Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 20, 2026 11:47 pm
I continue to believe that we should ride our current horses to the end unless we can grab one of the Jones brothers for Mike Conley and change. If this team fizzles and folds come playoff time or ends up not even making the playoffs then it will be time for an overhaul in the offseason. I think we’re already overdue for transitioning to Wolves 2.0. Beringer’s play is very encouraging for my Wolves 2.0 vision.
Right now, other than shopping Conley and Miller for one of the Jones brothers, here’s what I’d do:
1. Play Rob 15-20 minutes consistently every game - keep him at 15 if not playing well, increase those minutes if he’s showing improvement - maybe up to 25 if he gets his footing and starts to succeed like his former Kentucky teammate Reed Sheppard. He can’t be worse than Conley, and unlike the 38 year old Conley, the 21 year old Rob is likely to get better and better.
2. Start playing Shannon 15-20 minutes a game once he returns healthy from his foot issue. I’ve cooled on Clark. We need two-way players and I don’t see a two-way player in Clark that would justify significant regular minutes every game. I also think his defense is often reckless.
3. Keep playing Beringer.
Lip, I feel like the Rob and Shannon ship has sailed at this point, at least as far as this season is concerned. Neither showed any signs of progress this year when they were given a chance and now that we have the play-in threat looming over us we can't afford to play them. We literally hemorrhaged points everytime Shannon played!
Unfortunately, some of the excitement many of us felt this offseason - including yours truly - about Wolves 2.0 has not come to fruition. We're currently at Wolves 1.1 and probably need to make a trade before the deadline.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 20, 2026 11:47 pm
I continue to believe that we should ride our current horses to the end unless we can grab one of the Jones brothers for Mike Conley and change. If this team fizzles and folds come playoff time or ends up not even making the playoffs then it will be time for an overhaul in the offseason. I think we’re already overdue for transitioning to Wolves 2.0. Beringer’s play is very encouraging for my Wolves 2.0 vision.
Right now, other than shopping Conley and Miller for one of the Jones brothers, here’s what I’d do:
1. Play Rob 15-20 minutes consistently every game - keep him at 15 if not playing well, increase those minutes if he’s showing improvement - maybe up to 25 if he gets his footing and starts to succeed like his former Kentucky teammate Reed Sheppard. He can’t be worse than Conley, and unlike the 38 year old Conley, the 21 year old Rob is likely to get better and better.
2. Start playing Shannon 15-20 minutes a game once he returns healthy from his foot issue. I’ve cooled on Clark. We need two-way players and I don’t see a two-way player in Clark that would justify significant regular minutes every game. I also think his defense is often reckless.
3. Keep playing Beringer.
Lip, I feel like the Rob and Shannon ship has sailed at this point, at least as far as this season is concerned. Neither showed any signs of progress this year when they were given a chance and now that we have the play-in threat looming over us we can't afford to play them. We literally hemorrhaged points everytime Shannon played!
Unfortunately, some of the excitement many of us felt this offseason - including yours truly - about Wolves 2.0 has not come to fruition. We're currently at Wolves 1.1 and probably need to make a trade before the deadline.
I don't agree that the Rob and Shannon ship has sailed...way too early to conclude that. Rob has not played well but he is only 21, and we don't know if TJ's foot injury was the reason for why his level of play fell so much this season. I also take issue with Lip's comment that Rob can't be worse than Conley. He literally HAS been worse than Conley this season by almost any analytical measure, and by a considerable margin. We rip Finchy a lot here and especially after a loss like last night, but we are in the midst of a pennant race, and I agree with his decision to play the veteran PG over Rob.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 20, 2026 11:47 pm
I continue to believe that we should ride our current horses to the end unless we can grab one of the Jones brothers for Mike Conley and change. If this team fizzles and folds come playoff time or ends up not even making the playoffs then it will be time for an overhaul in the offseason. I think we’re already overdue for transitioning to Wolves 2.0. Beringer’s play is very encouraging for my Wolves 2.0 vision.
