Minnesota Sports Forum

60WinTim wrote: ↑Fri Jan 16, 2026 8:42 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Fri Jan 16, 2026 8:26 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Fri Jan 16, 2026 7:43 pm

He's a G-League vet that will turn 30 soon, so that needs to be kept in mind when looking at his numbers. He has the worst defensive rating of the regular starters on the roster and would be considered slightly undersized for an NBA PF.

While his numbers are very impressive, the last thing the Wolves need is yet another one-way offensive player that can only play power forward. He'd be 4th in line behind Julius, Naz, and Leonard Miller.

Thanks Q...kinda what I thought.

My guy, Enrique Freeman had a heck of a game their last time out (at least by the box score). Of course, it looks like his previous game was a dud…

Yeah, he's got no chance of getting onto the big league squad unless we encounter a rash of injuries to our battalion of one-way power forwards already on the team! Freeman is yet another player that really can't play any other position.

Right now Rocco is really the only player of real intrigue down in Iowa, especially with Newton gone and Pullin sidelined by injury. He's sort of plateaued a bit of late, although the 3-point shot continues to be reliable. The most important thing for him will be offseason strength and conditioning.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:07 am

60WinTim wrote: ↑Fri Jan 16, 2026 8:42 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Fri Jan 16, 2026 8:26 pm

Thanks Q...kinda what I thought.

My guy, Enrique Freeman had a heck of a game their last time out (at least by the box score). Of course, it looks like his previous game was a dud…

Yeah, he's got no chance of getting onto the big league squad unless we encounter a rash of injuries to our battalion of one-way power forwards already on the team! Freeman is yet another player that really can't play any other position.

Right now Rocco is really the only player of real intrigue down in Iowa, especially with Newton gone and Pullin sidelined by injury. He's sort of plateaued a bit of late, although the 3-point shot continues to be reliable. The most important thing for him will be offseason strength and conditioning.

I find this one-way power forward situation to be a huge problem for the Wolves. I'll say it again, my favorite solution is NAZ and Dilly for Monk and SloMo. We keep our 3-point shooting (Monk for NAZ), add some playmaking (Monk and SloMo), and improve our defense (SloMo), all while opening minutes for Beringer. It improves our cap situation in future years, and we might even get some draft capital back. But the Kings have some higher priorities, so it likely isn't a deal that gets done until the last hour...

60WinTim wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:23 am

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sat Jan 17, 2026 11:07 am

60WinTim wrote: ↑Fri Jan 16, 2026 8:42 pm

My guy, Enrique Freeman had a heck of a game their last time out (at least by the box score). Of course, it looks like his previous game was a dud…

Yeah, he's got no chance of getting onto the big league squad unless we encounter a rash of injuries to our battalion of one-way power forwards already on the team! Freeman is yet another player that really can't play any other position.

Right now Rocco is really the only player of real intrigue down in Iowa, especially with Newton gone and Pullin sidelined by injury. He's sort of plateaued a bit of late, although the 3-point shot continues to be reliable. The most important thing for him will be offseason strength and conditioning.

I find this one-way power forward situation to be a huge problem for the Wolves. I'll say it again, my favorite solution is NAZ and Dilly for Monk and SloMo. We keep our 3-point shooting (Monk for NAZ), add some playmaking (Monk and SloMo), and improve our defense (SloMo), all while opening minutes for Beringer. It improves our cap situation in future years, and we might even get some draft capital back. But the Kings have some higher priorities, so it likely isn't a deal that gets done until the last hour...

I'm fine with SloMo as an insurance policy via the buyout market, but not being thrust back in as a main rotation piece. He's two years older and did you actually look at his career net rating numbers I posted the other day for the playoffs? They're terrible! Yes, his archetype is a better fit on paper, but I'd rather have two good players that are somewhat redundant versus one good and one rather mediocre player that aren't redundant. The whole is still greater with the two good players.

