Minnesota Sports Forum

Not gonna quote respond it, but I have to point out FNG, that Ball's be defense is not exceptional. Don't get me wrong, I admire the effort and that is going to go a long way toward helping this team be a contender. He's big and long and his being active with his hands and that is all great, but at the end of the he is still just not a good defender. He doesn't seem to know how to position himself well at all to stay in front of people and isn't good over screen and probably never will be (which is fine). He's good in a team setting and I really do think it's great that so far he has answered the call to put in high effort on that end but he is and will continue to get hunted by other teams. Which will cause problems at times.

Existential problems? I'm not so sure, but problems

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:22 pm Not gonna quote respond it, but I have to point out FNG, that Ball's be defense is not exceptional. Don't get me wrong, I admire the effort and that is going to go a long way toward helping this team be a contender. He's big and long and his being active with his hands and that is all great, but at the end of the he is still just not a good defender. He doesn't seem to know how to position himself well at all to stay in front of people and isn't good over screen and probably never will be (which is fine). He's good in a team setting and I really do think it's great that so far he has answered the call to put in high effort on that end but he is and will continue to get hunted by other teams. Which will cause problems at times.

Existential problems? I'm not so sure, but problems

Yes, I agree that "exceptional" was too strong a word. But I think anyone who has watched him in previous years and this season would agree with his older brother that he is playing the best defense of his career. Your two criticisms of him in terms of positioning and navigating screens are a fair assessment. But what has really impressed me is how active he is in doubling, and then how quick he is in getting back to his man after he doubles. His quickness and length are big assets, and his effort has been notable.

Having watched JK a lot last spring, I'm not surprised how effective he has been on defense...he's been really good. I love how Finchy feels comfortable having him guard some guys that normally would go to Jaden. What is surprising me though is how unselfish he has been on offense...so many times I have seen him make the extra pass to a more open teammate even though he was also somewhat open. And his early 47.6 3-point percentage has also been a pleasant surprise. How about making a few more free throws though, JK...sheesh!

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:44 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:22 pm Not gonna quote respond it, but I have to point out FNG, that Ball's be defense is not exceptional. Don't get me wrong, I admire the effort and that is going to go a long way toward helping this team be a contender. He's big and long and his being active with his hands and that is all great, but at the end of the he is still just not a good defender. He doesn't seem to know how to position himself well at all to stay in front of people and isn't good over screen and probably never will be (which is fine). He's good in a team setting and I really do think it's great that so far he has answered the call to put in high effort on that end but he is and will continue to get hunted by other teams. Which will cause problems at times.

Existential problems? I'm not so sure, but problems

Yes, I agree that "exceptional" was too strong a word. But I think anyone who has watched him in previous years and this season would agree with his older brother that he is playing the best defense of his career. Your two criticisms of him in terms of positioning and navigating screens are a fair assessment. But what has really impressed me is how active he is in doubling, and then how quick he is in getting back to his man after he doubles. His quickness and length are big assets, and his effort has been notable.

Having watched JK a lot last spring, I'm not surprised how effective he has been on defense...he's been really good. I love how Finchy feels comfortable having him guard some guys that normally would go to Jaden. What is surprising me though is how unselfish he has been on offense...so many times I have seen him make the extra pass to a more open teammate even though he was also somewhat open. And his early 47.6 3-point percentage has also been a pleasant surprise. How about making a few more free throws though, JK...sheesh!

Yeah I don't mean to come across as overly critical cause I agree with you and have been very impressed with that aspect of his defense and just the buy in is great to see.

Speaking of buy in, JK is certainly bought in to what he need to do for this team. There could be some difficult decisions coming next summer, but let's not worry about that now lol

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:52 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:44 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:22 pm Not gonna quote respond it, but I have to point out FNG, that Ball's be defense is not exceptional. Don't get me wrong, I admire the effort and that is going to go a long way toward helping this team be a contender. He's big and long and his being active with his hands and that is all great, but at the end of the he is still just not a good defender. He doesn't seem to know how to position himself well at all to stay in front of people and isn't good over screen and probably never will be (which is fine). He's good in a team setting and I really do think it's great that so far he has answered the call to put in high effort on that end but he is and will continue to get hunted by other teams. Which will cause problems at times.

Existential problems? I'm not so sure, but problems

Yes, I agree that "exceptional" was too strong a word. But I think anyone who has watched him in previous years and this season would agree with his older brother that he is playing the best defense of his career. Your two criticisms of him in terms of positioning and navigating screens are a fair assessment. But what has really impressed me is how active he is in doubling, and then how quick he is in getting back to his man after he doubles. His quickness and length are big assets, and his effort has been notable.

Having watched JK a lot last spring, I'm not surprised how effective he has been on defense...he's been really good. I love how Finchy feels comfortable having him guard some guys that normally would go to Jaden. What is surprising me though is how unselfish he has been on offense...so many times I have seen him make the extra pass to a more open teammate even though he was also somewhat open. And his early 47.6 3-point percentage has also been a pleasant surprise. How about making a few more free throws though, JK...sheesh!

Yeah I don't mean to come across as overly critical cause I agree with you and have been very impressed with that aspect of his defense and just the buy in is great to see.

Speaking of buy in, JK is certainly bought in to what he need to do for this team. There could be some difficult decisions coming next summer, but let's not worry about that now lol

I don’t think next summer’s decision will be difficult. Move on from Rudy to create salary space for Kuminga.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 3:42 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:52 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:44 pm

Yes, I agree that "exceptional" was too strong a word. But I think anyone who has watched him in previous years and this season would agree with his older brother that he is playing the best defense of his career. Your two criticisms of him in terms of positioning and navigating screens are a fair assessment. But what has really impressed me is how active he is in doubling, and then how quick he is in getting back to his man after he doubles. His quickness and length are big assets, and his effort has been notable.

