Wolves Team Identity

[Lipoli390]

The best teams tend to have a team identity. The tough, defensive grind-it-out Pistons of the 80s and early 90s and the showtime Lakers of the same period are two good examples.

Looking at the Wolves roster with the tweaks thus far this summer, I'm not sure I see a clear team identity emerging. That's something that will likely reveal itself over the court of next season. But with the addition of Beverley, I can start to see the makings of a team that will be defined by high energy and emotional exuberance. The identity-shapers I see in that regard are Beverley, Beasley, Vanderbilt and Edwards. I also see mental toughness in all those players as well. KAT is a highly emotional player. If he can harness that emotion in a mature, productive way, that will help solidly a team identify that will be fun to watch and formidable to compete against.

Thoughts?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Good points here, Lip. I think this could also be one of the first true five-out teams of the era that doesn't sacrifice size. The ones we've seen before simply played small ball in order to achieve that much floor spacing. The Wolves have acquired enough shooters now to where they could legitimately have multiple five-man lineup combinations capable of making 38-40-percent of their threes. They're still figuring out the four position, but Naz Reid, Taurean Prince, and Jaden McDaniels are all capable of playing that position at times and knocking down threes at a respectable rate. Karl-Anthony Towns is going to be the straw that stirs the drink, obviously.

[thedoper]

Yeah we need to be a top 5 O or D before I will even mention an identity.

[Coolbreeze44]

I think this is a good topic Lip. Right now we are just a bunch of parts that seem to be moving in different directions. Teams that develop a positive identity also tend to win. So the sooner Finch can build the culture to his liking and an identity emerges, the better. I think we can become a team who is hard to defend, and able to close out close games. That would be a great thing if we can realize it.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Yeah, this is a key issue, thanks for bringing it up.

There are a lot of factors that go into it, but one key thing that determines a team's identity is the character of their best player(s). If they don't have much personality (like Kawhi) or aren't very strong leaders, it makes it harder for a team to establish an identity. So in addition to the losing, the constant turnover, etc, I think KAT's relative passivity as a leader has been a key factor in why we haven't had much of an identity for years.

I don't expect Edwards to become a better player than KAT, at least not for awhile, but he DOES have a big personality, and it seems pretty infectious. He's a super-confident dude. That's good. He's funny as hell and somehow doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, which makes everybody like him. That's good too. Sometimes guys who love to have fun can make for bad leaders if they just want to be liked or if they aren't really competitive, but Ant's humor doesn't seem to mask insecurity (he seems pretty comfortable with himself) and he does seem to have some competitive drive in him. That's the key. If he improves as a player, and steps up his competitiveness, especially on the defensive end, I can see him acting as a catalyst for this team to start establishing an identity as a team that plays together with some real joy and competitiveness at the same time. That would be key to me. That's the team that I want to see. Guys who obviously love to play the game, and to play it with each other, who have fun while they're playing, and who want to go out there and beat everybody every damn night. Let's get it!

[FNG]

I agree...good topic. Unfortunately I have a different take, and it's not a positive one. This team does have an identity...it's just not one that we like. The current Wolves identity is a team that plays at a fast pace (4th in the league) while shooting inefficiently with consistently bad defense (especially getting back on defense and guarding the perimeter). Obviously this is not an identity that leads to wins, and we have gotten the results we deserve. (I expect some here will blame injuries for much of our futility, but perhaps inability to stay healthy is part of our identity too).

Something has to change to turn our fortunes around, and I don't know whether that's personnel-related or coaching...but I suspect it's the former. Without significant personnel changes, 2021-2 will be another year with the same identity...fast pace, inefficient scoring, poor defense. There will be improvement in our young rookies and we will be excited again about the future, but the negative identity of the team (with some veterans not emphasizing defense or efficient scoring) will have a negative impact on them. That's what culture does.

Absent a personnel change, how can this team get better? I see two possible ways.

1)Finch could get much tougher and force a new identity on this team by allocating court time to those who follow his blueprint. That means instant benching for poor shot selection or lazy/dumb defense. I think he might have the personality and cojones to try this, but I doubt it will happen consistently enough to make a difference.

