I have been meaning to do this for awhile but I have been just to lazy. I know a lot of you do not have faith in Flip running this team. So here are the moves Flip made last year.
Resigned Pek
Resigned Bud
Team option on Cunningham
Signed Kmart
Signed Brewer
Signed Turiaf
Signed Price
Drafted Shabazz
Drafted Dieng
Traded Dwill for LRAM
Resigned Pek: B-
I know a lot of us did not like the contract that Pek got, but he is still a borderline all star numbers at the Center position when healthy. I know he is not healthy a lot but I still think he was a necessary person to resign, I know some of you wanted him for cheaper. I know no other team offered Pek a deal formally but that does not mean there was not discussions, and a team did not want to get a stuck with Pek at a terribly high contract. Overall i think it was a good signing but not great.
Team option on Cunningham: B
For the money he is making and the things he is good at I think it was a good move for the wolves at the time and throughout the season
Chase Budinger: D+
Now with this said I expect Bud to come up big next year but this year it was not the case. I was worried when we signed him this offseason coming off an injury and to 5 mil a year. Flip couldn't know he was going to get hurt right away, but he should of not signed him as much money in the first place. Flip dropped the ball here
Signing Kmart: B+
I know some of you are going to disagree with this grade, but he did average 19 ppg and with the rest of the players that we wanted this offseason (Reddick and Mayo) I would still rather have Kmart, I know he sucks on D, I realize that but he is still a very good offensive player, he hits clutch FT's, overall he was a good signing.
Signing Brewer: A-
Brewer overachieved in my opinion, I could not expect anything more from him, he is all heart, I thought it was a bad signing in the first place but overall he was great for the wolves. I only gave it a A- because I still think the money is a little to high
Signed Turiaf: A
For what I expected from him this year he was great. This is what worries me about the Turiaf sitiuation in general, I thought Turiaf played great this year, but how much was it Turiaf and how much was it Rubio. This gets me worried a little about Dieng, every center Rubio has had since he was a wolf, he has made look respectable, even Darko at times. But for the money a great signing for the wolves
Signed Price: D
The signing was mostly irrelevant, really didn't play would rather of given it to a young guy, even if the young guy would have not panned out.
Drafted Shabazz: C
Shabazz showed flashes, rebounded very well, and provided a scoring punch off the bench. Wish he would have played more, I am worried about his defense but he did put in effort, the C is more of a IC. We will see
Drafted Dieng: A
Looks like the best player in the draft, looks like a very good defensive Center with the potential to be a good offensive center. Flip made a great trade with Burke (SO OVERATED). Good job Flip
Traded DWill for LRAM: C
This is sort of a wash to me, Dwill still super inconsistent so I don't mind getting rid of him, and I think we all overvalued his trade value. LRAM I think he can provide a role on a championship team but where we are at, he is a liability on how our current roster is constructed with really no bench scoring (why didnt shabazz play again), also I don't like the money he is making, if we were to make a jump next year, I think he can provide a necessary role on this team but we are not there yet.
Overall:B
I think Flip did a fine job, I think he was left with some not so good players (shved, Dwill, Barea) He caught a break with the AK moves, but I don't know what else he could have done with the roster with out using massive hindsight, who knew Barea would just suck this year, who knew Bud would get hurt right away again. I trust Flip more than most and I will trust him with this team and coaching search. On a side note I don't think he would be a terrible option as a coach for this team, He is not a bad coach, we just don't like retreads in our mind, of course I would love a young coach or Hollins but I won't be mad if it is Flip
Grade Flip Saunders year one
Re: Grade Flip Saunders year one
Resigned Pek: F
It was a no brainer for Pek to re-sign at the numbers Flip gave him. Flip failed to take advantage of the RFA tag by overpaying in salary and length of contract. The whole point of RFA is to try and get your guy at a reasonable price, and if not, let him get an offer and bring it back for a match. Any offer could only be for four years, and I highly doubt any team was offering him more than the 12 we did. What was the harm in letting him play for the QO, and then worst case scenario giving him a max salary for four years next season, but more likely being able to offer him a 4 yr, 11-12 mil deal.
