Minnesota Sports Forum

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 3:34 pm What is the argument for Lyles at 4 and Jaden at 3 besides simply googling their ht/wt measurements?

I'll get in front of the obvious point which is that Jaden staring at SF is the status quo, so why disrupt that? To which the obvious reply is that the status quo was already disturbed when they swapped Randle and Naz for LaMelo and Green, so that point loses weight right off the bat.

I find it very hard to believe that Lyles will be a more positive contributor than Jaden as a 4. However, what's nice about a player like Lyles and perhaps a roster with a less set in stone pecking order is that you can up Lyles minutes in certain matchups and slide Jaden over to the 3.

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 4:14 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 3:34 pm What is the argument for Lyles at 4 and Jaden at 3 besides simply googling their ht/wt measurements?

I'll get in front of the obvious point which is that Jaden staring at SF is the status quo, so why disrupt that? To which the obvious reply is that the status quo was already disturbed when they swapped Randle and Naz for LaMelo and Green, so that point loses weight right off the bat.

I find it very hard to believe that Lyles will be a more positive contributor than Jaden as a 4. However, what's nice about a player like Lyles and perhaps a roster with a less set in stone pecking order is that you can up Lyles minutes in certain matchups and slide Jaden over to the 3.

Fair question, especially since we don't know what Lyles has left in the tank after a year away from the NBA. But assuming he is capable of handling a starting role (and he may not be) here's the argument. You mentioned the first point...it would be nice to have someone who has both the length and bulk to defend PFs. More importantly, having someone who is big enough to defend 4's allows Finchy to use Jaden in the role he prefers him in...guarding the opponent's most potent wing. Finally, Ayo has been mentioned as a possible 5th starter at SF if Jaden has to play the 4...there are several on this board that think Ayo's best role is as a high-scoring 6th man.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 4:43 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 4:14 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 3:34 pm What is the argument for Lyles at 4 and Jaden at 3 besides simply googling their ht/wt measurements?

I'll get in front of the obvious point which is that Jaden staring at SF is the status quo, so why disrupt that? To which the obvious reply is that the status quo was already disturbed when they swapped Randle and Naz for LaMelo and Green, so that point loses weight right off the bat.

I find it very hard to believe that Lyles will be a more positive contributor than Jaden as a 4. However, what's nice about a player like Lyles and perhaps a roster with a less set in stone pecking order is that you can up Lyles minutes in certain matchups and slide Jaden over to the 3.

Fair question, especially since we don't know what Lyles has left in the tank after a year away from the NBA. But assuming he is capable of handling a starting role (and he may not be) here's the argument. You mentioned the first point...it would be nice to have someone who has both the length and bulk to defend PFs. More importantly, having someone who is big enough to defend 4's allows Finchy to use Jaden in the role he prefers him in...guarding the opponent's most potent wing. Finally, Ayo has been mentioned as a possible 5th starter at SF if Jaden has to play the 4...there are several on this board that think Ayo's best role is as a high-scoring 6th man.

I don’t think a season in Europe’s drains a player’s tank. Only age, injuries or poor health habits will do that. Trey is only 30 years old and has never had serious injury issues.

Phenom wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 6:14 pm I think Lyles is the top option with a caveat. I agree with those that say he should pair most with Joan and I say that because defensive rebounding isn't Joan's greatest strength. So depending on how Finch's rotations fall, starting Lyles may or may not line him up with Joan the most. Most teams don't deploy two backup bigs together so it may very well be that starting Lyles will end up with him playing next to Joan for most of Joan's minutes.

I think Josh is probably more likely to be the 5th starter. The idea here is his high energy and athleticism allows him to guard many 4s but also makes him viable to a defense that can switch 1-4 and also cross match effectively.

JC also fits this description but I think I like him as Jaden's backup more.

I think TJ and Ayo should be, firstly backups to Melo and Ant to maximize their on ball juice while also putting them both out there with LaMelo, when Ant is out to push tempo.

Coolbreeze44 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 8:49 pm Having Ayo coming off the bench just makes us a better team. His talent would be somewhat shunted having to play with the big 3. I love him coming in and dropping buckets as the 6th man.

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 3:34 pm What is the argument for Lyles at 4 and Jaden at 3 besides simply googling their ht/wt measurements?

I'll get in front of the obvious point which is that Jaden staring at SF is the status quo, so why disrupt that? To which the obvious reply is that the status quo was already disturbed when they swapped Randle and Naz for LaMelo and Green, so that point loses weight right off the bat.

I find it very hard to believe that Lyles will be a more positive contributor than Jaden as a 4. However, what's nice about a player like Lyles and perhaps a roster with a less set in stone pecking order is that you can up Lyles minutes in certain matchups and slide Jaden over to the 3.

Sundog wrote: ↑Sat Aug 01, 2026 10:47 pm Sochan to the Blazers