Wolves offseason grade so far.

[Monster]

There will likely be some minor moves to fill out the roster but maybe it's time to give a bit of a grade to what they have done so far. I'll do a grade on each move and an overall grade.

Waiving Cole Aldrich

Grade C

Kinda a no-brainer. You could just as easily give them a Higher grade I lowered it to a C because I didn't like they stretched the contract. Take the hit now.

Draft grade overall A-

Drafting Okogie

Grade A-

This was the guy I wanted the most out of the options I thought would be available. He looks like he might be able to help right away as a hustle energy guy. I see potential in him to be more.

Drafting KBD

Grade B+

This could be even an even higher grade but regardless KBD looks like he could be a worthwhile player picked in the 2nd round. The grade maybe should be raised to an A- since they got KBD signed to a 3 year deal.

Signing Jared Terrell to a 2-way contract

Grade C

I like this deal more than some but it's kind of a crap shoot type of a deal basically kinda like a late 2nd rounder. I think it's clear they liked him they move pretty methodically.

Resigning Rose for the vet min

Grade: B

Why such a high grade? I believe Rose can play if healthy and we got him back for the vet min. He committed to this right away.

Not giving MGH and Amile qualifying offers.

Grade: incomplete

Maybe these guys come back. Who do we get that takes their roster? Ultimately not giving them qualifying offers means they can bring them back for a little less if they want on a vet min deal. My guess is either guy would jump at a guaranteed deal right now.

Letting Belly go*

Grade: C+

Belly ended up going to Europe. My guess is this was one of the reasons why the Wolves went after and signed Tolliver. They may have known Belly was considering going back to Europe as one option. It would have been bad for the Wolves if things had dragged on and a few weeks from now he decided to go to Europe and the Wolves May have been left to sift through next to nobody with the portion of the mid-level.

*Signing Tolliver

Grade B+

Obviously the Tolliver signing is tied to Belly being let go. Personally I think Tolliver is a more certain player and therefore an upgrade.

Other considerations:

Crawford is gone. He has basically been replaced by Rose for less money and a different set of skills

They haven't really done anything but stay the coursewxcept for the Belly Tolliver swap. You could say this is good or bad.

Cole and Aaron's brooks are gone and that was assumed.

My overall grade so far is B+. I think I would have it higher if they had signed another solid player by now. The bench and the roster in general has been infused with youth which I think everyone likes but it could still use some help. While the team isn't a finished product I do feel like it has a real chance to be a better team than it was last season. Only time will tell.

[Lipoli390]

Good thread, Monster. I'd give them a B- overall.

like the two draft picks. Those are the picks I would have made. They seemed like no-brainer picks to me given who was available at the time. So I can't quite give our front office an A for those picks. Instead I give them a B+ on this summer's draft. But I give them a C for everything else they've done this summer.

It was interesting to listen to Thibodeau's Summer League interview. He went out of his way to stress how well our starters played last season, identifying our bench as the thing that held us back. But as I see it, Thibodeau hasn't done anything to significantly improve the bench. He's essentially replaced Crawford with Rose and Belly with Tolliver, while drafting a couple promising players who, like most rookies, can't be counted on to be significant positive rotation contributors. Rose may or may not be a step up from Crawford, but if so, not by much and that assumes he stays healthy -- something he hasn't done for years. Tolliver doesn't strike me as a step up from Belly, and even if he is, it's not by much. As a result, the Wolves' PBO failed to significantly improve the aspect of the team that he identified as the key to improving the team. Therefore, I think I'm generous giving our front office a C rather than a C- or D+ for the non-draft portion of their work so far this summer.

The B+ grade for the draft pulls up the overall grade to a B-. If they sign Beasley I might raise the grade to a B. :)

[Monster]

Good thread, Monster. I'd give them a B- overall.

like the two draft picks. Those are the picks I would have made. They seemed like no-brainer picks to me given who was available at the time. So I can't quite give our front office an A for those picks. Instead I give them a B+ on this summer's draft. But I give them a C for everything else they've done this summer.

