more or less shit the bed and Ant looked like he belonged. If Finch can ensure KAT and Gobert can share the floor at all times, I expect KAT and DLo to bump when the pressure is on. But I were to look at the Memphis series in a vacuum, I would have assumed Ant was our best player. I agree he needs huge improvements for that to be the day to day reality, but there is enough there to be optimistic that Ant will make another jump.

Are we sure Ant was our best player in the playoffs?

Kat averaged 22/11/2 on 49/46/86 splits while playing good defense and played well in the 4th Qs shooting 48% in the 4th.

Ant averaged 25/4/3 on 46/40/82 splits while playing good defense. But in the 4th Q Ant took as many shots as Kat but shot 29% from the floor and really killed the wolves in the 4th Q with his iso play.

I love Ant but Kat in my opinion is still significantly better than Ant. Now Ant is in year 2 and I expect him to take a very nice leap but Ant still has that new shiny toy appeal to him, while Kat is not asthetically pleasing to watch when he starts whining all the time. Kat played bad in the play in game and in game 3. When Kat plays bad it is easier to notice because he is whining all the time. With that said Kat thrived in the playoffs when it mattered most and was the wolves best player. Ant played great but in the 4th he really struggled and his iso ball really killed the wolves and the guard play in the 4th between Ant, Dlo and Pat Bev all were bad. Now Ant is a 2nd year player so that is fine that he struggled down the stretch in his 1st ever playoffs. I just think there is a stigma to Kat, even though Kat is significantly better at this time.

Kek I like both of your posts in thread. Kat played just fine in that series. Anyone saying he shit the bed wasn't watching the same series as me. Our problem was that no one else showed up besides kat and ant.

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

Personally I think there is realistically 5 teams in the west that could win the west before injuries.

Warriors
Clippers
Wolves
Nuggets
Suns

Would of not said that before the trade. Got to stay healthy but I'm super excited for this year

This is what I would say. Top 5 in talent. Unfortunately we're not top 5 in fit, experience or consistent guard play, so we'd better get one the top couple seeds if we want to win in the first round. I think Memphis and New Orleans are nipping right behind at a very very close 6-7 in terms of talent. That's why I'm not a fan of the trade. I feel like we could have done savvy, much cheaper moves and still been top 6-7 in talent.

[WallyBall]

We are undoubtedly top 5 in talent, probably top 2 with Phoenix.
Golden states stars have lost a step, but they just know how to play as a team. And the young guys they collected look pretty impressive, they just know how to draft, no matter what pick they are at. Is Baldwin going to be another needle in the haystack?!? Not fair...

I agree with q and others, it depends on whether the collective group of Ant, Jaden, and Jalen progress.

Also can the sum of our parts rise collectively down the line? Does anyone really think Gary Payton Jr or Porter are as good as they played last year in the Bay Area? I'm skeptical. Hopefully our top of the roster guys make Prince, Jmac, Naz, Rivers, and Forbes even better

Also I really really like how this team fits together....sorry D-Loser...we will convert you one of these days!

But paper champions are just that. Let us see what happens when the lights come on and the whistle blows.

How awesome would it be if it were a timberwolves bucks finals! Big market who?

[D-Mac [enjin:19736340]]

We are undoubtedly top 5 in talent, probably top 2 with Phoenix.
Golden states stars have lost a step, but they just know how to play as a team. And the young guys they collected look pretty impressive, they just know how to draft, no matter what pick they are at. Is Baldwin going to be another needle in the haystack?!? Not fair...

I agree with q and others, it depends on whether the collective group of Ant, Jaden, and Jalen progress.

Also can the sum of our parts rise collectively down the line? Does anyone really think Gary Payton Jr or Porter are as good as they played last year in the Bay Area? I'm skeptical. Hopefully our top of the roster guys make Prince, Jmac, Naz, Rivers, and Forbes even better

Also I really really like how this team fits together....sorry D-Loser...we will convert you one of these days!

But paper champions are just that. Let us see what happens when the lights come on and the whistle blows.

How awesome would it be if it were a timberwolves bucks finals! Big market who?

Look at that clippers squad... Leonard, George, wall, Powell,Morris, Kennard, zubac, Mann, Covington. Do you think we're more talented? Gs still has curry to go with Thompson, Poole, green, Wiggins and slew of athletic big men in looney, wiseman and kuminga... I rank us after them also. Denver has jokic who is better than kat or Rudy and then Murray who is great when healthy... I'd say we're even with Denver and tied for 4th talent wise. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to a sure fire playoff team as much as the next guy.

