Pek is shut down for the season

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

KG played 54 games last year, 68 the year before and 60 the year before that. Conservatively he will play 55-60 games next year which is 2/3+ of the season. Given the on-court impact we saw from him this year, why would it not be worth it to have him directing guys on the defensive end for 2/3rds of the year with such a young team? Training camp will actually give our young guys time to practice with him which we just haven't been able to do with his injuries and the fact that we are resting the 7 healthy guys all the time instead of getting to practice.


He had a clear effect on the team when he was out there which is more than we can say about everyone but Ricky. The amount of games argument is crap if you are just going to add a stat stuffer like Thad. We need impact players and he is an impact player when he is out there. I'd rather have KG for 2/3rds of the year than a Thad Young type player for the whole year because KG's impact is bigger in a smaller amount of time. Quality matters more than bodies right now. Especially when we have Pek, AP, AB and Dieng under contract for next year with probably a rookie big and KG. That's 6 bigs which is more than enough to cover for the games KG and Pek miss.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Hmm...maybe I'm missing something, but I've never sensed any hate for Thad on this board. There was a lot of sympathy for him when his mom died, and them some head scratching about how long a sabbatical he took and how poorly he played when he returned. And there have been frequent comments about his weak rebounding numbers for a PF. But there have also been several comments about his character and his cleverness offensively. But hate? I'm not seeing that. I don't think he made us a better team, but that is just an opinion.

That first line is a joke, right? Thad was playing with rookies and guys who shouldn't even be rotation players and this board crucified him for not carrying them on his back. Maybe time passed has erased the memories for you, but it was Thad hate after hate.

I don't agree, cam. I think posters pointed out the deficiencies in his game (and frankly he didn't rebound well whether he was playing with rookies or our real starters), but I never sensed the "hate" that I have read here for JJ or, in at least in my case, Kevin Love. The value of this board is pointing out what players do well and what they don't do well, and that's good...and it's fine when there are disagreements. But criticism and hate are two totally different concepts...JJ got a lot of hate here, and Thad got a lot of criticism (like so many Wolves do), and both were deserved in my estimation.

I wasn't on here a ton but there was definitely Thad hate on here. He played bad and there were lots of reasons for it but I can say there was hate for the guy no doubt. PF has been a terrifically bad position for the Wolves this year.

No question that PF has been a disaster this year, monster. And I guess I should just speak for myself with respect to Thad, since I really don't know if there are posters here that hate him. I was one of his biggest detractors when the deal was made...just didn't like his rebounding or defense. And I continued to point out deficiencies during the year, while also giving credit when he played well. But as one of his biggest detractors, I don't think my level of criticism ever approached the level of hate. Thad is a very likable guy, and I always wanted him to do better...he just didn't cut it in my estimation. When my posts are hateful, it's painfully clear, and it's reserved for players that I just don't like personally (fortunately, very few).

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

Holy cow, have we drank the Kool-aid on KG. Let's take a look at the famed Portland and Washington game.

Washington game - Something happened here for sure. Caught Washington at the end of what turned out to be a 7 game losing streak where they averaged scoring under 90 ppg (under 90 for 4 of those games). They stunk that game. Did we play well....yep. But KG played 19 minutes, which is 39% of minutes. This game was the "sugar high" some spoke of.

Portland game - Really? 121-113....but we are talking about KG leading the team to victory with his defense? Not the best game to cite if you want to talk about defensive impact. Had nothing to do with Martin's 29 or Neal's 27? Huh.

Again, I am fine with KG on this squad as he certainly isn't worse than what we currently have. Maybe I should re-phrase my original objection. Before we spend $5M+ on a part-time player....again.....we first need to address our starter at PF. We can continue to add part-time players at PF, but this team will continue to stink if we do. KG is the type you add to a team that is on the verge of competing for something....not a team that is on the verge of perhaps getting to 30-40 wins in the Western conference. What am I missing here?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Q, I acknowledge that my heart does tend to be bigger than my head at times when it comes to the Wolves, but I'm still not buying your argument. In predicting how many games KG will play next year, we each offer up an argument. I argue that his record this year while playing with a team where the games mattered is the most compelling argument. Sure, he will be one year older. But personally I didn't feel much different at 39 than I did at 38, and I don't expect KG will either. You offer the argument that the Wolves' woeful injury history will be a factor in the number of games KG plays, and I don't find that persuasive. The Wolves have a bad injury history primarily because of bad luck and injury prone guys. But when non injury prone guys, like Thad Young or Corey Brewer for instance, join the team, the "bad trainer" or "injury curse" doesn't seem to impact them. Guys like Pek are injury prone, and KG is not...and there's no reason to expect that to change just because he's wearing a different uniform.

