Anthony Bennett

[bleedspeed]

My thoughts are you need someone he can practice and work against that is NBA caliber. I worry once the season starts he won't be working as much with young as the season goes on. If Young gets hurt I wouldn't want to roll with AB and GR3 or Hummel.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

...Why wouldn't Bennett be working/competing against Young in practice...

[bleedspeed]

...Why wouldn't Bennett be working/competing against Young in practice...

I am thinking during the season when they don't practice much other then other then prep for next game AB won't get a lot of time to practice against Young. Biggest reason honestly is injury. Unless AB can step up it will get pretty ugly at the PF position if Young goes down.

[Monster]

...Why wouldn't Bennett be working/competing against Young in practice...

I am thinking during the season when they don't practice much other then other then prep for next game AB won't get a lot of time to practice against Young. Biggest reason honestly is injury. Unless AB can step up it will get pretty ugly at the PF position if Young goes down.

I like Dante but if Young goes down and Dante is starting we are screwed either way. Might as well play Bennett big minutes and see what Bazz can do at pf off the bench or something.

[bleedspeed]

Monster I am in agreement with playing AB as many minutes as he can handle, but if he can't then that hurts develop of younger guys that have to play with him. Just a thought.

[Monster]

Monster I am in agreement with playing AB as many minutes as he can handle, but if he can't then that hurts develop of younger guys that have to play with him. Just a thought.

I get what you are saying but look Dante is a solid NBA bench player who is good enough to have a job at least on a vet min contract but lets not get carried away here. He isn't that good that he is gonna help young guys on the court enough to justify dumping a young talent like GR3 to bring him in. Would you trade a 2nd round pick for Dante? That's the idea here and this team isn't in a position to be doing that type of a deal for team depth. If the young guys can't develop with Bennett because he sucks they likely suck also.

Each year on different teams I look at certain guys and want to see them prove themselves one way or another. Rubio is maybe the biggest one this year for that. In some ways it can be a win if guys show they really aren't that great and you get to move one. I want to see Bennett in his first year with us have a shot of showing something. I don't want next year to be the first year we get to see something out of him. Last year through just a handful of games Williams basically proved he is almost worthless and while it sucked at least we moved on. Bud is another guy I would put on the watch list although his contract means he could leave via trade or even opt out. There are alot of guys to evaluate and I want to see guys get opportunities. I'm not for just handing them minutes, but I'm not interested in bringing in someone thats sort of decent that will likely take away opportunities for a minor return AND likely dump a young possibly worthwhile talent. It just doesn't make sense. Thats my thinking. =)

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Anthony Bennett has played two preseason games, and has been singled out by Flip both games for his performance. He has scored efficiently and rebounded well, and shown potential to use his bulk, quick feet and long arms to be a plus defender. Two games is way too early to form any conclusions, but I have said before that the Wolves will be a better team if AB demonstrates that he is capable of being the starting PF, allowing Thad Young to provide scoring and defensive energy off the bench. Thad is a hard working, disruptive defender and can score the basketball in a variety of ways, but his rebounding deficiency suits him better to an energy reserve role than a starter. AB on the other hand has the potential to be a double double machine, and seems to be more of a beginning of the game guy than an instant offense guy. Back in August I spent some time on the Philly RealGM board, and it was clear that Young was probably the most popular player with the fans. But even some of his biggest fans talked about how his ideal role would be as a top reserve on a good team.

Thad is coming off a good offensive year as Philly's starting PF and AB is coming off a terrible rookie year, so I expect Thad to begin the year as our starting PF. I'm okay with that, because AB needs to prove himself and this year is going to be more about development than wins. But I don't see a forward pairing of Young and Wiggins being very effective, as both are below average rebounders at best. I expect that by December AB will be starting and averaging 14 and 10, and Young will be our first or second reserve and providing 12 valuable points off the bench. I think those roles better match their skills, and that kind of production will go a long way to replacing Love's great numbers.

[bleedspeed]

Cam said he is a bust so we should just cut AB to make room for GR3.

[Monster]

Anthony Bennett has played two preseason games, and has been singled out by Flip both games for his performance. He has scored efficiently and rebounded well, and shown potential to use his bulk, quick feet and long arms to be a plus defender. Two games is way too early to form any conclusions, but I have said before that the Wolves will be a better team if AB demonstrates that he is capable of being the starting PF, allowing Thad Young to provide scoring and defensive energy off the bench. Thad is a hard working, disruptive defender and can score the basketball in a variety of ways, but his rebounding deficiency suits him better to an energy reserve role than a starter. AB on the other hand has the potential to be a double double machine, and seems to be more of a beginning of the game guy than an instant offense guy. Back in August I spent some time on the Philly RealGM board, and it was clear that Young was probably the most popular player with the fans. But even some of his biggest fans talked about how his ideal role would be as a top reserve on a good team.

Thad is coming off a good offensive year as Philly's starting PF and AB is coming off a terrible rookie year, so I expect Thad to begin the year as our starting PF. I'm okay with that, because AB needs to prove himself and this year is going to be more about development than wins. But I don't see a forward pairing of Young and Wiggins being very effective, as both are below average rebounders at best. I expect that by December AB will be starting and averaging 14 and 10, and Young will be our first or second reserve and providing 12 valuable points off the bench. I think those roles better match their skills, and that kind of production will go a long way to replacing Love's great numbers.

Why do you say Wiggins is a poor rebounder? Did you mean Brewer?

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Anthony Bennett has played two preseason games, and has been singled out by Flip both games for his performance. He has scored efficiently and rebounded well, and shown potential to use his bulk, quick feet and long arms to be a plus defender. Two games is way too early to form any conclusions, but I have said before that the Wolves will be a better team if AB demonstrates that he is capable of being the starting PF, allowing Thad Young to provide scoring and defensive energy off the bench. Thad is a hard working, disruptive defender and can score the basketball in a variety of ways, but his rebounding deficiency suits him better to an energy reserve role than a starter. AB on the other hand has the potential to be a double double machine, and seems to be more of a beginning of the game guy than an instant offense guy. Back in August I spent some time on the Philly RealGM board, and it was clear that Young was probably the most popular player with the fans. But even some of his biggest fans talked about how his ideal role would be as a top reserve on a good team.

Thad is coming off a good offensive year as Philly's starting PF and AB is coming off a terrible rookie year, so I expect Thad to begin the year as our starting PF. I'm okay with that, because AB needs to prove himself and this year is going to be more about development than wins. But I don't see a forward pairing of Young and Wiggins being very effective, as both are below average rebounders at best. I expect that by December AB will be starting and averaging 14 and 10, and Young will be our first or second reserve and providing 12 valuable points off the bench. I think those roles better match their skills, and that kind of production will go a long way to replacing Love's great numbers.

Why do you say Wiggins is a poor rebounder? Did you mean Brewer?

Again, way too early to form any conclusions about Drew, but from what I have seen in college and so far in the NBA, rebounding is not his long suit at this point in his career. He's certainly long and athletic enough, but his numbers in college and in preseason have been modest...less than 6 per game in college and 3 and 4 in his first two preseason games, despite getting over 30 minutes in each game. He did bounce back with 6 boards in the Iowa game, but I didn't see the game, so I'm not able to address the quality of the rebounds (i.e. contested, or easy, free boards). From an eye test perspective, though, he's not a rebounder yet...although better than Corey. I think that as he adds some bulk to his frame, he has the potential to become an outstanding rebounder based on his leaping ability, length and feel for the game. But as for this year, I would rather see him next to Bennett in the starting lineup. I'm concerned that a Young/Wiggins pairing will get destroyed on the boards at the start of games.