Match madness thread

[AbeVigodaLive]

Not impressed with Cockburn for those of you who think his size may be a difference maker for the Wolves and we should target him in the draft. Seems very heavy-footed. Big and strong for sure, but that advantage shrinks considerably at the next level. His decision making is very slow along with his foot speed. He also plays on a pretty low burn intensity wise.

I'd definitely rank Oscar Tshiebwe higher than Cockburn, although I don't think he's a guaranteed difference maker either.

I don't see either of them being a good fit for the Wolves. Not sure either of them will stick in the NBA, to be honest.

I watched a chunk of that game against Houston and I had the same thoughts Q. I might be interested him with a 2nd rounder or I suppose a 2-way deal but what ai saw today didn't really make me want to target him at all. He didn't look very explosive vertically.

Those Illinois guards... oof.

[kekgeek]

Not impressed with Cockburn for those of you who think his size may be a difference maker for the Wolves and we should target him in the draft. Seems very heavy-footed. Big and strong for sure, but that advantage shrinks considerably at the next level. His decision making is very slow along with his foot speed. He also plays on a pretty low burn intensity wise.

I'd definitely rank Oscar Tshiebwe higher than Cockburn, although I don't think he's a guaranteed difference maker either.

I don't see either of them being a good fit for the Wolves. Not sure either of them will stick in the NBA, to be honest.

I watched a chunk of that game against Houston and I had the same thoughts Q. I might be interested him with a 2nd rounder or I suppose a 2-way deal but what ai saw today didn't really make me want to target him at all. He didn't look very explosive vertically.

Those Illinois guards... oof.

They are so bad. Such a frustrating team to watch all year

[FNG]

Not impressed with Cockburn for those of you who think his size may be a difference maker for the Wolves and we should target him in the draft. Seems very heavy-footed. Big and strong for sure, but that advantage shrinks considerably at the next level. His decision making is very slow along with his foot speed. He also plays on a pretty low burn intensity wise.

I'd definitely rank Oscar Tshiebwe higher than Cockburn, although I don't think he's a guaranteed difference maker either.

I'll join the chorus in not being a fan of Cockburn at the next level. And while I'm clearly the biggest Tshiebwe bobo on this board, there's a huge difference between him and Kofi. There hasn't been much talk about this, but Oscar set the NCAA record this season for rebounds per game with 15.1. And I would say that rebounding is one skill that generally translates to the pro level...that is, if the player is an elite rebounder in a major college conference, he is likely to be a very good rebounder and player in the NBA. Look at some of the names from major conferences in the all time top 10 college rebounding list: 4. Tim Duncan, 5. Shaquille O'Neal, 6. Kurt Thomas, 7. Kenneth Faried, 8. Blake Griffin, and 9. Popeye Jones. In fact the only guy in the top 10 from an elite conference who didn't have a long, successful NBA career was some guy from Baylor named Jerome Lambert, whose checkered past probably led to his not making it in the NBA (he was eventually shot and killed at age 36).

He's much more athletic than Cockburn, a much better outside shooter, and while I don't know much about Kofi's character, it's difficult to find a more impressive guy than Oscar...check out some of his interviews. It's a shame Kentucky's first round loss to the mighty Peacocks means we don't get to watch this guy some more, but at least he went out big: 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

[Monster]

It's cool to see Amile Jefferson back with Duke.

[Q-is-here]

Not impressed with Cockburn for those of you who think his size may be a difference maker for the Wolves and we should target him in the draft. Seems very heavy-footed. Big and strong for sure, but that advantage shrinks considerably at the next level. His decision making is very slow along with his foot speed. He also plays on a pretty low burn intensity wise.

I'd definitely rank Oscar Tshiebwe higher than Cockburn, although I don't think he's a guaranteed difference maker either.

I'll join the chorus in not being a fan of Cockburn at the next level. And while I'm clearly the biggest Tshiebwe bobo on this board, there's a huge difference between him and Kofi. There hasn't been much talk about this, but Oscar set the NCAA record this season for rebounds per game with 15.1. And I would say that rebounding is one skill that generally translates to the pro level...that is, if the player is an elite rebounder in a major college conference, he is likely to be a very good rebounder and player in the NBA. Look at some of the names from major conferences in the all time top 10 college rebounding list: 4. Tim Duncan, 5. Shaquille O'Neal, 6. Kurt Thomas, 7. Kenneth Faried, 8. Blake Griffin, and 9. Popeye Jones. In fact the only guy in the top 10 from an elite conference who didn't have a long, successful NBA career was some guy from Baylor named Jerome Lambert, whose checkered past probably led to his not making it in the NBA (he was eventually shot and killed at age 36).

He's much more athletic than Cockburn, a much better outside shooter, and while I don't know much about Kofi's character, it's difficult to find a more impressive guy than Oscar...check out some of his interviews. It's a shame Kentucky's first round loss to the mighty Peacocks means we don't get to watch this guy some more, but at least he went out big: 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

Yes, it's almost guaranteed that Tshiebwe's rebounding will translate, as that is the most transferrable skill from lower level leagues to the NBA. However, the NBA doesn't value elite rebounding the way it once did. My concern with Tshiebwe is he looks kind of short to me and I wonder how effective he'll be defensively and finishing around the hoop. I do rate him higher than Cockburn for sure.

