By my count, that's 14 roster spots allotted for, assuming Gersson Rosas is finished -- or not going to execute -- in free agency and trades. We also have the talented Naz Reid taking up one of our two-way contract allotments. So, there's essentially two spots up for grabs.
I'd prefer a couple options on the free agent market, and I'd have a couple trade ideas lined up, but if we were to give a couple of guys on our Summer League roster a chance, I think I'd allow Mitch Creek to be the 15th man and Kelan Martin to be our second two-way contract.
That's a 33 win team. Maybe.
I'd guess Nowell gets signed at some point which would make 15.
By my count, that's 14 roster spots allotted for, assuming Gersson Rosas is finished -- or not going to execute -- in free agency and trades. We also have the talented Naz Reid taking up one of our two-way contract allotments. So, there's essentially two spots up for grabs.
I'd prefer a couple options on the free agent market, and I'd have a couple trade ideas lined up, but if we were to give a couple of guys on our Summer League roster a chance, I think I'd allow Mitch Creek to be the 15th man and Kelan Martin to be our second two-way contract.
That's a 33 win team. Maybe.
Probably not even that many, assuming the above is what Minnesota really decides to roll out there. That is a roster void of high level talent, consistent role players, and a completely unproven bench. Likely one of the two or three worst teams in the Western Conference.
kekgeek1 wrote:Wolves have a good summer league team, they play solid defense and they play as a team not a bunch of individuals.
Okogie was a rollercoaster all night. Not seeing much offensive improvments, he just needs to hit open thees when the season comes.
KBD is so solid on both ends, wont blow you away but is just quality.
Ried is out of shape but he has a spot in the NBA if he works for it and gets his body right, he has a NBA body and skill set.
Murphy, Im happy for him, that second half was the 1st team all big ten and gopher great Murph, 3 and ones and got on the glass. Happy for him.
Martin is a heat check guy, things have went in for him this SL still don't know what to think of him
McLaughlin can at least run the summer league team, maybe a cheap PG option based on what Wallace contract looks like.
Solid takes. My biggest positive takeaway is your first point above. At an organizational/coaching level - the fact that they are coaching defense, trying to avoid mid-range jumpers, play as a team, etc. Let's hope that translates to the main squad next season.
lipoli390 wrote:Among the unsigned players on our summer league roster, I'd say that Martin is the one keeper. He has a complete game. He's an excellent rebounder, something you can count on from him. He also has a nice 3-point shot and is a good ball-handler. He's also strong and tough.
I'd consider McLaughlin, Murphy and/or Creek for a roster spot or 2-way.
Martin has been the biggest surprise because I don't think anyone knew anything about him.
Personally I think Murphy intrigues me the most of the guys you suggested for the 2 way deal. Creek is a guy I'd want in Iowa and help whatever young dudes are there and playing his ass off and being tough.
Martin was a proficient scorer in college. What sniped him by scouts, I'd bet, was his shot selection. If he's gotten smarter, then maybe his skills can translate. Good blend of tools he has in his bag.
I think Martin would be the guy I'd target for a 2-way based on the very limited sample size we've seen so far. He is a proven college scorer that appears to have the potential to be a good shooter and the size to play either 3 or 4. In summer league he has ONLY played the 4 in fact. His defense is iffy but he has given good effort.
Mitch Creek is too old (27 yrs old) with too low of a ceiling IMO. Murphy and McLaughlin have been unimpressive in the other two games before last night, so hard to pick either of them over Martin and they both have size/athletic disadvantages.
By my count, that's 14 roster spots allotted for, assuming Gersson Rosas is finished -- or not going to execute -- in free agency and trades. We also have the talented Naz Reid taking up one of our two-way contract allotments. So, there's essentially two spots up for grabs.
I'd prefer a couple options on the free agent market, and I'd have a couple trade ideas lined up, but if we were to give a couple of guys on our Summer League roster a chance, I think I'd allow Mitch Creek to be the 15th man and Kelan Martin to be our second two-way contract.
That's a 33 win team. Maybe.
And how many wins would DLO have added to that total? Three or 4, maybe? That's why missing out on him and the chase for him was somewhat futile.