Team option on Cunningham: B
Definitely worth what we paid him for the season.
Chase Budinger: F
Way overpaid for the skillset, and on top of that a player that was coming off a knee surgery who clearly wasn't healthy to start the season.
Signing Kmart: B
I think the salary was a good deal for us, but I question the fourth year. Should have at least had an option for us to buy him out.
Signing Brewer: C
I think Brewer underperformed defensively, but was a good finisher on the fastbreak. I think he still got too much money, but I can live with the three years.
Signed Turiaf: B
Great fit to the team. If only he could stay healthy.
Signed Price: D
Agree with the younger player idea.
Drafted Shabazz: C
Hard to know what we have in Shabazz, but from what I have seen, I don't see better options at the spot he was chosen.
Drafted Dieng: A
I think we got a C that will be considered top half among starters.
Traded DWill for LRAM: D
I won't grade an F, only because Dwill has been inconsistent in SAC as well, but we gave up a much better talent that was 5 years younger and more athletic. Hard to see any positive in this move.
Overall:C
It was a no brainer for Pek to re-sign at the numbers Flip gave him. Flip failed to take advantage of the RFA tag by overpaying in salary and length of contract. The whole point of RFA is to try and get your guy at a reasonable price, and if not, let him get an offer and bring it back for a match. Any offer could only be for four years, and I highly doubt any team was offering him more than the 12 we did. What was the harm in letting him play for the QO, and then worst case scenario giving him a max salary for four years next season, but more likely being able to offer him a 4 yr, 11-12 mil deal.
Team option on Cunningham: B
Definitely worth what we paid him for the season.
Chase Budinger: F
Way overpaid for the skillset, and on top of that a player that was coming off a knee surgery who clearly wasn't healthy to start the season.
Signing Kmart: B
I think the salary was a good deal for us, but I question the fourth year. Should have at least had an option for us to buy him out.
Signing Brewer: C
I think Brewer underperformed defensively, but was a good finisher on the fastbreak. I think he still got too much money, but I can live with the three years.
Signed Turiaf: B
Great fit to the team. If only he could stay healthy.
Signed Price: D
Agree with the younger player idea.
Drafted Shabazz: C
Hard to know what we have in Shabazz, but from what I have seen, I don't see better options at the spot he was chosen.
Drafted Dieng: A
I think we got a C that will be considered top half among starters.
Traded DWill for LRAM: D
I won't grade an F, only because Dwill has been inconsistent in SAC as well, but we gave up a much better talent that was 5 years younger and more athletic. Hard to see any positive in this move.
Overall:C
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longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]
- Posts: 9432
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Re: Grade Flip Saunders year one
Thanks for tossing this out, kekgeek. As we enter into a critical summer for Flip, it's a good time to evaluate his first year to gauge how much confidence we can have going into year 2. This will be a good thread to bump later too, because many of Flip's moves can only be truly evaluated after we see how they play out. I'm not good at following directions, so even though I think you have done a good job of laying out Flip's moves, I'm going to add 2 more. I really think his draft needs to be analyzed in three parts, not two, with the first one being his decision to trade the 9th pick for the 13th and the 21st. Also, I would like to add how he has handled our franchise player, Kevin Love, to the report card.
Resigned Pek. I'm giving him a C because we clearly needed to bring him back, but I just don't know if Flip overpaid or not. Whether Flip can move Pek this summer or not will have an impact on my further assessment of this move.
Resigned Bud. Another C due to incomplete information. A year ago, I was high on what I thought Bud could bring to the club. While not an elite shooter, he still was better than most of the options currently on the roster. And combined with his athleticism, ability to move without the ball and willingness to be a role player, I wanted him on the team. But again, perhaps Flip could have gotten him cheaper. And the second knee injury essentially made him a non-factor this year. I look for him to be a solid contributor next year.
Dante: B. We got good value out of Dante this year.
KMart: B. He can be a maddening player to watch. On the positive side, he is an elite shooter and scorer, averaged over 19 points a game this year, and was a major part of the squad's ability to put up huge numbers in the first quarter. But his softness, poor defense, and tendency to disappear will always make him an incomplete player. That said, it's not easy to find guys who will give you an efficient 19 points a night, and I don't think Flip overpaid for what we got.
