Fake news

[AbeVigodaLive]

If a guy like Lowry was willing to change his role in Toronto playing with the bench unit more for the betterment of the team I don't see how it'd be a problem adding him here. You stager minutes so after the start of the game you have 2 out of the 4 of Lowry/Butler/Wiggins and Towns on the court until the last 8 minutes when all 4 should play. I think people are too focused on stats when we know Wiggins doesn't care about them and Lowry was willing to change his role for the team to have better success. Everything falls into place when you start winning. Guys sacrifice for winning. Honestly the only person I'd worry about is KAT because of his stat chasing and he's gonna be a top 2 player on the team anyway so I don't see his stats falling off like a Kevin Love. I don't think it would be a problem and if it is something that matters to a guy like Lowry he wouldn't come here anyway knowing he'd no longer be a top 2 option.

Huh?

How do we know this? And... would he care if a drop in stats limited what he makes on his extension or next contract or publicity or media opps or chances with the ladies?

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I don't know what Wiggins cares about or not.

I just know if we signed Lowry, Wiggins' scoring would become less valuable and all of the things he doesn't do (rebound, defend, hit 3s) would start to become bigger issues.

Imagine we got Lowry and got into the playoffs. Look at our lineup and guess how teams would attack us.

Lowry, Wiggins, Butler, Gorgui, Towns.

They'd definitely go after Wiggins and Towns. Towns is worth keeping out there because of all the other things he does. Wiggins . . . not so much.

So I think Bradley would be much more valuable on our team if we had already signed Lowry (this is all a fantasy, by the way, but just indulge me). By the way, if you're not familiar with Avery Bradley, acquaint yourself. And check out what a huge improvement he'd be over Wiggins as a rebounder in particular. The dude is arguably a two-way star in my book if you consider his defensive impact and offensive efficiency. He's just a total bulldog defensively.

Now you have a lineup of:

Lowry, Bradley, Butler, Gorgui, Towns.

If Towns could just improve on the defensive end a bit, that defense would rival the Warriors, no joke. Both guards shoot well from 3 and defend well (Bradley is an amazing defender), Butler is Butler, Towns is Towns, and Gorgui is statistically a pretty good starting PF who would fill some key roles on that squad.

Put that roster together, and we'll start getting our pick of good vets ready to chase a ring for the vet's minimum.

[slimcalhoun27 [enjin:6640095]]

I've always liked Beverley's defense, but his offensive game isn't strong enough for me to love this deal. I still want my PG to be primarily a distributor, and if not a great distributor, at least a great scorer...Beverley is neither. Rubio's 9.1 assists per game is more than double Beverley's 4.2. The only way I would love this deal would be if there was a specific reason Thibs needs the extra $10 million he saves by swapping contracts for the next two years, but I don't think cap space is our biggest issue. I'll take the younger player here...Rubio vs. Beverley.

The rub is that Thibs obviously likes the idea of a wing who can create. He force-fed that into Wiggins a bit last season. And Butler arrives with that in his DNA... only he's much better at it.

Beverley would give the Wolves a viable candidate behind the arc (38% career) who doesn't need the ball to be at his best. Rubio does need the ball because his passing is ELITE. But is that needed as much on a team with three guys gifted at creating their own shots (KAT, Wiggins and Butler)?

Plus, there's a different element to his defense... Rubio is a fine defender. At times, he's an absolute joy to watch. Beverley is a punk... a pest... an on-court troll. I can see why a team would want that type of guy on the roster.

All that being said... why would Houston do this?

I agree with this completely Abe, that swagger he brings both to revving up the crowd, getting dirty on defense and finishing in the paint is fun to watch

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

If a guy like Lowry was willing to change his role in Toronto playing with the bench unit more for the betterment of the team I don't see how it'd be a problem adding him here. You stager minutes so after the start of the game you have 2 out of the 4 of Lowry/Butler/Wiggins and Towns on the court until the last 8 minutes when all 4 should play. I think people are too focused on stats when we know Wiggins doesn't care about them and Lowry was willing to change his role for the team to have better success. Everything falls into place when you start winning. Guys sacrifice for winning. Honestly the only person I'd worry about is KAT because of his stat chasing and he's gonna be a top 2 player on the team anyway so I don't see his stats falling off like a Kevin Love. I don't think it would be a problem and if it is something that matters to a guy like Lowry he wouldn't come here anyway knowing he'd no longer be a top 2 option.

Huh?

How do we know this? And... would he care if a drop in stats limited what he makes on his extension or next contract or publicity or media opps or chances with the ladies?

