Who will I dislike on the roster this year?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm 97.4% certain D. Russell will be the most polarizing player on the Timberwolves this season.

Interesting, Abe. In my view, this is THE pivotal season for DLO. He's either going to stay healthy and show the sort of consistent effort that can bring out his considerable talent, or he'll be the player he's been every season except that one all-star season in Brooklyn. If it's the latter, he'll be the most reviled member of this team's roster. If it's the former, he'll be fully appreciated by fans and fans will have to direct their dislike towards someone else - maybe Bolmaro. :). Right now I'm 50-50 on which DLO we're going to see.

I'm not sure there's anything D'Angelo Russell can do at this point to be appreciated by the fans that have already made up their minds about him negatively.

If Minnesota shows legitimate improvement in the win column, as I expect, there will be those same voices clamoring that Russell was carried or indifferent to the process. He put that 2018-2019 Brooklyn Nets team on his back and took them to the playoffs and we've had posters here note that DeMarre Carroll (!) was a bigger piece of the puzzle than Russell was. He'll never get his due here.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Honestly I could see the Board turning on KAT this year if its another bad first half. You're as good as your best player.

Very good call. Also, if he plays poorly while putting on the drama queen act with the flailing, losing his cool, whining, etc. Hopefully his head is on straight now after a tough year and he's matured.

If that happens, I'm not sure how much longer Karl-Anthony Towns will be on the roster anyways so we'll have to revisit this thread again in a year to choose our next whipping boy.

[Coolbreeze44]

I'm 97.4% certain D. Russell will be the most polarizing player on the Timberwolves this season.

Interesting, Abe. In my view, this is THE pivotal season for DLO. He's either going to stay healthy and show the sort of consistent effort that can bring out his considerable talent, or he'll be the player he's been every season except that one all-star season in Brooklyn. If it's the latter, he'll be the most reviled member of this team's roster. If it's the former, he'll be fully appreciated by fans and fans will have to direct their dislike towards someone else - maybe Bolmaro. :). Right now I'm 50-50 on which DLO we're going to see.

I'm not sure there's anything D'Angelo Russell can do at this point to be appreciated by the fans that have already made up their minds about him negatively.

If Minnesota shows legitimate improvement in the win column, as I expect, there will be those same voices clamoring that Russell was carried or indifferent to the process. He put that 2018-2019 Brooklyn Nets team on his back and took them to the playoffs and we've had posters here note that DeMarre Carroll (!) was a bigger piece of the puzzle than Russell was. He'll never get his due here.

It's a big year for DLO. Can he stay healthy? Can he score consistently? Can we keep him on the floor at the end of games, or will he be targeted on defense? Can he handle a reduced role, and still be a leader? Lots of questions which should be answered this season.

[FNG]

I'm 97.4% certain D. Russell will be the most polarizing player on the Timberwolves this season.

Interesting, Abe. In my view, this is THE pivotal season for DLO. He's either going to stay healthy and show the sort of consistent effort that can bring out his considerable talent, or he'll be the player he's been every season except that one all-star season in Brooklyn. If it's the latter, he'll be the most reviled member of this team's roster. If it's the former, he'll be fully appreciated by fans and fans will have to direct their dislike towards someone else - maybe Bolmaro. :). Right now I'm 50-50 on which DLO we're going to see.

I'm not sure there's anything D'Angelo Russell can do at this point to be appreciated by the fans that have already made up their minds about him negatively.

If Minnesota shows legitimate improvement in the win column, as I expect, there will be those same voices clamoring that Russell was carried or indifferent to the process. He put that 2018-2019 Brooklyn Nets team on his back and took them to the playoffs and we've had posters here note that DeMarre Carroll (!) was a bigger piece of the puzzle than Russell was. He'll never get his due here.

I don't know about the Wolves fan base in general, but that was not the experience of this board in the closing weeks of the season. Actually, it seemed like posters were bending over backward to point out improvements and positive aspects in DLO's game in the final month. I was the author of many of these posts, and I also read many by others. "It seems like he is putting more effort in on defense...maybe he's finally figuring it out". "I never realized what a good teammate DLO is...he interacts well with the younger guys on the team, and clearly has their respect." "DLO is really making some impressive assists...he's a much better facilitator than I thought." Etc, etc.

We're all hungry for a Wolves turnaround here, and tend to overvalue our players. Jaden McDaniels is a good example of a player we have anointed as the New Messiah despite his meh stats last season (although I think the eye test on him is quite positive). Having our two max players perform like max players is our only hope for any success, so we were quick to jump on the DLO bandwagon last April and May as he showed some signs of improvement.

But I agree that if the Russell we saw at the beginning of last year returns...you know, the guy furiously pointing where teammates should be on defense as his own man goes in for an easy bucket...or if his eFG % regresses closer to his 50% career rate, he will become the whipping boy on this board. And I would add deservedly so. Let's hope this year's version of DLO is more like the one we saw at the end of last year than the one we saw at the beginning.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'm still struggling with how the hell that Brooklyn team from a couple years ago went 42-40 - a record I think many of us here would be pretty good with for this year's Wolves squad.

