Report: Wolves players have been frustrated with Rudy Gobert

[AbeVigodaLive]

I don't know, it doesn't really seem like a thing. We haven't heard any rumblings of this. It's a frustrating season thus far, but I haven't seen any figure pointing.

But would it be surprising if there is internal drama? It's very common in the NBA... especially on struggling teams.

The Wolves have several other factors to exacerbate discord even more.

But doesn't internal drama happen on good teams too? Even all-time great teams?

Brooklyn - THE poster-child of drama! - has reeled off 12 straight wins.

Sure. It can.

As for the Brooklyn stuff... how much of that is player vs. player? By all reports, Durant still loves playing with the team's second-best player.

[Q-is-here]

I don't know, it doesn't really seem like a thing. We haven't heard any rumblings of this. It's a frustrating season thus far, but I haven't seen any figure pointing.

But would it be surprising if there is internal drama? It's very common in the NBA... especially on struggling teams.

The Wolves have several other factors to exacerbate discord even more.

But doesn't internal drama happen on good teams too? Even all-time great teams?

Brooklyn - THE poster-child of drama! - has reeled off 12 straight wins.

Sure. It can.

As for the Brooklyn stuff... how much of that is player vs. player? By all reports, Durant still loves playing with the team's second-best player.

Don't know with Brooklyn.

The Wolves are in a transitional phase right now and to me the lack of a clear leadership hierarchy among the players might be the bigger issue.

It's poised to become Ant's team, but....he's not quite there yet. Whether it's coming into camp a bit out of shape or blatantly ignoring Gobert when he's rolling up a smaller player to the hoop, he's not ready yet in my opinion. On the other hand, he has by far the most upside and charisma of any player on the roster. And he is starting to prove it on the court after a slow start.

It's not KAT's team, first by dint of his injury and being out of commission for so long, but also he seems incapable of being a credible leader of men. He's too soft and carries too many grievances.

It's not Gobert's team, as he hasn't proven to move the needle in a way that translates to wins (whether that's his fault or not) and offensively there is very little he can do as a protagonist....he's entirely dependent on others.

And it's definitely not DLO's team.

So we muddle along with a new-ish head coach and some well-respected vets, but otherwise, there is no hierarchy.

We REALLY need Ant to continue on his growth trajectory, on and off the floor!

You just wait Abe, this will all come together NEXT year! ;-)

[AbeVigodaLive]

The Promise of Hope! How novel. I'm hooked!!!

As we've discussed previously, we always hear about how successful teams have a clear hierarchy and everybody knows their roles. Heck, we heard it in MN just last season.

Things like knowing when you're playing, how much, and what's expected of you gets mentioned time and time again from NBA players. Between new players, a new system (on both offense and defense), new roles and many, many injuries... the season has been disjointed from the very beginning.

It's been close to a perfect storm for preventing the kind of stability so many NBA players thrive in. I'm 100% certain this will be mentioned IF the Timberwolves improve significantly the 2nd half of the season. The rub is that Towns is still out "many" weeks per Jon Krawczysnki.

I just don't know how much the team can gel (or how much better they can get) without such an important player. And even if they do improve... how much regression can we expect once he returns? For such a grand experiment (two bigs) the Wolves are trying... there's going to be precious little evidence whether it actually has a chance to work or not.

[60WinTim]

I don't know, it doesn't really seem like a thing. We haven't heard any rumblings of this. It's a frustrating season thus far, but I haven't seen any figure pointing.

But would it be surprising if there is internal drama? It's very common in the NBA... especially on struggling teams.

The Wolves have several other factors to exacerbate discord even more.

But doesn't internal drama happen on good teams too? Even all-time great teams?

Brooklyn - THE poster-child of drama! - has reeled off 12 straight wins.

Sure. It can.

As for the Brooklyn stuff... how much of that is player vs. player? By all reports, Durant still loves playing with the team's second-best player.

Don't know with Brooklyn.

The Wolves are in a transitional phase right now and to me the lack of a clear leadership hierarchy among the players might be the bigger issue.