By my count, that's 14 roster spots allotted for, assuming Gersson Rosas is finished -- or not going to execute -- in free agency and trades. We also have the talented Naz Reid taking up one of our two-way contract allotments. So, there's essentially two spots up for grabs.
I'd prefer a couple options on the free agent market, and I'd have a couple trade ideas lined up, but if we were to give a couple of guys on our Summer League roster a chance, I think I'd allow Mitch Creek to be the 15th man and Kelan Martin to be our second two-way contract.
That's a 33 win team. Maybe.
And how many wins would DLO have added to that total? Three or 4, maybe? That's why missing out on him and the chase for him was somewhat futile.
Maybe. I'm not sold on Russell... but if nothing else... there would be some sort of positive traction... at least in perception.
Plus, Wiggins would probably be gone. And the KAT / Russell pairing would bring some level of excitement for at least one season. As it is now... the most excitement we have is that the new GM may not be inept and that eventually (maybe) the team will get better.
I guess I see the roster a bit differently and also think the style will change. Something Rosa is doing that is NOT like Houston - he is grabbing guys that can defend and plays the full switch defense. I think we will see a significant change in our 3 point shooting and the way we handle defense (his team is mostly high IQ guys)
In that - the SG, SF positions will be mostly interchangeable.
PG Teague (31 - declining)
Napier (28 - Backup)
G/F Okogie (21 - lots of potential)
Culver (20 - Lots of potential)
Covington (28 - tail end of prime)
Layman (25 - backup)
PF Vonleh (24 - some potential)
KBD (23 - backup with potential)
C Towns (23 - all star)
Bell (24 - backup)
That leaves Wiggins and Dieng that should be escorted to a new team somehow. If we could have gotten Russel and moved Wiggins and Dieng - this team is a playoff team. Teague would be a great backup PG for us - a vet who I think would do well against a second unit. On paper, I think PG is our biggest issue (like it has been since Marbury left).
We have upgraded PF position and SF (assuming Covington or Culver starts over Wiggins) and we did not downgrade any positions.
(Side note - while I think Russel would have really helped us - his interview and answer to the question about GS trading him in season or at the end of the year kind of makes me think the guy cant plan past tomorrow - I got the sense he really didn't think that scenario would happen or even be brought up).
We're about to leave Vegas after 4 days of summer league basketball. We watched all three Wolves games and a ton of other games from ideal seats near the court. It was a blast.
Here are some of my main take-aways regarding the Wolves:
1. I loved the way we played with ball-movement and shot-selection we haven't seen from the Wolves or their summer league teams the past several years. It was refreshing to see the crisp, smart yet instinctive passing and shot selection that minimized long twos in favor of threes and layups/dunks. I see this style as reflective of what we can expect from the Wolves' NBA team and that's something to look forward to.
2. I really liked Paglioni as head coach. He has a great presence about him. He helped create great chemistry on the bench and on the court. Watching and listening to him up close, he struck me as really smart and a great communicator. I actually see him as a better head coach than Ryan Saunders. It will be great to have him on the bench as one of Ryan's assistants.
3. Naz Reid is an NBA player and could be a very good one. He's really big when you see him in person. He has a beautiful shot with genuine 3-point range. He could end up a steal among undrafted free agents.
4. The only keepers among the unsigned summer league players, in my view, are Martin and McLaughlin. Martin is a definite keeper in my view and should be signed to our 15th roster spot. The Wolves should also consider giving our other 2-way contract to McLaughlin. He's quick, a great ball-handler, smart and has a nice 3-point shot. But there might be other summer league players with other teams who would be better choices for that other 2-way.
5. Bates-Diop showed nice progress from last season and looks like a definite NBA rotation player who could develop into something even more than that. He's very fluid and has a terrific combination of length and skill. The guy is really long and uses his length well.
6. Okogie, one of my favorites, was a huge disappointment. I saw absolutely no progress from him over last season on the offensive end. With his physical gifts he should have dominated summer league on both ends after a full season of NBA ball with some reasonably significant minutes. I'm beginning to think this guy will never get it. But he's a terrific rebounder and I still see him becoming a stellar defender; he's already a good one. And he's still only 20 years old with only one season of NBA ball on limited minutes. Oladipo didn't mature into the player he is until his 5th season. So there's still hope. But he has a long way to go.
