Winning Moves

[Lipoli390]

Here's a counter to my last thread on missed opportunities. Although I suspect this will be Thibodeau's last season in Minnesota based on what I expect to be another season of underachievement, I have to acknowledge this season could be a ringing success. On paper I see this team as a top 3 team in the West that could, if things click, finish as high as second. I'd view a top 4 finish and first round playoff series win as an overall success, in which case I'm sure Thibodeau would be retained.

So if this season turns out to be a success and Thibodeau stays, here's my list of the moves Thibodeau has made and should be credited with for that success:

1. The Jimmy Butler trade. I was luke warm on the trade last summer, but nevertheless thought it was a good deal for the Wolves. We still don't know that Zach LaVine, Markkenan or Dunn will become, but we know they'll nowhere close to Jimmy Butler's level. Bringing in Jimmy and still retaining young talent the likes of KAT and Wiggins has to be viewed as a good deal, even if I thought we missed the opportunity to squeeze Jordan Bell out of the deal and missed an even greater opportunity to swap the Bulls #16 pick for Donovan Mitchell at #13.

2. Getting a top 20 pick in return for Ricky Rubio. My preference would have been to hold onto Ricky. But if were were going to trade him, I doubt we could have done better than a top 20 pick. I thought Thibodeau's major mistake was siging Teague at $19 million per year for 3 years. But trading Ricky for what turned out to be a #20 pick can't be viewed as a bad deal. That pick has turned into Okogie. While we've seen some serious limitations in Okogie's game, he has show some unique abilities and tremendous competitive drive that will likely make him at least a solid rotation players at some point and possibly an elite player if he maximizes his development.

3. Not trading the #20 pick for CJ Miles or someone comparable. As you may recall, the Wolves could have traded our #20 pick for CJ Miles last season. I think CJ would have helped the Wolves, but I don't know how much of a needle-mover he would have been. I could argue both sides of this, but ultimately I think Thibodeau made the right decision and showed remarkable discipline in rejecting this trade, taking a longer view and retaining an important asset.

4. Signing Tolliver. If it were me, I would have kept Belly rather than sign Tolliver, which was apparently the choice the Wolves had to make. But having said that, I really like what Tolliver can bring to this team. And if we get the best out of him as we did with Taj last season, he'll be a significant reason for the Wolves having a successful season.

5. Drafting Okogie and KBD. We may find out by the end of the that there were Kyle Kuzmas and Josh Harts who would have been better picks than the two guys Thibodeau picked. But unlike last year when I wanted the Wolves to take John Collins or Anunoby at #16, I was fully on board with the Okogie pick at #20 and the KBD pick at #47. From what I saw in Summer League, I'm not sure how much they will contribute to the team this season, but next season and thereafter I see both providing a meaningful contribution. And I haven't given up hope that one or both can contribute significantly this season. KBD looks like he's ready to defend, rebound and shoot shoot off the catch in the NBA. Okogie looks like he has further to go, but I can see him being a disruptive defensive force and good rebounder off the bench before the season is over.

6. Not panicking. While I've criticized Thibodeau's lack of vision, multi-dimensional thinking and creativity as PBO, I do admire his discipline as he avoids making any rash hale-Mary moves.

So those are the six things I consider to be the key positives in Thibodeau's reign to date as PBO that we can look to as the keys to a successful season this year.

[TAFKASP]

Lip, go outside for awhile! :LOL:

[Monster]

Lip nice to see a list balancing things out. I'll add to your list by adding that Rose stays healthy enough and is productive enough to be a real asset as a bench player that plays for the next few years for the vet min because he is making so much from Adidias already. I'm not holding my breath on this but I also don't think it's impossible either.

[foye2smith [enjin:6593248]]

Taj on a short term deal has been worth every penny one year in.

Not going the extra years (3-4) Redick was rumored to want.

6. Not panicking. While I've criticized Thibodeau's lack of vision, multi-dimensional thinking and creativity as PBO, I do admire his discipline as he avoids making any rash hale-Mary moves.

His patience to not come in like a bull in a china shop surprised me. He basically ran back Flip's team his first year then decided it wasn't good enough and didn't really put his fingerprints on the roster until year two.

[Lipoli390]

SP -- I'm staying inside and holding my breath until the Wolves win a title.

[TAFKASP]

SP -- I'm staying inside and holding my breath until the Wolves win a title.

A future Guinness Book of World Records holder right there folks!

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Another winning move would be signing kirk heinrich or mike dunleavy

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Solid list. I'd add that not going after a veteran backup point guard last summer and deciding to roll with Tyus Jones was a minor, but winning decision. And then not trading him this off-season is another good decision.

Additionally, signing Taj Gibson for two years was a huge move for this team and without him I'm positive we don't finish above .500 last season. Aside from Jimmy Butler -- perhaps even more important than Butler in this regard -- Gibson was this team's best and more important defender. Gorgui Dieng cannot effectively play the "4" and we needed to make move to acquire a starter. Gibson was everything we needed him to be last year.