It's poised to become Ant's team, but....he's not quite there yet. Whether it's coming into camp a bit out of shape or blatantly ignoring Gobert when he's rolling up a smaller player to the hoop, he's not ready yet in my opinion. On the other hand, he has by far the most upside and charisma of any player on the roster. And he is starting to prove it on the court after a slow start.

It's not KAT's team, first by dint of his injury and being out of commission for so long, but also he seems incapable of being a credible leader of men. He's too soft and carries too many grievances.

It's not Gobert's team, as he hasn't proven to move the needle in a way that translates to wins (whether that's his fault or not) and offensively there is very little he can do as a protagonist....he's entirely dependent on others.

And it's definitely not DLO's team.

So we muddle along with a new-ish head coach and some well-respected vets, but otherwise, there is no hierarchy.

We REALLY need Ant to continue on his growth trajectory, on and off the floor!

You just wait Abe, this will all come together NEXT year! ;-)

Does this mean you are opening the door for this to be Jaden's team?!? :-D

While the winning has been slow to come, the growth (leap) of Ant and Jaden is certainly progressing. We just need the winning to follow.

[Q-is-here]

The Promise of Hope! How novel. I'm hooked!!!

As we've discussed previously, we always hear about how successful teams have a clear hierarchy and everybody knows their roles. Heck, we heard it in MN just last season.

Things like knowing when you're playing, how much, and what's expected of you gets mentioned time and time again from NBA players. Between new players, a new system (on both offense and defense), new roles and many, many injuries... the season has been disjointed from the very beginning.

It's been close to a perfect storm for preventing the kind of stability so many NBA players thrive in. I'm 100% certain this will be mentioned IF the Timberwolves improve significantly the 2nd half of the season. The rub is that Towns is still out "many" weeks per Jon Krawczysnki.


I just don't know how much the team can gel (or how much better they can get) without such an important player. And even if they do improve... how much regression can we expect once he returns? For such a grand experiment (two bigs) the Wolves are trying... there's going to be precious little evidence whether it actually has a chance to work or not.

Well, well, well....how convenient! That buys Connelly time and he has a ready-made excuse when pressed on how things didn't work out this season. "They just never had enough time playing together.". This fits your script of front office excuse-making to perfection!

Honestly, at this point, I just want to see Prince and little JMac get healthy along with keeping Kyle Anderson, Gobert, McDaniels, and Ant healthy. Those 6 guys. I want to see how this team does with those 6 at the top of the rotation along with DLO and whoever else is healthy enough to play.

[Q-is-here]

I don't know, it doesn't really seem like a thing. We haven't heard any rumblings of this. It's a frustrating season thus far, but I haven't seen any figure pointing.

But would it be surprising if there is internal drama? It's very common in the NBA... especially on struggling teams.

The Wolves have several other factors to exacerbate discord even more.

But doesn't internal drama happen on good teams too? Even all-time great teams?

Brooklyn - THE poster-child of drama! - has reeled off 12 straight wins.

Sure. It can.

As for the Brooklyn stuff... how much of that is player vs. player? By all reports, Durant still loves playing with the team's second-best player.

Don't know with Brooklyn.

The Wolves are in a transitional phase right now and to me the lack of a clear leadership hierarchy among the players might be the bigger issue.

It's poised to become Ant's team, but....he's not quite there yet. Whether it's coming into camp a bit out of shape or blatantly ignoring Gobert when he's rolling up a smaller player to the hoop, he's not ready yet in my opinion. On the other hand, he has by far the most upside and charisma of any player on the roster. And he is starting to prove it on the court after a slow start.

It's not KAT's team, first by dint of his injury and being out of commission for so long, but also he seems incapable of being a credible leader of men. He's too soft and carries too many grievances.

It's not Gobert's team, as he hasn't proven to move the needle in a way that translates to wins (whether that's his fault or not) and offensively there is very little he can do as a protagonist....he's entirely dependent on others.

And it's definitely not DLO's team.

So we muddle along with a new-ish head coach and some well-respected vets, but otherwise, there is no hierarchy.