Having watched JK a lot last spring, I'm not surprised how effective he has been on defense...he's been really good. I love how Finchy feels comfortable having him guard some guys that normally would go to Jaden. What is surprising me though is how unselfish he has been on offense...so many times I have seen him make the extra pass to a more open teammate even though he was also somewhat open. And his early 47.6 3-point percentage has also been a pleasant surprise. How about making a few more free throws though, JK...sheesh!

Yeah I don't mean to come across as overly critical cause I agree with you and have been very impressed with that aspect of his defense and just the buy in is great to see.

Speaking of buy in, JK is certainly bought in to what he need to do for this team. There could be some difficult decisions coming next summer, but let's not worry about that now lol

I don’t think next summer’s decision will be difficult. Move on from Rudy to create salary space for Kuminga.

It really shouldn't be difficult. Joan will be ready.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 3:42 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:52 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 12:44 pm

Yes, I agree that "exceptional" was too strong a word. But I think anyone who has watched him in previous years and this season would agree with his older brother that he is playing the best defense of his career. Your two criticisms of him in terms of positioning and navigating screens are a fair assessment. But what has really impressed me is how active he is in doubling, and then how quick he is in getting back to his man after he doubles. His quickness and length are big assets, and his effort has been notable.

Having watched JK a lot last spring, I'm not surprised how effective he has been on defense...he's been really good. I love how Finchy feels comfortable having him guard some guys that normally would go to Jaden. What is surprising me though is how unselfish he has been on offense...so many times I have seen him make the extra pass to a more open teammate even though he was also somewhat open. And his early 47.6 3-point percentage has also been a pleasant surprise. How about making a few more free throws though, JK...sheesh!

Yeah I don't mean to come across as overly critical cause I agree with you and have been very impressed with that aspect of his defense and just the buy in is great to see.

Speaking of buy in, JK is certainly bought in to what he need to do for this team. There could be some difficult decisions coming next summer, but let's not worry about that now lol

I don’t think next summer’s decision will be difficult. Move on from Rudy to create salary space for Kuminga.

He's under contract, no?

I agree with you, but they'll have to pull levers to make that happen

I predicted that Kuminga and TJ would be gone at the deadline. I didnt see Rudy as the body that would be traded, but he might not be the answer at center with this lineup. He looks out of sorts, and with the league treating him like a punching bag around the rim, it is going to be tough sledding going forward. If he could hit a free throw at better than 50% clip it would be harder to justify the hack-a-Rudy. Heck, the entire team sucks at free throws right now, with the exception of TJ.

DNatagal wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 7:55 pm I predicted that Kuminga and TJ would be gone at the deadline. I didnt see Rudy as the body that would be traded, but he might not be the answer at center with this lineup. He looks out of sorts, and with the league treating him like a punching bag around the rim, it is going to be tough sledding going forward. If he could hit a free throw at better than 50% clip it would be harder to justify the hack-a-Rudy. Heck, the entire team sucks at free throws right now, with the exception of TJ.

Just to put a stop on the "dump Rudy next offseason to sign JK" speculation... Even if you could simply eliminate Rudy (maybe he doesn't pick up his player option?), it would not move the Wolves salary low enough to offer JK anything more than the MLE.

My hope: JK is happy enough that he is willing to sign a 2-year MLE deal (with a 3rd year player option for his own security), and then be free to sign a bigger deal once he has his Bird Rights.

The first quarter and part of the 2nd half the old wolves were back getting outworked by the likes of Georges Niang. Big fan of Niang but geez. The Wolves got themselves back in it and made it interested in the 2nd half but they couldn't overcome playing like shit earlier in the game.

Well another WTF are you doing game from Ball. He played better in the 2nd half but the expectations are quite a bit higher than what he has provided the last 2 games.

TJ is an absolute force

Nice last couple games from Trey Lyles.

Bones helped give the Wolves a chance in this one making some shots.

Beringer with another plenty solid game.

Overall some guys ended up having nice games including Kuminga but the team wasn't good. Idk if they were kinda let down from the Edwards new or what but I hope they play more like they were in the first 4 games than that one.

Yaxel is a player. I really liked him coming out of college but wasn't fully convinced he was gonna translate at the next level. Heck of a start for him and another example of it's not always the youngest players that have potential etc.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 8:39 pm

DNatagal wrote: ↑Thu Oct 29, 2026 7:55 pm I predicted that Kuminga and TJ would be gone at the deadline. I didnt see Rudy as the body that would be traded, but he might not be the answer at center with this lineup. He looks out of sorts, and with the league treating him like a punching bag around the rim, it is going to be tough sledding going forward. If he could hit a free throw at better than 50% clip it would be harder to justify the hack-a-Rudy. Heck, the entire team sucks at free throws right now, with the exception of TJ.

Just to put a stop on the "dump Rudy next offseason to sign JK" speculation... Even if you could simply eliminate Rudy (maybe he doesn't pick up his player option?), it would not move the Wolves salary low enough to offer JK anything more than the MLE.

My hope: JK is happy enough that he is willing to sign a 2-year MLE deal (with a 3rd year player option for his own security), and then be free to sign a bigger deal once he has his Bird Rights.

The real question would be who can TC get with the assets that the Wolves currently have? If any player goes out, who comes back? A stretch 5 is the only thing that comes to mind, and KAT ain't it. He is a 4 that can play at the 5 in certain lineups.