sjm34 wrote:I would have no problem rolling with JJ again this season. He isn't the problem, and has an expiring deal. A good coach will harness what JJ does well, and limit his mistakes. Hard to fault a guy for shooting too much, when he had no other scoring options.
I have a lot of disagreement with you here. Barea needs to be traded or bought out. No way can the Wolves begin next season with him on the roster. He's selfish and not good enough to be selfish.
Scoring options or not, Barea wasn't looking to pass and generate good offense. It was JJ vs five opposing players almost every possession. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of watching the little Puerto Rican hobbit dribble the air out of the ball followed by hoisting a bad shot.
Isn't it the coaches job to rein that in? JJ has been a productive member on previous Dallas teams. There is no reason he can't be put into a better role. I would rather try that, then dole out another 3yr/15mil deal to a bench player that doesn't do anything really well.
Anyone see Rubio's tweet? He just tweeted @paugasol about how excited he is for free agency and for Pau to find a new place to play. Probably means nothing but I would be thrilled if we landed Pau as a free agent.
thedoper wrote:Anyone see Rubio's tweet? He just tweeted @paugasol about how excited he is for free agency and for Pau to find a new place to play. Probably means nothing but I would be thrilled if we landed Pau as a free agent.
Especially if he can be had cheap. What would the Wolves look like next season with a Pau signing & the hypothetical Martin/Bud for Gordon trade? And better yet, what would Love think of that?
thedoper wrote:Anyone see Rubio's tweet? He just tweeted @paugasol about how excited he is for free agency and for Pau to find a new place to play. Probably means nothing but I would be thrilled if we landed Pau as a free agent.
Especially if he can be had cheap. What would the Wolves look like next season with a Pau signing & the hypothetical Martin/Bud for Gordon trade? And better yet, what would Love think of that?
Rubio Shved Barea
Gordon LaVine
Brewer Bazz Robinson
Love Gasol
Pek Dieng
I believe our team, as constructed, should have been a 50 win team. We underachieved in numerous areas, banked a little too much on players with limited skill sets (Moute, Barea, Brewer) and injuries (Budinger), while also under-utilizing guys that can contribute, albeit in few ways at the time (Dieng, Shabazz).
If you were to tell me that New Orleans was willing to trade Gordeon for Barea, Martin and one of Moute/Budinger (offers cap relief and movable salarie sin place of Gordon), I'd take that in a heartbeat. I don't even care Gordon is still recovering from knee surgery and is oft-injured himself. With that in place, getting Gasol to play with Rubio for the full MLE at 2-3 years would be a steal (or bridge if Love bolts or is traded). I see that team being far more balanced than last year's.
I don't see Pau signing for the MLE. If he waits on FA, we could trade the JJ and LRMAM expirings to the Lakers to give Pau 8-10 million a year which is probably what he'll make on the open market. Otherwise I see no shot at getting him short of trading Love which is less than an ideal way to get a guy like Pau who is a supporting piece and no longer an all-star.
Josh Mcroberts and Chandler Parsons are both available, Minnesota is rumored to be interested in Parsons. I also really like the idea of having Vasquez as a backup point. I thought he played really well when he was the starter for New Orleans.
@MNTimberwolves: #Twolves don't extend forwards Robbie Hummel and Othyus Jeffers making them unrestricted free agents on July 1 --> http://t.co/zEovoSgQHZ " Well that clears up room for LaVine. Even with Hummel gone, I think one more wing still needs to go. Hate to say it, but Brewer needs to go if Love goes. He's simply too ineffective offensively without Love's outlets and his contract is too much for a role player.
I think that Ed Davis should be one of our top targets. He's been vastly under-utilized in both Toronto and Memphis and from what I gather the Raptor fans loved him. He's only 25 and is a solid rim protector. I think he could be had for like 3-4 mil a year and would fit nicely as either a back-up or playing next to Pek. I'd be really disappointed if Flip doesn't at least give him a look.
I agree with 12218085 bestfour and sjm34, Wolves definitely need to send out a wing or pg for a big to balance out the roster then wait for the FA dust to settle and try to get someone with a partial of MLE. I cannot fathom how Flip would make a run at a midlevel player, let alone the logjam, it's a logjam of shit. Whether it's a PG, SG, or SF it'll push the position to near 15+ million with the only players above average being Kevin Martin and Ricky Rubio.
As far as bigs, with the Asik trade and Andersen returning to New Orleans I'd target Jason Smith for the back-up PF spot at a similar deal he has 2 to 2.5 a year, maybe even less since he's been injury plagued. Power Forward with the size to play Center, ability to pick and pop. If Love is still around the Wolves would only have to lean on him for 12-15 minutes a game hopefully lower an injury risk.
