Only one thing to do now:

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

Pork, I don't disagree with you. I don't think Ricky swings the pendulum enough to take us from bad to good or elite. But ironically, the difference between shutting Ricky down or not might make the difference in getting a guard who has home-run potential in Russell or Mudiay, because we will beat more bad teams if Ricky plays (and we have plenty of bad teams still left on the schedule).

I think we're all on the same page here. Ricky is what he is--a plus player on the court but not someone you want to count on to score or take clutch shots. Thus lets do what it takes to have the best possible chance to get him help in the backcourt, and that means shutting him down and trying to guarantee a top 4 pick. Now will the guy we pick work out? You don't know. But right now Russell and Mudiay are the guys that have the best potential.

And one final thought, obviously you don't draft a top 4 player to become a backup. But if Mudiay did turn out to be awesome, I'd be happy with having the problem of Ricky as an overpaid backup. Or maybe you find a way to play them together. That would be a great problem to have.

[Porckchop]

I really love Russell as a fit for this team. I stated in another thread that if he can be our sg next to Wiggins it can allow Ricky to be an Ole school pg where he won't even have to dribble drive anymore . Plus Russell can get valuable minutes as Rickys backup giving the second unit valuable scoring it will be lacking from other positions.

[Mstermisty [enjin:6864008]]

I've watched Russell 3 times now (full games) and came away with these thoughts:

1) his teammates are not good
2) he has a feel for the game you cannot teach
3) his skills are going to be better suited for the pro game than college

It would be a roll of the dice, but if the Wolves had the #1 pick and took him I'd be good with it. Everybody right now thinks we need a big, and we do, but you can't underestimate how important it is to have an elite play maker. And by playmaker, I mean a guy who can consistently make big plays with the game on the line. Ricky is an orchestrator, he will get guys in the right spot, handle the ball, and make the right pass, but he's not a playmaker.

I'd be ecstatic if we came away with Russell in this draft.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I may be in the minority here, but I'd like to see us trade our pick, or at least dangle it out there.

I think we need another vet, I don't wanna gamble on another rookie with potential. Ibaka?

[Coolbreeze44]

I don't think you have to worry about this. I really believe Flip IS tanking. And like LST said, the other teams don't appear to be doing the same. I think Flip is very much aware of how much wins "cost" us at this point.

[mrhockey89]

LST, how can you make the argument that the Knicks aren't tanking when they're getting crushed regularly, allow Carmelo to show up to the All-Star game, yet bench him the entire 2nd half of the season...and their win tonight was over the Lakers (who have been terrible as well). It's really a 4 team tanking race right now between the Wolves/Lakers/Knicks/76ers.

[Tactical unit]

It's like were not even smart about tanking though. It's completely fine to say " We need to find out what we have moving forward " and tank by developing. I don't understand the misuse of Lavine :(

PG: Ricky or L. Brown that's it, no one else gets minutes at PG
SG: Lavine gets at least 8mins a QTR and is told to be uber aggressive! SHOW US WHAT YOU GOT KID
SF: We love Wiggins, lets tone back the mins just a tad and can we see new things out of him? I want to see him bring the ball up from time to time. I want to see him running off picks and taking 3's (I don't care if he's not good at these things) I want to see him expand his game! Also if he gets hot can we finally call play after play for him? I have yet to see him on fire and feed the ball like a God damn Boss?
PF: Payne has the upside though I doubt he ever puts it together. Lets see what some pick and pop looks like with him and Wiggins?
C: Reward Hamilton''s hustle maybe others will get the clue and he fits nice with my other suggested starters as he doesn't need the ball to be productive.

The bench: Lets make it all about Dieng's development, post him up down court the majority of the time. I want to see that awkward shake, that leg up fade away and of course the the hook and bank shot. Dieng has at least improved in my eyes and is expanding his game. He needs more weight on his frame but overall I like what I have seen out of him. Give him K-mart and Neal to kick out to and stick with this plan for a few games. It's not about winning or tanking it's about development!

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

LST, how can you make the argument that the Knicks aren't tanking when they're getting crushed regularly, allow Carmelo to show up to the All-Star game, yet bench him the entire 2nd half of the season...and their win tonight was over the Lakers (who have been terrible as well). It's really a 4 team tanking race right now between the Wolves/Lakers/Knicks/76ers.

I hear you, hockey, and I should clarify what I mean. Yes, the Carmelo move is a definite example of tanking, as is many things Philly is doing. My comment came after watching portions of a game where I didn't see a Wolves team that wanted to win, whereas I see the three teams we are neck and neck with playing hard (if not well) every night. I don't believe KG's knee is a big issue at all, and think Flip is being overly cautious in road games in a sneaky strategy to make sure we don't steal a win on the road. And I think when KG doesn't play, most of the rest of our guys play flat. I would argue that KG is as important to the Wolves' chance of winning as any individual player on the other three teams, so not playing him when he has a minor injury is the definition of tanking.

[Carlos Danger]

I see no reason to play Pek or Rubio anymore this year. I agree with the OP - shut them down and let's sink this ship straight to the bottom. An extra one or two wins does nothing but potentially hurt this cursed Franchise.

[Coolbreeze44]

LST, how can you make the argument that the Knicks aren't tanking when they're getting crushed regularly, allow Carmelo to show up to the All-Star game, yet bench him the entire 2nd half of the season...and their win tonight was over the Lakers (who have been terrible as well). It's really a 4 team tanking race right now between the Wolves/Lakers/Knicks/76ers.

I hear you, hockey, and I should clarify what I mean. Yes, the Carmelo move is a definite example of tanking, as is many things Philly is doing. My comment came after watching portions of a game where I didn't see a Wolves team that wanted to win, whereas I see the three teams we are neck and neck with playing hard (if not well) every night. I don't believe KG's knee is a big issue at all, and think Flip is being overly cautious in road games in a sneaky strategy to make sure we don't steal a win on the road. And I think when KG doesn't play, most of the rest of our guys play flat. I would argue that KG is as important to the Wolves' chance of winning as any individual player on the other three teams, so not playing him when he has a minor injury is the definition of tanking.

LST is right. These other teams regardless of who is playing for them, are excited about winning the game they're playing. Especially Philly or the Lakers. The players are fully into winning these games, even though the front office may not be.