Minnesota Sports Forum

Phenom wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:52 am

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:42 am I wrote this in the other thread, but shoudl probably be here.
Before the Philon talk I had Meleek number one my board. Dude can shoot the ball, and was a pretty good defender making up for Acuff's horrific defense. He played next to Acuff, so he didn't' get to show too much of his offensive bag. I like Isaiah, he has good size as that Donte replacement for next year. I wonder if they take Richie Saunders, he tore his ACL, so they could probably get away with giving him a 2 way contract like they did with Jaylen Clark. It wouldn't shock me if New York does that at pick 31, since they have already said they wont' pay the 2nd tax apron ever. I've seen Jack Kayil linked to us for a few weeks, I haven't researched him much but it might be him.

Another guy I'll add Ryan Conwell. The No Ceilings podcast was raving about him a few weeks ago, saying he could be better than some of the first round guards taken. A senior which dropped him, but has some Brunson in his game.

With Meleek, I had heard (either Veccenie or O'Connor) that he struggled bringing the ball up against pressure. I like the other stuff I see about him but that gives me pause since its such a stated problem for this team.

Evans seems like he doesnt have much going for him outside of his shot and his height.

I heard last night Conwell has been linked to Denver.

I think Saunders sounds like a great fit and will at least be on the floor this season.

I assume Veesaar is not on their radar with Joan and Rocco in the fold already.

Phenom wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:52 am

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:42 am I wrote this in the other thread, but shoudl probably be here.
Before the Philon talk I had Meleek number one my board. Dude can shoot the ball, and was a pretty good defender making up for Acuff's horrific defense. He played next to Acuff, so he didn't' get to show too much of his offensive bag. I like Isaiah, he has good size as that Donte replacement for next year. I wonder if they take Richie Saunders, he tore his ACL, so they could probably get away with giving him a 2 way contract like they did with Jaylen Clark. It wouldn't shock me if New York does that at pick 31, since they have already said they wont' pay the 2nd tax apron ever. I've seen Jack Kayil linked to us for a few weeks, I haven't researched him much but it might be him.

Another guy I'll add Ryan Conwell. The No Ceilings podcast was raving about him a few weeks ago, saying he could be better than some of the first round guards taken. A senior which dropped him, but has some Brunson in his game.

With Meleek, I had heard (either Veccenie or O'Connor) that he struggled bringing the ball up against pressure. I like the other stuff I see about him but that gives me pause since its such a stated problem for this team.

Evans seems like he doesnt have much going for him outside of his shot and his height.

I heard last night Conwell has been linked to Denver.

I think Saunders sounds like a great fit and will at least be on the floor this season.

I assume Veesaar is not on their radar with Joan and Rocco in the fold already.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:45 am

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:33 am How is it not some level of collusion for agents to work out where their guy goes in the second round? And if that’s actually how it’s happening behind the scene then TC doesn’t just get to pick a guy if the guys already picked a different team? And wouldn’t that really devalue trading once the 2nd round draft starts?

If the wolves get on the clock and don’t have a guy that wants to be picked by them why would someone give up good value to take our slot?

I got the impression that TC was referring to the Wolves financial restraints last year. This year, the Wolves don't have that problem.

Phenom wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:52 am

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:42 am I wrote this in the other thread, but shoudl probably be here.
Before the Philon talk I had Meleek number one my board. Dude can shoot the ball, and was a pretty good defender making up for Acuff's horrific defense. He played next to Acuff, so he didn't' get to show too much of his offensive bag. I like Isaiah, he has good size as that Donte replacement for next year. I wonder if they take Richie Saunders, he tore his ACL, so they could probably get away with giving him a 2 way contract like they did with Jaylen Clark. It wouldn't shock me if New York does that at pick 31, since they have already said they wont' pay the 2nd tax apron ever. I've seen Jack Kayil linked to us for a few weeks, I haven't researched him much but it might be him.

Another guy I'll add Ryan Conwell. The No Ceilings podcast was raving about him a few weeks ago, saying he could be better than some of the first round guards taken. A senior which dropped him, but has some Brunson in his game.

With Meleek, I had heard (either Veccenie or O'Connor) that he struggled bringing the ball up against pressure. I like the other stuff I see about him but that gives me pause since its such a stated problem for this team.

Evans seems like he doesnt have much going for him outside of his shot and his height.

I heard last night Conwell has been linked to Denver.

I think Saunders sounds like a great fit and will at least be on the floor this season.

