Rotation once our walking wounded return

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Any starting lineup that doesn't include Young is unrealistic at this point. Nobody on the team has earned that spot over him. Period.

[Coolbreeze44]

Any starting lineup that doesn't include Young is unrealistic at this point. Nobody on the team has earned that spot over him. Period.

Well if the question asked by the OP was what is the most realistic rotation you might have a point.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Here would be my lineups. It looks really conventional at first, but check the way I'd break down minutes. To me, minutes are more important that who starts.

Starters
Rubio (limit minutes carefully to prevent re-injury, which happens on sprained ankles too often)
Martin (limit minutes because we need some minutes for young guys, but c'mon, he's too good not to start)
Wiggins (it's time to start limiting his minutes a little if he's playing lethargic, though, need to send a message)
Thad (should pull him sooner to make room for Adrien and Dieng, and if there are minutes, we could put him back in at SF where he fits better and to make room for Adrien and maybe Bennett at the 4)
Pek (has a rapport with Rubio and Martin, but keep his minutes very limited, 16 a night)


6th Man
Bazz (should get lots minutes (25-30) behind Martin and Wiggins, this is his ideal role anyway)

Bigs
Adrien (this guy has seriously been one of our best players, deserves minutes (20?), especially with Dieng)
Dieng (he's the promising "young" guy we haven't talked about enough, deserves twice as many minutes as Pek and fits with Adrien, 30 minutes at the 5)

Backup Wing with Bazz
LaVine (he's been bad as a PG, but I think he could flourish at the 2, where he's played his whole life, could still give him some minutes as the 3rd PG to keep him on the floor, but not too many)

Backup PG
Mo (the offense just runs better with Mo than Zach)

So the minutes breakdown could look something like this (at first anyway):
Rubio 25 / Mo 17 / Zach 6
Martin 28 / Bazz 8 / Zach 12
Wiggins 30 / Bazz 18
Thad 24 / Adrien 18 / Bennett 6
Pek 16 / Dieng 32


Bud gets left out of my rotation, and Bennett gets just 6 minutes. I'd like to be able to give Bennett more minutes because he is a skilled guy, but he just doesn't have much of a positive impact on the game. I don't see a lot of hope for him. Maybe give him some burn with Adrien as our two bigs for stretches.

EDIT [Ok, I've been thinking about this, and I maybe I'd give Bennett more minutes in retrospect. I don't think he's earned them compared to Adrien, who has arguably been our second best player. But Bennett's potential value is still higher than Adrien's and this season is shot anyway so winning a little more is not THAT important. I'm torn. Part of me would like to send Zach and Bennett to the D League to play a ton of minutes. But it would be tough to do that, especially for Bennett, since it would definitely bring up all sorts of stories about a first overall pick being sent to the D League. It's a tough scenario. But I could see sending them both to the D League. Actually, the more I think about it, I think that is exactly what I'd do if I thought they could deal with it well enough and if I could guarantee they'd play a bunch of minutes. I'd be sure to tell them we'd be grooming them to come back to the team to play a significant role to keep their attitudes up. So I'm editing my edit here, and I'd send Zach and Bennett to the D League and give LaVine's backup minutes at the 2 to Daniels so we can see if he can be a solid role player. ]


REVISED Wolves Rotation AFTER SECOND THOUGHT
Rubio 28 / Mo 20
Martin 28 / Bazz 8 / Daniels 12
Wiggins 30 / Bazz 18
Thad 26 / Adrien 22
Pek 16 / Dieng 32

D League
LaVine (tons of minutes, especially at the 2, and tell that guy to just score like crazy, if he proves himself, bring him back at the end of the year and if Bazz continues to play well, go into next season with an eye on a possible Martin trade and roll with LaVine, Bazz, and Wiggins as our wings, maybe GRII as well if he looks good)
GRIII (this guy's not getting any playing time here, give him some in the D League too)
Bennett (tons of minutes, and tell him to round out his game and get ready to be a key contributor next year)

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Any starting lineup that doesn't include Young is unrealistic at this point. Nobody on the team has earned that spot over him. Period.

Well if the question asked by the OP was what is the most realistic rotation you might have a point.

You guys are both correct that Young will be in any "realistic" starting lineup, because Flip has publicly named him as one of only two reliable guys on the team right now. But I look at Thad's stats, and just don't see him as an NBA starter. His AFG% is down to .46, and his anemic 4.5 RPG are not what we want from a starting PF...especially when it is combined with subpar defense. I'd like to see if Thad find his offensive game in a reserve role...maybe he could really help us of the bench if he didn't feel the pressure of having to carry the team.

