lipoli390 wrote:I finally listened to the Thibs/Layden post-season press conference. Obviously, neither guy revealed much or offered any particularly interesting insights.
Per usual, Thibs was articulate, thoughtful, measured and well-informed. He said the right things such as saying the team needs to take more threes. I like that, when asked whether the key for next season is defensive improvement, he said that we also need to improve offensively as well. He typically says the right things. Let's face it, although I question his coaching, the guy is smart and knows the game of basketball.
Per usual, Layden sounded like a doorknob. Maybe it's just me, but the guy seems clueless as he inarticulately spews rambling platitudes. I went out of his way to mention the possibility of trading our first round pick. Not sure why he felt the need to do that. He indicated that the front office was going to be "very aggressive" this offseason. Well, what the hell does that mean. To me, very aggressive for a capped out team like the Wolves means trying to deal Wiggins or at least Jeff Teague. Otherwise, looking to sign a couple of the best free agents available with the MLE and vet minimum exception is pretty basic and not what anyone would consider aggressive, much less "very aggressive." Or maybe that was another way of saying the front office will try really hard to trade our first-round pick. Then there was his strange comment that the Wolves should have done more at the Feb. trade deadline, saying "that's on me." What the hell was that about?! Was he saying he had offers he should have accepted? What would those have been? Did he mean he didn't bother pursuing Belinelli or Ilyasova via free agency? If that's the case, it's definitly "on him" and he should be fired, but signing those guys had nothing to do with the trade deadline.
Anyway, I think Layden's an idiot. Just my opinion. I recall that the Knicks were voted the worst NBA franchise when Layden was head of that team's basketball operations. I'm told by insiders that Layden isn't much more than Thibs' gopher. That's probably a good thing. Although I have my misgivings about Thibodeau, I think he's clearly the smart one in our front office.
To me Layden just said all the stuff GMs say basically they are looking at every option blah blah. The "maybe we should have done something at the deadline and it's on me comment" was a bit strange but I think it's partly because someone said hey I should have done something differently. Lol Maybe they actually listen to something from the outside after all. I'd guess he said that to try and take some heat off Thibs. Shrug neither of these guys are gonna wow you with their media appearances. That's fine not ideal but fine. As you have said so many times let's see what they actually produce.
I agree with you on Thibs. To me the one thing you have to give him credit for he might be a maniac on the sidelines but he is generally thoughtful and doesn't act like a jerk to the media. I'm sure media gets frustrated with the lack of access but he isn't treating anyone like a jerk like Sam Mitchell did. I think every NBA coach during a season will have a couple have a couple have a couple times they snap back at a question and Thibs has a couple times this year but nothing crazy.
lipoli390 wrote:I finally listened to the Thibs/Layden post-season press conference. Obviously, neither guy revealed much or offered any particularly interesting insights.
Per usual, Thibs was articulate, thoughtful, measured and well-informed. He said the right things such as saying the team needs to take more threes. I like that, when asked whether the key for next season is defensive improvement, he said that we also need to improve offensively as well. He typically says the right things. Let's face it, although I question his coaching, the guy is smart and knows the game of basketball.
Per usual, Layden sounded like a doorknob. Maybe it's just me, but the guy seems clueless as he inarticulately spews rambling platitudes. I went out of his way to mention the possibility of trading our first round pick. Not sure why he felt the need to do that. He indicated that the front office was going to be "very aggressive" this offseason. Well, what the hell does that mean. To me, very aggressive for a capped out team like the Wolves means trying to deal Wiggins or at least Jeff Teague. Otherwise, looking to sign a couple of the best free agents available with the MLE and vet minimum exception is pretty basic and not what anyone would consider aggressive, much less "very aggressive." Or maybe that was another way of saying the front office will try really hard to trade our first-round pick. Then there was his strange comment that the Wolves should have done more at the Feb. trade deadline, saying "that's on me." What the hell was that about?! Was he saying he had offers he should have accepted? What would those have been? Did he mean he didn't bother pursuing Belinelli or Ilyasova via free agency? If that's the case, it's definitly "on him" and he should be fired, but signing those guys had nothing to do with the trade deadline.
