Time to clear the way for Jaylen Nowell

[Coolbreeze44]

I have a hard time seeing DLO and Nowell share the floor together defensively. One is too slow, the other too short. That combo would get killed in the playoffs. If you're bringing Nowell in for DLO, it has a chance.

[kekgeek]

Nowell needs to improve his defense, he is really really really bad on that end.

If they want to give him the 6th man role then the wolves should decline his option and make him a RFA. Don't want him to have an increased role just so he can leave next year.

[Q-is-here]

Don't disagree that his defense is a struggle, but I think it's something he's going to keep working on to improve. Ultimately, it's probably why he should never be a 30+ MPG starting guard, but lots of very successful teams that have made deep playoff runs had defensively weak scoring guards come off the bench over the years.

[Lipoli390]

I have a hard time seeing DLO and Nowell share the floor together defensively. One is too slow, the other too short. That combo would get killed in the playoffs. If you're bringing Nowell in for DLO, it has a chance.

I agree, Cool. That would be a bad defensive backcourt duo. If DLO is still here, I think he has to be paired with either Beverley or Edwards. My preferred starting lineup for next season, assuming DLO is here, would be DLO, Edwards, McDaniels, KAT and one of the following bigs: Nurkic, Hartenstein, Wendell Carter Jr. Mo Bamba or Jalen Smith. I'd have Beverley and Nowell as my second-unit backcourt.

[Monster]

I have a hard time seeing DLO and Nowell share the floor together defensively. One is too slow, the other too short. That combo would get killed in the playoffs. If you're bringing Nowell in for DLO, it has a chance.

I agree, Cool. That would be a bad defensive backcourt duo. If DLO is still here, I think he has to be paired with either Beverley or Edwards. My preferred starting lineup for next season, assuming DLO is here, would be DLO, Edwards, McDaniels, KAT and one of the following bigs: Nurkic, Hartenstein, Wendell Carter Jr. Mo Bamba or Jalen Smith. I'd have Beverley and Nowell as my second-unit backcourt.

This thread is about essentially replacing Beasley with Nowell. Nobody here is touting Beasley's defense so it's not like it's a new problem having a somewhat undersized (they have the same height and wingspan based on combine numbers) poor defending shooting guard. One difference is Nowell can actually play some minutes as a PG (not in the playoffs unless there are injuries etc) and then he would be a bigger player at that spot. I don't think Nowell's physical attributes are what hold him back much on D. It seems more about knowing how to actually play or having the ability to play defense. Of course it doesn't seem like something he is good at but he is also still a relatively inexperienced player.

FWIW I did think Beasley seemed ok in the playoffs on D though. At the very least he didn't look like some huge liability on that end.

[Coolbreeze44]

I have a hard time seeing DLO and Nowell share the floor together defensively. One is too slow, the other too short. That combo would get killed in the playoffs. If you're bringing Nowell in for DLO, it has a chance.

I agree, Cool. That would be a bad defensive backcourt duo. If DLO is still here, I think he has to be paired with either Beverley or Edwards. My preferred starting lineup for next season, assuming DLO is here, would be DLO, Edwards, McDaniels, KAT and one of the following bigs: Nurkic, Hartenstein, Wendell Carter Jr. Mo Bamba or Jalen Smith. I'd have Beverley and Nowell as my second-unit backcourt.

This thread is about essentially replacing Beasley with Nowell. Nobody here is touting Beasley's defense so it's not like it's a new problem having a somewhat undersized (they have the same height and wingspan based on combine numbers) poor defending shooting guard. One difference is Nowell can actually play some minutes as a PG (not in the playoffs unless there are injuries etc) and then he would be a bigger player at that spot. I don't think Nowell's physical attributes are what hold him back much on D. It seems more about knowing how to actually play or having the ability to play defense. Of course it doesn't seem like something he is good at but he is also still a relatively inexperienced player.

FWIW I did think Beasley seemed ok in the playoffs on D though. At the very least he didn't look like some huge liability on that end.

Monster, tell me how Nowell is going to handle a big guard like Luka or Kris Middleton in the playoffs? You certainly can't put DLO on them. He would get exposed so fast. He's not as good as Ben Gordon was, but there is a reason Gordon only averaged 30 minutes 3 times in his career.