Some other take-aways:
1. Best player in summer league by far was Lonnie Walker IV. I have no doubt this guy is going to be a star. He was in a class by himself. Second best player by far was Zhaire Smith. He wasn't quite as impressive as Lonnie, but he looked really good. After Lonnie and Zhaire, no other player came close. What I saw in Walker and Smith was what I wanted to see in Okogie. But Okogie's performance wasn't even in the same ballpark.
2. The only team that I thought played as the Wolves as a team was the Spurs. In fact, the passing and overall teamwork I saw from the Wolves was very Spurs-like. The Spurs summer league team exhibited the same.
3. The Chinese team really executes well. They beat the Hornets by 4 points last night. We saw the game from just behind China's bench. The Chinese team is all about fundamentals. They have Zhou Qi, who plays for the Rockets. He's really long and a great shooter. They have a couple other players I think the Wolves should consider.
lipoli390 wrote:We're about to leave Vegas after 4 days of summer league basketball. We watched all three Wolves games and a ton of other games from ideal seats near the court. It was a blast.
Here are some of my main take-aways regarding the Wolves:
1. I loved the way we played with ball-movement and shot-selection we haven't seen from the Wolves or their summer league teams the past several years. It was refreshing to see the crisp, smart yet instinctive passing and shot selection that minimized long twos in favor of threes and layups/dunks. I see this style as reflective of what we can expect from the Wolves' NBA team and that's something to look forward to.
2. I really liked Paglioni as head coach. He has a great presence about him. He helped create great chemistry on the bench and on the court. Watching and listening to him up close, he struck me as really smart and a great communicator. I actually see him as a better head coach than Ryan Saunders. It will be great to have him on the bench as one of Ryan's assistants.
3. Naz Reid is an NBA player and could be a very good one. He's really big when you see him in person. He has a beautiful shot with genuine 3-point range. He could end up a steal among undrafted free agents.
4. The only keepers among the unsigned summer league players, in my view, are Martin and McLaughlin. Martin is a definite keeper in my view and should be signed to our 15th roster spot. The Wolves should also consider giving our other 2-way contract to McLaughlin. He's quick, a great ball-handler, smart and has a nice 3-point shot. But there might be other summer league players with other teams who would be better choices for that other 2-way.
5. Bates-Diop showed nice progress from last season and looks like a definite NBA rotation player who could develop into something even more than that. He's very fluid and has a terrific combination of length and skill. The guy is really long and uses his length well.
6. Okogie, one of my favorites, was a huge disappointment. I saw absolutely no progress from him over last season on the offensive end. With his physical gifts he should have dominated summer league on both ends after a full season of NBA ball with some reasonably significant minutes. I'm beginning to think this guy will never get it. But he's a terrific rebounder and I still see him becoming a stellar defender; he's already a good one. And he's still only 20 years old with only one season of NBA ball on limited minutes. Oladipo didn't mature into the player he is until his 5th season. So there's still hope. But he has a long way to go.
Some other take-aways:
1. Best player in summer league by far was Lonnie Walker IV. I have no doubt this guy is going to be a star. He was in a class by himself. Second best player by far was Zhaire Smith. He wasn't quite as impressive as Lonnie, but he looked really good. After Lonnie and Zhaire, no other player came close. What I saw in Walker and Smith was what I wanted to see in Okogie. But Okogie's performance wasn't even in the same ballpark.
2. The only team that I thought played as the Wolves as a team was the Spurs. In fact, the passing and overall teamwork I saw from the Wolves was very Spurs-like. The Spurs summer league team exhibited the same.
3. The Chinese team really executes well. They beat the Hornets by 4 points last night. We saw the game from just behind China's bench. The Chinese team is all about fundamentals. They have Zhou Qi, who plays for the Rockets. He's really long and a great shooter. They have a couple other players I think the Wolves should consider.
That's it for now. We're off to the airport.
Thanks for the reports Lip!
When you have a chance you should compare Culver and Smith's numbers at Texas Tech from their freshman seasons. It gets more interesting when you look at their totals for the season as Smith only took 40 thread compared to 144 for Culver. Z. Smith is a bit of a forgotten piece for the Sixers but I remember they were very high on him and he had a rep as being a defense first guy that could fit around other players. That floor would be helpful go a team looking to contend.