We REALLY need Ant to continue on his growth trajectory, on and off the floor!

You just wait Abe, this will all come together NEXT year! ;-)

Does this mean you are opening the door for this to be Jaden's team?!? :-D

While the winning has been slow to come, the growth (leap) of Ant and Jaden is certainly progressing. We just need the winning to follow.

Indeed Tim. I always believe one of the reasons we traded for Gobert was so that Ant and Jaden could be in multiple competitive playoff series early in their careers such that by the time they reach their prime they are battle tested. It wasn't just about WIN NOW, but preparing for a potential post-KAT/post-Gobert future. Well, at least that was the plan as we sit here today on the outside of the play-in games. Argh!

But yes....It appears both these guys are taking a step forward this season. We need that trajectory to continue for both of them.

[TheFuture]

I don't know, it doesn't really seem like a thing. We haven't heard any rumblings of this. It's a frustrating season thus far, but I haven't seen any figure pointing.

But would it be surprising if there is internal drama? It's very common in the NBA... especially on struggling teams.

The Wolves have several other factors to exacerbate discord even more.

But doesn't internal drama happen on good teams too? Even all-time great teams?

Brooklyn - THE poster-child of drama! - has reeled off 12 straight wins.

Sure. It can.

As for the Brooklyn stuff... how much of that is player vs. player? By all reports, Durant still loves playing with the team's second-best player.

Don't know with Brooklyn.

The Wolves are in a transitional phase right now and to me the lack of a clear leadership hierarchy among the players might be the bigger issue.

It's poised to become Ant's team, but....he's not quite there yet. Whether it's coming into camp a bit out of shape or blatantly ignoring Gobert when he's rolling up a smaller player to the hoop, he's not ready yet in my opinion. On the other hand, he has by far the most upside and charisma of any player on the roster. And he is starting to prove it on the court after a slow start.

It's not KAT's team, first by dint of his injury and being out of commission for so long, but also he seems incapable of being a credible leader of men. He's too soft and carries too many grievances.

It's not Gobert's team, as he hasn't proven to move the needle in a way that translates to wins (whether that's his fault or not) and offensively there is very little he can do as a protagonist....he's entirely dependent on others.

And it's definitely not DLO's team.

So we muddle along with a new-ish head coach and some well-respected vets, but otherwise, there is no hierarchy.

We REALLY need Ant to continue on his growth trajectory, on and off the floor!

You just wait Abe, this will all come together NEXT year! ;-)

Does this mean you are opening the door for this to be Jaden's team?!? :-D

While the winning has been slow to come, the growth (leap) of Ant and Jaden is certainly progressing. We just need the winning to follow.

Indeed Tim. I always believe one of the reasons we traded for Gobert was so that Ant and Jaden could be in multiple competitive playoff series early in their careers such that by the time they reach their prime they are battle tested. It wasn't just about WIN NOW, but preparing for a potential post-KAT/post-Gobert future. Well, at least that was the plan as we sit here today on the outside of the play-in games. Argh!

But yes....It appears both these guys are taking a step forward this season. We need that trajectory to continue for both of them.

They made the playoffs last year, we're outcoached imo or they advance, and were poised to run it back again if they just sat and added Rivers and Anderson to the existing roster. Imagine a bunch of 20-25 year olds in Ant, Jaden, Reid, Vando, Nowell, Moore, Kessler, Jmac, Beasley, Garza getting battle tested for a couple years under the tutelage of Beverley, Anderson, Rivers, and Prince while retaining your own picks and having the luxury option of keeping or trading DLo and KAT. That is just too good to be true right?

[kekgeek]

I don't know, it doesn't really seem like a thing. We haven't heard any rumblings of this. It's a frustrating season thus far, but I haven't seen any figure pointing.

But would it be surprising if there is internal drama? It's very common in the NBA... especially on struggling teams.

The Wolves have several other factors to exacerbate discord even more.

But doesn't internal drama happen on good teams too? Even all-time great teams?