Brewer: A-. Corey was clearly one of the bright points of the year. Certainly a flawed player, but an easy guy to cheer for. It was fun to watch him leaking out on the break, finishing strong, and despite a not always successful gambling philosophy, being disruptive on defense. Good value.
Turiaf: A. He's always been one of my favorite players. We don't know for sure, but I suspect he is a positive influence in the locker room, and his on-court play exceeded my expectations. And he didn't cost much. I hope he can stay healthy next year, and that the Wolves keep him until he retires.
Price: D. Never made sense to me.
Trading the 9th pick for the 13th and 21st: A+ The fact that only Plumlee is making any contribution at all in the playoffs illustrates what a weak draft it was, and there was no one player projected to go around the 9th spot that I was interested in. I was relieved when KCP was selected before us, and he was largely irrelevant this year for the Pistons. CJ McCollum's inability to defend SGs was evident as the season progressed, and he has not yet made a playoff appearance (and we won't see him unless there is a complete blowout). But there were three players projected to go later that I was interested in, Shabazz, Dieng, and the Greek Freak, and Flip was able to get two of them, while avoiding players I didn't like at the 9 spot.
Muhammad: B. Fuck Adelman. When he was given a chance, Shabazz showed that he has a innate ability to put the ball in the basket, scoring at a higher rate than any other rookie this year. His game is limited, but his effort and motor can't be questioned. And saying that he can only score in one way...his quick turnaround form the left block...is flat out wrong. He can also score on the break, on putbacks through relentless offensive rebounding, and from the outside (as I have pointed out before, his college 3-point percentage was identical to McCollum's). I don't see him as ever having the skills to be a complete NBA player, but guys who can score like him are rare. He will thrive under a new coach.
Dieng: A. Although I was intrigued by him, he stunned me with his improvement during the year. Reluctantly, I have to give the coaching staff some credit here, because after being terrible in Summer League, he was astonishingly good the last quarter of the year. His upside is exciting. both offensively and defensively.
DWill for Luc. C. Trash for trash. Luc didn't contribute much, but not having to watch Williams any more was a huge positive.
Handling Love. B+. Love is a unique player, and keeping him is the key to our future success, so I watch every move Flip makes through the prism of "WDKT"...what does Kevin think. As spectacular a player as Love is, I don't admire his character. I find him petulant and immature at times, and see him as a guy who needs to be coddled. Because of what he brings to a team offensively and on the boards, I'm okay with treating him in a special fashion, and I think Flip has done this. We aren't privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes, but it certainly seems that Flip has done a lot to repair the damage that Kahn did with respect to Love. Flip said that Kevin won't be consulted in the coaching search, but I think Flip had to say that publicly. But I don't believe it. Flip is savvy enough to know that Kevin has to be on board with the coaching choice.
Overall B+. I am fully behind Saunders. After suffering through the Kahn years, it's great to have a PBO that has both played and coached at a high level, and who really understands what a successful team needs.
Resigned Pek. I'm giving him a C because we clearly needed to bring him back, but I just don't know if Flip overpaid or not. Whether Flip can move Pek this summer or not will have an impact on my further assessment of this move.
Resigned Bud. Another C due to incomplete information. A year ago, I was high on what I thought Bud could bring to the club. While not an elite shooter, he still was better than most of the options currently on the roster. And combined with his athleticism, ability to move without the ball and willingness to be a role player, I wanted him on the team. But again, perhaps Flip could have gotten him cheaper. And the second knee injury essentially made him a non-factor this year. I look for him to be a solid contributor next year.
Dante: B. We got good value out of Dante this year.
KMart: B. He can be a maddening player to watch. On the positive side, he is an elite shooter and scorer, averaged over 19 points a game this year, and was a major part of the squad's ability to put up huge numbers in the first quarter. But his softness, poor defense, and tendency to disappear will always make him an incomplete player. That said, it's not easy to find guys who will give you an efficient 19 points a night, and I don't think Flip overpaid for what we got.
