Minnesota Sports Forum

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 2:49 pm Howls and Growls latest vid is worth a watch.

He goes over Suggs, Quickly and Morant specifically in the video, but it really more about understanding risk assessment

After watching and giving it some thought, I'm most preferential to Suggs even with his limitations as a shooter and ball handler. What he offers for McDaniels is so just valuable in my opinion. I'd like to see an additional move to get someone like Jerome as well but that seems unlikely so you're still putting a lot on Ayo and TJ to be bench scorers, which is probably a worth gamble.

I'm still super intrigued with Quickley cause of his shooting and off the bounce creation; he would thrive next to Ant.

Paynting brings up a really great point with Morant that I've struggled to make. Despite all of his foibles and negative regressions, he has remained an elite playmaker/floor general, in fact it's probably the one area he has consistently improved, it's just not worth the price and headache when he as bad a shooter and defender as he is. Average to above average at one of those and he's probably worth it, but I think they'd regret trading for him

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 7:21 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 2:49 pm Howls and Growls latest vid is worth a watch.

He goes over Suggs, Quickly and Morant specifically in the video, but it really more about understanding risk assessment

After watching and giving it some thought, I'm most preferential to Suggs even with his limitations as a shooter and ball handler. What he offers for McDaniels is so just valuable in my opinion. I'd like to see an additional move to get someone like Jerome as well but that seems unlikely so you're still putting a lot on Ayo and TJ to be bench scorers, which is probably a worth gamble.

I'm still super intrigued with Quickley cause of his shooting and off the bounce creation; he would thrive next to Ant.

Paynting brings up a really great point with Morant that I've struggled to make. Despite all of his foibles and negative regressions, he has remained an elite playmaker/floor general, in fact it's probably the one area he has consistently improved, it's just not worth the price and headache when he as bad a shooter and defender as he is. Average to above average at one of those and he's probably worth it, but I think they'd regret trading for him

It's an interesting trio and Paynting highlights each of their unique strengths. Suggs = defense, Quickley = shooting/scoring, Morant = passing.

Suggs - I personally think it would be really problematic offensively in the playoffs to have a PG that struggles to make 3's and is not very secure with the ball, as that will absolutely get exploited. Suggs was an absolute nightmare offensively against Detroit. Not only was his shooting bad, but he also turned the ball over 21 times versus only 29 assists. So he struggles to shoot AND turns the ball over. That's not what Ant needs next to him! Heck, we might as well keep Julius Randle!

Morant - Can't shoot, not a good defender, getting worse every year. Would be an outstanding backup at the right price!

Quickley - He seems like the best all-around player of this group. Certainly not the defender Suggs is or the passer Morant is, but also doesn't have any gaping holes in his game. And he will punish teams that double Ant or provide a bunch of gap help, which is why Ant generally thrived next to Conley and DDV - they could knock down 3's when their guy shaded too much in Ant's direction.

It feels like Quickley and Ayo are similar in a lot of ways, but can you ever have enough guards that are decent ball handlers, defenders, passers, and really good shooters that don't turn the ball over much?

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 7:21 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 2:49 pm Howls and Growls latest vid is worth a watch.

He goes over Suggs, Quickly and Morant specifically in the video, but it really more about understanding risk assessment

After watching and giving it some thought, I'm most preferential to Suggs even with his limitations as a shooter and ball handler. What he offers for McDaniels is so just valuable in my opinion. I'd like to see an additional move to get someone like Jerome as well but that seems unlikely so you're still putting a lot on Ayo and TJ to be bench scorers, which is probably a worth gamble.

I'm still super intrigued with Quickley cause of his shooting and off the bounce creation; he would thrive next to Ant.

Paynting brings up a really great point with Morant that I've struggled to make. Despite all of his foibles and negative regressions, he has remained an elite playmaker/floor general, in fact it's probably the one area he has consistently improved, it's just not worth the price and headache when he as bad a shooter and defender as he is. Average to above average at one of those and he's probably worth it, but I think they'd regret trading for him

It's an interesting trio and Paynting highlights each of their unique strengths. Suggs = defense, Quickley = shooting/scoring, Morant = passing.