One other thing is there any thoughts you have on how various guys look physically in person?
lipoli390 wrote:We're about to leave Vegas after 4 days of summer league basketball. We watched all three Wolves games and a ton of other games from ideal seats near the court. It was a blast.
Here are some of my main take-aways regarding the Wolves:
1. I loved the way we played with ball-movement and shot-selection we haven't seen from the Wolves or their summer league teams the past several years. It was refreshing to see the crisp, smart yet instinctive passing and shot selection that minimized long twos in favor of threes and layups/dunks. I see this style as reflective of what we can expect from the Wolves' NBA team and that's something to look forward to.
2. I really liked Paglioni as head coach. He has a great presence about him. He helped create great chemistry on the bench and on the court. Watching and listening to him up close, he struck me as really smart and a great communicator. I actually see him as a better head coach than Ryan Saunders. It will be great to have him on the bench as one of Ryan's assistants.
3. Naz Reid is an NBA player and could be a very good one. He's really big when you see him in person. He has a beautiful shot with genuine 3-point range. He could end up a steal among undrafted free agents.
4. The only keepers among the unsigned summer league players, in my view, are Martin and McLaughlin. Martin is a definite keeper in my view and should be signed to our 15th roster spot. The Wolves should also consider giving our other 2-way contract to McLaughlin. He's quick, a great ball-handler, smart and has a nice 3-point shot. But there might be other summer league players with other teams who would be better choices for that other 2-way.
5. Bates-Diop showed nice progress from last season and looks like a definite NBA rotation player who could develop into something even more than that. He's very fluid and has a terrific combination of length and skill. The guy is really long and uses his length well.
6. Okogie, one of my favorites, was a huge disappointment. I saw absolutely no progress from him over last season on the offensive end. With his physical gifts he should have dominated summer league on both ends after a full season of NBA ball with some reasonably significant minutes. I'm beginning to think this guy will never get it. But he's a terrific rebounder and I still see him becoming a stellar defender; he's already a good one. And he's still only 20 years old with only one season of NBA ball on limited minutes. Oladipo didn't mature into the player he is until his 5th season. So there's still hope. But he has a long way to go.
Some other take-aways:
1. Best player in summer league by far was Lonnie Walker IV. I have no doubt this guy is going to be a star. He was in a class by himself. Second best player by far was Zhaire Smith. He wasn't quite as impressive as Lonnie, but he looked really good. After Lonnie and Zhaire, no other player came close. What I saw in Walker and Smith was what I wanted to see in Okogie. But Okogie's performance wasn't even in the same ballpark.
2. The only team that I thought played as the Wolves as a team was the Spurs. In fact, the passing and overall teamwork I saw from the Wolves was very Spurs-like. The Spurs summer league team exhibited the same.
3. The Chinese team really executes well. They beat the Hornets by 4 points last night. We saw the game from just behind China's bench. The Chinese team is all about fundamentals. They have Zhou Qi, who plays for the Rockets. He's really long and a great shooter. They have a couple other players I think the Wolves should consider.
That's it for now. We're off to the airport.
Thanks for the reports Lip!
When you have a chance you should compare Culver and Smith's numbers at Texas Tech from their freshman seasons. It gets more interesting when you look at their totals for the season as Smith only took 40 thread compared to 144 for Culver. Z. Smith is a bit of a forgotten piece for the Sixers but I remember they were very high on him and he had a rep as being a defense first guy that could fit around other players. That floor would be helpful go a team looking to contend.
One other thing is there any thoughts you have on how various guys look physically in person?
Thanks for the tip on comparative college stats of Culver and Smith. I'll check those out. I'd forgotten that Smith played at Texas Tech. In the game we saw, Smith had a poor 1st half but looked dominant on both ends in the second half. Note that he didn't play much at all last season because of an allergic reaction and some other injury. So he was dominating in summer league without much of any NBA experience. Again, Okogie is really disappointing by comparison. Note that Smith was taken #16 and Lonnie Walker at #18. Can't help but wonder whether things would have been different if Rosas had been out PBO last summer. He showed this season his interest and savvy in moving up in the draft. It's frustrating to think that Walker was taken only two spots above our Okogie pick. So close but yet so far.