Brewer: A-. Corey was clearly one of the bright points of the year. Certainly a flawed player, but an easy guy to cheer for. It was fun to watch him leaking out on the break, finishing strong, and despite a not always successful gambling philosophy, being disruptive on defense. Good value.
Turiaf: A. He's always been one of my favorite players. We don't know for sure, but I suspect he is a positive influence in the locker room, and his on-court play exceeded my expectations. And he didn't cost much. I hope he can stay healthy next year, and that the Wolves keep him until he retires.
Price: D. Never made sense to me.
Trading the 9th pick for the 13th and 21st: A+ The fact that only Plumlee is making any contribution at all in the playoffs illustrates what a weak draft it was, and there was no one player projected to go around the 9th spot that I was interested in. I was relieved when KCP was selected before us, and he was largely irrelevant this year for the Pistons. CJ McCollum's inability to defend SGs was evident as the season progressed, and he has not yet made a playoff appearance (and we won't see him unless there is a complete blowout). But there were three players projected to go later that I was interested in, Shabazz, Dieng, and the Greek Freak, and Flip was able to get two of them, while avoiding players I didn't like at the 9 spot.
Muhammad: B. Fuck Adelman. When he was given a chance, Shabazz showed that he has a innate ability to put the ball in the basket, scoring at a higher rate than any other rookie this year. His game is limited, but his effort and motor can't be questioned. And saying that he can only score in one way...his quick turnaround form the left block...is flat out wrong. He can also score on the break, on putbacks through relentless offensive rebounding, and from the outside (as I have pointed out before, his college 3-point percentage was identical to McCollum's). I don't see him as ever having the skills to be a complete NBA player, but guys who can score like him are rare. He will thrive under a new coach.
Dieng: A. Although I was intrigued by him, he stunned me with his improvement during the year. Reluctantly, I have to give the coaching staff some credit here, because after being terrible in Summer League, he was astonishingly good the last quarter of the year. His upside is exciting. both offensively and defensively.
DWill for Luc. C. Trash for trash. Luc didn't contribute much, but not having to watch Williams any more was a huge positive.
Handling Love. B+. Love is a unique player, and keeping him is the key to our future success, so I watch every move Flip makes through the prism of "WDKT"...what does Kevin think. As spectacular a player as Love is, I don't admire his character. I find him petulant and immature at times, and see him as a guy who needs to be coddled. Because of what he brings to a team offensively and on the boards, I'm okay with treating him in a special fashion, and I think Flip has done this. We aren't privy to everything that goes on behind the scenes, but it certainly seems that Flip has done a lot to repair the damage that Kahn did with respect to Love. Flip said that Kevin won't be consulted in the coaching search, but I think Flip had to say that publicly. But I don't believe it. Flip is savvy enough to know that Kevin has to be on board with the coaching choice.
Overall B+. I am fully behind Saunders. After suffering through the Kahn years, it's great to have a PBO that has both played and coached at a high level, and who really understands what a successful team needs.
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The Rage Monster [enjin:8010341]
- Posts: 330
- Joined: Fri Nov 29, 2013 12:00 am
Re: Grade Flip Saunders year one
Here's what I have:
Resigned Pek - B
He's a top offensive center, good rebounder, and hits his free throws. He's often hurt and I hate the fit with Love. The bottom line is we won't improve by letting our good players go for nothing. We can debate how valuable he is but there's really no debating he is a positive trade chip.
Resigned Bud - D
The price was simply too high for a guy who has no above average skills. The only reason this isn't an F is he was hurt and couldn't prove he deserved an F. I'd also like to note I blame Adelman for this move more than Flip.
Team option on Cunningham - B
Not a good player, not making much money, we probably needed the depth so I guess it's an OK move.
Signed Kmart - B+
A 20 ppg guy for $6 million would have been an A, given our situation defensively I dropped it down a couple notches. The SG class wasn't real strong defensively so I didn't hold it against Flip too much.
Signed Brewer - A
This might be an elevated grade due to how poor we've been in previous years. I love Brewer's consistent energy and effort, outside of Rubio we haven't had that in a while. Plus he's capable of going off for 50+ any given night.
