Shabazz Muhammed - A bright spot in a dismal run?

[60WinTim]

I don't feel like starting a new thread, so I'll just add this here:

1) They had the dreaded "team meeting" today instead of practice. There are sound bytes available from KAT, Rubio and Smitch.

2) Pek is a 50/50 for playing tomorrow night!

[thedoper]

I don't feel like starting a new thread, so I'll just add this here:

1) They had the dreaded "team meeting" today instead of practice. There are sound bytes available from KAT, Rubio and Smitch.

2) Pek is a 50/50 for playing tomorrow night!

Thanks Tim. Sound bytes are here:
https://soundcloud.com/wolves-radio

[60WinTim]

I don't feel like starting a new thread, so I'll just add this here:

1) They had the dreaded "team meeting" today instead of practice. There are sound bytes available from KAT, Rubio and Smitch.

2) Pek is a 50/50 for playing tomorrow night!

Thanks Tim. Sound bytes are here:
https://soundcloud.com/wolves-radio

Not only was I too lazy to start a new thread, I am filled with so much apathy I couldn't even paste in the link to the sound bytes. Thanks for covering my [s]ass[/s] back, doper!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Generally speaking bench players have severe flaws to their game so the fact that Bazz has sub part D doesn't bother me . He has a specific set of skills that are useful for this team. If we got rid if him to just to add another bench player chances are that player will have his own warts. I think we could do a lot worse than a guy that can score and rebound well off the bench.

Exactly! You win by outscoring your opponent and Bazz is an efficient and reliable scorer. Maybe rather than trading away Bazz they should focus on acquiring the types of players who would compliment him. If the Wolves put Bazz on the market there would be no shortage of takers, that should make one question the wisdom in trading him in the first place.

Right, so how should we acquire those players since all the other guys on the bench require a similar sort of compliment (i.e. defensive-minded/high IQ type)? If you look at our main bench players, they almost all tend to be more offensively focused versus defensive. Of course, it's one thing to be offensively-focused, it's another to actually produce, which Bazz is indeed doing right now.

I don't know if Bazz is the right guy to trade or not, but we know that he is one of the few players that is a) not untouchable, and b) could actually get us something of value in return.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Everyone saying Bazz fits this team, I don't see how. What does this team lack? 3pt shooting, defense and good ball movers. Bazz is none of those. He's a short 3 who plays like a 4. If anything, we should be having him bulk up and play exclusively small ball 4 because that's the only way he would fit this team. Bench scorers are a dime a dozen and the way he plays doesn't help make the lives of those around him any easier because he's not a big enough 3pt threat, has little handle and almost never moves the ball. Look at the other 3's on the roster. Wiggins=volume scorer and good defender. Prince=good defender and good ball mover. Rudez=good 3pt shooter. Bazz=volume scorer. Who's the overlapping piece of those 4? Meanwhile at the 2 we have Lavine=good 3pt shooter and volume scorer. Martin=volume scorer and good 3pt shooter. What's missing there? No defense. So if we can flip Bazz or Martin or both for a 3 and D guy then you do it because that's the piece this wing rotation doesn't have. All of Bazz's positives are overlapping with other guys who do more than he does. Why is he the guy we should be building around on the second unit? Shouldn't we be building around the more versatile guys who check more than 1 box so our second unit isn't so heavily flawed? This team needs an efficient perimeter scorer, but he's got to stretch the defense and also play defense.

I haven't watched many games lately, but I think Prince would be a far better player for the second unit next to Tyus and Lavine than Bazz would be. Hell, I think Ricky/Lavine/Wiggins and Tyus/Martin/Prince would be the best rotation on the perimeter leaving Bazz out all together because he just doesn't fit next to anyone including Wiggins anymore because Wiggins just doesn't stretch the floor enough on offense and I think that's reflected in Bazz's +/- numbers this year. Anything he brings offensively is overcome by the defensive issues we have when he's on the court combined with the rest of the offense not being a good fit around his skill set. He's the one wing I would say doesn't fit on this roster based on what he brings to the table not meshing well with what everyone else brings.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Generally speaking bench players have severe flaws to their game so the fact that Bazz has sub part D doesn't bother me . He has a specific set of skills that are useful for this team. If we got rid if him to just to add another bench player chances are that player will have his own warts. I think we could do a lot worse than a guy that can score and rebound well off the bench.