It was interesting to listen to Thibodeau's Summer League interview. He went out of his way to stress how well our starters played last season, identifying our bench as the thing that held us back. But as I see it, Thibodeau hasn't done anything to significantly improve the bench. He's essentially replaced Crawford with Rose and Belly with Tolliver, while drafting a couple promising players who, like most rookies, can't be counted on to be significant positive rotation contributors. Rose may or may not be a step up from Crawford, but if so, not by much and that assumes he stays healthy -- something he hasn't done for years. Tolliver doesn't strike me as a step up from Belly, and even if he is, it's not by much. As a result, the Wolves' PBO failed to significantly improve the aspect of the team that he identified as the key to improving the team. Therefore, I think I'm generous giving our front office a C rather than a C- or D+ for the non-draft portion of their work so far this summer.

The B+ grade for the draft pulls up the overall grade to a B-. If they sign Beasley I might raise the grade to a B. :)

Lip I think your grades are fair. As you noted they aren't done yet. Just one solid vet signing (Beasley, Brewer, Morrow) would probably make people feel a bit better. It will be interesting to see where we end up.

I think most people would agree that the real key to this offseason was the draft. Early indications are good. Jon K said people from various NBA teams unprompted have said the Wolves has a nice draft. If they got 2 legit rotation players going forward that would be pretty big.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I'd give him a C. At the end of the day, he STILL doesn't have a legit backup wing that you feel confident can give us 20+ minutes of solid play off the bench or step into a starting role for a period of time in case Butler or Wiggins gets hurt. I just don't trust that Derrick Rose is the answer. And Josh Okogie certainly isn't the answer, at least not this season.

I think Tolliver was a good signing because it gives us a volume 3 shooter. Unfortunately, he's a backup PF. So our two best 3-point shooters on the roster is our starting Center and backup PF.....same as last year! We will likely be dead last again in 3PTA and 3PTM unless someone else on the roster suddenly turns into a volume sniper. Not gonna happen.....

[Lipoli390]

I'd give him a C. At the end of the day, he STILL doesn't have a legit backup wing that you feel confident can give us 20+ minutes of solid play off the bench or step into a starting role for a period of time in case Butler or Wiggins gets hurt. I just don't trust that Derrick Rose is the answer. And Josh Okogie certainly isn't the answer, at least not this season.

I think Tolliver was a good signing because it gives us a volume 3 shooter. Unfortunately, he's a backup PF. So our two best 3-point shooters on the roster is our starting Center and backup PF.....same as last year! We will likely be dead last again in 3PTA and 3PTM unless someone else on the roster suddenly turns into a volume sniper. Not gonna happen.....

Q - I agree. I bumped the grade up to a B- based on the longer-term implications of what seems like a very good draft for the Wolves. But as for next season, the Wolves front office don't deserve more than a C, maybe a C-.

But it will be interesting to see how things unfold going forward. Signing Beasley would be a plus in my view. Perhaps they'll sign a young guy like Connaughton to the 14th roster spot and he'll have a breakout season. Perhaps Rose will stay healthy all season and show a lot of glimpses of his former all-star self. There's still hope. :)

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I'd give him a C. At the end of the day, he STILL doesn't have a legit backup wing that you feel confident can give us 20+ minutes of solid play off the bench or step into a starting role for a period of time in case Butler or Wiggins gets hurt. I just don't trust that Derrick Rose is the answer. And Josh Okogie certainly isn't the answer, at least not this season.

I think Tolliver was a good signing because it gives us a volume 3 shooter. Unfortunately, he's a backup PF. So our two best 3-point shooters on the roster is our starting Center and backup PF.....same as last year! We will likely be dead last again in 3PTA and 3PTM unless someone else on the roster suddenly turns into a volume sniper. Not gonna happen.....

