Minnesota Sports Forum

SameOldNudityDrew wrote:Most draft predictors had Dieng there at 26, so it's not really fair to ask us to compare McCollum to both Shabbazz and Dieng. You could more strongly argue that the real comparison should be between McCollum and Shabbazz and some cash, which is what they traded the 26h pick for.

Brooklyn was very disappointed when Deing did not fall. They were bummed. They had the twenty second pick.

Bayno went to Toronto so Sikma is still here and you bring up a good point Sikma might be really good working with Dieng. Personally Dieng is the one guy I wanted in this draft so to get him at 21 made me pretty happy. Maybe he would have been there at 21 but it seemed like the last month or so it seemed like he wasn't going to drop that far. it was a whacky draft so really you can't be too sure about where guys were going to go. I am glad we got him.

I hesitate on commenting on CJ because I'd like to see him competing in games before saying he was just an undersized low efficient chucker. Some guys you watch and its clear they can play. That may be the case with him but his situation and Bazz was totally different. He got a green light maybe deserved IDK and Bazz was asked to round out his game. I'd say its not really too fair to compare their performances too much. I know some of Bazz measurables say he isn't big enough for SF but he looked pretty big against SL guys. Playing against SFs might be a better spot for him if he doesn't make giant leaps in being able to handle the ball. He has an NBA a lot of guys at that age don't have so that's something.

Agreed with the first post. May I also bring this up: I recall some posters back at ESPN saying that they might even take Dieng at 9 because they liked his game/potential that much. That was never in Flip's head, but it just goes to show that Dieng could probably be the guy that makes this trade lean our way. For what we needed going into the draft, I think we won the trade.

People forget that McCollum really only had one year of efficient shooting from three in college. People wanna make the negative case against D-Will and Wes Johnson for that tidbit, but forget about it when talking about their guy CJ.

I know Shabazz had his struggles this SL, but I still liked that he was working on his game. The only way to truly get better is to work on your game in game situations. Shabazz needs time, and that's exactly what he'll get in Minnesota since he won't be thrown into the fire.

I had Dieng #10 on my draft board, so I can't complain too much about the result. But I also had McCollum #5 on my board. I had Shabazz ranked #14 or 15.

I still think the smart move would have been to take McCollum at #9. Then the Wolves would have had multiple options to fill the need for a long shot-blocking presence. One option was the possibility of getting Dieng at 26 where most mocks had him available. Another option would have been trading #26 and another asset (maybe the rights to Bjelica) to move up a few spots to get Dieng. Another option would have been to take Gobert at #26 if neither of the other two options I mentioned panned out.

As for McCollum, there are good arguments on both sides. But the comparisons to Williams and Wes aren't persuasive. Derrick and Wes were one-trick ponies coming out of college, excelling at only one thing -- shooting. In contrast, McCollum excelled as a rebounder and ball thief in college. In addition, McCollum is a superb ball-handler who can get his own shot -- something neither Derrick nor Wes could do. Even in the scoring department, McCollum was prolific while the other two were not. Actually, the Williams/Wes comparison applies far more accurately to Shabazz.

I'm not comparing Wes and D-Will's overall games in college to McCollum's. I'm talking about their inflated 3P% in college.

lipoli390 wrote:I had Dieng #10 on my draft board, so I can't complain too much about the result. But I also had McCollum #5 on my board. I had Shabazz ranked #14 or 15.

I still think the smart move would have been to take McCollum at #9. Then the Wolves would have had multiple options to fill the need for a long shot-blocking presence. One option was the possibility of getting Dieng at 26 where most mocks had him available. Another option would have been trading #26 and another asset (maybe the rights to Bjelica) to move up a few spots to get Dieng. Another option would have been to take Gobert at #26 if neither of the other two options I mentioned panned out.

As for McCollum, there are good arguments on both sides. But the comparisons to Williams and Wes aren't persuasive. Derrick and Wes were one-trick ponies coming out of college, excelling at only one thing -- shooting. In contrast, McCollum excelled as a rebounder and ball thief in college. In addition, McCollum is a superb ball-handler who can get his own shot -- something neither Derrick nor Wes could do. Even in the scoring department, McCollum was prolific while the other two were not. Actually, the Williams/Wes comparison applies far more accurately to Shabazz.

Deing would not have been there, and I think Gobert will be a future 12 minute big. I know mock boards had Deing at 26, but those guys (most the time) have no idea what the hell they are talking about, and are speculating on draft fits. For your other points, I believe the only deal we could have done would be the rumored J.J. for Marshon and Teletovic, but that would be too many roster spots. I actually am happy how things turned out cap wise, and roster wise. I just wish we could dump J.J. I would love this deal now that roster spots make sense... Woo did I get off topic or what?

Lip, you make a good point about McCollum's rebounding. He was a surprisingly good rebounder in college, and enjoyed similar success in Summer League. I conveniently left out his S.L. rebounding stats to bolster my case for Shabazz/Dieng over McCollum! And on the flip side, Shabazz's rebounding in summer league was disappointing,

crazysauce wrote:Really would like to know what it is exactly that shows any of you posters that flip knows his NBA talent. It absolutely drives me crazy when I hear this. Is there something I just slept through? I would say just the opposite as this was the guy who traded, the #5 pick, which could be anyone from take your pick, but Ricky Rubio, Steph Curry, or Jonny Flynn if you like for ...... The Legendary Randy Foye and a broken down Mike Miller. Now obviously Flynn sucks but you traded two guys who are the tenth men off the bench for Rubio or Curry? That is plain stupidity. No other way to call it. Now what exactly is it that makes Flip at all know what the hell he is doing? I am really interested to hear this one.

What do you mean he traded the 5th pick he was the coach not the GM and maybe the reason they didn't draft a PG was because the best player on the wizards at that time was Arenas who is a PG. Just thought I would point those two things out for ya.

I was a real big fan of KCP and Zellar in the draft. I also liked Olynyk, but nobody was available at #14. I was fine with the trade until we sold the 26th pick. I have a feeling that Giannis Antetokounmpo be the best player that was available at 14 in time. I see why we didn't draft him at the time, but looking at the roster today I would rather have him on it then Shabazz.

monsterpile wrote:Bayno went to Toronto so Sikma is still here and you bring up a good point Sikma might be really good working with Dieng.

That's right - should've looked that up first. Thanks for setting me straight.