Minnesota Sports Forum

thedoper wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

leado01 wrote:I do think if we stay pat Beasley is our 6th man scoring punch...and we've yet to see an 8 or 9 man rotation with Edwards/KAT/DLO/McD/Beasley/Reid/Juancho/Okogie and occasionally Vanderbilt .. .

I'm not saying we can't move Rubio/Juancho/Vandy etc. . . to potentially improve the 4 .... but it does appear we have the elements in place to actually develop some of these very good young players we have under a coach that seems to understand how to utilize his assets.

And that group I could see winning 38 - 42 games assuming zero improvement from last year in skills/development/chemistry, but just staying healthy (big if of course). I say that based on how they played when they were mostly healthy, which ended up being around .500 ball.

The question is how much do we really think Edwards, McDaniels, and Reid improve? Next to good health, the answer to this question is paramount to Rosas' offseason plans. If he's really bullish on these guys and feels he can get even more from them next season, he may in fact stay mostly pat.

I wonder if there are any outliers that think this is a way above .500 team with the current roster? I think your assessment of the current roster is accurate, if all things go well we are a .500 team. If Ant and McDaniels are long term stars we bump up from there.

Radical trades or marginal trades seem to be the route to us even having a hope of being a legit playoff team this year. I dont know if theyre out there. I could see a situation where a glue vet guy could come in and make this team's chemistry finally gel, I just dont know who that player is.

I remember when Chris Paul was "untradable". Now it seems so logical why you would want him even at his price. The NBA is insane.

If you are talking about professional pundits/analysts/Vegas, then I highly doubt it. If you are talking about 60WinTim, then yeah, there's your outlier!

The reality is that sometimes a big move is about whether or not their is the right opportunity which includes having the right trade partner right contracts etc etc. In some ways the reason why Chris Paul ended up in the Suns is because if the player centric movement of the league. He wanted to go to Houston...then Harden and Westbrook wanted to play together...then the Suns said they were willing to give up a bunch of guys they didn't really believe were the answer plus a first round pick for the hope Chris Paul would stay healthy and they are in the NBA finals. There was a bunch of ways that deal could have gone wrong but it went right. My point is that it's not whether or not the Wolves should make a big move it's whether or not there is an opportunity available that makes sense for them. Sometimes it's not even that big of a move that helps teams take a step forward. The Bucks signed Brook Lopez for a fairly cheap contract his first year there and he has been a significant contributor to their success the past few years. The playoffs this year have had big contributions from guys that came out of nowhere like Payne and Mann.
Reggie Jackson found his game again.

I firmly believe that if the Wolves don't make a big/biggish move they can still improve the roster without spending a lot of money in FA. There will be worthwhile players available this offseason for cheap. It happens every year.

On that point Monster of not having to make a big move, Dane Moore and Britt Robson did a really nice podcast on potential bigs. Dane described three different archetypes that could fit next to KAT, as defined by the player who most exemplifies that archetype (i.e. the "big move" guy). But we could get a really nice complimentary player by looking at lesser (and cheaper) versions of those same guys.

Rim-rolling dunk target and solid defender - John Collins
Cheaper alternatives:
Dwight Powell
Larry Nance Jr.
Rashaun Holmes

Versatile defender and playmaker - Ben Simmons
Cheaper alternatives:
Kyle Anderson
Aaron Gordon
Thad Young

Paint protector & stretch big - Myles Turner
Cheaper alternatives:
Daniel Theis
Zach Collins

Q12543 wrote:On that point Monster of not having to make a big move, Dane Moore and Britt Robson did a really nice podcast on potential bigs. Dane described three different archetypes that could fit next to KAT, as defined by the player who most exemplifies that archetype (i.e. the "big move" guy). But we could get a really nice complimentary player by looking at lesser (and cheaper) versions of those same guys.

Rim-rolling dunk target and solid defender - John Collins
Cheaper alternatives:
Dwight Powell
Larry Nance Jr.
Rashaun Holmes

Versatile defender and playmaker - Ben Simmons
Cheaper alternatives:
Kyle Anderson
Aaron Gordon
Thad Young

Paint protector & stretch big - Myles Turner
Cheaper alternatives:
Daniel Theis
Zach Collins

I'll have to check out that podcast.

I'll add at least 1 more cheaper guy to each category

Nerlens Noel
Dwight Howard (not sure I would want him around but his skill set is still there)
Tristin Thompson

RHJ
Jeff Green?
Bjelicia (wouldn't be surprised if he just goes back to Europe)

Dedmond
Gorgui Dieng

I'm not saying all these guys are going to be big factors but there are various options and at least one guy we have mentioned that's been kinda meh or just will end up being a bargain for someone. A couple weeks ago I read some thing that said the market for Theis could be very strong this offseason. He might be too expensive for the Wolves if he gets a full mid level offer. I thought at one point he might come cheaper but I could be wrong. That may make someone else available for a cheaper price.