A twolves bucks series would be just about the coolest thing ever. I just think we're a really good guard acquisition away from that being realistic. Maybe some combination of nowell and jmac both taking huge leaps, idk.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

If all are healthy, I'd put Phoenix, Golden State, Milwaukee, and Boston ahead of Minnesota in the entire league. And then you can make a case for a handful of teams for that next spot -- Minnesota included. A lot of it depends on the Timberwolves' youth taking that proverbial next step in their development.

[TAFKASP]

Anybody who thinks the Woofs are the most talented team is setting themselves up for disappointment! I think Lip may be a little high on his own supply! ;)

[worldK]

We are probably number 5 right now.

The difference maker is going to be Ant. I think Ant has established himself as "The Guy" in the playoffs. This is going to be his team moving forward.

Kat, Gobert and Dlo are already playing at their peak. They don't have another tier to climb. They may make improvements here and there but overall we are seeing them at their best already. Ant, on the other hand can still go way up and he can definitely reach the giannis, steph, lebron, kawhi, durant level; where his mere presence elevates the whole team and make them title contenders.

We used up our assets to build a top 5 team. It now depends on Ant and how high he can take us.

[Lipoli390]

Anybody who thinks the Woofs are the most talented team is setting themselves up for disappointment! I think Lip may be a little high on his own supply! ;)

Lol. It's some good stuff, SP. Wish I could share it with the entire message board. :)

[Lipoli390]

We are probably number 5 right now.

The difference maker is going to be Ant. I think Ant has established himself as "The Guy" in the playoffs. This is going to be his team moving forward.

Kat, Gobert and Dlo are already playing at their peak. They don't have another tier to climb. They may make improvements here and there but overall we are seeing them at their best already. Ant, on the other hand can still go way up and he can definitely reach the giannis, steph, lebron, kawhi, durant level; where his mere presence elevates the whole team and make them title contenders.

We used up our assets to build a top 5 team. It now depends on Ant and how high he can take us.

I agree that the biggest factor in how good the Wolves will be is Ant and his development. However, there are a lot of factors, which are all additive. There's actually a pretty small margin between the good teams and the championship contenders. So even a bunch of little improvements added together can catapult a team from #7 into the top 4. Here's the list of improvement factors I have in mind for the Wolves:

1. Adding Rudy Gobert. I didn't like the deal given the overpay and risk, but there's no doubt adding him makes the Wolves significantly better even after factoring in the loss of Beverley and Vando.

2. Adding Kyle Anderson. We shouldn't underestimate the overall upgrade Anderson brings to the roster. He's a PF who played PG in college. He has a unique skills set while also bringing a really high basketball IQ and veteran savvy.

3. Incremental improvement from KAT and DLO. I agree we shouldn't expect any major improvements from either one. But 26 year old players often continue to make incremental improvements in their games as they get more and more experience. I think these guys are more likely than many to improve because neither one has had much continuity until now. DLO has moved from team to team while KAT has experienced changing player personnel and coaching staffs repeatedly in his career to date.

4. Ant's likely improvement. As we all know, Ant is the most talented player on the Wolves. We also know that he's at that point in his career when the best players tend to improve significantly. All the reports we've heard tell us he's really working hard this summer on his game. So we should expect significant improvement from Edwards, although we should keep in mind that he's probably not going to reach his full potential for another couple years.

5. McDaniels' likely improvement. We talk a lot about Ant's likely improvement, but we should keep in mind that McDaniels is about the same age as Ant with less overall playing time in college and the NBA than Ant has had. McDaniels is a really gifted player. He should improve substantially next season.

6. Jaylen Nowell's likely improvment. Finchy is obviously really high on Nowell. He just turned 23 years old this month. He was a really good college player who has shown multiple flashes of being a very good NBA player. If he had stayed in college all 4 years like Desmond Bane, he'd be heading into only his second NBA season. Keep in mind also that Nowell has averaged less than 16 minutes per game in his three years with the Wolves and he hasn't had consistent minutes or a consistent role in those minutes. So there's reason to expect significantly improve from Nowell next season.

7. Naz Reid. Sometimes we talk about Naz as a finished product, He hasn't even turned 23 yet and if he had stayed in college all four years, he'd be an NBA rookie next season. Note also that bigs tend to progress more slowly than other players. So I think it's reasonable to expect significant improvement from Naz as well.

The addition of Gobert by itself substantially improves last season's 46-win team. When added together with the other six things I listed, we should expect this team to move from a 46-win 7th seed to a top 3 team in the West.

[Monster]

We are probably number 5 right now.

The difference maker is going to be Ant. I think Ant has established himself as "The Guy" in the playoffs. This is going to be his team moving forward.