Anyway, I think Layden's an idiot. Just my opinion. I recall that the Knicks were voted the worst NBA franchise when Layden was head of that team's basketball operations. I'm told by insiders that Layden isn't much more than Thibs' gopher. That's probably a good thing. Although I have my misgivings about Thibodeau, I think he's clearly the smart one in our front office.
To me Layden just said all the stuff GMs say basically they are looking at every option blah blah. The "maybe we should have done something at the deadline and it's on me comment" was a bit strange but I think it's partly because someone said hey I should have done something differently. Lol Maybe they actually listen to something from the outside after all. I'd guess he said that to try and take some heat off Thibs. Shrug neither of these guys are gonna wow you with their media appearances. That's fine not ideal but fine. As you have said so many times let's see what they actually produce.
I agree with you on Thibs. To me the one thing you have to give him credit for he might be a maniac on the sidelines but he is generally thoughtful and doesn't act like a jerk to the media. I'm sure media gets frustrated with the lack of access but he isn't treating anyone like a jerk like Sam Mitchell did. I think every NBA coach during a season will have a couple have a couple have a couple times they snap back at a question and Thibs has a couple times this year but nothing crazy.
Layden sounds like an idiot even when compared to the low bar of what other GMs typically say. Thibodeau is actually more in line with what you hear from other GMs, providing fairly logical analysis backed by specific supporting or illuminating facts. Honestly, go back and listen. Both Layden and Thibs have a nice tone, which I appreciate. But Layden really sounds like a doorknob.
lipoli390 wrote:I finally listened to the Thibs/Layden post-season press conference. Obviously, neither guy revealed much or offered any particularly interesting insights.
Per usual, Thibs was articulate, thoughtful, measured and well-informed. He said the right things such as saying the team needs to take more threes. I like that, when asked whether the key for next season is defensive improvement, he said that we also need to improve offensively as well. He typically says the right things. Let's face it, although I question his coaching, the guy is smart and knows the game of basketball.
Per usual, Layden sounded like a doorknob. Maybe it's just me, but the guy seems clueless as he inarticulately spews rambling platitudes. I went out of his way to mention the possibility of trading our first round pick. Not sure why he felt the need to do that. He indicated that the front office was going to be "very aggressive" this offseason. Well, what the hell does that mean. To me, very aggressive for a capped out team like the Wolves means trying to deal Wiggins or at least Jeff Teague. Otherwise, looking to sign a couple of the best free agents available with the MLE and vet minimum exception is pretty basic and not what anyone would consider aggressive, much less "very aggressive." Or maybe that was another way of saying the front office will try really hard to trade our first-round pick. Then there was his strange comment that the Wolves should have done more at the Feb. trade deadline, saying "that's on me." What the hell was that about?! Was he saying he had offers he should have accepted? What would those have been? Did he mean he didn't bother pursuing Belinelli or Ilyasova via free agency? If that's the case, it's definitly "on him" and he should be fired, but signing those guys had nothing to do with the trade deadline.
Anyway, I think Layden's an idiot. Just my opinion. I recall that the Knicks were voted the worst NBA franchise when Layden was head of that team's basketball operations. I'm told by insiders that Layden isn't much more than Thibs' gopher. That's probably a good thing. Although I have my misgivings about Thibodeau, I think he's clearly the smart one in our front office.
To me Layden just said all the stuff GMs say basically they are looking at every option blah blah. The "maybe we should have done something at the deadline and it's on me comment" was a bit strange but I think it's partly because someone said hey I should have done something differently. Lol Maybe they actually listen to something from the outside after all. I'd guess he said that to try and take some heat off Thibs. Shrug neither of these guys are gonna wow you with their media appearances. That's fine not ideal but fine. As you have said so many times let's see what they actually produce.
I agree with you on Thibs. To me the one thing you have to give him credit for he might be a maniac on the sidelines but he is generally thoughtful and doesn't act like a jerk to the media. I'm sure media gets frustrated with the lack of access but he isn't treating anyone like a jerk like Sam Mitchell did. I think every NBA coach during a season will have a couple have a couple have a couple times they snap back at a question and Thibs has a couple times this year but nothing crazy.