I assume Veesaar is not on their radar with Joan and Rocco in the fold already.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 12:29 pm

Phenom wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:52 am

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:42 am I wrote this in the other thread, but shoudl probably be here.
Before the Philon talk I had Meleek number one my board. Dude can shoot the ball, and was a pretty good defender making up for Acuff's horrific defense. He played next to Acuff, so he didn't' get to show too much of his offensive bag. I like Isaiah, he has good size as that Donte replacement for next year. I wonder if they take Richie Saunders, he tore his ACL, so they could probably get away with giving him a 2 way contract like they did with Jaylen Clark. It wouldn't shock me if New York does that at pick 31, since they have already said they wont' pay the 2nd tax apron ever. I've seen Jack Kayil linked to us for a few weeks, I haven't researched him much but it might be him.

Another guy I'll add Ryan Conwell. The No Ceilings podcast was raving about him a few weeks ago, saying he could be better than some of the first round guards taken. A senior which dropped him, but has some Brunson in his game.

With Meleek, I had heard (either Veccenie or O'Connor) that he struggled bringing the ball up against pressure. I like the other stuff I see about him but that gives me pause since its such a stated problem for this team.

Evans seems like he doesnt have much going for him outside of his shot and his height.

I heard last night Conwell has been linked to Denver.

I think Saunders sounds like a great fit and will at least be on the floor this season.

I assume Veesaar is not on their radar with Joan and Rocco in the fold already.

I heard the same thing about Meleek. Related to that, I also saw analysis that he’s not a good penetrator. We need guys who can handle the ball - players who can bring it up the court under pressure with the quickness or moves to break down defenses. I don’t like the idea of drafting guards who are solely perimeter players based on their college three-point shooting. You just can’t count on college three-point shooting translating into equivalent NBA three-point prowess. Stats like rebounding and steals, along with skills like ball-handling, dribble penetration and drawing fouls tend to translate pretty reliably. I’m leery of Meleek.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 12:19 pm

60WinTim wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:45 am

BeenLurkin wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:33 am How is it not some level of collusion for agents to work out where their guy goes in the second round? And if that’s actually how it’s happening behind the scene then TC doesn’t just get to pick a guy if the guys already picked a different team? And wouldn’t that really devalue trading once the 2nd round draft starts?

If the wolves get on the clock and don’t have a guy that wants to be picked by them why would someone give up good value to take our slot?

I got the impression that TC was referring to the Wolves financial restraints last year. This year, the Wolves don't have that problem.

Yes, that was my sense. Teams can talk to a 2nd-round player’s agent and tell him what they’d team would be willing and able to pay the player if drafted by them. What apparently happened last year is that some other teams made tentative contractual commitments to players the Wolves were targeting that the Wolves could not match because of the 2nd apron problem. TC could have still drafted one of those players at 31 but the player and agent would have been pissed, in which case TC might have faced a hold-out situation or damaged important long-term relationships with certain agents.

It’s clear that TC was caught with his pants down last year and while he always puts on an affable front, he’s highly competitive and it was clear from watching him in this presser that he’s still pissed about what happened to him last year. Now he has plenty of financial flexibility to match any likely offer by another team and possibly exact revenge on some of his colleagues who screwed him last year. Therefore, I think TC actually relishes having a very high 2nd round pick again even though it was clear from his comments that they tried to trade up back into the first round for a couple players.

Phenom wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:52 am

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 24, 2026 10:42 am I wrote this in the other thread, but shoudl probably be here.
Before the Philon talk I had Meleek number one my board. Dude can shoot the ball, and was a pretty good defender making up for Acuff's horrific defense. He played next to Acuff, so he didn't' get to show too much of his offensive bag. I like Isaiah, he has good size as that Donte replacement for next year. I wonder if they take Richie Saunders, he tore his ACL, so they could probably get away with giving him a 2 way contract like they did with Jaylen Clark. It wouldn't shock me if New York does that at pick 31, since they have already said they wont' pay the 2nd tax apron ever. I've seen Jack Kayil linked to us for a few weeks, I haven't researched him much but it might be him.

Another guy I'll add Ryan Conwell. The No Ceilings podcast was raving about him a few weeks ago, saying he could be better than some of the first round guards taken. A senior which dropped him, but has some Brunson in his game.

With Meleek, I had heard (either Veccenie or O'Connor) that he struggled bringing the ball up against pressure. I like the other stuff I see about him but that gives me pause since its such a stated problem for this team.

Evans seems like he doesnt have much going for him outside of his shot and his height.

I heard last night Conwell has been linked to Denver.

I think Saunders sounds like a great fit and will at least be on the floor this season.

I assume Veesaar is not on their radar with Joan and Rocco in the fold already.