***The official respectful opinions only thread***

[TAFKASP]

This thread is stupid........



Sorry I had to do it.

No, no, no, doper...you're doing it all wrong. The correct response would be "LST is stupid for starting this stupid thread!"

Actually to respect the threads purpose I think the following is the correct usage: "With all due respect, LST is a tard for even posting this fecal matter."

The secret is offering your respect in advance, kinda like how people like to say "No offense intended, but..." just before they go and offend you! The appearance of respect is supposed to offset the disrespect and make the comment neutral.

[A Friendly Flatulence [enjin:8907904]]

I was thinking more along the lines of "eat shit & die" myself

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Khans- I agree with you that it's generally not possible to know exactly what you have with a rookie, but that shouldn't preclude Flip from finding out as much as he can about his younger players in the remaining weeks of the season. He pretty much knows what he has in Young and Martin...both the good and the bad...so there's no need to evaluate them. Payne, LaVine and Bennett are still mysteries though, and Flip can learn a lot more about them if he increases their minutes. Frankly, I think the Wolves would win more games if he played the veterans more, but we don't need wins. We're only 4 1/2 games ahead of Orlando for the 5th spot, and if they and the Lakers pass us and one other team moves up into the top three, we would find ourselves in the dreaded 6th spot in the draft. I don't know about you guys, but I can't find a player after the Big 5 that really excites me.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Big 5 should include: Okafor, Towns, Russell, Johnson and Mudiay.

Even if we did end up at 6, I'd be pretty good with Cauley-Stein. I think he's going to be a superb defender and should be a very nice drive and dish target. High efficiency, small roll on offense. Plays without the ball. Good athlete with terrific hands (played WR in high school).

I wouldn't take him over the five I previously named, but if we had to SETTLE with WCS, that's still a win in my book.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I agree with you on the Big 5, Cam, although my opinion of Mudiay is based solely on other's comments since I have never seen him play. But WCS at 6 is exactly why I have a sick feeling in my stomach that we end up with the 6th pick. While he is indeed a good defensive center, I don't see him as much better if at all than Gorgui. And his offensive game just hasn't evolved in his three years...he was 8 and 6 as a freshman, and only 9 and 6 as a junior. He is a terrible free thrower, has an erratic jumper, and not much post game...and nbadraft.net says there are questions about his motor too. I honestly don't see him replacing either Dieng or Pek, and the Wolves need this lottery pick to move the needle more than I think WCS would.

It's interesting that 6'8" SG Mario Hezonja has become the consensus 6th pick on the mock draft sites I favor. From what I have read about him, he is a legitimate offensive talent and athlete, but a very bad teammate. That scares me. Flip seems to be building a team with excellent chemistry in addition to talent, and adding a headcase like Hezonja to the mix could be risky.

I'm still looking for someone I can get comfortable with in the 6 hole...I hope I don't have to.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I'd be perfectly fine with Winslow at 6. Another wing isn't ideal, but the guy can finish at the hoop and has good defensive potential with his size and length. If he can develop a 3 point shot he could be a good advanced stats guy in terms of only taking 3's or getting to the bucket. I'd also be fine with the Texas big. He's be a project, but he could be a big that can rebound and block shots for us.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Thanks LST for bringing a little civility back to the board.

I don't trust anyone with neck tattoos, so I don't want WCS.

[TheFuture]

I agree with you on the Big 5, Cam, although my opinion of Mudiay is based solely on other's comments since I have never seen him play. But WCS at 6 is exactly why I have a sick feeling in my stomach that we end up with the 6th pick. While he is indeed a good defensive center, I don't see him as much better if at all than Gorgui. And his offensive game just hasn't evolved in his three years...he was 8 and 6 as a freshman, and only 9 and 6 as a junior. He is a terrible free thrower, has an erratic jumper, and not much post game...and nbadraft.net says there are questions about his motor too. I honestly don't see him replacing either Dieng or Pek, and the Wolves need this lottery pick to move the needle more than I think WCS would.

It's interesting that 6'8" SG Mario Hezonja has become the consensus 6th pick on the mock draft sites I favor. From what I have read about him, he is a legitimate offensive talent and athlete, but a very bad teammate. That scares me. Flip seems to be building a team with excellent chemistry in addition to talent, and adding a headcase like Hezonja to the mix could be risky.

I'm still looking for someone I can get comfortable with in the 6 hole...I hope I don't have to.

I'm almost positive Stanley will be there until at least pick 6. Someone in the top 5 will likely take a flyer on porzingis, Looney, or turner. I could even see Johnson lasting until the 8th spot.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Khans- I agree with you that it's generally not possible to know exactly what you have with a rookie, but that shouldn't preclude Flip from finding out as much as he can about his younger players in the remaining weeks of the season. He pretty much knows what he has in Young and Martin...both the good and the bad...so there's no need to evaluate them. Payne, LaVine and Bennett are still mysteries though, and Flip can learn a lot more about them if he increases their minutes. Frankly, I think the Wolves would win more games if he played the veterans more, but we don't need wins. We're only 4 1/2 games ahead of Orlando for the 5th spot, and if they and the Lakers pass us and one other team moves up into the top three, we would find ourselves in the dreaded 6th spot in the draft. I don't know about you guys, but I can't find a player after the Big 5 that really excites me.

I think most folks here know I'm not a big proponent of giving rookies/young guys minutes just for the sake of "finding out what we have". In fact, this is what I really hear some of you saying: "Us fans need to find out what we have, so Flip better play them as much as possible!"

I'm pretty sure these coaches know what they have since they spend hours with these guys in practice and in scrimmages. Progress, development, and evaluation can and does happen without having to be given tons of minutes. That's not to say that real-game minutes don't matter, but I think everyone but GRIII and Payne have received a ton of game action this season. We're not going to learn a ton more about LaVine, AB, Wiggins, Dieng, and Shabazz over the next 26 games.

What I would like to see is some good, competitive basketball. Let the young guys earn their minutes (which at least for Wiggins, Shabazz, and Dieng shouldn't be a problem). Let Payne and AB fight it out for backup PF minutes and let LaVine and LoBro fight it out for guard minutes.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

I'm a new Wolves fan. Living in St Louis I don't have a team. Grew up a Bulls fan because of Jordan. Turned into a Spurs fan because I loves watching Duncan take down Shaq and Kobe. With us losing our football team in St Louis I decided to become a fan of an NBA team. I chose the Wolves because I didn't want to be a front runner and this team is full of young talent and potential. I think the future is very very bright.

That being said we go as far as our next draft pick. Getting Wiggins is a huge key. You have to get another big time player to pair him with. Rubio is great, but I think you can need a guy who can share some scoring load with Wiggins. Lucky for us this draft is pretty good at the top. I'm hoping for a top 3 pick.