Exactly! You win by outscoring your opponent and Bazz is an efficient and reliable scorer. Maybe rather than trading away Bazz they should focus on acquiring the types of players who would compliment him. If the Wolves put Bazz on the market there would be no shortage of takers, that should make one question the wisdom in trading him in the first place.

Right, so how should we acquire those players since all the other guys on the bench require a similar sort of compliment (i.e. defensive-minded/high IQ type)? If you look at our main bench players, they almost all tend to be more offensively focused versus defensive. Of course, it's one thing to be offensively-focused, it's another to actually produce, which Bazz is indeed doing right now.

I don't know if Bazz is the right guy to trade or not, but we know that he is one of the few players that is a) not untouchable, and b) could actually get us something of value in return.

Wasn't part of Flip's plan to acquire/build a team of two-way players. Obviously, it was a work in progress. The Wolves don't have too many of those guys.

As noted, Bazz can score when he's on. He's close worthless when he's off. He looks to score. Only. That's not necessarily a bad thing, especially on the second unit.

But he does play like a small-ball 4 and that limits his value a bit too. I have no problem using him as instant offense off the bench when the team needs a spark (Michael Beasley-esque). But another team might value that even more... or even dig him as a starter? In any event, he IS a movable piece but not necessarily part of the clear solution, so I don't see him anything close to untouchable either.

[Porckchop]

Aside from KAT and Wiggins no one on this team should be untouchable.

[thedoper]

Everyone saying Bazz fits this team, I don't see how. What does this team lack? 3pt shooting, defense and good ball movers. Bazz is none of those. He's a short 3 who plays like a 4. If anything, we should be having him bulk up and play exclusively small ball 4 because that's the only way he would fit this team. Bench scorers are a dime a dozen and the way he plays doesn't help make the lives of those around him any easier because he's not a big enough 3pt threat, has little handle and almost never moves the ball. Look at the other 3's on the roster. Wiggins=volume scorer and good defender. Prince=good defender and good ball mover. Rudez=good 3pt shooter. Bazz=volume scorer. Who's the overlapping piece of those 4? Meanwhile at the 2 we have Lavine=good 3pt shooter and volume scorer. Martin=volume scorer and good 3pt shooter. What's missing there? No defense. So if we can flip Bazz or Martin or both for a 3 and D guy then you do it because that's the piece this wing rotation doesn't have. All of Bazz's positives are overlapping with other guys who do more than he does. Why is he the guy we should be building around on the second unit? Shouldn't we be building around the more versatile guys who check more than 1 box so our second unit isn't so heavily flawed? This team needs an efficient perimeter scorer, but he's got to stretch the defense and also play defense.

I haven't watched many games lately, but I think Prince would be a far better player for the second unit next to Tyus and Lavine than Bazz would be. Hell, I think Ricky/Lavine/Wiggins and Tyus/Martin/Prince would be the best rotation on the perimeter leaving Bazz out all together because he just doesn't fit next to anyone including Wiggins anymore because Wiggins just doesn't stretch the floor enough on offense and I think that's reflected in Bazz's +/- numbers this year. Anything he brings offensively is overcome by the defensive issues we have when he's on the court combined with the rest of the offense not being a good fit around his skill set. He's the one wing I would say doesn't fit on this roster based on what he brings to the table not meshing well with what everyone else brings.

Clearly you haven't been watching the games lately. Bazz is becoming our best 3 pt shooter after an off first month shooting. There are far greater flaws on the 2nd unit than Bazz.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Everyone saying Bazz fits this team, I don't see how. What does this team lack? 3pt shooting, defense and good ball movers. Bazz is none of those. He's a short 3 who plays like a 4. If anything, we should be having him bulk up and play exclusively small ball 4 because that's the only way he would fit this team. Bench scorers are a dime a dozen and the way he plays doesn't help make the lives of those around him any easier because he's not a big enough 3pt threat, has little handle and almost never moves the ball. Look at the other 3's on the roster. Wiggins=volume scorer and good defender. Prince=good defender and good ball mover. Rudez=good 3pt shooter. Bazz=volume scorer. Who's the overlapping piece of those 4? Meanwhile at the 2 we have Lavine=good 3pt shooter and volume scorer. Martin=volume scorer and good 3pt shooter. What's missing there? No defense. So if we can flip Bazz or Martin or both for a 3 and D guy then you do it because that's the piece this wing rotation doesn't have. All of Bazz's positives are overlapping with other guys who do more than he does. Why is he the guy we should be building around on the second unit? Shouldn't we be building around the more versatile guys who check more than 1 box so our second unit isn't so heavily flawed? This team needs an efficient perimeter scorer, but he's got to stretch the defense and also play defense.