Signed Turiaf - A
Great while he was out there, especially at that price, too bad he was hurt.
Signed Price - C-
This move was relatively meaningless as he never played. I feel like he was signed for depth, makes sense given past injuries, but our PG's remained healthy all year. Could we have signed someone better for that money, seems unlikely to me. I would have preferred a younger player as well.
Drafted Shabazz - C+
Didn't like him in college, didn't like him on draft night. I did like that he proved he had a go-to NBA move so maybe he can work from there and develop a solid offensive game. Too bad Adelman didn't play him more.
Drafted Dieng - A+
He was the one guy I wanted us to get and Flip got him, I even talked myself into being OK with drafting him at 9 if we didn't think we could with our later pick.
Traded Dwill for LRAM - C
Dwill had to be traded, it should have happened in the offseason though. I do like the LRAM is elite on one end of the court so perhaps a good coach could get something out of him.
Overall - B+
The team is trending upwards but this grade is really irrelevant. This upcoming off season is the one that matters as Love could leave in a year, hopefully Flip can ace this off season and next year at this time we're talking about how our first round match up is going.
Resigned Pek - B
He's a top offensive center, good rebounder, and hits his free throws. He's often hurt and I hate the fit with Love. The bottom line is we won't improve by letting our good players go for nothing. We can debate how valuable he is but there's really no debating he is a positive trade chip.
Resigned Bud - D
The price was simply too high for a guy who has no above average skills. The only reason this isn't an F is he was hurt and couldn't prove he deserved an F. I'd also like to note I blame Adelman for this move more than Flip.
Team option on Cunningham - B
Not a good player, not making much money, we probably needed the depth so I guess it's an OK move.
Signed Kmart - B+
A 20 ppg guy for $6 million would have been an A, given our situation defensively I dropped it down a couple notches. The SG class wasn't real strong defensively so I didn't hold it against Flip too much.
Signed Brewer - A
This might be an elevated grade due to how poor we've been in previous years. I love Brewer's consistent energy and effort, outside of Rubio we haven't had that in a while. Plus he's capable of going off for 50+ any given night.
Signed Turiaf - A
Great while he was out there, especially at that price, too bad he was hurt.
Signed Price - C-
This move was relatively meaningless as he never played. I feel like he was signed for depth, makes sense given past injuries, but our PG's remained healthy all year. Could we have signed someone better for that money, seems unlikely to me. I would have preferred a younger player as well.
Drafted Shabazz - C+
Didn't like him in college, didn't like him on draft night. I did like that he proved he had a go-to NBA move so maybe he can work from there and develop a solid offensive game. Too bad Adelman didn't play him more.
Drafted Dieng - A+
He was the one guy I wanted us to get and Flip got him, I even talked myself into being OK with drafting him at 9 if we didn't think we could with our later pick.
Traded Dwill for LRAM - C
Dwill had to be traded, it should have happened in the offseason though. I do like the LRAM is elite on one end of the court so perhaps a good coach could get something out of him.
Overall - B+
The team is trending upwards but this grade is really irrelevant. This upcoming off season is the one that matters as Love could leave in a year, hopefully Flip can ace this off season and next year at this time we're talking about how our first round match up is going.
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bleedspeed
- Posts: 8162
- Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:00 am
Re: Grade Flip Saunders year one
Resigned Pek - C
- 10M a year would have been a A. He had no leverage.
Resigned Bud - F
- We had to trade Ridnour to clear space for Brewer because of this signing. He had not proven anything and was hurt all year.
Team option on Cunningham - B
- No brianer. I would look else where next year. Someone more physical.
Signed Kmart - B
- Solid signing. More productive then Mayo or Reddick. I think coming years this grade will go down.
Signed Brewer - B
- Might have overpaid 1M a year, but great fit. Would be awesome coming off the bench for us.
Signed Turiaf - B
- Like the pickup, but he is hurt more then Pekovic.
Signed Price - F
- Why? Could have tried developing someone or found a better backup to Ricky
Drafted Shabazz - B
- I like his potential. Drafting the greak freak would have been an A
Drafted Dieng - A
- Great find. I was not high on him, but the guy can ball.