Because I've watched the guy since college. He's never demanded the ball and never gone out of his way to rack up stats like a Westbrook or Rondo did back in the day. He's always played team basketball and done his best to live up to what the team asks him to do. Also a drop in stats would do nothing to his next contract besides maybe taking a fifth year away (which gets him paid sooner on his next deal) because he's getting a max offer in restricted free agency anyway. He's one of the premier young talents in the game. A low stat year on a stacked team would do nothing to his value. He's already got the Adidas shoe deal. As a former number 1 pick who was highly regarded as a superstar going into the draft all that lifestyle has to offer has been available to him and he hasn't taken to it like Towns. When comparing that to his on court personality it makes me confident in saying stats don't drive him as a basketball player so seeing a dip in them is gonna do nothing to him.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I don't know what Wiggins cares about or not.

I just know if we signed Lowry, Wiggins' scoring would become less valuable and all of the things he doesn't do (rebound, defend, hit 3s) would start to become bigger issues.

Imagine we got Lowry and got into the playoffs. Look at our lineup and guess how teams would attack us.

Lowry, Wiggins, Butler, Gorgui, Towns.

They'd definitely go after Wiggins and Towns. Towns is worth keeping out there because of all the other things he does. Wiggins . . . not so much.

So I think Bradley would be much more valuable on our team if we had already signed Lowry (this is all a fantasy, by the way, but just indulge me). By the way, if you're not familiar with Avery Bradley, acquaint yourself. And check out what a huge improvement he'd be over Wiggins as a rebounder in particular. The dude is arguably a two-way star in my book if you consider his defensive impact and offensive efficiency. He's just a total bulldog defensively.

Now you have a lineup of:

Lowry, Bradley, Butler, Gorgui, Towns.

If Towns could just improve on the defensive end a bit, that defense would rival the Warriors, no joke. Both guards shoot well from 3 and defend well (Bradley is an amazing defender), Butler is Butler, Towns is Towns, and Gorgui is statistically a pretty good starting PF who would fill some key roles on that squad.

Put that roster together, and we'll start getting our pick of good vets ready to chase a ring for the vet's minimum.

Wiggins is 22. He's not going anywhere. He's far from a finished product and the sky is the limit with his potential. Bradley is a really good player. Wiggins is potentially a great player. I'm curious to see how he does in his second year under Thibs next to a guy like Butler pushing him to get better. I think we'll see significant improvement from him next season and moving into the future as he gets closer to his prime playing years.

[AbeVigodaLive]

If a guy like Lowry was willing to change his role in Toronto playing with the bench unit more for the betterment of the team I don't see how it'd be a problem adding him here. You stager minutes so after the start of the game you have 2 out of the 4 of Lowry/Butler/Wiggins and Towns on the court until the last 8 minutes when all 4 should play. I think people are too focused on stats when we know Wiggins doesn't care about them and Lowry was willing to change his role for the team to have better success. Everything falls into place when you start winning. Guys sacrifice for winning. Honestly the only person I'd worry about is KAT because of his stat chasing and he's gonna be a top 2 player on the team anyway so I don't see his stats falling off like a Kevin Love. I don't think it would be a problem and if it is something that matters to a guy like Lowry he wouldn't come here anyway knowing he'd no longer be a top 2 option.

Huh?

How do we know this? And... would he care if a drop in stats limited what he makes on his extension or next contract or publicity or media opps or chances with the ladies?

Because I've watched the guy since college. He's never demanded the ball and never gone out of his way to rack up stats like a Westbrook or Rondo did back in the day. He's always played team basketball and done his best to live up to what the team asks him to do. Also a drop in stats would do nothing to his next contract besides maybe taking a fifth year away (which gets him paid sooner on his next deal) because he's getting a max offer in restricted free agency anyway. He's one of the premier young talents in the game. A low stat year on a stacked team would do nothing to his value. He's already got the Adidas shoe deal. As a former number 1 pick who was highly regarded as a superstar going into the draft all that lifestyle has to offer has been available to him and he hasn't taken to it like Towns. When comparing that to his on court personality it makes me confident in saying stats don't drive him as a basketball player so seeing a dip in them is gonna do nothing to him.

So you've watched him play basketball for 4 years and know what makes him tick and what his motivations are?

I apologize if I sound like a dick... but things can get dicey when we start to try to get inside people's heads in such a way. There's just no way to know for certain.

