What About Rosas?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

The only two critiques I have so far are Covington's run under the new regime and subsequent trade and last year's draft. Covington is the guy we wanted for years. The 3 and D wing on a great contract that would fit around stars. We then proceed to play him out of position asking him to do far more than his role should be asked to carry and we end up trading him because of that lack of fit with the current vision. He's exactly the guy this team is missing now on the wing with D Lo and Towns running the PnR. What's the biggest hole on the roster? A 3&D wing to replace Wiggins. I know we like Beasley, but we have 2 1st round picks at his spot to develop and now we literally have no 3 on the team going into the draft with not a lot of great options on the wing. I'd much rather be looking at this season with a Russell/Covington/Towns core hoping Culver or Okogie step up into the 2 spot than Russell/Beasley/Towns with no good options at the 3. The first team has potential defensive pieces to help cover up for Russell and Towns and the second team better be scoring 120+ because they're giving up that much every night.

The second was the Garland draft blunder. He traded up to get a guy before he knew he would be there and then took a guy who just wasn't that good and wouldn't be ready quickly for a team needing a playoff push. I said at the time the Culver pick only made sense if we went and got Russell (which we have now so we'll see how he develops), but I think Okogie is just a much better do shit defensive energy player right now to play with Russell than Culver. It was a big rookie mistake by Rosas that he'll have to hope Culver can improve enough to not be a disaster.

I would criticize the Saunders hire, but I don't think he had a ton of say with potentially going in a different direction from Ryan. It's not a good sign that we had to overhaul more than half the roster of a team looking to make the playoffs by the trade deadline under Ryan. I don't think he's the coach to maximize Russell/Towns and the team around them. Coaches need to do more than just coach to the analytics and be your buddy. He has to inspire some fire and spirit in this squad this year or else it's gonna be another long one. Hopefully guys like Beasley can help with that, but we need it from the top as well.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

The only two critiques I have so far are Covington's run under the new regime and subsequent trade and last year's draft. Covington is the guy we wanted for years. The 3 and D wing on a great contract that would fit around stars. We then proceed to play him out of position asking him to do far more than his role should be asked to carry and we end up trading him because of that lack of fit with the current vision. He's exactly the guy this team is missing now on the wing with D Lo and Towns running the PnR. What's the biggest hole on the roster? A 3&D wing to replace Wiggins. I know we like Beasley, but we have 2 1st round picks at his spot to develop and now we literally have no 3 on the team going into the draft with not a lot of great options on the wing. I'd much rather be looking at this season with a Russell/Covington/Towns core hoping Culver or Okogie step up into the 2 spot than Russell/Beasley/Towns with no good options at the 3. The first team has potential defensive pieces to help cover up for Russell and Towns and the second team better be scoring 120+ because they're giving up that much every night.

The second was the Garland draft blunder. He traded up to get a guy before he knew he would be there and then took a guy who just wasn't that good and wouldn't be ready quickly for a team needing a playoff push. I said at the time the Culver pick only made sense if we went and got Russell (which we have now so we'll see how he develops), but I think Okogie is just a much better do shit defensive energy player right now to play with Russell than Culver. It was a big rookie mistake by Rosas that he'll have to hope Culver can improve enough to not be a disaster.

I would criticize the Saunders hire, but I don't think he had a ton of say with potentially going in a different direction from Ryan. It's not a good sign that we had to overhaul more than half the roster of a team looking to make the playoffs by the trade deadline under Ryan. I don't think he's the coach to maximize Russell/Towns and the team around them. Coaches need to do more than just coach to the analytics and be your buddy. He has to inspire some fire and spirit in this squad this year or else it's gonna be another long one. Hopefully guys like Beasley can help with that, but we need it from the top as well.

Agree that the Culver pick looks better now that we have Russell. I think any 2-3 combo of Beasley, Culver and Okogie can be good. I wouldn't ignore it in the draft but I would hope to go power forward first and maybe another wing with the second pick.

[Tactical unit]

The only two critiques I have so far are Covington's run under the new regime and subsequent trade and last year's draft. Covington is the guy we wanted for years. The 3 and D wing on a great contract that would fit around stars. We then proceed to play him out of position asking him to do far more than his role should be asked to carry and we end up trading him because of that lack of fit with the current vision. He's exactly the guy this team is missing now on the wing with D Lo and Towns running the PnR. What's the biggest hole on the roster? A 3&D wing to replace Wiggins. I know we like Beasley, but we have 2 1st round picks at his spot to develop and now we literally have no 3 on the team going into the draft with not a lot of great options on the wing. I'd much rather be looking at this season with a Russell/Covington/Towns core hoping Culver or Okogie step up into the 2 spot than Russell/Beasley/Towns with no good options at the 3. The first team has potential defensive pieces to help cover up for Russell and Towns and the second team better be scoring 120+ because they're giving up that much every night.