Right now, other than shopping Conley and Miller for one of the Jones brothers, here’s what I’d do:
1. Play Rob 15-20 minutes consistently every game - keep him at 15 if not playing well, increase those minutes if he’s showing improvement - maybe up to 25 if he gets his footing and starts to succeed like his former Kentucky teammate Reed Sheppard. He can’t be worse than Conley, and unlike the 38 year old Conley, the 21 year old Rob is likely to get better and better.
2. Start playing Shannon 15-20 minutes a game once he returns healthy from his foot issue. I’ve cooled on Clark. We need two-way players and I don’t see a two-way player in Clark that would justify significant regular minutes every game. I also think his defense is often reckless.
3. Keep playing Beringer.
Lip, I feel like the Rob and Shannon ship has sailed at this point, at least as far as this season is concerned. Neither showed any signs of progress this year when they were given a chance and now that we have the play-in threat looming over us we can't afford to play them. We literally hemorrhaged points everytime Shannon played!
Unfortunately, some of the excitement many of us felt this offseason - including yours truly - about Wolves 2.0 has not come to fruition. We're currently at Wolves 1.1 and probably need to make a trade before the deadline.
I don't agree that the Rob and Shannon ship has sailed...way too early to conclude that. Rob has not played well but he is only 21, and we don't know if TJ's foot injury was the reason for why his level of play fell so much this season. I also take issue with Lip's comment that Rob can't be worse than Conley. He literally HAS been worse than Conley this season by almost any analytical measure, and by a considerable margin. We rip Finchy a lot here and especially after a loss like last night, but we are in the midst of a pennant race, and I agree with his decision to play the veteran PG over Rob.
My take is that we can’t know if Rob is worse or better than Conley based on the Rob’s minimal and inconsistent/sporadic minutes. It’s just not an adequate basis for assessing his play or comparing it to others. And we don’t know how much or quickly the 21-year old Rob would improve if given significant consistent minutes over an extended period of time. We already know what Shannon can do at the NBA level because we saw him do it last season, including in the playoffs. I think his foot has obviously been a major source of his struggles this season.
As for trades, I continue to see this team’s main problem as a lack of consistent intensity from its core players. I don’t know how you fix that with a trade deadline deal. It’s the sort of thing that either changes internally or gets fixed by an extensive re-configuration in the off season.
To clarify, I think the Dillingham/Shannon ship has sailed THIS season. If they aren't otherwise traded, then I hold out hope they have a great offseason and compete for a rotation slot next year. But I've seen enough of Dillingham especially to rule out any notion that he can help us in the stretch run this season. We're in a dog-fight at this point and can't afford the risk of playing him.
Shannon I have a soft spot for since I predicted that he could potentially become our 3rd or 4th best player as soon as this season. Oops. But at least he has a track record of positively impacting games last season, in the playoffs no less, whereas Dillingham has never had any sustained success.
But.....we were a trainwreck when Shannon was on the floor this season. His foot couldn't have been that bad, otherwise why did he play? No right hand and a low defensive IQ has sort of been found out now that opposing teams take him a bit more seriously. Last year he surprised some teams with his explosiveness, including OKC. That honeymoon period is over.
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 11:48 am
To clarify, I think the Dillingham/Shannon ship has sailed THIS season. If they aren't otherwise traded, then I hold out hope they have a great offseason and compete for a rotation slot next year. But I've seen enough of Dillingham especially to rule out any notion that he can help us in the stretch run this season. We're in a dog-fight at this point and can't afford the risk of playing him.
Shannon I have a soft spot for since I predicted that he could potentially become our 3rd or 4th best player as soon as this season. Oops. But at least he has a track record of positively impacting games last season, in the playoffs no less, whereas Dillingham has never had any sustained success.
