Minnesota Sports Forum

Cam, why is it that we are asked to cut Thad slack for not having the regular starters on the court, but you aren't affording that same courtesy to AB? Isn't that implying that playing with the bench players makes it more difficult to put up consistent numbers? Wouldn't that have an even greater affect on AB's numbers?

Shouldn't the vet be less affected by the loss of the starters?

Thad was still able to play his PF position, but AB was asked to play C in certain lineups. Doesn't that make it even more difficult for the younger player?

60WinTim wrote:We are watching the same player, Cam. And he absolutely is playing better with Rubio's return. But IMO, he would be one of the weak links on a good team if he is your starting PF.

And why was it "foolishness" to hope that Bennett might blossom this year? You wrote him off after his issues last year. Yet you are still hopeful Stauskas is going to blossom in his second year?

What did Bennett do to make you so subjective on him? That's something you're really never explained, and may help those people who get offended at your endless rants on him.

It was foolishness because Bennett was a second year player who showed absolutely nothing positive in his first year and Young was an established, starting quality player in the NBA. Yet for some reason, we have some on the board that got carried away with the word "potential" and declared he'd win the job this year. Not only were those posters vehement with their stance, but they couldn't have been more wrong as Bennett hasn't shown a lick of improvement let alone being a legit NBA rotation player.

I wrote Bennett off because I saw a player that reminded me of a former failure in Derrick Williams. If you remember correctly, I made that comparison pre-Love trade and got chastised for it. Even more so, LST tried to make the argument that Young was more like D-Will than Bennett was! Excuse me if I'm still not over that because the same negative feelings have been shot at Young ever since no matter what that guy does on the court.

To clarify, I don't know what to expect from Stauskas next year. I thought Sac-Town was a horrendous fit for the guy right when the pick was made since they already had McLemore set to log big minutes. Personally, I hope they trade him. And even if Stauskas never turns into the player I thought he'd be, which is looking very possible, I still believe he'll be a good rotation player in the end simply because he has a good skill -- shooting -- paired with NBA SG size and he's a smart ball player.

Bennett hasn't done anything to me other than piss me off with his play. I can live with guys missing jumpers or giving up a bucket on defense after working hard to stop it from happening. I cannot live with a guy who plays unfocused, soft and without heart. That's Bennett for me. It gets even worse when you pile on that the guy has great physical tools that every one of us here would love to have had and he doesn't use them to their full ability.

sjm34 wrote:Cam, why is it that we are asked to cut Thad slack for not having the regular starters on the court, but you aren't affording that same courtesy to AB? Isn't that implying that playing with the bench players makes it more difficult to put up consistent numbers? Wouldn't that have an even greater affect on AB's numbers?

Shouldn't the vet be less affected by the loss of the starters?

Thad was still able to play his PF position, but AB was asked to play C in certain lineups. Doesn't that make it even more difficult for the younger player?

The reason is because Bennett has played like shit no matter who was around him.

"Shouldn't the vet be less affected by the loss of the starters?"

In the NBA? Are you nuts? Take any NBA team and remove three of their four best vet players from the lineup and watch that last vet struggle like hell. That's especially true if the vet in question isn't capable of being a top option on offense, but is expected to be just that.

While I agree that Bennett deserves some leeway, he was still going against second units. He was still playing confused, empty production team basketball. He hasn't improved in the slightest; the same can't be said for Wiggins, LaVine and Muhammad. Young players who went through the same circumstances yet are clearly better players than they were at the beginning of the year. There's actually an argument that Bennett has regressed! That mid-range jumper of his was actually going in to start the year.

I think AB and GR3 should actually get 5-10 games in the D-League this season. It would be good for both of them. I think AB can't find his rhythm more then anything. Going to the D-League would help him. He needs to do that before next season because after next season he is really going to have to face the fact that he will have to make it with another team.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I think we rushed to fill the hole honestly. We would have been better served letting AB play more and if it doesn't work out we gave him the rest of the season and it likely improved our draft position. The biggest concern with Payne is he didn't light the D-League on fire either.