I haven't watched many games lately, but I think Prince would be a far better player for the second unit next to Tyus and Lavine than Bazz would be. Hell, I think Ricky/Lavine/Wiggins and Tyus/Martin/Prince would be the best rotation on the perimeter leaving Bazz out all together because he just doesn't fit next to anyone including Wiggins anymore because Wiggins just doesn't stretch the floor enough on offense and I think that's reflected in Bazz's +/- numbers this year. Anything he brings offensively is overcome by the defensive issues we have when he's on the court combined with the rest of the offense not being a good fit around his skill set. He's the one wing I would say doesn't fit on this roster based on what he brings to the table not meshing well with what everyone else brings.

Clearly you haven't been watching the games lately. Bazz is becoming our best 3 pt shooter after an off first month shooting. There are far greater flaws on the 2nd unit than Bazz.

He's averaged 1.4 or 1.5 3pt attempts per game for the past 3 months. I don't care if you shoot 90% from 3. If that's all the 3's you are taking per game, you aren't any three point threat the defense has to stick to. Let me know when he gets above 2 per game and then we'll talk about his 3pt prowess.

[thedoper]

Everyone saying Bazz fits this team, I don't see how. What does this team lack? 3pt shooting, defense and good ball movers. Bazz is none of those. He's a short 3 who plays like a 4. If anything, we should be having him bulk up and play exclusively small ball 4 because that's the only way he would fit this team. Bench scorers are a dime a dozen and the way he plays doesn't help make the lives of those around him any easier because he's not a big enough 3pt threat, has little handle and almost never moves the ball. Look at the other 3's on the roster. Wiggins=volume scorer and good defender. Prince=good defender and good ball mover. Rudez=good 3pt shooter. Bazz=volume scorer. Who's the overlapping piece of those 4? Meanwhile at the 2 we have Lavine=good 3pt shooter and volume scorer. Martin=volume scorer and good 3pt shooter. What's missing there? No defense. So if we can flip Bazz or Martin or both for a 3 and D guy then you do it because that's the piece this wing rotation doesn't have. All of Bazz's positives are overlapping with other guys who do more than he does. Why is he the guy we should be building around on the second unit? Shouldn't we be building around the more versatile guys who check more than 1 box so our second unit isn't so heavily flawed? This team needs an efficient perimeter scorer, but he's got to stretch the defense and also play defense.

I haven't watched many games lately, but I think Prince would be a far better player for the second unit next to Tyus and Lavine than Bazz would be. Hell, I think Ricky/Lavine/Wiggins and Tyus/Martin/Prince would be the best rotation on the perimeter leaving Bazz out all together because he just doesn't fit next to anyone including Wiggins anymore because Wiggins just doesn't stretch the floor enough on offense and I think that's reflected in Bazz's +/- numbers this year. Anything he brings offensively is overcome by the defensive issues we have when he's on the court combined with the rest of the offense not being a good fit around his skill set. He's the one wing I would say doesn't fit on this roster based on what he brings to the table not meshing well with what everyone else brings.

Clearly you haven't been watching the games lately. Bazz is becoming our best 3 pt shooter after an off first month shooting. There are far greater flaws on the 2nd unit than Bazz.

He's averaged 1.4 or 1.5 3pt attempts per game for the past 3 months. I don't care if you shoot 90% from 3. If that's all the 3's you are taking per game, you aren't any three point threat the defense has to stick to. Let me know when he gets above 2 per game and then we'll talk about his 3pt prowess.

So you're punishing him for making the threes that the system gives him? I don't get it. No one gets above 2 per game on this team so by your logic we can not call anyone a good or bad 3 pt shooter because we don't shoot enough. So why say he can't shoot 3s in the first place?