The second was the Garland draft blunder. He traded up to get a guy before he knew he would be there and then took a guy who just wasn't that good and wouldn't be ready quickly for a team needing a playoff push. I said at the time the Culver pick only made sense if we went and got Russell (which we have now so we'll see how he develops), but I think Okogie is just a much better do shit defensive energy player right now to play with Russell than Culver. It was a big rookie mistake by Rosas that he'll have to hope Culver can improve enough to not be a disaster.

I would criticize the Saunders hire, but I don't think he had a ton of say with potentially going in a different direction from Ryan. It's not a good sign that we had to overhaul more than half the roster of a team looking to make the playoffs by the trade deadline under Ryan. I don't think he's the coach to maximize Russell/Towns and the team around them. Coaches need to do more than just coach to the analytics and be your buddy. He has to inspire some fire and spirit in this squad this year or else it's gonna be another long one. Hopefully guys like Beasley can help with that, but we need it from the top as well.

When the Wolves are competitive not just squeaking into the playoffs but potentially doing something in the playoffs Covington's contract will be up so getting all the assets we obtained for him was a great deal.

[Monster]

The only two critiques I have so far are Covington's run under the new regime and subsequent trade and last year's draft. Covington is the guy we wanted for years. The 3 and D wing on a great contract that would fit around stars. We then proceed to play him out of position asking him to do far more than his role should be asked to carry and we end up trading him because of that lack of fit with the current vision. He's exactly the guy this team is missing now on the wing with D Lo and Towns running the PnR. What's the biggest hole on the roster? A 3&D wing to replace Wiggins. I know we like Beasley, but we have 2 1st round picks at his spot to develop and now we literally have no 3 on the team going into the draft with not a lot of great options on the wing. I'd much rather be looking at this season with a Russell/Covington/Towns core hoping Culver or Okogie step up into the 2 spot than Russell/Beasley/Towns with no good options at the 3. The first team has potential defensive pieces to help cover up for Russell and Towns and the second team better be scoring 120+ because they're giving up that much every night.

The second was the Garland draft blunder. He traded up to get a guy before he knew he would be there and then took a guy who just wasn't that good and wouldn't be ready quickly for a team needing a playoff push. I said at the time the Culver pick only made sense if we went and got Russell (which we have now so we'll see how he develops), but I think Okogie is just a much better do shit defensive energy player right now to play with Russell than Culver. It was a big rookie mistake by Rosas that he'll have to hope Culver can improve enough to not be a disaster.

I would criticize the Saunders hire, but I don't think he had a ton of say with potentially going in a different direction from Ryan. It's not a good sign that we had to overhaul more than half the roster of a team looking to make the playoffs by the trade deadline under Ryan. I don't think he's the coach to maximize Russell/Towns and the team around them. Coaches need to do more than just coach to the analytics and be your buddy. He has to inspire some fire and spirit in this squad this year or else it's gonna be another long one. Hopefully guys like Beasley can help with that, but we need it from the top as well.

When the Wolves are competitive not just squeaking into the playoffs but potentially doing something in the playoffs Covington's contract will be up so getting all the assets we obtained for him was a great deal.

Yep Covington turns 30 in a few months. Considering the pandemic...which who knows exactly how the next season will go...I think moving Covington makes even more sense than it did then. Yes Covington is the type of guy this roster needs but I think it was time to cash in on him while the value was high and he was healthy. It's up to the Wolves to be sure they can add or develop a Covington type player and or add a legit talent To help replace him via the draft pick they still have.

[WildWolf2813]

I don't think new ownership unless they're hellbent on a guy in mind will do anything to an incumbent Rosas.


The only thing that causes major concern for Rosas is how he's already backtracked off of his plans for the team to the point where I feel he just wants to mimic the Rockets instead of trying to fix this team defensively.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

As Monster alluded to earlier in this thread, Rosas did pick up some pretty intriguing pieces on the cheap, with Jared Vanderbilt being the guy I have irrationally high hopes for.

Vanderbilt - I remember watching him in the G-League and the second he walked onto the court, you could see he had more of an NBA body than 95% of the other players out there. And he does do one thing at a really elite level already in rebounding. He has the potential to be a defensive monster as well.

