Lavine

[60WinTim]

I've been out of town for most of July and have just watched some of the summer league games. Wow! LaVine has blown me away. We already knew about his athleticism, but I was not expecting how skilled and poised he would be. LST said Alford is an idiot for burying LaVine on his bench, but we should be thanking Alford, because if he featured LaVine whatsoever, he would never have been there at #13 for Flip to draft.

Kudos to Flip!

I swear I see a bit of Kobe Bryant in the way LaVine plays. I don't think we have EVER had a guard that can create his own shot AND have the vision to create shots for others. I know I am jumping the gun -- it will take a few seasons for Zach to develop and begin reaching his potential. But I am going to enjoy watching his game grow, and I do believe he will see regular minutes in his first year. Flip is a good coach for guards.

[bleedspeed]

Anyone else think LaVine will be better then Wiggins?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Anyone else think LaVine will be better then Wiggins?

Guaranteed will be better, no. He certainly could be better. He was the one guy outside the top 10 analysts were saying could easily end up a top 5 guy from this draft. It will honestly come down to how he defends. His offensive game looks like it will translate better than Wiggins' so if he can be a good defender I think the difference in offensive skill set could make him a better player. I think they'd be perfect fits next to each other with Wiggins being the better defender and good off-ball player and Lavine being the creator and decent defender.

[Monster]

Lip has been saying Flip is willing to bring Love back. If you were really convinced LaVine was going to be really good and even be. A contributor this year wouldn't that make you willing to hold onto Love? I'm not saying Flip is planning on LaVine being significant contributor but if he is a big believer in LaVine who looks. Like he could in time be the perfect compliment to Love and Rubio then yeah. The interesting thing is that maybe LaVine might be a. Good compliment to Wiggins if he never develops a dynamic offensive game. I. Can't remember being this hyped about a rookie on the Wolves at this point of the offseason except Rubio and before that its too far back to really remember.

Also Tim, Marbury was the last young guard that was really truely good at creating for himself and others. I'm not sure if LaVine will be good at both but there is some nice potential there to be excited about no doubt. Watching LaVine I couldn't help but remember Marbury as young player and the way he was able to do what good PGs do and do it so quickly in the league. He played with various speeds and sometimes I would look at the stats and he had a sort of quiet. 16 points and 6-8 assists and the game wasn't over yet. He wasn't just flash he had substance to his game. I see some of that in LaVine too. It would be fantastic if we hit on a star with LaVine...Obviously. Lol

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

You don't hold on to Love over a package including Wiggins considering the situation we're in. We can talk about it and talk about it until everyone's annoyed at the topic, but it's not the smart thing to do. Period.

Also, LaVine may be a star in the future, but he won't be in his rookie year. He'll contribute, but not at the level where Love goes: "Oh, this LaVine kid is the real deal. I should hang around." That's unrealistic.

We have a chance to acquire a 19-year old super athlete who has the potential to be a two-way game-changer, while being on his rookie contract. That means we'd likely (not a guarantee, but reasonable enough to say) have him for about eight years minimum if he pans out. I have some doubts about Wiggins' game, but I would definitely roll the dice on him.

[TheGrey08]

Yeah that's the catch 22 Monster. If Lavine is one of those rare guys who shows up early in his career that could be the thing that takes the Wolves to the next level and causes Love to want to be here. If the Wolves ended up going into the season with Love and trading him to CLE near the deadline that wouldn't be the end of the world as long as they got pretty much they same offer they could have gotten in August. it would allow them to see how the team does the first couple months, but idk.

[Monster]

You don't hold on to Love over a package including Wiggins considering the situation we're in. We can talk about it and talk about it until everyone's annoyed at the topic, but it's not the smart thing to do. Period.

Also, LaVine may be a star in the future, but he won't be in his rookie year. He'll contribute, but not at the level where Love goes: "Oh, this LaVine kid is the real deal. I should hang around." That's unrealistic.

We have a chance to acquire a 19-year old super athlete who has the potential to be a two-way game-changer, while being on his rookie contract. That means we'd likely (not a guarantee, but reasonable enough to say) have him for about eight years minimum if he pans out. I have some doubts about Wiggins' game, but I would definitely roll the dice on him.

I don't disagree with you. I wasn't clear I was also saying Flip (if he is a believer in LaVine which he obviously believes to a certain extent) has some additional leverage in maybe having the young star that this team has needed for years. Just a few weeks ago I said Dieng could hold a significant key tot he franchise. While I think he is still a big consideration LaVine is the player that is and might be even if Wiggins ends up here. I am trying not to get my hopes up too high for him.

[TheGrey08]

You don't hold on to Love over a package including Wiggins considering the situation we're in. We can talk about it and talk about it until everyone's annoyed at the topic, but it's not the smart thing to do. Period.

Also, LaVine may be a star in the future, but he won't be in his rookie year. He'll contribute, but not at the level where Love goes: "Oh, this LaVine kid is the real deal. I should hang around." That's unrealistic.

We have a chance to acquire a 19-year old super athlete who has the potential to be a two-way game-changer, while being on his rookie contract. That means we'd likely (not a guarantee, but reasonable enough to say) have him for about eight years minimum if he pans out. I have some doubts about Wiggins' game, but I would definitely roll the dice on him.

Yeah, that's what makes it hard for me to turn down. The potential of ending up with 2 All-Star wings, plus Rubio, Dieng and whatever else they fill in around them. BUT we will have a better coach this season who will groom the young players especially the guards while giving them enough playing time. Something Adelman didn't do last year.

[Coolbreeze44]

Love is not going to be convinced to stay here under any circumstances.

And I agree that Wiggins and Lavine will be dynamite with Rubio. It might even be the rage of the league.

I firmly believe that the Love-Wiggins deal has been agreed upon already. If not, I couldn't see the Cavs signing Wiggins and giving other teams 30 days to make a deal before they could.

[60WinTim]

I'm torn on the Love thing. Love was the guy I wanted at the time of the draft, and was thrilled when we got him AND Miller for OJ Mayo. Love has met and exceeded my expectations. To lose him now as he enters his prime sucks. But I don't blame him for wanting out considering just how bad Kahn and Taylor have been.

But our team with Love has it's drawbacks. Neither he nor Pek are rim-protectors. And with both Pek and Love taking so many shots, our scoring at the other positions naturally suffers with the reduced number of shots to go around. In a guard-oriented league, it would behoove us to increase our scoring from the PG and wing positions.

Flip's zone-oriented defense would likely have made us a much better defensive team than Adelman's man-only defense. But we'll never get a chance to see it if we trade Love now. So I am cool if Flip hangs on to Love, but am certainly intrigued with the idea of swapping Love for Wiggins (and parts). I'll be happy with which ever path Flip decides, although I suspect Cool is correct that a Love-Wiggins deal is already in place. Love and Barea for Wiggins, Waiters and Thompson (plus whatever else is needed to make it work) is something I would like to see.