Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Sat Jun 24, 2023 9:58 am
I'm excited about our draft picks this year. But...I'm also approaching it with low expectations. We got roughly 250 total combined minutes out of Minott and Moore Jr. last year. With Clark's injury and Miller being so raw, I'm not anticipating they beat that rookie class's production (which was basically nothing).
The plan appears to be contending, so these guys will have to earn any minutes they get. That's not a bad thing. Remember the days when guys like Jarrett Culver and Josh Okogie were thrown into the fire with big minutes their rookie year? I don't know if that helps or hurts them...I guess every player is different. But I personally prefer it when guys have to earn their spots.
You gotta make guys earn it. The Heat had multiple players on their roster - Strus, Martin, Vincent - that played minimal NBA minutes early in their careers and just clawed, scratched, and earned their way into a contending rotation.
Having the Iowa team allows us to get guys playing time against other pros and keep developing their game. It's probably more of a bad sign than good sign (i.e. injuries) if we see Miller and/or Clark play NBA minutes this year beyond end-of-game blowouts.
Great point about the G-league. That and the 2-way contracts have been two great changes we've seen the last few years that have really helped both players and teams assemble talent.
Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Sat Jun 24, 2023 10:20 am
Great point about the G-league. That and the 2-way contracts have been two great changes we've seen the last few years that have really helped both players and teams assemble talent.
I agree. But eventually, there’s no development without opportunity and you can’t know how good a player will be in the NBA until you see them play meaningful minutes in the NBA. Ultimately, I think it comes down to a player’s level of self-motivation. I like a culture where you have to earn it. But the players who make it are typically the ones who push themselves without being pushed.
Just want to put this out there, I think the Pelicans got a steal getting Jordan Hawkins at #14. Ready made pro who has a really sweet stroke. And he's already proven to be a winner. Has a chance to be rookie of the year.
Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sat Jun 24, 2023 2:51 pm
Just want to put this out there, I think the Pelicans got a steal getting Jordan Hawkins at #14. Ready made pro who has a really sweet stroke. And he's already proven to be a winner. Has a chance to be rookie of the year.
He reminds me of Ray Allen shooting from behind the arc. Beautiful stroke with great range and a really quick release. But I don’t see a lot of other things in his game. He doesn’t strike me as a particularly good penetrator, facilitator or defender.
Monster wrote: ↑Thu Jun 22, 2023 8:11 pm
OKC moves up 2 spots and takes on Bertans? Pretty good deal for Dallas.
Yes, but OKC got the better player in the draft. Cason Wallace is really, really good! OKC’s going to be a tremendous team in a couple years.
I like Cason but like a I said that’s a good deal for Dallas they took advantage of the situation. I think Lively might be a good player for Dallas.
Sorry Lip I had to.
This looks like I'm calling you out but my point with my earlier post in this thread was more about how our perceptions can change multiple times over hours, days or weeks or years. That's ok or actually good to be able to change what we think.
I'm just enjoying this time as a Wolves fan where we have legit talent, good coaching, a good organization (although some questions about ownership) and quiet a few players on the roster are guys it's easy to cheer for.
Yes, but OKC got the better player in the draft. Cason Wallace is really, really good! OKC’s going to be a tremendous team in a couple years.
I like Cason but like a I said that’s a good deal for Dallas they took advantage of the situation. I think Lively might be a good player for Dallas.
Sorry Lip I had to.
This looks like I'm calling you out but my point with my earlier post in this thread was more about how our perceptions can change multiple times over hours, days or weeks or years. That's ok or actually good to be able to change what we think.
I'm just enjoying this time as a Wolves fan where we have legit talent, good coaching, a good organization (although some questions about ownership) and quiet a few players on the roster are guys it's easy to cheer for.
Hmm. I had no recollection of that minuscule post about the Dallas draft-day trade a year ago. But I think your post about that prior post was an obviously passive aggressive. You were responding to a post in which I never suggested anything about my expectations a year ago for Lively or my view of the Mavs’ front office. My only point in my recent post the other day was that Lively is really good right now. So my prior draft-day view of Lively or Cason Wallace was totally irrelevant. Your latest “I wasn’t really calling you out” refrain is really disingenuous and silly. But it would be silly for me to belabor this any longer. Overlooking snarky passive-aggressive posts just goes with the territory if I want to continue participating on this Board.
I like Cason but like a I said that’s a good deal for Dallas they took advantage of the situation. I think Lively might be a good player for Dallas.
Sorry Lip I had to.
This looks like I'm calling you out but my point with my earlier post in this thread was more about how our perceptions can change multiple times over hours, days or weeks or years. That's ok or actually good to be able to change what we think.
I'm just enjoying this time as a Wolves fan where we have legit talent, good coaching, a good organization (although some questions about ownership) and quiet a few players on the roster are guys it's easy to cheer for.
Hmm. I had no recollection of that minuscule post about the Dallas draft-day trade a year ago. But I think your post about that prior post was an obviously passive aggressive. You were responding to a post in which I never suggested anything about my expectations a year ago for Lively or my view of the Mavs’ front office. My only point in my recent post the other day was that Lively is really good right now. So my prior draft-day view of Lively or Cason Wallace was totally irrelevant. Your latest “I wasn’t really calling you out” refrain is really disingenuous and silly. But it would be silly for me to belabor this any longer. Overlooking snarky passive-aggressive posts just goes with the territory if I want to continue participating on this Board.
That's fine if you aren't happy about this but you were the one that claimed I had you confused with another poster which was not the case. Anyways we will move on because the point clearly has been lost anyways.
Putting aside any misunderstandings or differences of opinion, the reality is that both Lively and Cason Wallace had outstanding rookie years where they cracked the rotation of teams competing deep into the playoffs. Wallace fell off a bit in the playoffs, but Lively seems to just be getting better.
Another point the Gafford/Lively tandem illustrates is that you can get highly functional bigs on the cheap these days. $17M in payroll for two guys that have largely outplayed our $100M in bigs. Something to think about whenever we move on to the "second window" with Ant. What positions and skill-sets do you want the bulk of your payroll dedicated to?