Brooklyn - THE poster-child of drama! - has reeled off 12 straight wins.

Sure. It can.

As for the Brooklyn stuff... how much of that is player vs. player? By all reports, Durant still loves playing with the team's second-best player.

Don't know with Brooklyn.

The Wolves are in a transitional phase right now and to me the lack of a clear leadership hierarchy among the players might be the bigger issue.

It's poised to become Ant's team, but....he's not quite there yet. Whether it's coming into camp a bit out of shape or blatantly ignoring Gobert when he's rolling up a smaller player to the hoop, he's not ready yet in my opinion. On the other hand, he has by far the most upside and charisma of any player on the roster. And he is starting to prove it on the court after a slow start.

It's not KAT's team, first by dint of his injury and being out of commission for so long, but also he seems incapable of being a credible leader of men. He's too soft and carries too many grievances.

It's not Gobert's team, as he hasn't proven to move the needle in a way that translates to wins (whether that's his fault or not) and offensively there is very little he can do as a protagonist....he's entirely dependent on others.

And it's definitely not DLO's team.

So we muddle along with a new-ish head coach and some well-respected vets, but otherwise, there is no hierarchy.

We REALLY need Ant to continue on his growth trajectory, on and off the floor!

You just wait Abe, this will all come together NEXT year! ;-)

Does this mean you are opening the door for this to be Jaden's team?!? :-D

While the winning has been slow to come, the growth (leap) of Ant and Jaden is certainly progressing. We just need the winning to follow.

Indeed Tim. I always believe one of the reasons we traded for Gobert was so that Ant and Jaden could be in multiple competitive playoff series early in their careers such that by the time they reach their prime they are battle tested. It wasn't just about WIN NOW, but preparing for a potential post-KAT/post-Gobert future. Well, at least that was the plan as we sit here today on the outside of the play-in games. Argh!

But yes....It appears both these guys are taking a step forward this season. We need that trajectory to continue for both of them.

They made the playoffs last year, we're outcoached imo or they advance, and were poised to run it back again if they just sat and added Rivers and Anderson to the existing roster. Imagine a bunch of 20-25 year olds in Ant, Jaden, Reid, Vando, Nowell, Moore, Kessler, Jmac, Beasley, Garza getting battle tested for a couple years under the tutelage of Beverley, Anderson, Rivers, and Prince while retaining your own picks and having the luxury option of keeping or trading DLo and KAT. That is just too good to be true right?

You realize there is amount of people on a roster limit right. FA last year were layman and knight. Ok you bring in Anderson and rivers and no roster room for the 3 rookies not including

The reason the wolves made this move is because the young guys were going to get paid and the guys were traded outside of Vando were becoming a free agent and this last offseason and technicality this offseason was the only time the wolves were going to have cap space during the Ant era.

Yes the gobert trade hasn't gone as planned but it's not like the wolves were in a fantastic spot before the trade. Once again it comes down to Ant taking that to 15 player in the nba jump

[Q-is-here]

It is funny how folks romanticize last season and the roster. It was a fun and scrappy group to be sure, but in reality there were many moments where in real time we were absolutely beside ourselves with their play and wanted to jettison certain guys (and not just DLO!).

Also, things change. Players change. Teams change. Guys get healthy. Guys get hurt. There are so many variables. We just don't know how things would have turned out this season if we hadn't made the trade.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

It is funny how folks romanticize last season and the roster. It was a fun and scrappy group to be sure, but in reality there were many moments where in real time we were absolutely beside ourselves with their play and wanted to jettison certain guys (and not just DLO!).

Also, things change. Players change. Teams change. Guys get healthy. Guys get hurt. There are so many variables. We just don't know how things would have turned out this season if we hadn't made the trade.

I think we can still appreciate that team and what made them legitimately good -- not lucky -- while also acknowledging that they still needed to make adjustments to the roster. And there were certainly ways to make those adjustments or additions without splurging heavily.

I also think most of us would prefer that same roster and the bevy of draft picks over what we have currently, which is a sad state to be in considering everything that's happened.