I think Clint Capela is a better prospect then Payne and Houston likely would have traded him for the pick. 3 years younger and average 3 times the blocks, shotting over 10% higher FG%, and grabbing the same boards in about 7 minutes less a game. I just think this was a poor value and we reached. Now if we can get a lottery protected pick for Thad then this is a wash in my eyes, but would rather have Thad then Payne. (basically would have traded the Miami pick for Payne who Flip would have drafted anyways)

I woudl also rather have Jarnell Stokes or even Mitch McGeary then Payne. Also why not ask for Walter Tavares instead. They obviously felt it was better to keep him. It is not like the Hawks couldn't cut a player to make roster room then give up a good prospect.

Bleed, while I don't disagree with your suggestion in the first paragraph that we should give AB more minutes to see what he can contribute, I don't understand your unfavorable comparison of Payne to Capela. Capela was drafted 10 spots behind Payne, and has missed all ten shots he has taken in the NBA. Are you comparing Capela's European stats to Payne's college stats? Kind of difficult to do, I would argue. They are completely different players also. Payne has shown an ability to hit the three-pointer, while I believe Capella was only effective in Europe close to the basket.

Camden wrote:

sjm34 wrote:Cam, why is it that we are asked to cut Thad slack for not having the regular starters on the court, but you aren't affording that same courtesy to AB? Isn't that implying that playing with the bench players makes it more difficult to put up consistent numbers? Wouldn't that have an even greater affect on AB's numbers?

Shouldn't the vet be less affected by the loss of the starters?

Thad was still able to play his PF position, but AB was asked to play C in certain lineups. Doesn't that make it even more difficult for the younger player?

The reason is because Bennett has played like shit no matter who was around him.

"Shouldn't the vet be less affected by the loss of the starters?"

In the NBA? Are you nuts? Take any NBA team and remove three of their four best vet players from the lineup and watch that last vet struggle like hell. That's especially true if the vet in question isn't capable of being a top option on offense, but is expected to be just that.

While I agree that Bennett deserves some leeway, he was still going against second units. He was still playing confused, empty production team basketball. He hasn't improved in the slightest; the same can't be said for Wiggins, LaVine and Muhammad. Young players who went through the same circumstances yet are clearly better players than they were at the beginning of the year. There's actually an argument that Bennett has regressed! That mid-range jumper of his was actually going in to start the year.

It is funny how you just throw out lies, and assume nobody will notice. Bennett's November #'s were solid, and half of those were while Young was out. Why wasn't Gorgui struggling, or Wiggins?

Young has never been the #1 option on offense. Just because he took the most shots doesn't make that so. The opposing team isn't switching defenders, double teaming, or even game planning to stop him. The fact that you are complaining about a horrendous defender and rebounder being asked to take on an offensive role should tell you how inept he is.

Young is an average offensive player at best (not this season), and a significantly below average defender and rebounder. I have no idea where Bennett will end up, but I don't think this team will lose any more games with him as the starter than they have with Young in there. At the very least they will improve in rebounding and defense.

The fact you think Bennett is a better defender than Young tells me all I need to know about your opinion on this matter. It's shitty.

LST - I was going off D-League stats for both.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Clint-Capela-6359/
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Adreian-Payne-5286/

Payne is shooting less then 20% on 3's in the D-League. That is likely to go up, but it might not translate to the NBA.

Camden wrote:The fact you think Bennett is a better defender than Young tells me all I need to know about your opinion on this matter. It's shitty.

Let's be honest Cam, a cardboard cutout would be a better defender than either of them.

bleedspeed177 wrote:LST - I was going off D-League stats for both.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Clint-Capela-6359/
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Adreian-Payne-5286/

Payne is shooting less then 20% on 3's in the D-League. That is likely to go up, but it might not translate to the NBA.

Okay, got it. Yeah, Payne's D-League performance has been worse than I would expect. We'll have to see what he can do with the Wolves, but if his college record is any indicator, he should be able to at least improve on his 3-point shooting. I'm guardedly optimistic about him.