And Beringer looked mostly ineffective last night with the exception of one nice defensive possession against Sengun. Milwaukee or other teams sleep-walking through the dog days of the season are perfect for him, but he's going to have his struggles against legit top 8 type teams as a young rookie that hasn't even finished growing into his body yet.

All of that being said, I agree with your premise here and I think it likely gets addressed this offseason, assuming we get bounced before the Finals.

Rocco with 18 points and 20 rebounds today in an afternoon game for Iowa. He's been a solid rebounder this season, but nothing quite like this. Perhaps without Freeman in the fold he's gobbling up more rebounds.

Unfortunately with the added touches he's getting offensively he's turning the ball over a lot, either by making ill-advised passes or getting it stolen when he puts it on the floor. His 3-point shot has cooled off of late as well.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 3:49 pm Rocco with 18 points and 20 rebounds today in an afternoon game for Iowa. He's been a solid rebounder this season, but nothing quite like this. Perhaps without Freeman in the fold he's gobbling up more rebounds.

Unfortunately with the added touches he's getting offensively he's turning the ball over a lot, either by making ill-advised passes or getting it stolen when he puts it on the floor. His 3-point shot has cooled off of late as well.

Flip told me that when evaluating young talent you need to focus on what they can do and do well, not on what they can’t do or what they do wrong. I think that bit of wisdom applies with particular force when it comes to turnovers unless the turnovers are the product of bad hands. In Rocco’s case, it sounds like the turnovers are a function of bad judgement, which is to be expected from inexperienced 19 year olds playing against a lot of 22-30 year olds in the G-League.

I still like Rob and Shannon. But Beringer and Rocco are the TC draftees who I get excited about.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 6:56 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 3:49 pm Rocco with 18 points and 20 rebounds today in an afternoon game for Iowa. He's been a solid rebounder this season, but nothing quite like this. Perhaps without Freeman in the fold he's gobbling up more rebounds.

Unfortunately with the added touches he's getting offensively he's turning the ball over a lot, either by making ill-advised passes or getting it stolen when he puts it on the floor. His 3-point shot has cooled off of late as well.

Flip told me that when evaluating young talent you need to focus on what they can do and do well, not on what they can’t do or what they do wrong. I think that bit of wisdom applies with particular force when it comes to turnovers unless the turnovers are the product of bad hands. In Rocco’s case, it sounds like the turnovers are a function of bad judgement, which is to be expected from inexperienced 19 year olds playing against a lot of 22-30 year olds in the G-League.

I still like Rob and Shannon. But Beringer and Rocco are the TC draftees who I get excited about.

Yeah, I don't think he has bad hands based on what I've seen. I also don't think he has great hands. He's just so damn tall and kind of slow, so he's an easy target to steal his cookies when he brings the ball down or puts in on the floor.

Rocco also has a bit of a languid demeanor, where you feel like his motor doesn't quite go past 3rd gear. I think it's a combination of him simply being really big and kind of slow plus his conditioning isn't great.

This is now a very dated reference but a lot of us on this board are pretty dated at this point, LOL....Rocco reminds me a little bit of Luc Longley. Not just because they are both Aussies, but in that they are both very tall and quite skilled, but not very athletic or intense. I never see Rocco dominating an NBA game, but due to his sheer size and skills I could see him being a very good rotational piece, whether as a starter or backup C.

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 7:18 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 6:56 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 3:49 pm Rocco with 18 points and 20 rebounds today in an afternoon game for Iowa. He's been a solid rebounder this season, but nothing quite like this. Perhaps without Freeman in the fold he's gobbling up more rebounds.

Unfortunately with the added touches he's getting offensively he's turning the ball over a lot, either by making ill-advised passes or getting it stolen when he puts it on the floor. His 3-point shot has cooled off of late as well.

