Ryan Saunders is the Problem Poll

[kekgeek]

Here is my thing with NBA Coaches I think there is about 5 coaches that make a positive impact on the there team and 5 coaches that have negative impact then the rest are pretty interchangeable. I fear that Ryan Sanders is one of the negative impact coaches so that is why I voted 9-10. Now changing coach doesn't make this team a title contender, so there are still some issues. So if we traded Sanders for lets say Scotty Brooks (Neutral Coach) I think the Wolves are like a 7-10 seed based on roster talent. If they traded him for Spolstra (Positive Coach) I think the Wolves could compete for a 4 seed type talent. I think Sanders is just bad and the Wolves might be the 14th best team in the west with him as the coach.

There are for sure roster flaws to this team but I don't think Ryan maximizes his teams talent. I hate the drop coverage we run. I mean Towns is just bad at that type of defense, not saying Towns doesn't need to get better though. I also hate that the Wolves might have one of the most skilled offensive Cs of all time but we have turned him into a pick and pop big. It is night and day how Malone uses Jokic compared to how the Sanders uses Towns on offense. Towns will get his because he is really talented but there is so much more to unlock with Towns if they put Towns in better spots to succeed and show all his skills.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Remember how Rick Adelman used Kevin Love? Running offense through him as a scorer and facilitator? All those looks in the high post? I want more of that for Karl-Anthony Towns. And you can still incorporate plenty of pick-and-roll offense on top of that. But your best scorer should touch the ball every possession. I don't feel like the Wolves do that at all.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I voted with the other guy who chose 3-4...there's just not enough evidence for me at this point to put much blame on the coach.

As I've mentioned in another thread, I see basketball coaching as entirely different than football coaching. Football is a much more technical game, and X's and O's are much more important than they are in basketball. I'm not saying systems don't matter, just that they don't matter as much as they do in football. The NBA is much more of a players' league in my opinion, while play calling and systems are more vital in football. I think the primary role of the NBA coach is to put the right players together on the court at the right time. The second most important goal is to get the players to want to win for you.

So far in preseason, I think Saunders has failed miserably in his first goal. Layman should not be the starting PF for any team in the NBA- he was a SF in college and considered one when he entered the draft, and hasn't grown any longer or bigger since then. I also think Saunders has failed in starting D-Lo at PG instead of the natural choice Rubio. Further, while I love Okogie's energy, he is not a starting SF by any measure. So why do I give Ryan a pass here if he has failed the first goal? Because i take him at his word that the lineups he is throwing out there in preseason are not necessarily how the regular season is going to look. As I've said before, Rubio is a known commodity- Ryan doesn't need any more court time from Ricky to know what he is going to bring. Rosas has given Ryan a lot of new toys to play with, and Saunders is using the preseason to see how they fit together. Now, if we get into the regular season and at least two of D-Lo/Josh/Sunshine are still starting at PG/SF/PF, I will change my vote to at least a 7-8. But I don't think I will have to.

In the other area, I think Ryan shines. I can tell when his players talk about him that they like playing for him and want to win for him. I think the dark cloud that hangs over the team right now has little to do with Ryan, and almost all to do with the KAT problem. He is the cornerstone of this team and is playing like crap right now, and this roster knows this team is going nowhere with KAT shooting 25% and playing lethargic D. I'm still optimistic about KAT shaking off his malaise though, and I think we are going to see an entirely different team when he does.

The one rub is how often is the head coach hamstrung by an edict from the front office (via agents/players).

It's a league of Player Entitlement. More than ever.

Certain guys just won't get benched. And starting spots may not always be granted by the guy on the sidelines.

[60WinTim]

This seems immensely premature. After similar results in two preseason games last year, Ryan and the Wolves were 2 games over .500 after the first month of the season. I think monster is correct in needing to see what things look like after 15 or 20 games.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

This seems immensely premature. After similar results in two preseason games last year, Ryan and the Wolves were 2 games over .500 after the first month of the season. I think monster is correct in needing to see what things look like after 15 or 20 games.

Correct. It's not like Ryan Saunders has coached 106 regular season games. We need to see more. He's been saving his competency for this season!

[60WinTim]

This seems immensely premature. After similar results in two preseason games last year, Ryan and the Wolves were 2 games over .500 after the first month of the season. I think monster is correct in needing to see what things look like after 15 or 20 games.