[FNG]

Not impressed with Cockburn for those of you who think his size may be a difference maker for the Wolves and we should target him in the draft. Seems very heavy-footed. Big and strong for sure, but that advantage shrinks considerably at the next level. His decision making is very slow along with his foot speed. He also plays on a pretty low burn intensity wise.

I'd definitely rank Oscar Tshiebwe higher than Cockburn, although I don't think he's a guaranteed difference maker either.

I'll join the chorus in not being a fan of Cockburn at the next level. And while I'm clearly the biggest Tshiebwe bobo on this board, there's a huge difference between him and Kofi. There hasn't been much talk about this, but Oscar set the NCAA record this season for rebounds per game with 15.1. And I would say that rebounding is one skill that generally translates to the pro level...that is, if the player is an elite rebounder in a major college conference, he is likely to be a very good rebounder and player in the NBA. Look at some of the names from major conferences in the all time top 10 college rebounding list: 4. Tim Duncan, 5. Shaquille O'Neal, 6. Kurt Thomas, 7. Kenneth Faried, 8. Blake Griffin, and 9. Popeye Jones. In fact the only guy in the top 10 from an elite conference who didn't have a long, successful NBA career was some guy from Baylor named Jerome Lambert, whose checkered past probably led to his not making it in the NBA (he was eventually shot and killed at age 36).

He's much more athletic than Cockburn, a much better outside shooter, and while I don't know much about Kofi's character, it's difficult to find a more impressive guy than Oscar...check out some of his interviews. It's a shame Kentucky's first round loss to the mighty Peacocks means we don't get to watch this guy some more, but at least he went out big: 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

Yes, it's almost guaranteed that Tshiebwe's rebounding will translate, as that is the most transferrable skill from lower level leagues to the NBA. However, the NBA doesn't value elite rebounding the way it once did. My concern with Tshiebwe is he looks kind of short to me and I wonder how effective he'll be defensively and finishing around the hoop. I do rate him higher than Cockburn for sure.

I know, for some reason he looks short on the court to me also. But then I see he has a 7'4.25" wingspan, longer than KAT. And at 260 pounds, he has the bulk to not get pushed around by the Embiids in the league. I agree we don't know how good he will be defensively, but with his length, bulk and athleticism, he is the real deal on the boards. And we know that is a big need for our squad.

[Q-is-here]

Not impressed with Cockburn for those of you who think his size may be a difference maker for the Wolves and we should target him in the draft. Seems very heavy-footed. Big and strong for sure, but that advantage shrinks considerably at the next level. His decision making is very slow along with his foot speed. He also plays on a pretty low burn intensity wise.

I'd definitely rank Oscar Tshiebwe higher than Cockburn, although I don't think he's a guaranteed difference maker either.

I'll join the chorus in not being a fan of Cockburn at the next level. And while I'm clearly the biggest Tshiebwe bobo on this board, there's a huge difference between him and Kofi. There hasn't been much talk about this, but Oscar set the NCAA record this season for rebounds per game with 15.1. And I would say that rebounding is one skill that generally translates to the pro level...that is, if the player is an elite rebounder in a major college conference, he is likely to be a very good rebounder and player in the NBA. Look at some of the names from major conferences in the all time top 10 college rebounding list: 4. Tim Duncan, 5. Shaquille O'Neal, 6. Kurt Thomas, 7. Kenneth Faried, 8. Blake Griffin, and 9. Popeye Jones. In fact the only guy in the top 10 from an elite conference who didn't have a long, successful NBA career was some guy from Baylor named Jerome Lambert, whose checkered past probably led to his not making it in the NBA (he was eventually shot and killed at age 36).

He's much more athletic than Cockburn, a much better outside shooter, and while I don't know much about Kofi's character, it's difficult to find a more impressive guy than Oscar...check out some of his interviews. It's a shame Kentucky's first round loss to the mighty Peacocks means we don't get to watch this guy some more, but at least he went out big: 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

Yes, it's almost guaranteed that Tshiebwe's rebounding will translate, as that is the most transferrable skill from lower level leagues to the NBA. However, the NBA doesn't value elite rebounding the way it once did. My concern with Tshiebwe is he looks kind of short to me and I wonder how effective he'll be defensively and finishing around the hoop. I do rate him higher than Cockburn for sure.

I know, for some reason he looks short on the court to me also. But then I see he has a 7'4.25" wingspan, longer than KAT. And at 260 pounds, he has the bulk to not get pushed around by the Embiids in the league. I agree we don't know how good he will be defensively, but with his length, bulk and athleticism, he is the real deal on the boards. And we know that is a big need for our squad.

I'm not opposed to drafting him, but given where we are in the lifecycle of this current re-build, we need our rookies to be toiling away in the G-League or playing only spot minutes from the end of the bench. Specific needs to shore up our rotation needs to be addressed through free agent vet signings or trades.

