2015-6 rotation (with LST rules)

[mjs34]

I didn't put the wolves in the PO's. I just debated some of the reasons you don't believe they would be in. You took their record last season and then argued that Towns wouldn't be replacing Hamilton based on everyone being healthy. That's like eating your cake and having it too.

I would argue that Towns or Okafor are likely to provide more than Payne/Bennett/Hamilton and even Dieng from the get go. None of those guys defend well, and other than Dieng showed any consistency offensively.

Khans, you stated that all the west teams will improve or stand pat. I don't see how that is possible. SA and Dallas are both aging and need some type of infusion. If they aren't getting that in the way of FA's, how are they maintaining the status quo? Neither have players that they should expect significant improvement from.

LST, I think the coaching change is the single biggest improvement they could make if chosen correctly. I'd be willing to bet that Thibs or Hoiberg could push this teams win total up 10 games in their first season. I think Flip underachieves by that much between inefficient offense, and no defense.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

SA and Dallas have been in the aging stage for years. Duncan was an all-NBA caliber player this past year still and Parker was hurt most of the year. They'll lose Manu, but he's been declining for several years now. They still have Parker/Leonard/Duncan all playing at high levels when healthy. They just aren't going to have a significant drop for us to take advantage. Dallas has max cap space this summer and they lost one of their best players in Parsons towards the end of the year. They almost always piece together a competent team. So Dallas is really the only real drop off I could see and they could easily just rebound in Free Agency and be fine. Again, things would need to go perfect for us to gain any significant ground in the West.

I think people are overvaluing what we have (somehow) relative to what we have to compete with on a nightly basis. We were getting blown out most of this year. I don't see how Towns is good enough to turn blowouts into wins. Do you really think a Lavine/Martin/Wiggins/AP/Towns was worth more than just a couple more wins down the stretch? Towns with the same health situation we had last year helps us win <5 more games. So you either play the game of Towns over what we had last year which doesn't help us win a lot more or you go off the paper and not the actual health status. Don't call me out for having my cake and eating it too by supporting an argument doing the same thing. You don't get to compare Towns to Hamilton and then say the supporting cast will be healthier this year making it that much better. If we are healthier this year Hamilton doesn't even see the court so Towns isn't replacing him.

[Coolbreeze44]

Look for Lamarcus to end up in Dallas

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Look for Lamarcus to end up in Dallas

I think he signs a short term deal to stay in Portland (2 year max with second year player option). Then he can cash in with the new cap in Texas if he wants.

[Volans19]

Sorry LST but I have to break the rules, but I won't include any names, and I have to assume that Pek is not going to be healthy all season.

PG - Rubio (35)/ Vet FA (13)
SG - Martin (25)/ LaVine (17)/ Wiggins (6)
SF - Wiggins (25)/ Bazz (23 6th man)
PF - Garnett (20)/ Bjelica (20)/ Dieng (8)
C - Towns (25)/ Pek (15)/ Dieng (8 but will increase time with Pek injured)

I'm sure Hummel and Payne will get some burn too. I still want to believe in Anthony Bennett but I think/hope we find a way to move him off the roster for some sort of asset.

As the season moves along I expect to see Martin and KG to see their minutes decrease and Towns and LaVine to increase. I would like to see Flip experiment with different lineup combos, maybe go small every once in awhile with Bazz at the 4 and roll out Rubio/ LaVine/ Wiggins/ Bazz/ Towns (so bouncy!)

I'm not confident that Flip will keep Bjelica or even give him any playing time if he does. Towns and Bjelica would compliment each other very well imo so I kept him in there however unrealistic.

[mjs34]

SA and Dallas have been in the aging stage for years. Duncan was an all-NBA caliber player this past year still and Parker was hurt most of the year. They'll lose Manu, but he's been declining for several years now. They still have Parker/Leonard/Duncan all playing at high levels when healthy. They just aren't going to have a significant drop for us to take advantage. Dallas has max cap space this summer and they lost one of their best players in Parsons towards the end of the year. They almost always piece together a competent team. So Dallas is really the only real drop off I could see and they could easily just rebound in Free Agency and be fine. Again, things would need to go perfect for us to gain any significant ground in the West.

I think people are overvaluing what we have (somehow) relative to what we have to compete with on a nightly basis. We were getting blown out most of this year. I don't see how Towns is good enough to turn blowouts into wins. Do you really think a Lavine/Martin/Wiggins/AP/Towns was worth more than just a couple more wins down the stretch? Towns with the same health situation we had last year helps us win <5 more games. So you either play the game of Towns over what we had last year which doesn't help us win a lot more or you go off the paper and not the actual health status. Don't call me out for having my cake and eating it too by supporting an argument doing the same thing. You don't get to compare Towns to Hamilton and then say the supporting cast will be healthier this year making it that much better. If we are healthier this year Hamilton doesn't even see the court so Towns isn't replacing him.

I think you are overvaluing SA and Dallas. Manu may be falling off, but he is still going to be difficult to replace. Duncan posted 14/9 last year. He is still efficient for the minutes he plays but he is down to 28 minutes a game. Both teams have about 5 players under contract going into next season. Can they get big FA's to sign with them, possibly. But those FA's have to come from somewhere.

Portland could lose Lopez, Aldridge, Aaflalo, and Mathews. Dallas doesn't have Tyson Chandler or Ellis signed. OKC is sitting over 75 mil with Kanter and Collison needing contracts. Memphis could lose Randolph, Gasol, Green and Koufus. There is absolutely no way to predict how many teams will be posting upwards of 50 wins. I would give you GS, and Hou as the only two teams that are most likely locks, but even GS who is sitting well over 78 mil has Green up for a new deal.

Nobody said anything about Towns turning blowouts into wins, but if Ricky is healthy several of those blowouts will be close games, and Towns/Okafor are certainly skilled enough to alter an extra shot, or get that extra putback that guys like Payne/Bennett or even Hamilton couldn't. Pek is going to miss some games, as well as KG, and on those nights our #1 pick is likely to make a large difference.

edit: Randolph is signed for two more years with Memphis.

[Monster]

One thing that I will add to this discussion on the Wolves having some sort of turnaround is coaching. People aren't happy with Flip's offense but what if he gets Malone to be an assistant and he makes a big difference on defense? I think that's a real possibilty.

One interesting note about the defensive coaching assistants...I was watching the GS Rockets game and Howard was stuck in no mans land with Bogut way up top and they ended up giving up an easy basket. There was a stoppage of play and Howard went over to McHale asking how he was supposed to play it. McHale talked to him a bit but then he went over to Bockerstaff who seemed obviously was the guy who he should have been discussing the situation with. I thought that was interesting in real time and it's also interesting just how much teams really do have a certain game plan or way they play on that end. We need someone on the coaching staff with more legit ability there. I think there are some players on the roster with at the very least physical tools to be good defenders. Changing the wolves from the worst defensive team to the middle of the pack or better like Mike Zimmer did last year would be worth a number of wins.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Out of all the Wolves videos, I think this one pisses me off the most. Since it is only highlights, it's just sickening to watch. The guy has so much God-given ability and he's not doing shit with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd9YOFoN8Ys

[Monster]

Out of all the Wolves videos, I think this one pisses me off the most. Since it is only highlights, it's just sickening to watch. The guy has so much God-given ability and he's not doing shit with it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd9YOFoN8Ys

One thing I do like about Bennett is he actually knows how to set a screen and also is a pretty good passer.