Correct. It's not like Ryan Saunders has coached 106 regular season games. We need to see more. He's been saving his competency for this season!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ryan had one post-Thibs season playing for ping pong balls, and then one full season that included a Rosas makeover half way thru.

You are absolutely correct that without his connection to the Wolves, Ryan would not be head coach of the Wolves. And I am not even saying I think it was the right move. I just think it is premature to write him off based on the body of work thus far.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

This seems immensely premature. After similar results in two preseason games last year, Ryan and the Wolves were 2 games over .500 after the first month of the season. I think monster is correct in needing to see what things look like after 15 or 20 games.

Correct. It's not like Ryan Saunders has coached 106 regular season games. We need to see more. He's been saving his competency for this season!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ryan had one post-Thibs season playing for ping pong balls, and then one full season that included a Rosas makeover half way thru.

You are absolutely correct that without his connection to the Wolves, Ryan would not be head coach of the Wolves. And I am not even saying I think it was the right move. I just think it is premature to write him off based on the body of work thus far.

So he doesn't take any heat for the fact that he got none of the signings last offseason to work on the court so we overhauled over half the roster at the deadline to get a new batch of players to also not work under him for the rest of that season?

[60WinTim]

This seems immensely premature. After similar results in two preseason games last year, Ryan and the Wolves were 2 games over .500 after the first month of the season. I think monster is correct in needing to see what things look like after 15 or 20 games.

Correct. It's not like Ryan Saunders has coached 106 regular season games. We need to see more. He's been saving his competency for this season!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ryan had one post-Thibs season playing for ping pong balls, and then one full season that included a Rosas makeover half way thru.

You are absolutely correct that without his connection to the Wolves, Ryan would not be head coach of the Wolves. And I am not even saying I think it was the right move. I just think it is premature to write him off based on the body of work thus far.

So he doesn't take any heat for the fact that he got none of the signings last offseason to work on the court so we overhauled over half the roster at the deadline to get a new batch of players to also not work under him for the rest of that season?

I don't know, khansy, there are a lot of things we can complain about, but complaining that Rosas was unable to makeover the team as he wanted in just one offseason is not a worthy complaint. And the fact that he was able to re-make it after just one season is pretty remarkable. Feel free to complain about what the makeover looks like, but you have no business complaining about the length of time Rosas took.

And the makeover doesn't fall on Ryan's shoulders -- that's on Rosas. And the 10-8 start to the season with consistent contributions from the new signees Layman and Napier, plus our new draftee, Culver, flies in the face of your complaint.

[AbeVigodaLive]

This seems immensely premature. After similar results in two preseason games last year, Ryan and the Wolves were 2 games over .500 after the first month of the season. I think monster is correct in needing to see what things look like after 15 or 20 games.

Correct. It's not like Ryan Saunders has coached 106 regular season games. We need to see more. He's been saving his competency for this season!

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ryan had one post-Thibs season playing for ping pong balls, and then one full season that included a Rosas makeover half way thru.

You are absolutely correct that without his connection to the Wolves, Ryan would not be head coach of the Wolves. And I am not even saying I think it was the right move. I just think it is premature to write him off based on the body of work thus far.

So he doesn't take any heat for the fact that he got none of the signings last offseason to work on the court so we overhauled over half the roster at the deadline to get a new batch of players to also not work under him for the rest of that season?

I don't know, khansy, there are a lot of things we can complain about, but complaining that Rosas was unable to makeover the team as he wanted in just one offseason is not a worthy complaint. And the fact that he was able to re-make it after just one season is pretty remarkable. Feel free to complain about what the makeover looks like, but you have no business complaining about the length of time Rosas took.

And the makeover doesn't fall on Ryan's shoulders -- that's on Rosas. And the 10-8 start to the season with consistent contributions from the new signees Layman and Napier, plus our new draftee, Culver, flies in the face of your complaint.

The Wolves finished 9 - 37. Good thing we only count the first 18 games or else that would be embarrassing.

[Wolvesfan21]

We have to see this season. I have no doubt Rosas put the hammer down last season when the team started out hot. Holding guys out for weeks for "illness" and I'm sure the trade rumors that were flying everyday.

If the team was trying to lose can you put the blame on the HC? He did what the goal was.

Let's see if the team actually is good or bad this season since we have no pick to tank for. Let's see how Ryan coaches this season when he's not trying to lose.

So if you are basing your argument on last season it's by default erroneous.