lipoli390 wrote:Hartenstein had 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks in only 18 minutes of play last night against the Bulls. Meanwhile our Wolves were out-rebounded again last night. This team continues to lack size. Hartenstein is a guy I was very vocal about pursuing for the Wolves all off season. He ended up signing with the Clippers for the League minimum.
Yes it will be the theme of the year. I like Vando but Im not sure you can even really call him a 4. I think once we start seeing every team get easy offensive boards on us it will be hard to watch.
Vando is a great individual rebounder due to his hustle and pursuit. But he doesn't do much to help overall team defensive rebounding because he gets pushed off his spot so easily and doesn't carve out space. It's pretty much the same story for anyone we pair up with KAT and KAT himself isn't big and strong enough to dominate the defensive glass.
At some point, hopefully Gupta sees the value in adding a legit big man. And don't forget that it's valuable on the other end as well. One of our other chronic problems is poor screening on high pick and rolls. It doesn't take much effort to get over a KAT or Vando screen.
I agree with both of you. I'm with Q in hoping that Gupta sees the value of adding a legitimate big man. Actually, I think he already does. The challenge will be getting one. We had Hartenstein within our grasp as a cheap free agent. There are no gettable bigs worth getting right now that I can see, either as free agents or trade targets. Maybe Cam's hypothetical 3-way deal for Sabonis is actually possible.
I don't get why they don't go out and add Bismack Biyombo to a non-guaranteed deal. The Wolves have a open roster spot, yes they would go over the lux tax line but they have until the trade deadline to get under it. I am not saying Bismack is great but in games like last night he is a guy who can play a couple of minutes to go against the Jokic of the world if Kat gets into foul trouble. That is my biggest fear, I think the wolves are fine if Kat stays out of foul trouble but as we know that is just not realistic for Kat.
I will also say last night getting outrebounded didn't hurt as much because it was 6 vs 6 in the offensive rebounding stat. That does not hurt as much.
Keep in mind that Hartenstein is battling Harry Giles (and to some extent maybe Moses Wright) for that spot. I know there are still fans of Giles on this board. I prefer Hartenstein but I think finding a big that can help as a depth player can be done. Nathan Knight might even be that type of player.
kekgeek1 wrote:Kyrie will not play until he is vaccinated. I think is setting up a Kyrie for Simmons swap
I'll go one step further. I think this could be setting up a retirement announcement from Kyrie Irving.
He's been making it more and more clear that basketball isn't really his primary focus.
If he's willing to give $70M+ over the next two years to do his thing... good for him, I guess. But I see him more of a "I want my cake and eat it too" sort of guy.
kekgeek1 wrote:Kyrie will not play until he is vaccinated. I think is setting up a Kyrie for Simmons swap
I'll go one step further. I think this could be setting up a retirement announcement from Kyrie Irving.
He's been making it more and more clear that basketball isn't really his primary focus.
If he's willing to give $70M+ over the next two years to do his thing... good for him, I guess. But I see him more of a "I want my cake and eat it too" sort of guy.
Agreed. He could "retire", but does anyone believe he'd stay that way for long?
kekgeek1 wrote:Kyrie will not play until he is vaccinated. I think is setting up a Kyrie for Simmons swap
I'll go one step further. I think this could be setting up a retirement announcement from Kyrie Irving.
He's been making it more and more clear that basketball isn't really his primary focus.
If he's willing to give $70M+ over the next two years to do his thing... good for him, I guess. But I see him more of a "I want my cake and eat it too" sort of guy.
Does he still think the earth is flat? Maybe he's preoccupied with thinking about an expedition to the ice wall. :LOL: :LOL:
