OK Now what-a-we do???

[WildWolf2813]

Deing has been great, but I think guys get kind of caught up in the moment and have pretty short memories.

Just a quick reminder, here are Pek's January stats

19.4 points
9.2 boards
55% FG
83% FT
1.2 assists
.07 blocks

in under 30 minutes a game. You don't just get rid of a guy like that. I'd pay 12 million for those numbers

I love Pek's stats, especially because I hope another team will love Pek's stats and be willing to pay for them. I agree that those are great numbers, alex, but they weren't good enough to beat the Miamis and Houstons of the league. You win with defense, and it's clear that Pek doesn't provide enough.

Neither does Kevin Love. Guess we should shop him too right?

and why should Flip credit for a draft he didn't even like himself?

[mjs34]

WW, Love completely opens up the offense, and still manages to rebound at an elite level. Pek is dependent upon others to get his offense.

I was really down on Flip and still question the FA signings, but Gorgui looks like he will be one of those picks that other fans point to when ripping their own GM's. Regardless of what Shabazz does going forward, Flip gets an A from me for grabbing Gorgui.

Alex, you pointed to Pek's stats in January. Have looked at his stats for the rest of the season. A bunch of missed games. This team resides in a cold climate and mid-size market. We can't afford 12 mil a year for a guy that regularly misses a quarter to a third of the season, and now will likely be playing backup minutes when healthy. I also would not expect his efficiency to continue when on the second unit, because he won't have Ricky setting him up.

While I have always been impressed with Pek's ability to get up and down the floor, I realize that takes a toll on a guy that is pushing 300 lbs. This is the time to move Pek, before his injuries get worse and we are saddled with a guy that can't get on the floor. It is also the time to clean up our salary structure before we have no chance of using the flexibility this could help provide.

If Flip and Pek had agreed to a deal in the 4yr/40-44 mil range I could see holding on to him for another season, but it just seems like too big a risk. We are dealing from a position of strength right now, so it is the best time to look at our options.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Deing has been great, but I think guys get kind of caught up in the moment and have pretty short memories.

Just a quick reminder, here are Pek's January stats

19.4 points
9.2 boards
55% FG
83% FT
1.2 assists
.07 blocks

in under 30 minutes a game. You don't just get rid of a guy like that. I'd pay 12 million for those numbers

I love Pek's stats, especially because I hope another team will love Pek's stats and be willing to pay for them. I agree that those are great numbers, alex, but they weren't good enough to beat the Miamis and Houstons of the league. You win with defense, and it's clear that Pek doesn't provide enough.

Neither does Kevin Love. Guess we should shop him too right?

and why should Flip credit for a draft he didn't even like himself?

So many differences between the Pek and Love situations, wild. First, Kevin's presence isn't keeping a budding star on the bench...he's keeping Dante on the bench. Secondly, while Pek is a one-dimensional player, Kevin's game is multi-faceted. He can score inside and out, has taken the outlet pass to a new level, and is an elite 3-point shooter. And he is not a ballstopper like Pek...he not only keeps the ball moving on offense, he also averages 4.4 assists a game. Pek has always been a favorite of mine, but Love and Pek should not be mentioned in the same sentence.

I don't have any inside information about Flip that proves that he didn't like the draft, so I can't speak to the validity of your second comment that he didn't like his own draft. I remember him seeming quite tired in his presser after the draft, and saying that when KCP was picked by Detroit, it forced him to get creative. If he was telling the truth about that and really wanted KCP, I don't happen to agree with him...I never thought KCP was destined for NBA stardom. And in this weak draft, I think that any GM who acted enthusiastic about their pick after the draft would have been disingenuous. But I suspect that since he made the choices, he thought he made the best decisions available to him. And the on-court performance of Muhammad and Dieng in the limited minutes that Adelman has doled out has shown that Flip handled his first draft in a spectacular fashion. And yes, he should be given credit for that. He kicked ass in a historically weak draft!

[Hicks123 [enjin:6700838]]