Here were their top 8 guys in minutes:
DLO
Joe Harris
Jarrett Allen
Spencer Dinwiddie
DeMarre Carroll
Ed Davis
Rodions Kurucs
Rondae-Hollis Jefferson

We opened up camp last season with THREE of these guys on the roster: One started the year terribly (DLO); one got cut (RHJ); and the other was a shell of his former self (Davis) despite being just a couple years removed from that Brooklyn season.

If you look at what they did that season, they were pretty much a down the middle team - middling offensively, middling defensively, net rating of -.1, and got a little lucky to go 42-40 vs. 41-41.

On paper, would anyone take that squad over our current roster this year or last year? I doubt it. Hats off to Kenny Atkinson. Perhaps playing in the Eastern Conference helped too.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Honestly I could see the Board turning on KAT this year if its another bad first half. You're as good as your best player.

Very good call. Also, if he plays poorly while putting on the drama queen act with the flailing, losing his cool, whining, etc. Hopefully his head is on straight now after a tough year and he's matured.

The rub is that the whining and flailing works... IF you're a big enough star.

But it's sort of a chicken/egg thing. Which one comes first? Some guys earn that treatment, others demand it right away (see Doncic).

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm 97.4% certain D. Russell will be the most polarizing player on the Timberwolves this season.

Interesting, Abe. In my view, this is THE pivotal season for DLO. He's either going to stay healthy and show the sort of consistent effort that can bring out his considerable talent, or he'll be the player he's been every season except that one all-star season in Brooklyn. If it's the latter, he'll be the most reviled member of this team's roster. If it's the former, he'll be fully appreciated by fans and fans will have to direct their dislike towards someone else - maybe Bolmaro. :). Right now I'm 50-50 on which DLO we're going to see.

I'm not sure there's anything D'Angelo Russell can do at this point to be appreciated by the fans that have already made up their minds about him negatively.

If Minnesota shows legitimate improvement in the win column, as I expect, there will be those same voices clamoring that Russell was carried or indifferent to the process. He put that 2018-2019 Brooklyn Nets team on his back and took them to the playoffs and we've had posters here note that DeMarre Carroll (!) was a bigger piece of the puzzle than Russell was. He'll never get his due here.

Meh. I disagree. This fanbase is so starved for a successful team that anybody who's essential to making it happen is going to get some love. And if the roster stays as is... and they do win more than they lose... Russell will most certainly be a big part of the reason why.

I think in general, most Wolves fans are much more willing to find reasons to love a player than dislike a player. This board is one example... even in the way we tend to overvalue the roster.

[FNG]

I'm still struggling with how the hell that Brooklyn team from a couple years ago went 42-40 - a record I think many of us here would be pretty good with for this year's Wolves squad.

Here were their top 8 guys in minutes:
DLO
Joe Harris
Jarrett Allen
Spencer Dinwiddie
DeMarre Carroll
Ed Davis
Rodions Kurucs
Rondae-Hollis Jefferson

We opened up camp last season with THREE of these guys on the roster: One started the year terribly (DLO); one got cut (RHJ); and the other was a shell of his former self (Davis) despite being just a couple years removed from that Brooklyn season.

If you look at what they did that season, they were pretty much a down the middle team - middling offensively, middling defensively, net rating of -.1, and got a little lucky to go 42-40 vs. 41-41.

On paper, would anyone take that squad over our current roster this year or last year? I doubt it. Hats off to Kenny Atkinson. Perhaps playing in the Eastern Conference helped too.

Come on, Q, you know the answer to the mystery. They had RHJ who, if you read this board last fall, would have been an NBA all star if only Rosas would have signed him!

Yeah, it is somewhat of a mystery. But you nailed part of the reason for a successful season. Playing a soft Eastern schedule in a year where the conference finished 57 games under .500 makes a 42-40 record less glossy. Atkinson has to be given credit too. And it was by far DLO's best season. Every offensive stat he put up that season was better than his career averages. And take a look at the gap in his ORtg and DRtg on basketball reference. He had by far his best year by that measure with a negative 3 (ORtg of 107, DRtg of 110). Other than that season, his best differential is a negative 8 he put up in his first season in Minny (ORtg of 105, Drtg of 113).

So, still a mystery, but credit Atkinson, DLO and a soft schedule for achieving a record that seems much better than their roster would indicate.

[Lipoli390]

I'm 97.4% certain D. Russell will be the most polarizing player on the Timberwolves this season.

Interesting, Abe. In my view, this is THE pivotal season for DLO. He's either going to stay healthy and show the sort of consistent effort that can bring out his considerable talent, or he'll be the player he's been every season except that one all-star season in Brooklyn. If it's the latter, he'll be the most reviled member of this team's roster. If it's the former, he'll be fully appreciated by fans and fans will have to direct their dislike towards someone else - maybe Bolmaro. :). Right now I'm 50-50 on which DLO we're going to see.