Naz Reid - great pickup. Just the fact he was an undrafted rookie and held his own as a rotational C makes that a successful pick, even if he just ends up being a journeyman.

Jordan McLaughlin - Arguably our 3rd best player in the waning days of this past season. That says a lot about the rest of the roster, but he comported himself as a very legit backup PG.

Jaylen Nowell - One of the better players in the G-league. He couldn't quite translate that at the NBA level but he has plenty of time to develop.

My point is that while none of these guys may end up becoming great players, it seems like Rosas did a pretty good job finding some promising, cheap roster fillers. That will continue to be CRITICAL to the future if he can land another stud with that #1 pick (via the draft itself or trade).

[Monster]

As Monster alluded to earlier in this thread, Rosas did pick up some pretty intriguing pieces on the cheap, with Jared Vanderbilt being the guy I have irrationally high hopes for.

Vanderbilt - I remember watching him in the G-League and the second he walked onto the court, you could see he had more of an NBA body than 95% of the other players out there. And he does do one thing at a really elite level already in rebounding. He has the potential to be a defensive monster as well.

Naz Reid - great pickup. Just the fact he was an undrafted rookie and held his own as a rotational C makes that a successful pick, even if he just ends up being a journeyman.

Jordan McLaughlin - Arguably our 3rd best player in the waning days of this past season. That says a lot about the rest of the roster, but he comported himself as a very legit backup PG.

Jaylen Nowell - One of the better players in the G-league. He couldn't quite translate that at the NBA level but he has plenty of time to develop.

My point is that while none of these guys may end up becoming great players, it seems like Rosas did a pretty good job finding some promising, cheap roster fillers. That will continue to be CRITICAL to the future if he can land another stud with that #1 pick (via the draft itself or trade).

Good points here Q. Typically teams mess up a draft pick or some acquisition/s Or have an injury and need to shore those things up. Finding some other talent is how you do that. I think Q nailed the guy that Rosas for sure deserves credit for but I'm going to go more to a G-league/summer league level. Kelan Martin couldn't hit 3's at the NBA level and was uneven in his shooting percentages In the G-league at times hit finished with good looking stats across the board. In both leagues he averaged about 7 rebounds a game per 36 minutes. This was a guy that was basically an afterthought in summer league and ended up playing at the NBA level and didn't look completely out of place. That's a little bit of something.

Barry Brown was a defensive ace in college that sorta played PG and shooting was a question. The dude balled out in Iowa looking like an absolute scoring machine at times and finished the season shooting nearly 39% from 3. Iowa didn't have a good record but many of their top players didn't play in Iowa for more than half the season. They were one of the top scoring teams but terrible at defense. The later is a problem but it's good to see they did something well and it's not like you look at that roster and thought they have some sort of embarrassed of riches in terms of scoring especially when a guy like Naz only played 16 games and KBD played 2. Guys that played in Iowa last year might be worth considering more than a typical season because...there isn't a summer league (will it be a fall or winter league?) to get a quick look at guys. Maybe you work more on developing a guy you already know and has been working with you for over a year now than some other guy. Will The G-league have Some sort of season? Maybe there will be a more limited league like 10 teams play each other in a smaller bubble situation etc. maybe some guys will opt out because it's not worth the risk to play for the lower salaries of the G-league. I'm not suggesting the wolves shouldn't look at new fringe type players but it's going to be more difficult to get a read on those guys. These are interesting times and IF the Wolves have some actual ability to help the roster on the margins this weird time could be part of what propels this franchise to being competent. That would be a nice step in the right direction.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

@CarmichaelDave: Hearing strong movement towards a front office setup with Sachin Gupta as Head of Ops and Monte McNair as GM/2nd in command for the Sacramento Kings.

Interviews continue today.

Fluid situation of course......

[Lipoli390]

@CarmichaelDave: Hearing strong movement towards a front office setup with Sachin Gupta as Head of Ops and Monte McNair as GM/2nd in command for the Sacramento Kings.

Interviews continue today.

Fluid situation of course......

Losing Gupta would be a big loss for the Wolves front office.

[Monster]

@CarmichaelDave: Hearing strong movement towards a front office setup with Sachin Gupta as Head of Ops and Monte McNair as GM/2nd in command for the Sacramento Kings.

Interviews continue today.

Fluid situation of course......

Losing Gupta would be a big loss for the Wolves front office.

Yeah that would be a big blow I mean we didn't even get him for a draft. This is a draft I would like to have him with 3 valuable picks and a wonky draft that may lend some teams to be willing to move around a bit to get their guy.