Minnesota Sports Forum

No thanks, no room for him anyway.

I trust Thibs on this one. I am sure he has vetted this out. I am sure Doc has given him his take. His skills fit perfectly on what this team needs deep in the bench and on a 1 year contract I can't see how we could go wrong. If he becomes a problem you cut him. Pretty simple.

I wouldn't be surprised if Thibs sees Stephenson is potentially a better option backing up Wig than Bazz...or at least some competition for him. Check out their comparative stats:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&y1=2016&p1=stephla01&y2=2016&p2=muhamsh01&p3=&p4=&p5=&p6=

We all know Lance is the far superior defender and distributor, but he is also a better defensive rebounder and has a better EFG%. Bazz of course is rhe better offensive rebounder (we all love his persistence on the offensive glass) and turns the ball over less, although that may be because he very seldom tries to get the ball into a teammate.

He is clearly a weird guy, so any move to pick him up would have to be full of "buyer beware". But other than his problems with Hibbert in Indy, I've never heard of him being a locker room problem...and Vogel obviously isn't concerned with that since he wants him in Orlando. But man he does some dumb things! His on-court antics with LeBron (blowing in his ear!) were silly and ineffective...pissing James off is never a good idea. And he does stuff like denting his Camaro by trying to beat the gate coming down following rhe player in front of him at the Clippers practice facility...you can't even make it up!

But he actually might be kind of entertaining here...we would definitely have a separate thread covering his antics! I love Bazz, but the holes in his game are things that bother Thibs, and Lance is particularly good in the areas Bazz struggles in. Having a good defensive rebounding and defensive option at the 3 allows Thibs to let Wig play a little more 2. And signing Lance to a 1-year contract allows Thibs to evaluate who is a better option going forward to back up Wig...Bazz or Lance. If Thibs can handle the goofiness and clear out one more roster spot (bye bye KG, Pek or AP), I would be strongly in favor of this move.

I wouldn't sign Lance. No sense taking any chance with team chemistry to sign a guy who nobody seems to want. Thibs might do it, but hope not. Let's see how Bazz develops under Thibs.

lipoli390 wrote:I wouldn't sign Lance. No sense taking any chance with team chemistry to sign a guy who nobody seems to want. Thibs might do it, but hope not. Let's see how Bazz develops under Thibs.

Agreed. This board seems split on Bazz. I'm content on letting him play out his contract, offer him a fair deal next offseason, but we may have to let him walk.

This move wouldn't change how I feel about Shabazz. I think it pushes him harder and gives us another option and more competition on the bench.

lipoli390 wrote:I wouldn't sign Lance. No sense taking any chance with team chemistry to sign a guy who nobody seems to want. Thibs might do it, but hope not. Let's see how Bazz develops under Thibs.

Agreed. We hear all this talk about team chemistry. But it's young team chemistry... which can change very quickly.

Bringing in a veteran loose cannon like Stephenson (limited upside, selfish player... even in good times) seems odd to me. There's a reason why guys like him and Waiters struggled to find homes/contracts even in this free agent frenzy.

I recognize Stephenson is goofy, but I'm interested in comments about his selfishness or disrupting the locker room. Other than reports of him and Hibbert not liking each other (and if that was really a concern, why would Vogel be interested in bringing him to Orlando?), I'm not aware of other instances where he has not been a good teammate. And as for selfishness, if we are comparing him to the guy he would be competing with (Bazz), his assist rate is far better.

I have not followed Stephenson closely so there may very well be incidents I'm not aware of. But my impression of him is a flake who can really rebound and defend, and can occasionally put up points in bunches. Sounds like an ideal bench guy to me, especially for a minimum salary.

LST - I have the same impression. I just would rather have them then someone that doesn't have the skill to be in the NBA. IF he becomes a problem you get rid of him.

longstrangetrip wrote:I recognize Stephenson is goofy, but I'm interested in comments about his selfishness or disrupting the locker room. Other than reports of him and Hibbert not liking each other (and if that was really a concern, why would Vogel be interested in bringing him to Orlando?), I'm not aware of other instances where he has not been a good teammate. And as for selfishness, if we are comparing him to the guy he would be competing with (Bazz), his assist rate is far better.

I have not followed Stephenson closely so there may very well be incidents I'm not aware of. But my impression of him is a flake who can really rebound and defend, and can occasionally put up points in bunches. Sounds like an ideal bench guy to me, especially for a minimum salary.

Incidents? I don't think that's the issue necessarily, but I remember him and Evan Turner fighting right before the playoffs started. I don't think it's a surprise that his best statistical stretch has come with a higher usage rate when he's allowed to dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble... basically do what he loves to do most. He can be relentless with the ball in his hands and attacking. Last year, he was exactly who he seems to want to be and exactly what a decimated Memphis squad needed him to be. But what about when he's asked to be part of the team... as a cog in the machine?

4 teams in 3 seasons could be rather telling.


[Note: Yes, he's more talented than most other guys deep on benches. But why would he come to Minnesota anywhere near a minimum salary if he wasn't able to showcase what he does best? Dribble, attack, dribble some more... At only 25, I have to imagine he's not hip on putting himself in a situation where he's on the bench for such a low salary. I wouldn't be devastated if the Wolves added him (and I'm definitely not a big Muhammad fan)... but I just don't see enough upside with bringing in Stephenson considering how much disruption it could bring on the court to have him be successful.]