Layden sounds like an idiot even when compared to the low bar of what other GMs typically say. Thibodeau is actually more in line with what you hear from other GMs, providing fairly logical analysis backed by specific supporting or illuminating facts. Honestly, go back and listen. Both Layden and Thibs have a nice tone, which I appreciate. But Layden really sounds like a doorknob.
Have you listened to all the GM's end of the year press conferences? Please tell me you haven't that would be a lot of time on what is probably pretty boring stuff. :) we can agree to disagree about Layden I'm not exactly a big fan of him or anything I just think we really don't know enough at this point to assess him including how much influence he has in the organization. All the reports say this is Thibs show so if you aren't a fan of Layden that's probably music to your ears. My guess is he has a bit more sway than he gets credit for but I'm sure it's not an equal partnership and I don't have a problem with Thibs having final say. Someone has to. Im interested to see who they bring in to the coaching staff or any other additions to the Basketball operations staff. It seems like they have brought in some guys that are reported to be well thought of into the front office.
Beverley / Rose / Jones
Butler / Bazemore / Allen
Wiggins / Brown / Georges-Hunt
Gibson / Bjelica / Jefferson
Towns / Dieng / Patton
Interesting deal. I don't think there is enough for Atlanta to do that deal but it does move them up in the draft which I have thought would be a good strategy as I believe they have a bunch of picks.
If this trade went down I feel confident Tyus Joes will start not less than 25 games next season because of injury problems of the other 2 PGs on the roster.
Also I think with Jefferson's performance last year in the G-league he isn't going to settle for a 2-way deal.
Seriously, fire the fat moron in charge. Trade Butler (his boy toy) for a guy like Otto Porter (he's better than LaVine, Dunn is water under the bridge, hopefully Patton at least a better fit than Lauri). Hire a good new face coach (like Suns did) and hopefully have a bright future.
"In a few days, he'll fly on a private jet to Asia with his client Steph Curry for the Under Armour tour. In 2011 Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history, and Kevin Love was named Most Improved Player. Both thanked him in their award-acceptance speeches. Last season, one of his clients (Russell Westbrook) won Most Valuable Player. Another (Kevin Durant) won Finals MVP. A third (John Wall), who hired McClanaghan in 2012 after shooting a paltry 7.1 percent from beyond the arc in the previous season, hit a season-saving 3 in the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals, using the retooled jump shot he and McClanaghan began developing that first summer."
Well, let's hope McClanaghan can teach Wiggins how to play hard and aggressively for the 36-38 minutes he's on the court. I think Andrew took a step in the right direction last season, but he should be impacting games a lot more even when he's not scoring in bunches. I assume McClanaghan will have Wiggins doing all sorts of dribble drills, especially ones with weighted gloves. That's an even bigger issue than his jumper as I see it. But on that note, his three-point shot AND his free throw percentage absolutely has to bump up. The regression and lack of improvement here is damning to his case.
He needs to work on holding on to the ball in traffic. But I have no idea how you teach that. He had some encouraging signs last year and some discouraging ones. It was really a wasted year for him. Hopefully this guy can find a way to turn the light on.
CoolBreeze44 wrote:He needs to work on holding on to the ball in traffic. But I have no idea how you teach that. He had some encouraging signs last year and some discouraging ones. It was really a wasted year for him. Hopefully this guy can find a way to turn the light on.
Cool -- I agree with both you and Cam on this. Wiggins' handle is a big problem for him and I have my doubts about how much that can improve at this stage of his career. But I still have a lot of hope for improved consistency and improved shooting. I thought Wiggins finished strong and played well in the playoffs. His defense definitely improved. And I've always liked his shooting mechanics. Part of his shooting issue is what I see as a tendency to lose focus -- which affects his shooting and other phases of his game.
Yet, we saw the leap Oladipo took in his 5th season, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Wiggins does next season. Ideally, I'd like to see Wiggins under an elite head coach, but it looks like we're stuck with Thibodeau again. Perhaps this McClanaghan guy can have a big impact on Andrew's game. He has a nice track record with other players.