2) The team could undergo "reverse leadership", where the identity is determined by our young players and non-max contract vets. Perhaps Jaden, Ant and Beverley can become leaders rather than followers, and become dictators of a new identity. Again, I don't think this is likely. The NBA is a star culture club, where generally your "stars" define the culture of the team. But maybe we can be the exception. Maybe.

Sorry. More evidence that I should finish my first cup of coffee before expressing my views on the Wolves' fortunes this season.

[Monster]

I think this is a good topic Lip. Right now we are just a bunch of parts that seem to be moving in different directions. Teams that develop a positive identity also tend to win. So the sooner Finch can build the culture to his liking and an identity emerges, the better. I think we can become a team who is hard to defend, and able to close out close games. That would be a great thing if we can realize it.

Cool I actually think this group of players actually fits pretty well. The effective Rubio for Beverly swap improves the Wolves D and their shooting while adding a guy that can have the ball some but doesn't need it. This fits well with Russell but ai think it fits really well with Ant. The Swap of Juancho for Prince gives the Wolves a more proven shooter to be a combo forward and someone who is probably gonna be a little more competent guarding the perimeter than Juancho. Prince is another complimentary player who I feel pretty confident will hit a reasonably acceptable percentage of 3's and has a chance to be a real factor in that area.

With Culver gone the guys we expect to see the floor that are either non factor or bad 3 point shooters are Vanderbilt and Okogie. The roster should be able to be managed so those guys aren't sharing the floor much unless it's as a defensive lineup at the end of quarters. This team started and played Rubio who has been up and down as a 3 point shooter. Juancho and Layman were too inconsistent and Ed Davis plays some last year and he is total non-factor. Offensively this group SHOULD be better as a 3 point team and players on this roster have complimentary aspects to their game.

You mentioned Finch...I think he is a really big factor in identity. Is he good coach enough to actually do that? If so this team could really improve a lot especially if Finch's coaching ability is the right fit for the roster. Personally I think whatever identity this team will have if it's successful might take a couple years but if it takes a legit step forward this season that would be pretty big. Towns also has to be part of that step forward.

Good topic Lip this team hasn't has a legit identity for so long.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

FNG, that inefficient offense you speak of is an accurate identity of the team that Minnesota is should they lose their top players to injury again. However, that certainly wasn't the case when Karl-Anthony Towns and D'Angelo Russell were healthy, and we haven't even seen how good the offense can be with Malik Beasley and a seasoned Anthony Edwards. There's a significant amount of firepower on this roster now that the Wolves just haven't had in a long time and maybe ever.

Note: Prior to the last two seasons in which Towns has missed a considerable amount of games, the Wolves hadn't been below 12th in offensive rating since he was drafted. His impact offensively cannot be understated. Not to mention he has never played with the scorers and shooters that are on the team right now. Expect the offense to be high-caliber.

[FNG]

Fair comment, Cam. I also think this offense could be much more efficient if everyone were healthy. Unfortunately, missing games has been part of this team's identity, and adding Beverley (a deal I like, by the way) doesn't change this identity. We saw how important durability is in last season's "last man standing" playoffs, and the wolves have been as injured as almost any team recently. Is it bad luck, or will it continue to repeat? We have to hope they can stay healthy, because I'm confident our offense will be potent if all are healthy.

I'm not as confident about our defense...rosas just hasn't built a roster designed to stop other teams. We'll have to outscore them.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Fair comment, Cam. I also think this offense could be much more efficient if everyone were healthy. Unfortunately, missing games has been part of this team's identity, and adding Beverley (a deal I like, by the way) doesn't change this identity. We saw how important durability is in last season's "last man standing" playoffs, and the wolves have been as injured as almost any team recently. Is it bad luck, or will it continue to repeat? We have to hope they can stay healthy, because I'm confident our offense will be potent if all are healthy.

I'm not as confident about our defense...rosas just hasn't built a roster designed to stop other teams. We'll have to outscore them.

I can agree with all of this, especially the last sentence. That last line is a significant part of the reasoning I had when I wanted the Wolves to pursue Lauri Markkanen despite his defensive inefficiencies.

Alas, that idea is dead after the Patrick Beverley trade, and I'm happy with where the roster is after, but I do expect the Wolves' offense to be operating at a high level -- higher than any other in Karl-Anthony Towns' career to date -- assuming the key players stay reasonably healthy. That's a big assumption, of course, as you mentioned.