Roster Needs for 2020-21

[Wolvesfan21]

I wish they'd admit that making Covington a PF is a mistake, but I kinda don't see him being here much longer, so they have to try to address all their problems in one offseason... again.

It hurts when others roll out two 7 footers with LeBron who can spoon feed them lob dunks. It definitely is matchup dependent. We also don't have good assist guys who can get Cov the open looks on a regular basis. Imagine Cov on the Lakers. Would they give up 4 first rounders for him? I might do it.

[kekgeek]

I wish they'd admit that making Covington a PF is a mistake, but I kinda don't see him being here much longer, so they have to try to address all their problems in one offseason... again.

It hurts when others roll out two 7 footers with LeBron who can spoon feed them lob dunks. It definitely is matchup dependent. We also don't have good assist guys who can get Cov the open looks on a regular basis. Imagine Cov on the Lakers. Would they give up 4 first rounders for him? I might do it.

I mean the picks would be in like 2026, 28, 30 and 32

And they would have to send back salary and Danny Green who is useful for them the only guy who matches salary

[KG4Ever]

Didn't see this thread until I posted one about Monte Morris, but he's someone who we should target at point guard. Great outside shooter with elite assist/turnover numbers and better plus/minus stats than Jamaal Murray the guy he plays behind, 24 on a minimum deal. He thrived when he filled in as starter for 6 games last year. Denver also has Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez who can shoot from the perimeter and are stuck in Denver's depth chart.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I wouldn't call Culvers shot broken as much as just inconsistent. The shot itself mechanically looks good, he just misses wildly at times due to more then likely either a mental block, thinking too much, confidence, or lack of actual reps at game speed. When you practice you should be doing so like you are in a game situation. Running the floor, etc.

I know Anthony Tolliver mentioned this as well who is one of the best 3P shooters. Culver can become one, he needs the proper work put in. Maybe some confidence boost will come too.

Just to show you how far he needs to go with that shot...

Culver's 42.1% ft is the worst in the league for guys shooting more than 1 per game.

Next up are centers, Stephen Adams and Clint Capela, at 46.3% and 46.9%. The closest guard on the list is fellow rookie, RJ Barrett at 53.3%.

Both young players have a long way to go...

I'm not saying it's not concerning. I'm sure he probably can knock down 80% alone in a gym. He just needs to mentally overcome the problems he is having. I don't think it's mechanically off, it's just mental. For now, you just give him a pass and look for improvement over the long term.

I'll be concerned if he doesn't show an increased rate later into the year and into next season. He's young, he has time to improve.

Alas.

At this point, that mantra should be etched permanently into the sidewalk in front of Target Center.

Not saying it's not what we NEED to do... only that it gets old after many years or even decades of being patient with the Timberwolves.

Of course it would be nice if we could just sign Kawhi or LeBron, but alas, MN is not a destination and I don't blame them. I'd rather live in California, Texas or Florida in the winter myself. We really have no great options after what Thibs left us, so we just go with what we got for now. Hope the guys we got do something unexpected to the upside (which they probably won't.)

To be fair... the Wolves were left with two #1 draft picks... after Thibodeau. Both having shown "enough" promise to get max deals.

In theory, that's more attractive than at any other point in non-Garnett Wolves history.



[Note: That's not a Thibs endorsement... only that we were begging for a Towns/Wiggins for so long... that's it's scary to realize things could be even gloomier.]

[AbeVigodaLive]

Didn't see this thread until I posted one about Monte Morris, but he's someone who we should target at point guard. Great outside shooter with elite assist/turnover numbers and better plus/minus stats than Jamaal Murray the guy he plays behind, 24 on a minimum deal. He thrived when he filled in as starter for 6 games last year. Denver also has Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez who can shoot from the perimeter and are stuck in Denver's depth chart.

One caveat... check out the playoff numbers.

Monte Morris eventually played himself off the court in last year's playoffs... while the Nuggets went as far as Murray and Jokic would take them.

In fact, Morris didn't hit a single three pointer. He's not a volume guy out there. Plus, as we will find out (someday) defense is entirely different in the playoffs. Teams can scheme. They can force you into things you don't want to do. And they can prey on the weak link.

We can look back at Towns in 2018 and say it was a small sample size... or we can look at those games and see how easy it was to take him out of his game... force the Wolves into doing what Houston wanted.

I think we're so unfamiliar with playoff basketball for our favorite team, it's easy to forget.