Traded Dwill for LRAM - D
- Shouldn't have extend him for 2014/15 season and just cut bait with LRAM. LRAM hasn't been a good fit and is paid to much.
OVERAL - C+
- 10M a year would have been a A. He had no leverage.
Resigned Bud - F
- We had to trade Ridnour to clear space for Brewer because of this signing. He had not proven anything and was hurt all year.
Team option on Cunningham - B
- No brianer. I would look else where next year. Someone more physical.
Signed Kmart - B
- Solid signing. More productive then Mayo or Reddick. I think coming years this grade will go down.
Signed Brewer - B
- Might have overpaid 1M a year, but great fit. Would be awesome coming off the bench for us.
Signed Turiaf - B
- Like the pickup, but he is hurt more then Pekovic.
Signed Price - F
- Why? Could have tried developing someone or found a better backup to Ricky
Drafted Shabazz - B
- I like his potential. Drafting the greak freak would have been an A
Drafted Dieng - A
- Great find. I was not high on him, but the guy can ball.
Traded Dwill for LRAM - D
- Shouldn't have extend him for 2014/15 season and just cut bait with LRAM. LRAM hasn't been a good fit and is paid to much.
OVERAL - C+
Re: Grade Flip Saunders year one
Hey, where's Hummel's grade?!?
Both Hummel and Price were signed to fill out the roster as the 14th/15th players. It's pretty hard to rag on either of those signings.
As for Bud, I still believe that will turn out to be one of Flip's better signings, but his injury warrants an incomplete for now. He said he turned down more money with Milwaukee in order to sign with the Wolves.
K-Mart and Turiaf were solid signings, and picking up Cunningham's option was okay (although I did not like his performance this year).
I do think he overpaid for Brewer and Pek. We don't know what the injury protection is on Pek's contract, but it's not our money...
I still like D-Will for LRAM, although it proved to be more troublesome for Adelman because he never did figure out a consistent rotation.
The draft turned out pretty good. Deing is everything we could have hoped for (albeit late), and I find myself liking Shabazz, way more than I did at the time he was drafted.
Anyway, despite not making the playoffs, Flip had an okay first year. I will give him a B.[highlight=#bebebe][/highlight]
But that was child's play compared to the upcoming year: a new coach, the 13th pick in a deep draft, dealing with the circus surrounding Love's and Rubio's contracts, and a clear list of roster deficiencies that need to be addressed. He does have a full plate!
Both Hummel and Price were signed to fill out the roster as the 14th/15th players. It's pretty hard to rag on either of those signings.
As for Bud, I still believe that will turn out to be one of Flip's better signings, but his injury warrants an incomplete for now. He said he turned down more money with Milwaukee in order to sign with the Wolves.
K-Mart and Turiaf were solid signings, and picking up Cunningham's option was okay (although I did not like his performance this year).
I do think he overpaid for Brewer and Pek. We don't know what the injury protection is on Pek's contract, but it's not our money...
I still like D-Will for LRAM, although it proved to be more troublesome for Adelman because he never did figure out a consistent rotation.
The draft turned out pretty good. Deing is everything we could have hoped for (albeit late), and I find myself liking Shabazz, way more than I did at the time he was drafted.
Anyway, despite not making the playoffs, Flip had an okay first year. I will give him a B.[highlight=#bebebe][/highlight]
But that was child's play compared to the upcoming year: a new coach, the 13th pick in a deep draft, dealing with the circus surrounding Love's and Rubio's contracts, and a clear list of roster deficiencies that need to be addressed. He does have a full plate!
Re: Grade Flip Saunders year one
I won't follow the breakdown used in the other posts in this thread. You can look at a lot of things. You have Flip telling a group of season ticket holders that the team's #1 problem was too many one-way players; yet it was Flip who signed re-signed or traded for nearly all one-way players - LRAM, Martin, Hummel, Turiaf, Shabazz (known as a poor defender in college). I'll leave it to others to decide whether Brewer and Pek are primary one-way players. The Price signing, apparently over Adelman's objection, was obviously a dumb one.