One of the main reasons for our success this year is that every single minute played in our rotation has been earned. There are no "developmental" minutes handed out (like we've done for years with the likes of Kris Dunn, Josh Okogie, and Jarrett Culver). And I do not for a second believe Tshiebwe is part of any solution as a rookie. Any help he gives us on the boards will likely be erased by him learning the ropes defensively and offensively. But he could evolve into a key piece 2-3 years down the line in the same way Jarred Vanderbilt or Jaylen Nowell did.

[Monster]

Not impressed with Cockburn for those of you who think his size may be a difference maker for the Wolves and we should target him in the draft. Seems very heavy-footed. Big and strong for sure, but that advantage shrinks considerably at the next level. His decision making is very slow along with his foot speed. He also plays on a pretty low burn intensity wise.

I'd definitely rank Oscar Tshiebwe higher than Cockburn, although I don't think he's a guaranteed difference maker either.

I'll join the chorus in not being a fan of Cockburn at the next level. And while I'm clearly the biggest Tshiebwe bobo on this board, there's a huge difference between him and Kofi. There hasn't been much talk about this, but Oscar set the NCAA record this season for rebounds per game with 15.1. And I would say that rebounding is one skill that generally translates to the pro level...that is, if the player is an elite rebounder in a major college conference, he is likely to be a very good rebounder and player in the NBA. Look at some of the names from major conferences in the all time top 10 college rebounding list: 4. Tim Duncan, 5. Shaquille O'Neal, 6. Kurt Thomas, 7. Kenneth Faried, 8. Blake Griffin, and 9. Popeye Jones. In fact the only guy in the top 10 from an elite conference who didn't have a long, successful NBA career was some guy from Baylor named Jerome Lambert, whose checkered past probably led to his not making it in the NBA (he was eventually shot and killed at age 36).

He's much more athletic than Cockburn, a much better outside shooter, and while I don't know much about Kofi's character, it's difficult to find a more impressive guy than Oscar...check out some of his interviews. It's a shame Kentucky's first round loss to the mighty Peacocks means we don't get to watch this guy some more, but at least he went out big: 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

Yes, it's almost guaranteed that Tshiebwe's rebounding will translate, as that is the most transferrable skill from lower level leagues to the NBA. However, the NBA doesn't value elite rebounding the way it once did. My concern with Tshiebwe is he looks kind of short to me and I wonder how effective he'll be defensively and finishing around the hoop. I do rate him higher than Cockburn for sure.

I know, for some reason he looks short on the court to me also. But then I see he has a 7'4.25" wingspan, longer than KAT. And at 260 pounds, he has the bulk to not get pushed around by the Embiids in the league. I agree we don't know how good he will be defensively, but with his length, bulk and athleticism, he is the real deal on the boards. And we know that is a big need for our squad.

I'm not opposed to drafting him, but given where we are in the lifecycle of this current re-build, we need our rookies to be toiling away in the G-League or playing only spot minutes from the end of the bench. Specific needs to shore up our rotation needs to be addressed through free agent vet signings or trades.

One of the main reasons for our success this year is that every single minute played in our rotation has been earned. There are no "developmental" minutes handed out (like we've done for years with the likes of Kris Dunn, Josh Okogie, and Jarrett Culver). And I do not for a second believe Tshiebwe is part of any solution as a rookie. Any help he gives us on the boards will likely be erased by him learning the ropes defensively and offensively. But he could evolve into a key piece 2-3 years down the line in the same way Jarred Vanderbilt or Jaylen Nowell did.

Q there is also a different possible element we haven't been able to consider much for most of the last 10+ years. Good teams can afford to sprinkle in a younger player here and they because there are enough other actual good effective players. Still the idea we will draft a rookie to deal with the Embiid Adams, Jokic Jonas V etc is likely a tall task even physically much less skill experience etc. I think the Wolves should and will plan to make an investment in a true big via FA.

If the Wolves bring back Prince there would only be 3 open roster spots. If Beasley is moved it seems pretty likely the Wolves would still have at least one player coming back. If that player was a true big that would fill one spot. The only other guy that I see that could be moved is Bolmaro but I don't know what his value is to other teams and the Wolves. The bottom line is that while the Wolves will have much more financial flexibility this summer they don't have alot of roster spots open. That's not unusual though for an NBA team. Fortunately I don't think the Wolves need to add a bunch of players to the roster to upgrade it.

[Q-is-here]

I agree Monster. I think Gupta's judiciousness (whether by choice or as mandated by ownership) leading up to the trade deadline was the right approach in hindsight. This team has gelled and been gaining momentum as the year has progressed. I mean, nearly every move Rosas has made has worked out. He'd be in the running for POBO of the Year if he didn't get fired, which is just crazy if you think about it!

All of that is to say that I agree with you. At most, we trade Beasley this offseason to help add a vet big. Or we just use the MLE to sign one and run everyone else back. Adding a vet big that can pair up with KAT for stretches may be the only "must have" on the to-do list this offseason in terms of roster construction.

[Leado01]

Re: Cockburn

I WAS WRONG