[Monster]

I have a hard time seeing DLO and Nowell share the floor together defensively. One is too slow, the other too short. That combo would get killed in the playoffs. If you're bringing Nowell in for DLO, it has a chance.

I agree, Cool. That would be a bad defensive backcourt duo. If DLO is still here, I think he has to be paired with either Beverley or Edwards. My preferred starting lineup for next season, assuming DLO is here, would be DLO, Edwards, McDaniels, KAT and one of the following bigs: Nurkic, Hartenstein, Wendell Carter Jr. Mo Bamba or Jalen Smith. I'd have Beverley and Nowell as my second-unit backcourt.

This thread is about essentially replacing Beasley with Nowell. Nobody here is touting Beasley's defense so it's not like it's a new problem having a somewhat undersized (they have the same height and wingspan based on combine numbers) poor defending shooting guard. One difference is Nowell can actually play some minutes as a PG (not in the playoffs unless there are injuries etc) and then he would be a bigger player at that spot. I don't think Nowell's physical attributes are what hold him back much on D. It seems more about knowing how to actually play or having the ability to play defense. Of course it doesn't seem like something he is good at but he is also still a relatively inexperienced player.

FWIW I did think Beasley seemed ok in the playoffs on D though. At the very least he didn't look like some huge liability on that end.

Monster, tell me how Nowell is going to handle a big guard like Luka or Kris Middleton in the playoffs? You certainly can't put DLO on them. He would get exposed so fast. He's not as good as Ben Gordon was, but there is a reason Gordon only averaged 30 minutes 3 times in his career.

So we may as well trade Nowell too?

[Monster]

Moving Beasley kinda feels like last offseason when Rubio seemed like a likely guy to be moved to allow for other moves. Last year the Wolves still needed a backup PG and Rubio would have been a good one but they needed to make a move just to be able to resign their own players. Moving Rubio to Cleveland opened up salary and also paved the way to add Beverly. With Beasley it does feel like they have other options (dealing from a possible strength mostly because of Nowell) and they could really use frontcourt help. One way or another the Wolves could end up adding another guard to the roster to boast their depth. They do also have unproven players in Wright (would ne surprised if he isn't back on a 2-way) and Bolmaro also.

I was thinking this afternoon that Beasley who practiced with Nowell every day may have realized at some point this season he might not be here long term. He has been through something similar before in Denver. He might even be open to being moved to a team with a somewhat larger role. Beasley is still somewhat young so there is a little potential left and his volume 3 point shooting increased with the Wolves so his value there has gone up. When your worst 3 point shooting season with a team is 37.7% that's pretty good. I think guys like Beasley that are fringe starters or 6th 7th man types are hard to gauge their value around the league. Likewise what's the value of the players we might trade him for are similar possible starters/good bench players or have something else holding them back. It's fit of the roster (partly why we are looking to deal him) and eye of the beholder. At this point only time will tell what happens but I would say there is at least a 50% chance he is dealt this offseason and if I'm remembering right that's about how I felt about Rubio last offseason.

[Tactical unit]

Nowell seems to need the ball in his hand but can score in all areas of the floor. Beasley plays more off the ball and is a better fit next to all the ball dominate players on this team. However Beasley's price is a lot more and there is a bit of a log jam at SG. Nowell is young enough you can hope he grows as a player and Beasley is more defined and I don't see many paths of improvement for him.

[Lipoli390]

Nowell seems to need the ball in his hand but can score in all areas of the floor. Beasley plays more off the ball and is a better fit next to all the ball dominate players on this team. However Beasley's price is a lot more and there is a bit of a log jam at SG. Nowell is young enough you can hope he grows as a player and Beasley is more defined and I don't see many paths of improvement for him.

Great observation about the difference between Nowell and Beasley. Nowell is definitely better with the ball in his hands, which contrasts with Beasley who is mainly an off-ball guy. In that sense, you're right that Beasley is actually the better fit. But for the reasons you gave, it makes sense to move Beasley and have Nowell take his place in the rotation.