Suggs - I personally think it would be really problematic offensively in the playoffs to have a PG that struggles to make 3's and is not very secure with the ball, as that will absolutely get exploited. Suggs was an absolute nightmare offensively against Detroit. Not only was his shooting bad, but he also turned the ball over 21 times versus only 29 assists. So he struggles to shoot AND turns the ball over. That's not what Ant needs next to him! Heck, we might as well keep Julius Randle!

Morant - Can't shoot, not a good defender, getting worse every year. Would be an outstanding backup at the right price!

Quickley - He seems like the best all-around player of this group. Certainly not the defender Suggs is or the passer Morant is, but also doesn't have any gaping holes in his game. And he will punish teams that double Ant or provide a bunch of gap help, which is why Ant generally thrived next to Conley and DDV - they could knock down 3's when their guy shaded too much in Ant's direction.

It feels like Quickley and Ayo are similar in a lot of ways, but can you ever have enough guards that are decent ball handlers, defenders, passers, and really good shooters that don't turn the ball over much?

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 8:07 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 7:21 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 2:49 pm Howls and Growls latest vid is worth a watch.

He goes over Suggs, Quickly and Morant specifically in the video, but it really more about understanding risk assessment

After watching and giving it some thought, I'm most preferential to Suggs even with his limitations as a shooter and ball handler. What he offers for McDaniels is so just valuable in my opinion. I'd like to see an additional move to get someone like Jerome as well but that seems unlikely so you're still putting a lot on Ayo and TJ to be bench scorers, which is probably a worth gamble.

I'm still super intrigued with Quickley cause of his shooting and off the bounce creation; he would thrive next to Ant.

Paynting brings up a really great point with Morant that I've struggled to make. Despite all of his foibles and negative regressions, he has remained an elite playmaker/floor general, in fact it's probably the one area he has consistently improved, it's just not worth the price and headache when he as bad a shooter and defender as he is. Average to above average at one of those and he's probably worth it, but I think they'd regret trading for him

It's an interesting trio and Paynting highlights each of their unique strengths. Suggs = defense, Quickley = shooting/scoring, Morant = passing.

Suggs - I personally think it would be really problematic offensively in the playoffs to have a PG that struggles to make 3's and is not very secure with the ball, as that will absolutely get exploited. Suggs was an absolute nightmare offensively against Detroit. Not only was his shooting bad, but he also turned the ball over 21 times versus only 29 assists. So he struggles to shoot AND turns the ball over. That's not what Ant needs next to him! Heck, we might as well keep Julius Randle!

Morant - Can't shoot, not a good defender, getting worse every year. Would be an outstanding backup at the right price!

Quickley - He seems like the best all-around player of this group. Certainly not the defender Suggs is or the passer Morant is, but also doesn't have any gaping holes in his game. And he will punish teams that double Ant or provide a bunch of gap help, which is why Ant generally thrived next to Conley and DDV - they could knock down 3's when their guy shaded too much in Ant's direction.

It feels like Quickley and Ayo are similar in a lot of ways, but can you ever have enough guards that are decent ball handlers, defenders, passers, and really good shooters that don't turn the ball over much?

Suggs playoff run was concerning, but I don't like to over weight a small sample of games. The reason that, of a flawed group of player, I would choose him right now is because his elite skill is stable and won't be taken away in the playoffs.

I'm concerned that Quickley would join the list of shooting guards who are sub average defenders disappearing in the playoffs, not unlike what you've documented with DDV. The one caveats to that is that Quickley can actually create off the bounce and that's a big deal

Most of Suggs issues are mitigated for me if he's playing next to Ant who is still going to dominate the ball. I'm concerned that Suggs wouldn't provide enough shooting to give Ant an outlet, but I have a good amount of faith in a Ant, Jaden, Naz offense. Also I really want to see Jaden moved off ball more and Suggs provides that more than any of these options.

Quickley is tempting too, and I'd have no problem adding him

Monster wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 8:08 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 7:21 pm

AussieWolf3 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 2:49 pm Howls and Growls latest vid is worth a watch.