And we're in a pretty bad cap situation with a guaranteed payroll several million over the cap next season. Not a good situation for a team that finished the season slightly under .500 in the West without any extended injuries to either of its top two players. Flip was lucky that AK opted out, but then he squandered that opportunity by overpaying for Pek, Budinger, Brewer and Martin. Any one or two of those contracts would have been ok, but it's the cumulative effect that makes them problematic.
On the Flip side (pun intended) I liked the Dieng pick at the time and like it even more now. And Shabazz showed some potential. However, we don't know whether Flip could have gotten Dieng at 26 without having to do the deal with Utah and, based on last season, it looks like Hardaway and MCW would have been much better picks than Shabazz. The Martin signing clearly improved our perimeter shooting and I like what Brewer added to the team even though I think we overpaid a bit for Corey.
Bottom line is this. Flip's run so far hasn't been impressive by any stretch. On the other hand, Flip hasn't been a complete bonehead like his predecessor. Overall, I'd say Flip deserves a C. In other words, Flip's tenure to date has been average. After watching our team run by an F student named David Kahn, I guess we can't be too unhappy with average. But as Tim suggested, the going will get tougher for Flip going forward. Will Love leave next summer? Will Ricky sign an extension and if so how much will the Wolves have to pay to keep him? Will Pek be here next season and, if so, will he play anything close to a full season? Will Shabazz get playing time from our new head coach and, if so, how will be perform? Speaking of our next head coach, who will he be? Who will the Wolves draft and what sorts of deals, if any, will Flip make this summer and again next February? Who will the Wolves sign with their MLE? Lots of critical questions. Depending on what happens over the next 12 months, Flip's grade this time next year could be anywhere from an F to an A.
And we're in a pretty bad cap situation with a guaranteed payroll several million over the cap next season. Not a good situation for a team that finished the season slightly under .500 in the West without any extended injuries to either of its top two players. Flip was lucky that AK opted out, but then he squandered that opportunity by overpaying for Pek, Budinger, Brewer and Martin. Any one or two of those contracts would have been ok, but it's the cumulative effect that makes them problematic.
On the Flip side (pun intended) I liked the Dieng pick at the time and like it even more now. And Shabazz showed some potential. However, we don't know whether Flip could have gotten Dieng at 26 without having to do the deal with Utah and, based on last season, it looks like Hardaway and MCW would have been much better picks than Shabazz. The Martin signing clearly improved our perimeter shooting and I like what Brewer added to the team even though I think we overpaid a bit for Corey.
Bottom line is this. Flip's run so far hasn't been impressive by any stretch. On the other hand, Flip hasn't been a complete bonehead like his predecessor. Overall, I'd say Flip deserves a C. In other words, Flip's tenure to date has been average. After watching our team run by an F student named David Kahn, I guess we can't be too unhappy with average. But as Tim suggested, the going will get tougher for Flip going forward. Will Love leave next summer? Will Ricky sign an extension and if so how much will the Wolves have to pay to keep him? Will Pek be here next season and, if so, will he play anything close to a full season? Will Shabazz get playing time from our new head coach and, if so, how will be perform? Speaking of our next head coach, who will he be? Who will the Wolves draft and what sorts of deals, if any, will Flip make this summer and again next February? Who will the Wolves sign with their MLE? Lots of critical questions. Depending on what happens over the next 12 months, Flip's grade this time next year could be anywhere from an F to an A.
Re: Grade Flip Saunders year one
I don't see how the DWill trade can be anything but an F and it has nothing to do with the talent for talent on the trade. Buy low, sell high. Simple principle in every sucessful business transaction. DWill was sold at his absolute bottom when he was back on the end of the bench. If there was any indication Adelman was unhappy with Dwill early in the year, they should have thought of a plan to showcase his talent and gotten more for him at the beginning of the year.
I agree with the general assertion that he has done average this year. For every good move (brewer, dieng) there have been bad moves (budinger) to make it a wash.
I agree with the general assertion that he has done average this year. For every good move (brewer, dieng) there have been bad moves (budinger) to make it a wash.