Flip told me that when evaluating young talent you need to focus on what they can do and do well, not on what they can’t do or what they do wrong. I think that bit of wisdom applies with particular force when it comes to turnovers unless the turnovers are the product of bad hands. In Rocco’s case, it sounds like the turnovers are a function of bad judgement, which is to be expected from inexperienced 19 year olds playing against a lot of 22-30 year olds in the G-League.

I still like Rob and Shannon. But Beringer and Rocco are the TC draftees who I get excited about.

Yeah, I don't think he has bad hands based on what I've seen. I also don't think he has great hands. He's just so damn tall and kind of slow, so he's an easy target to steal his cookies when he brings the ball down or puts in on the floor.

Rocco also has a bit of a languid demeanor, where you feel like his motor doesn't quite go past 3rd gear. I think it's a combination of him simply being really big and kind of slow plus his conditioning isn't great.

This is now a very dated reference but a lot of us on this board are pretty dated at this point, LOL....Rocco reminds me a little bit of Luc Longley. Not just because they are both Aussies, but in that they are both very tall and quite skilled, but not very athletic or intense. I never see Rocco dominating an NBA game, but due to his sheer size and skills I could see him being a very good rotational piece, whether as a starter or backup C.

Quite fitting to shout out to Luc on his 57th birthday! Let’s hope Rocco wins 3 championships like Luc did!

FNG wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 7:28 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 7:18 pm

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 6:56 pm

Flip told me that when evaluating young talent you need to focus on what they can do and do well, not on what they can’t do or what they do wrong. I think that bit of wisdom applies with particular force when it comes to turnovers unless the turnovers are the product of bad hands. In Rocco’s case, it sounds like the turnovers are a function of bad judgement, which is to be expected from inexperienced 19 year olds playing against a lot of 22-30 year olds in the G-League.

I still like Rob and Shannon. But Beringer and Rocco are the TC draftees who I get excited about.

Yeah, I don't think he has bad hands based on what I've seen. I also don't think he has great hands. He's just so damn tall and kind of slow, so he's an easy target to steal his cookies when he brings the ball down or puts in on the floor.

Rocco also has a bit of a languid demeanor, where you feel like his motor doesn't quite go past 3rd gear. I think it's a combination of him simply being really big and kind of slow plus his conditioning isn't great.

This is now a very dated reference but a lot of us on this board are pretty dated at this point, LOL....Rocco reminds me a little bit of Luc Longley. Not just because they are both Aussies, but in that they are both very tall and quite skilled, but not very athletic or intense. I never see Rocco dominating an NBA game, but due to his sheer size and skills I could see him being a very good rotational piece, whether as a starter or backup C.

Quite fitting to shout out to Luc on his 57th birthday! Let’s hope Rocco wins 3 championships like Luc did!

Well, happy birthday to Luc, I didn't know that!

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 9:43 pm

FNG wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 7:28 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Mon Jan 19, 2026 7:18 pm

Yeah, I don't think he has bad hands based on what I've seen. I also don't think he has great hands. He's just so damn tall and kind of slow, so he's an easy target to steal his cookies when he brings the ball down or puts in on the floor.

Rocco also has a bit of a languid demeanor, where you feel like his motor doesn't quite go past 3rd gear. I think it's a combination of him simply being really big and kind of slow plus his conditioning isn't great.

This is now a very dated reference but a lot of us on this board are pretty dated at this point, LOL....Rocco reminds me a little bit of Luc Longley. Not just because they are both Aussies, but in that they are both very tall and quite skilled, but not very athletic or intense. I never see Rocco dominating an NBA game, but due to his sheer size and skills I could see him being a very good rotational piece, whether as a starter or backup C.

Quite fitting to shout out to Luc on his 57th birthday! Let’s hope Rocco wins 3 championships like Luc did!

Well, happy birthday to Luc, I didn't know that!

I always liked Luc. The Wolves drafted him then the Bulls turned him into a champion, which is what the Celtics will do with Josh Minott when Tatum returns next season. .