No consensus on this board as to how Flip should divide the minutes, and that's to be expected...given the depth of the tam when healthy with no real superstars. One thing we can all agree on, though, is how much more competitive and fun to watch this team will be after we get everyone back. I agree with Cam that I want to see a lot of Martin/Wiggins, Martin/Muhammad and Wiggins/Muhammad, especially combined with a healthy Rubio.

[bleedspeed]

I can tell you I don't want to see is LaVine not playing. I think LaVine is the guy that would benefit most from playing with Rubio and at some point I think KMartin will get in the way of his development. Nothing would help LaVine more then 20 minutes a night next to Rubio. I don't see it happening with KMartin here.

I really like what we have in bench guys with Adrien, Daniels, and Hummel. Guys that are cheap and don't kill you when they get 20 minutes a night. I really want to see Adrien play next to Pek. I wonder if they can push teams around a little and show us a new dimension.

[Phenom]

I can tell you I don't want to see is LaVine not playing. I think LaVine is the guy that would benefit most from playing with Rubio and at some point I think KMartin will get in the way of his development. Nothing would help LaVine more then 20 minutes a night next to Rubio. I don't see it happening with KMartin here.

I really like what we have in bench guys with Adrien, Daniels, and Hummel. Guys that are cheap and don't kill you when they get 20 minutes a night. I really want to see Adrien play next to Pek. I wonder if they can push teams around a little and show us a new dimension.

I too want to see Zach on the floor with Ricky. I want to see Zach be more offensive-minded and doing so off the ball, in spots where Ricky gives him the ball should be beneficial. I appreciate how mindful Zach has been running the point and it shows how coach-able he is but I want to see him let loose a little more.

As for Thad I really think Flip needs to stick with his plan having him in the starting lineup with the rest of the starters as I feel he is a very good complimentary piece with Ricky, Kevin and Pek, at least offensively.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I don't know how Ricky helps Zach much. Zach is not used to playing off the ball, whereas smart cutters like Martin and Shabazz can better take advantage of Rubio's pinpoint passes. Zach's favorite shot is the pull-up jumper off the dribble, something that doesn't require anyone but himself - and may be a screen - to set the shot up.

The reason you would play them together is that it gives the squad, theoretically, two ball handlers that can create off the dribble. That way we don't have to keep on relying on Thad Young to isolate from the top of the key and run our fast breaks! The problem is Zach's skills are still fairly primitive in this regard. I'm also not convinced that LaVine is good enough defensively to guard 2's (he struggles a ton as it is with opposing 1's).

I don't know....I am not one of Zach's biggest fans, as I see a player that underutilizes his biggest strength (quickness) in favor of ill-advised jump shots. That's not to say he won't eventually be a good player, but unlike some of our other young guys (Wiggins, Shabazz, and Dieng specifically), I don't think Zach should be a regular part of an NBA rotation. He should watch, learn, practice, and get time in the D-League if possible. Hopefully in a couple of years he will be a decent player.

[Phenom]

The idea is that Zach has demonstrated that he is coachable and that Ricky rewards cutters. That is a perfect formula for teaching success. Time to develop a young guy for once when the ingredients are available.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The idea is that Zach has demonstrated that he is coachable and that Ricky rewards cutters. That is a perfect formula for teaching success. Time to develop a young guy for once when the ingredients are available.

How are we not developing young guys? My God, the vast majority of our rotation are young guys. Frankly, I think it's too much of a good thing. I'm not sure how much can be learned on their way to losing a franchise record number of games. I like the approach of playing young guys that are actually ready for minutes (e.g. Wiggins, Dieng, Shabazz) mixed in with veterans that know what they are doing out there. I honestly don't believe LaVine is ready for regular NBA minutes. He's only playing out of necessity due to Rubio's injury.

I just fail to see why the ONLY way someone can develop is to force-feed them minutes, when we have countless of examples of guys that developed outside of this approach.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I don't know if there is a better candidate for the D League in the entire NBA than Zach LaVine...for the following reasons:

1) His numbers show that he is just not ready at 19 for the NBA. Dead last among league PG's in VA and EWA.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics/_/position/pg/sort/VORP/page/2

2) The guy was never given a chance to play much in college, so to throw him into the NBA basically right out of high school is unfair. His terrible stats are to be expected, and not an indication of his potential. Give him a chance to play 35 minutes a night in a league that better suits his current level of development. Hopefully he will return to the NBA at 20 with a more developed game and more confidence.

3) Once Rubio and Martin come back, and given the need to see if Daniels can supply the 3-point shooting we need, there simply isn't room for him in the rotation.

As soon as we are healthy, Zach needs to head for the D League as soon as possible, and he should take GR3 with him so we can see what we have there.