Maybe KG doesn't play 85% of the games next year like he did with the Nets...maybe he plays more, or less... but it's the best data point we have to go on. I don't take any relevance from Flip benching him in the midst of a world class tanking job.

You also weren't playing professional basketball with the best athletes in the world at age 39 (at least I don't think you were!). I think even the slightest downturn in athletic ability/skill is magnified greatly in that environment. Sure, most guys playing in their local YMCA league or Tuesday night pick-up game may not feel the difference, but the level and intensity at which the pros play is on a completely different plane.

Your prediction on KG's health and availability to play next season is based on fairly sound reasoning. However, when it comes to the Wolves, every time I make a pessimistic prediction, it almost ALWAYS ends up being worse than I even thought. So I'm sticking to my guns on this one. If he signs for next season, I'm pretty certain we won't see him on the floor much.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Holy cow, have we drank the Kool-aid on KG. Let's take a look at the famed Portland and Washington game.

Washington game - Something happened here for sure. Caught Washington at the end of what turned out to be a 7 game losing streak where they averaged scoring under 90 ppg (under 90 for 4 of those games). They stunk that game. Did we play well....yep. But KG played 19 minutes, which is 39% of minutes. This game was the "sugar high" some spoke of.

Portland game - Really? 121-113....but we are talking about KG leading the team to victory with his defense? Not the best game to cite if you want to talk about defensive impact. Had nothing to do with Martin's 29 or Neal's 27? Huh.

Again, I am fine with KG on this squad as he certainly isn't worse than what we currently have. Maybe I should re-phrase my original objection. Before we spend $5M+ on a part-time player....again.....we first need to address our starter at PF. We can continue to add part-time players at PF, but this team will continue to stink if we do. KG is the type you add to a team that is on the verge of competing for something....not a team that is on the verge of perhaps getting to 30-40 wins in the Western conference. What am I missing here?

16 win teams have limited options to get bonafide starting players so KG is an acceptable place holder and mentor to the young ones we are currently hoping develop in to a possible starting PF. Just as Martin is a good placeholder until Lavine takes his spot. If you go all in on a PF, what do you do with Bennett and Payne? Trade them for pennies on the dollar after you gave a dollar to get them? I think we need 1 more year of development and then we go all in with the new cap when we have more information as to what we actually have now.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Pennies > $0.00

Bennett and Payne are chumps, but maybe a whole year of KG's mentoring would do them well. Let KG work his magic voodoo.

On a serious note, KG three years ago would have been perfect. Guess what, though? He's a year shy of being 40 and we're supposed to project him at 20 MPG next year? Good luck with that.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Pennies > $0.00

Bennett and Payne are chumps, but maybe a whole year of KG's mentoring would do them well. Let KG work his magic voodoo.

On a serious note, KG three years ago would have been perfect. Guess what, though? He's a year shy of being 40 and we're supposed to project him at 20 MPG next year? Good luck with that.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/215/tim-duncan

[Porckchop]

This is a non story to me. Saw this coming before the season started . Next year we'll have fans turning against Rubio a year after me too .

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

This is a non story to me. Saw this coming before the season started . Next year we'll have fans turning against Rubio a year after me too .

You and me both Pork. The only difference between Rubio this year and next is that he will be making a ton more money. That ought to finally push all the others over the edge :thumb:

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

Holy cow, have we drank the Kool-aid on KG. Let's take a look at the famed Portland and Washington game.

Washington game - Something happened here for sure. Caught Washington at the end of what turned out to be a 7 game losing streak where they averaged scoring under 90 ppg (under 90 for 4 of those games). They stunk that game. Did we play well....yep. But KG played 19 minutes, which is 39% of minutes. This game was the "sugar high" some spoke of.

Portland game - Really? 121-113....but we are talking about KG leading the team to victory with his defense? Not the best game to cite if you want to talk about defensive impact. Had nothing to do with Martin's 29 or Neal's 27? Huh.

Again, I am fine with KG on this squad as he certainly isn't worse than what we currently have. Maybe I should re-phrase my original objection. Before we spend $5M+ on a part-time player....again.....we first need to address our starter at PF. We can continue to add part-time players at PF, but this team will continue to stink if we do. KG is the type you add to a team that is on the verge of competing for something....not a team that is on the verge of perhaps getting to 30-40 wins in the Western conference. What am I missing here?

16 win teams have limited options to get bonafide starting players so KG is an acceptable place holder and mentor to the young ones we are currently hoping develop in to a possible starting PF. Just as Martin is a good placeholder until Lavine takes his spot. If you go all in on a PF, what do you do with Bennett and Payne? Trade them for pennies on the dollar after you gave a dollar to get them? I think we need 1 more year of development and then we go all in with the new cap when we have more information as to what we actually have now.

You can't possibly go into a season expecting any starting player to only give you 20 mpg. That's just wrong.