He goes over Suggs, Quickly and Morant specifically in the video, but it really more about understanding risk assessment

After watching and giving it some thought, I'm most preferential to Suggs even with his limitations as a shooter and ball handler. What he offers for McDaniels is so just valuable in my opinion. I'd like to see an additional move to get someone like Jerome as well but that seems unlikely so you're still putting a lot on Ayo and TJ to be bench scorers, which is probably a worth gamble.

I'm still super intrigued with Quickley cause of his shooting and off the bounce creation; he would thrive next to Ant.

Paynting brings up a really great point with Morant that I've struggled to make. Despite all of his foibles and negative regressions, he has remained an elite playmaker/floor general, in fact it's probably the one area he has consistently improved, it's just not worth the price and headache when he as bad a shooter and defender as he is. Average to above average at one of those and he's probably worth it, but I think they'd regret trading for him

It's an interesting trio and Paynting highlights each of their unique strengths. Suggs = defense, Quickley = shooting/scoring, Morant = passing.

Suggs - I personally think it would be really problematic offensively in the playoffs to have a PG that struggles to make 3's and is not very secure with the ball, as that will absolutely get exploited. Suggs was an absolute nightmare offensively against Detroit. Not only was his shooting bad, but he also turned the ball over 21 times versus only 29 assists. So he struggles to shoot AND turns the ball over. That's not what Ant needs next to him! Heck, we might as well keep Julius Randle!

Morant - Can't shoot, not a good defender, getting worse every year. Would be an outstanding backup at the right price!

Quickley - He seems like the best all-around player of this group. Certainly not the defender Suggs is or the passer Morant is, but also doesn't have any gaping holes in his game. And he will punish teams that double Ant or provide a bunch of gap help, which is why Ant generally thrived next to Conley and DDV - they could knock down 3's when their guy shaded too much in Ant's direction.

It feels like Quickley and Ayo are similar in a lot of ways, but can you ever have enough guards that are decent ball handlers, defenders, passers, and really good shooters that don't turn the ball over much?

Fwiw I spent some time reading about Quickly and read a number of posts on various forums. It sounds like his on ball defense isn't good but he does fine in a team concept. This was said by both Toronto fans and Knicks fans although Knocks fans said he was probably a little better back when he wasn't doing as much on offense. Part of that lack of on ball defense may be due tto surprisingly (at least to me) he isn't all that big 6'2" barefoot with a 6'9" wingspan and is listed at 190 pounds. I honestly thought he was taller than that. That's not small but it's not exactly big. I mean that's basically Bones size but 20 lbs heavier.

Suggs I simply haven't watched a whole lot in his career. Looking at his stats he seems like a good role player but his contract seems a little pricey for that. I mean how much better overall is he than NAW? The fact that his contract decreases does help his case. If Orlando wants to get off his contract it seems like we would need to include a 3rd team that would send them at the very least expering contracts and take on Randle. Suggs also has had problems staying healthy which is a pretty big problem for a guy making even 27 million the last year of his deal.

The quandary for me is that the reality is the Wolves need some upgrades at the guard position. The problem is that they have somewhat limited assets and the guys that might be available have their own flaws and or or the contracts are worrisome. On the other hand there is no guarantee you will find the next Ayo or Caruso or NAW or whoever that isn't a high pick or even a first round pick. There will be guys like Nembhard too but there is no guarantee we can just pull a guy out like that or trade for one. I think one of the issues with adding some of these guards that cost a fair amount of money is that adding them might keep you from adding a different player down the road because you have money wrapped up in them. There are going to be worthwhile players that could be some sort of solution to the problem but which ones are they? Connelly has some success making those types of decisions so I need to sit back and let him do his thing.

rapsuperstar31 wrote: ↑Wed Jun 17, 2026 9:00 pm [Spears] Wizards star Trae Young plans to decline his $48.97 million player option for the 2026–27 season to become a FA on Monday, sources. Washington remains the front runner for the four-time NBA All-Star as he loves the team and DC, but he still expects multiple team max interest.

Kind of surprising, only way to get him would be to sign and trade for him. Can't imagine there are too many teams looking to give him close to a max.