I'm not sure there's anything D'Angelo Russell can do at this point to be appreciated by the fans that have already made up their minds about him negatively.

If Minnesota shows legitimate improvement in the win column, as I expect, there will be those same voices clamoring that Russell was carried or indifferent to the process. He put that 2018-2019 Brooklyn Nets team on his back and took them to the playoffs and we've had posters here note that DeMarre Carroll (!) was a bigger piece of the puzzle than Russell was. He'll never get his due here.

I don't know about the Wolves fan base in general, but that was not the experience of this board in the closing weeks of the season. Actually, it seemed like posters were bending over backward to point out improvements and positive aspects in DLO's game in the final month. I was the author of many of these posts, and I also read many by others. "It seems like he is putting more effort in on defense...maybe he's finally figuring it out". "I never realized what a good teammate DLO is...he interacts well with the younger guys on the team, and clearly has their respect." "DLO is really making some impressive assists...he's a much better facilitator than I thought." Etc, etc.

We're all hungry for a Wolves turnaround here, and tend to overvalue our players. Jaden McDaniels is a good example of a player we have anointed as the New Messiah despite his meh stats last season (although I think the eye test on him is quite positive). Having our two max players perform like max players is our only hope for any success, so we were quick to jump on the DLO bandwagon last April and May as he showed some signs of improvement.

But I agree that if the Russell we saw at the beginning of last year returns...you know, the guy furiously pointing where teammates should be on defense as his own man goes in for an easy bucket...or if his eFG % regresses closer to his 50% career rate, he will become the whipping boy on this board. And I would add deservedly so. Let's hope this year's version of DLO is more like the one we saw at the end of last year than the one we saw at the beginning.

I agree, FNG. You, Cool and I have been among the DLO skeptics, but I guarantee that all three of us will be DLO boosters if he replicates what he did in his all-star session with the Nets. And I'd say the same for the Wolves fan base in general. It starts with DLO staying healthy, something that's beyond his control. Then it's a matter of commitment and consistent effort from him. The talent is there - as a scorer and playmaker. He also has the length and IQ to be an adequate defender. One important point is that we have substantially upgraded the head coaching position moving from Ryan to Chris Finch. That matters, especially to a point guard. We all read the reports that indicated DLO didn't respect Ryan Saunders coaching, but took to Finch's coaching pretty quickly. And we could see the positive result, albeit in a limited sample of games.

[Lipoli390]

Honestly I could see the Board turning on KAT this year if its another bad first half. You're as good as your best player.

Very good call. Also, if he plays poorly while putting on the drama queen act with the flailing, losing his cool, whining, etc. Hopefully his head is on straight now after a tough year and he's matured.

Yes, an excellent call, Jester. Here's an excerpt from the recent Chris Finch interview in The Athletic that I think is telling. I included this in my Chris Finch comments thread but thought it's worth repeating here:

Q. In 2016, NBA general managers said KAT would be the guy they would start a franchise with above all others.

A. 100 percent. And he still is; he just has to get back to that, right? He has that and he knows that. DLo is healthy, feels good, believes in his team and his teammates. So those two guys.

I thought this comment by Finch was pretty pointed if you think about it for a moment. "He just has to get back to that, right? He has that and he knows that." He's clearing saying that KAT needs to get back recapture something he's lost. It's a comment that should resonate with all of us who have watched KAT stagnate and fail to mature. Finch also talked about the need for the players to stop complaining about officiating and, instead, get back on defense. That comment was also clearly aimed at KAT.

It wasn't an accident or mistake when NBA GMs identified KAT as the guy they'd choose first to build a franchise around. A big who can be a dominant low post scorer, hit mid-range shots at a high level, be an elite 3-point shooter and win the NBA skills competition is certainly a guy you'd have near the top of your list to build around. As the last several years have come and gone, we've seen Jokic become the player those GMs thought KAT would be. Starting with the arrival of Jimmy Butler, KAT became whiny and often unfocused. It didn't help that he had an indulgent, amateur as head coach in between Thibodeau and Finch.

So now we'll see. This season will be pivotal for KAT, DLO and the entire Wolves team. If KAT doesn't focus and tap back into his potential as the mature, elite star he should be, he'll be the lightening rod for fan disdain and probably won't be here much longer. DLO will likely be #2 on the fan hit list if he doesn't return to his Brooklyn all-star form.

KAT's a year younger than Jokic and has been plagued by injuries the last couple of years. KAT has gone through a lot the past year and a half and I think that has had a maturing effect on him. Furthermore, KAT appear to be a highly emotional and competitive guy. So I think the criticism he's been hearing already will light a fire under him. Add in the accountability that Finch brings and I believe KAT will take the next step and become the player nearly every GM and most of us thought he'd be 5 years ago. As for DLO, I'm less certain. But I remain positive that the DLO we saw at the end of last season will be the DLO we see throughout this next season. If I'm right, then this next season will be a very good one for the Wolves. If not, there will be plenty of fan dislike to go around.