But.....we were a trainwreck when Shannon was on the floor this season. His foot couldn't have been that bad, otherwise why did he play? No right hand and a low defensive IQ has sort of been found out now that opposing teams take him a bit more seriously. Last year he surprised some teams with his explosiveness, including OKC. That honeymoon period is over.
Yeah I really like Shannon, and had high expectations for him coming into the season. I'm starting to wonder if the foot/ankle issues are going to be a problem throughout his career. Last year he hurt his ankle/foot multiple times in practices and in his few games down in Iowa. This year his foot has been bothering him pretty much the whole season.
It’s frustrating to some of us that we haven’t seen more in-game minutes for Dillingham… but we should keep in mind the coaches see him play every non-game day in practice. His lack of playing time can’t only be attributed to Finch’s unwillingness to play young talent.
The dropoff for Conley since December has been remarkable. Reminds me of the drop off we saw with Kyle, but that was explainable by his eye injury.
Put me in the camp that says the Wolves shouldn’t stand pat at the trade deadline… there are real needs that should be addressed.
I posted Conley's recent stats in a different thread. 6 points in his last 63 minutes on 2 - 15 shooting. And one name keeps popping up in my mind as an inexpensive "proven" caretaker for this club. Tyus Jones.
AbeVigodaLive wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 2:56 pm
I posted Conley's recent stats in a different thread. 6 points in his last 63 minutes on 2 - 15 shooting. And one name keeps popping up in my mind as an inexpensive "proven" caretaker for this club. Tyus Jones.
Over his last 5 games:
61 minutes
3 - 16 fg
8 points
To be fair, technically... it is an upgrade. LOL.
Sadly that would be an upgrade. . But I think Tyus just needs a change of scenery. He’s still only 30 years old so he can’t be over the hill. He has a long track record demonstrating that his level of play is far higher than it’s been with Magic this season. Having said that, I don’t see Tyus as a magic bullet for what ails this team. But if we can get him for Conley and Miller, then that strikes me a sensible move for the Wolves that should help this team avoid the playin tournament.
Sundog wrote: ↑Wed Jan 21, 2026 2:17 pm
It’s frustrating to some of us that we haven’t seen more in-game minutes for Dillingham… but we should keep in mind the coaches see him play every non-game day in practice. His lack of playing time can’t only be attributed to Finch’s unwillingness to play young talent.
The dropoff for Conley since December has been remarkable. Reminds me of the drop off we saw with Kyle, but that was explainable by his eye injury.
Put me in the camp that says the Wolves shouldn’t stand pat at the trade deadline… there are real needs that should be addressed.
I agree there are needs to address. The question is timing. My view is that our needs run too deep to address prudently with an in-season trade deadline deal. Let’s see if we can improve from within and perhaps with a minor deal for a guy like Tyus without giving up any key players or our top young talent - Rob, Beringer, Clark and Shannon. Let’s stop the Mike Conley obsession. He’s done. Let’s give more PT to our young talent - Rob, Beringer (already happening) and Shannon (when healthy). And let’s hire a new head coach to light a fire under these under-performers. To that end, I’m starting the replace Finch with Mike Malone bandwagon.You are all welcome on board. .
If this team cant afford to play Rob and TJ then it cant afford to play Conley either. We are not a contender. We are 6 deep and that is not the way the NBA is going. I dont feel Finch is really bringing anything innovative to this situation. Id rather see some wholesale changes to start happening now including moving on from Finch. Id be fine to take a dip to retool this team. Conley and Rudy have served us well but its not going to get better for either of them. Im ready for the Ant, Jaden, Naz era to start for real.
. But I think Tyus just needs a change of scenery. He’s still only 30 years old so he can’t be over the hill. He has a long track record demonstrating that his level of play is far higher than it’s been with Magic this season. Having said that, I don’t see Tyus as a magic bullet for what ails this team. But if we can get him for Conley and Miller, then that strikes me a sensible move for the Wolves that should help this team avoid the playin tournament.