Kat, Gobert and Dlo are already playing at their peak. They don't have another tier to climb. They may make improvements here and there but overall we are seeing them at their best already. Ant, on the other hand can still go way up and he can definitely reach the giannis, steph, lebron, kawhi, durant level; where his mere presence elevates the whole team and make them title contenders.

We used up our assets to build a top 5 team. It now depends on Ant and how high he can take us.

I agree that the biggest factor in how good the Wolves will be is Ant and his development. However, there are a lot of factors, which are all additive. There's actually a pretty small margin between the good teams and the championship contenders. So even a bunch of little improvements added together can catapult a team from #7 into the top 4. Here's the list of improvement factors I have in mind for the Wolves:

1. Adding Rudy Gobert. I didn't like the deal given the overpay and risk, but there's no doubt adding him makes the Wolves significantly better even after factoring in the loss of Beverley and Vando.

2. Adding Kyle Anderson. We shouldn't underestimate the overall upgrade Anderson brings to the roster. He's a PF who played PG in college. He has a unique skills set while also bringing a really high basketball IQ and veteran savvy.

3. Incremental improvement from KAT and DLO. I agree we shouldn't expect any major improvements from either one. But 26 year old players often continue to make incremental improvements in their games as they get more and more experience. I think these guys are more likely than many to improve because neither one has had much continuity until now. DLO has moved from team to team while KAT has experienced changing player personnel and coaching staffs repeatedly in his career to date.

4. Ant's likely improvement. As we all know, Ant is the most talented player on the Wolves. We also know that he's at that point in his career when the best players tend to improve significantly. All the reports we've heard tell us he's really working hard this summer on his game. So we should expect significant improvement from Edwards, although we should keep in mind that he's probably not going to reach his full potential for another couple years.

5. McDaniels' likely improvement. We talk a lot about Ant's likely improvement, but we should keep in mind that McDaniels is about the same age as Ant with less overall playing time in college and the NBA than Ant has had. McDaniels is a really gifted player. He should improve substantially next season.

6. Jaylen Nowell's likely improvment. Finchy is obviously really high on Nowell. He just turned 23 years old this month. He was a really good college player who has shown multiple flashes of being a very good NBA player. If he had stayed in college all 4 years like Desmond Bane, he'd be heading into only his second NBA season. Keep in mind also that Nowell has averaged less than 16 minutes per game in his three years with the Wolves and he hasn't had consistent minutes or a consistent role in those minutes. So there's reason to expect significantly improve from Nowell next season.

7. Naz Reid. Sometimes we talk about Naz as a finished product, He hasn't even turned 23 yet and if he had stayed in college all four years, he'd be an NBA rookie next season. Note also that bigs tend to progress more slowly than other players. So I think it's reasonable to expect significant improvement from Naz as well.

The addition of Gobert by itself substantially improves last season's 46-win team. When added together with the other six things I listed, we should expect this team to move from a 46-win 7th seed to a top 3 team in the West.

Lip as you mentioned I think it's certainly possible Either Russell or Towns (ideally both) elevate their game this season with the addition of Gobert. I'm not saying it's likely but it's possible. If Russell continues settling into being more of a crafty PG instead of a guy that was relied on being a scorer that could add to his value to this team. Towns could be really unlocked offensively playing with Gobert. Again wil it happen? Idk maybe this Gobert thing doesn't work but I do think both of those guys could up their game this season in one way or another. Both guys rooms steps last year towards being more winning players.

What if McLaughlin does take another step up or plays good from the start of the season? I think he ended up being a positive last year although he struggled early on in the season and didn't shoot the 3 well till March. What if he plays his role maybe plays a couple more minutes a game and shoots 35% from 3 or even better? I'm not suggesting he will ascend to being a key starter but maybe he becomes not just a solid backup PG but a pretty good one. Again this isn't something I would bank on but it could be another incremental improvement.

Getting even further down the roster...what if Nathan Knight has gotten better? If he plays maybe he helps a bit more than last year?

Will vet players like Rivers or Forbes be more effective in their roles than Someome like Okogie and Layman were? Will Wendell Moore be better than Bolmaro? Do the Wolves add another vet still? Who do they sign as their other 2-way.

Not everything is going to go well. There will be injuries someone will regress some or not really play as well as expected etc but there are still some paths for this roster to be better in space here and there which can add up. In addition sometimes the roster just works. Even with the flaws last year's team had they ended up putting together a pretty good team and some of that was Finch and the team played to their strengths. If the Wolves can do that again and stay relatively healthy they could be a pretty good team.