Conversely, couldn't somebody argue that after three years of a lack of significant improvement in "do shit" stats... the only thing Wiggins cares about is "getting his" via scoring on the offensive end as the team sucks balls?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

If a guy like Lowry was willing to change his role in Toronto playing with the bench unit more for the betterment of the team I don't see how it'd be a problem adding him here. You stager minutes so after the start of the game you have 2 out of the 4 of Lowry/Butler/Wiggins and Towns on the court until the last 8 minutes when all 4 should play. I think people are too focused on stats when we know Wiggins doesn't care about them and Lowry was willing to change his role for the team to have better success. Everything falls into place when you start winning. Guys sacrifice for winning. Honestly the only person I'd worry about is KAT because of his stat chasing and he's gonna be a top 2 player on the team anyway so I don't see his stats falling off like a Kevin Love. I don't think it would be a problem and if it is something that matters to a guy like Lowry he wouldn't come here anyway knowing he'd no longer be a top 2 option.

Huh?

How do we know this? And... would he care if a drop in stats limited what he makes on his extension or next contract or publicity or media opps or chances with the ladies?

Because I've watched the guy since college. He's never demanded the ball and never gone out of his way to rack up stats like a Westbrook or Rondo did back in the day. He's always played team basketball and done his best to live up to what the team asks him to do. Also a drop in stats would do nothing to his next contract besides maybe taking a fifth year away (which gets him paid sooner on his next deal) because he's getting a max offer in restricted free agency anyway. He's one of the premier young talents in the game. A low stat year on a stacked team would do nothing to his value. He's already got the Adidas shoe deal. As a former number 1 pick who was highly regarded as a superstar going into the draft all that lifestyle has to offer has been available to him and he hasn't taken to it like Towns. When comparing that to his on court personality it makes me confident in saying stats don't drive him as a basketball player so seeing a dip in them is gonna do nothing to him.

So you've watched him play basketball for 4 years and know what makes him tick and what his motivations are?

I apologize if I sound like a dick... but things can get dicey when we start to try to get inside people's heads in such a way. There's just no way to know for certain.

Conversely, couldn't somebody argue that after three years of a lack of significant improvement in "do shit" stats... the only thing Wiggins cares about is "getting his" via scoring on the offensive end as the team sucks balls?

Those types of players go get the ball. When has Wiggins ever went to get the ball without being directed by a coach? I don't know his mentality for certain. That's why I use an educated guess based on how he plays the game and lives off the court. I think it's a much bigger stretch to think he's a closet scoring hound who wants all the fame and women when nothing about him on the court or off has suggested that. These are NBA players. They live and play in the spotlight. We know a lot more about them than an average person on the street. None of us know for certain, but we have enough information to make educated guesses and there's just nothing that backs up your devil's advocate approach in this case. Nothing from coaches, teammates or media suggest that's even in play. Ego just hasn't been a negative word used to describe him to this point so to think it will come into play now seems like an unsupported shot in he dark.

[thedoper]

Everyone loves getting in Wiggins head here, its been a regurgitated element of conversation since his arrival. Whether it's his effort, his motivations, it gets crazy. Reality is there has been gradual improvement and statistically he is an above average scorer with not much else to show on paper. We all want the improvement to be greater, but an above average scorer with off the charts athleticism is still something to stay positive about for a team. As long as he keeps improving I'm happy, even if its gradual.

[Monster]

A couple thoughts on this possible deal.

I could see the Jazz being interested in this deal if they didn't think they wanted to pony up for money to keep Hill. They might like this deal also if they thought Hayward was a goner. They still have plenty of talent to compete so the probably won't just turnover the reins to Exum and see what happens. Rubio is under contract for a reasonable price at 2 years so if Exum or Mitchell is ever ready it won't be hard to move Rubio to another team or even to the bench.

The Wolves do this deal no doubt.

Houston would do this deal if they are serious about getting that cap space for another top player. Abe payed it out though Beverly is a good player on a terrific contract for a couple more years. Houston could certainly ask for assets from either or both teams to make it happen. What would the Wolves be willing to give up? The Dunc'd on podcast actually suggested taking the package of Anderson and Beverly and considering getting 2 players for that sunk cost would be one way of looking at it. They didn't think the Wolves would do that and anderson's deal lasts at least a year too long you probably would have to pass on that. It sounds like the Wolves are looking to make a bigger move (hey that's us!!!!) so this wouldn't happen.

Like someone else said why not just trade for Beverly if they just want to dump him and have him and Rubio?! That would be awesome. PGs would hate playing us.

If this rumor has any legs it could mean there could be at least one team (Jazz) is actually interested in taking on Rubio.

[Coolbreeze44]

Khans knows what he's talking about here. Wiggins doesn't strike me as someone who is stat driven. If he was he could certainly grab more rebounds - the type that he defers to Towns and G routinely. What he was is the #16 scorer in the league last year. And at the age of 22 I'll gladly take it and hope he improves all facets of his game moving forward.