TeamRicky wrote:Replacing Bazz and Rush's minutes with guys who can play two ways and cutting about a minute off Wiggins playing time could do wonders for this team. I want an old defensive minded guy who won't cost us much but can dog the young guys to play defense. Tony Allen might be a perfect mentor and can still play. Sefalosha is another 30+ defensive minded guy. Hopefully we can get an old vet to put the dog in Wiggins. As far as bigs that might be cheap mentors--Bogut's health and age might allow us to get him cheap. Same with Tyson Chandler if he becomes available. Nene too. Get some cheap 30 something vets to mentor the young guys like KG did with KAT.
I tend to agree with you on this, Ricky. But I'm leery of Tony Allen even though I think he could be a good addition to the Wolves. My concern is his health. He's had a history of nagging injuries and at his age those things will only become more frequent. His body seems to be breaking down. Further, using significant cap space to sign Allen helps the defense but fails to add any 3-point shooting. I just read Thibs' post-season press conference transcript again and I think Thibs made it clear that adding three-point shooting is a huge priority for him.
Thibs seemed to identify four priority additions he feels he needs to make this off season:
(1) shot-blocking, (2) wing defense, (3) three-point shooting, and (4) toughness. Looking at the list of free agents and the Wolves' available cap space constrained by the need to leave room for signing our core young guys, I see no realistic way Thibs can meet all 4 or even 3 of these needs through free agency. Looking at Thibs' press conference comments again and reading a bit between the lines, I took away the folllowing:
1. I think adding 3-point shooting is his #1 priority for free agency. He mentioned 3-point shooting more than defense, shot-blocking and toughness. Also, his comments suggest that he sees more of the defensive improvement coming from within -- mainly from KAT and Wiggins. He named those two specifically as where the defensive improvement has to start. As a result, I'd say that Thibs is far more likely to pursue Redick than Tony Allen or Sefolosha, although I see Sefolosha as a more likely target than Allen. Redick is the best 3-point shooter by far among this year's unrestricted free agents. He isn't a stellar defender, but he's actually pretty good on that end. And he would bring toughness. In other words, Redick would meet 2 of Thibs' 4 prioirity needs and would actually be an upgrade defensively over Zach.
2. I don't think he's inclined to add guys who are already in their 30s. Two comments lead me to that conclusions. First was his comment that, when adding guys, its important that those additions have the same "window" as our current core guys. He was obviously talking about age. Second, at one point he talked about the decline you expect from players in their 30s. So I have my doubts about Thibs' propensity to give the big bucks and long term deal required to get a guy like Millsap. I like Millsap a lot and he would definitely add toughness, points, rebounds and professionalism, but his age and the fact that he doesn't bring shot-blocking suggest to me it's unlikely Thibs will sign him. Redick's age puts him a bit beyond the ideal window, but his three-point shooting and toughness will probably be enough for Thibs to make an aggressive push to sign him.
Putting it all together, I'm expecting the Wolves to make a very aggressive push to sign Redick. Yes, we'll have to "overpay," but we can also sell him on the following: (1) filling an essential need given our lack of three-point shooting, (2) getting substantial playing time given Zach's injury and the goal of cutting back on the minutes of our existing young core, (3) being part of an up-and-coming team rather than his current team which seems to be on its last legs, and (4) the chance to be a leader on a young team, which might interest a guy like Redick whose very smart and may have coaching aspirations. Given what it will likely cost to sign Redick, I don't see the Wolves pursuing another big-money free agent like Millsap. Instead, if the Wolves don't re-sign Bazz, I can see Thibs making a push to sign Sefalosha for defensive and depth at the wing position.
I don't see any notable shot-blockers among the unrestricted or getable restricted free agents. So I'm not sure what Thibs and Layden might have in mind to address that need, which I consider to be important. So my guess is that the Wolves will look to grade our first round pick and some other assets for a shot-blocking, defensive big. I don't see Thibs including KAT, Wiggins or Zach as part of that deal because I think he made it clear that he intends to build around those three. I don't see him including Dunn or Gorgui as part of a deal either because he's made it clear multiple times throughout the season that he loves both guys. A couple months ago, I would have thought that Ricky would be a candidate to be packaged with our 1st round pick for an impact shot-blocking big. But given Ricky's play after the all-star break, I don't see that happening now for several reasons: (1) Thibs' obvious increased appreciation for what Ricky brings to the team, (2) the lack of anyone on our current roster who can step in as an NBA caliber PG combined with the pressure Thibs has on him to win next season. In other words, Thibs has to know he doesn't have the slack to experiment with Dunn or Jones as our starting PG.
If we enter the season with Redick and Sefalosha added to our roster, I'll be pretty happy. I'll be very happy if we do that and somehow parley our draft pick into a good defensive big without giving up up KAT, Wiggins, Zach, Gorgui or Ricky. Note we don't have any other picks to deal.