Why is Okogie certainly not the answer? He doesn't have to run the second unit because you have Rose and Tyus. He gets to play off 2 PG's and hustle and play D. That's right in his wheelhouse with his skillset right now. He gets to play the role he is ready for right now and won't ever have to do more than he's capable of right now because the team is stacked with other guys who cover up his weaknesses of ball handling and playmaking. I would expect him to have an impact this year. He's in a great situation for impacting games while getting to limit mistakes.

[Lipoli390]

I'd give him a C. At the end of the day, he STILL doesn't have a legit backup wing that you feel confident can give us 20+ minutes of solid play off the bench or step into a starting role for a period of time in case Butler or Wiggins gets hurt. I just don't trust that Derrick Rose is the answer. And Josh Okogie certainly isn't the answer, at least not this season.

I think Tolliver was a good signing because it gives us a volume 3 shooter. Unfortunately, he's a backup PF. So our two best 3-point shooters on the roster is our starting Center and backup PF.....same as last year! We will likely be dead last again in 3PTA and 3PTM unless someone else on the roster suddenly turns into a volume sniper. Not gonna happen.....

Why is Okogie certainly not the answer? He doesn't have to run the second unit because you have Rose and Tyus. He gets to play off 2 PG's and hustle and play D. That's right in his wheelhouse with his skillset right now. He gets to play the role he is ready for right now and won't ever have to do more than he's capable of right now because the team is stacked with other guys who cover up his weaknesses of ball handling and playmaking. I would expect him to have an impact this year. He's in a great situation for impacting games while getting to limit mistakes.

I hear what you're saying, Kahns, but it seems like a second-unit that will really struggle to score. If Tolliver's out there, that unit would have only one proven NBA 3-point shooter.

[WildWolf2813]

B- offseason. What makes it worse is that other teams have clearly leapfrogged this team so even a good offseason feels empty.

[TAFKASP]

B- offseason. What makes it worse is that other teams have clearly leapfrogged this team so even a good offseason feels empty.

Though not as empty as the hoop with Wiggins clanking long twos!

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I'd give him a C. At the end of the day, he STILL doesn't have a legit backup wing that you feel confident can give us 20+ minutes of solid play off the bench or step into a starting role for a period of time in case Butler or Wiggins gets hurt. I just don't trust that Derrick Rose is the answer. And Josh Okogie certainly isn't the answer, at least not this season.

I think Tolliver was a good signing because it gives us a volume 3 shooter. Unfortunately, he's a backup PF. So our two best 3-point shooters on the roster is our starting Center and backup PF.....same as last year! We will likely be dead last again in 3PTA and 3PTM unless someone else on the roster suddenly turns into a volume sniper. Not gonna happen.....

Why is Okogie certainly not the answer? He doesn't have to run the second unit because you have Rose and Tyus. He gets to play off 2 PG's and hustle and play D. That's right in his wheelhouse with his skillset right now. He gets to play the role he is ready for right now and won't ever have to do more than he's capable of right now because the team is stacked with other guys who cover up his weaknesses of ball handling and playmaking. I would expect him to have an impact this year. He's in a great situation for impacting games while getting to limit mistakes.

I hear what you're saying, Kahns, but it seems like a second-unit that will really struggle to score. If Tolliver's out there, that unit would have only one proven NBA 3-point shooter.

It's the bench. It doesn't operate under the same rules of needing 4 out, etc. Most benches are just 1 maybe 2 guys doing all the playmaking and scoring off the dribble and it's PnR and Isolation basketball. Basic stuff. Rose and Tyus running the PnR. Okogie and Tolliver spotting up and cutting. Dieng setting the picks. In reality those 5 shouldn't be on the court at the same time given we have 4 potential 20 point scorers in Towns/Butler/Wiggins/Teague, but if they do they have the same offensive potency as most benches in the league IMO given we have 2 PG's that know how to run an offense directing that unit. At the end of the day they just need to not get blown out during their time on the court and our starting unit is better than most in the league to bring it home.