I am also on the fence here. While I agree that Pek is a serious risk based on injury history, he would certainlyn thrive, and solidify a very weak 2nd unit. And while Ricky may help Pek's numbers a bit, Pek will always be able to score regardless of PG. It is hard to look objectively at Pek based on his salary. If we had him for $5M per, I don't believe anyone would want to trade him. The fact is, bigs get injured, centers most of all. Dieng had some injury concerns pre draft (knees I believe), thus we will most likely need both of them to play substantial minutes. It's just a reality of these bigger players. Many keep citing trading Pek for a 2 way wing.....this guy just doesn't exist for us in a trade scenerio for Pek. There are very few players that fit this bill to begin with, thus making them more valuable to their current teams than an oft injured center. Can we trade him? Maybe, but the returns won't be what people would expect IMO....think Al Jefferson.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I am also on the fence here. While I agree that Pek is a serious risk based on injury history, he would certainlyn thrive, and solidify a very weak 2nd unit. And while Ricky may help Pek's numbers a bit, Pek will always be able to score regardless of PG. It is hard to look objectively at Pek based on his salary. If we had him for $5M per, I don't believe anyone would want to trade him. The fact is, bigs get injured, centers most of all. Dieng had some injury concerns pre draft (knees I believe), thus we will most likely need both of them to play substantial minutes. It's just a reality of these bigger players. Many keep citing trading Pek for a 2 way wing.....this guy just doesn't exist for us in a trade scenerio for Pek. There are very few players that fit this bill to begin with, thus making them more valuable to their current teams than an oft injured center. Can we trade him? Maybe, but the returns won't be what people would expect IMO....think Al Jefferson.

You make some good points, hicks. I agree that we wouldn't need to trade Pek if we had him for $5 million a year. Then we could give him backup center minutes and allow Dieng the upper 30s minutes I think he needs to reach his full potential...the more he plays, the better he seems to get. But we don't have him at $5 mill, and dedicating 1/5 of our salary cap to a backup is foolish.

I also agree that there doesn't appear to be a very good 2-way wing that would be available in a trade for Pek. The player(s) we get back for Pek on the surface may not appear to be his equal. But the real benefit of a Pek trade is that it allows Dieng to play the minutes he needs...any contribution we get from the player(s) we get back will just be icing on the cake. Flip has a tough task ahead of him and I don't envy him, but Pek's $12 million contract needs to be moved.

[60WinTim]

I keep going back and forth on the necessity of trading Pek...

On our small sample size, Dieng certainly looks the part of a pretty elite starting NBA center. But it is a small sample size, and even if Dieng becomes our starting center next season, trading Pek would create yet another hole in our front court that needs to be filled. A front court comprised of Love, Dieng, Pek and Turiaf could be very potent, and the depth would keep everyone's minutes down when healthy, and help endure those stretches when injuries crop up. And if Love winds up leaving after all, we might find ourselves wishing we had Pek back to complement whoever replaces Love!

Rubio still has one more year left on his rookie scale contract. So the Wolves salaries should be able to endure one more year of Pek's 12 mil. We have a boatload of wings with a variety of skill sets. The team has shown an ability of playing well lately. There are a lot of pieces a new coach has to work with, including the growth of Dieng and Shabazz, and a healthy Bud. The best strategy may be to keep this group largely intact and hit the court running next season. Just a few tweaks: the draft, a decision/replacement on Dante, and the same for Barea and Shved.

[bleedspeed]

I wouldn't trade him for 50 cents on the dollar like we did Jefferson. I think the new coach should be able to figure out away that they can play 8 minutes a night together when Love is on the bench. I think Pek would perfect player starting games and playing the first 10-12 minutes of each half with Dieng playing a few minutes along side him when Love needs a breather and then to finish the halves. They both are complement each other skillsets perfectly. Pek would wear them out and Dieng would finsh them off. I think Pek would stay healthy not having to play 30+ minutes a night and maybe even taking second games of back to backs off.

[Brandon BassHole [enjin:8183321]]

Instead of going small I would like to go big in some lineups. Play Love at the 3? has that ever been considered or is adleman that closed minded(He is)? Ya sure I know K. Love wont be able to gaurd alot of the 3s but I mean he can probably do it sometimes against players martel webster, kawhi leonard, shawn marion, and demarre carrol (players on playoff teams)... I think it would be a pretty good lineup to try in certain situations:

Rubio
K. Mart or Brewer
Love
Dieng
Pek

Again Im not saying start this lineup but play it everyonce in a while to really make the opposing coach make his money

[mjs34]

I don't see Dieng and Pek as a fit at all, and throwing Love on the floor with them doesn't help at all. The fact that we are throwing out some of these ideas should point to the real solution. Trade Pek!

Unfortunately it doesn't look that will be happening this off season according to Taylor -

https://twitter.com/Charley_Walters/status/454808739950780417

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Instead of going small I would like to go big in some lineups. Play Love at the 3? has that ever been considered or is adleman that closed minded(He is)? Ya sure I know K. Love wont be able to gaurd alot of the 3s but I mean he can probably do it sometimes against players martel webster, kawhi leonard, shawn marion, and demarre carrol (players on playoff teams)... I think it would be a pretty good lineup to try in certain situations:

Rubio
K. Mart or Brewer
Love
Dieng
Pek

Again Im not saying start this lineup but play it everyonce in a while to really make the opposing coach make his money

Maybe on 2K, but not in a real basketball game.