TheFuture wrote:AbeVigodaLive wrote:TheFuture wrote:thedoper wrote:AbeVigodaLive wrote:TheFuture wrote:AbeVigodaLive wrote:thedoper wrote:I really like what Dallas is doing. Good marginal moves to compliment Luka. That WCS signing was great in my mind. We could have afforded that over Juancho no? It really seems to be a style of play philosophy which is weird because I feel like WCS would have at least given us some lineup options to have KAT at the 4. There are going to be some depressing outings against teams with size this year.
Willie Cauley-Stein... meh. BUT... you're right about what Dallas is doing. They aren't still searching for Home Runs in the draft with all-or-nothing swings like they're Miguel Sano in a 7-run ballgame.
They have their superstar. And backup superstar. And they believe in them.
So they're finding players to complement them. Unlike...
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The Wolves. Who had two max guys... and still felt compelled to swing for the fences for more talent. Only to trade one max guy for another (better) max guy. Only, they still don't think they're close to contending, so they're desperately searching for a 3rd max/superstar guy.
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Ugh.
I will take whatever the hell we are doing over whatever the hell we did for KG. But it seems like a rinse and repeat. What do you do in this market though?
1. Get your star players. CHECK.
2. Build the best team around those players.
But the Wolves seem to be perpetually trying to get more and more and more in the stage 1 phase.
Haha. Back to phase one.
We are definitely headed back there with another science experiment, no disagreement there.
I am on record saying I would have preferred riding out the Rubio, Lavine, Wiggins, KAT experiment. I think it was mostly complimentary, and there was a chance there to add a PF, a bench, and keep the picks, before paying anybody. Blow it all the hell up if it doesn't work, like Presti.
Not for an obvious 1st round exit for Butler. That did nothing for me as a fan, and honestly, Butler outed us as more inept of a franchise. I did not imagine that to be possible.
Yet, Glen struck.
Now he hired a new FO trying to prove themselves. If they fuck up, then the next group has to come try to clean up again whilst trying to prove themselves. Rinse, repeat.
To be fair, it wasn't an obvious 1st round exit... as it was happening for the first 54 games.
Butler got hurt... and the Wolves ended up with the #8 seed.
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But you hit on a point at the end. Every new regime comes in with the promise of something new -- for them. And it quickly becomes obvious that each one seems sorta clueless about what this organization has been through.
For example, I don't think a "Trust the Process" take works here. Sure, it works for the GM because he's buying time for himself. So why not do that if you can get away with it? But does it work for the fans who've already suffered through so many Trust the Process iterations?
I know it doesn't work for me. I want improvement. Any improvement that's sustainable and steady...
I mean, the GSW and LeBron were there. It was a stupid play for fan appreciation. The trade was stupid. The team was not ready; it was in it's infancy.
I guess I speak for myself, but I was much more enthusiastic about watching a new growth than a known playoff out.
The steady improvement and likability was watching Rubio cultivate LaVine, Wiggins, KAT, and whoever else a decent FO would have surrounded them with. That was a semblance of promise. Still could have torn the doors down for assets 2-4 years down the line if it failed. Instead we gutted that promise for Jimmy, spent our cap on Thib players, and saw it collapse again. With no harm coming for Thibs, only our organization and us fans. They come to Glen to step stones.
I want steady improvement too. That is what any company wants. But continuous overhaul is always fruitless.
R.I.P. Flip
Think about that team though and if Jimmy doesn't blow up which you just can't predict before you get him that he's just not gonna mesh with Towns. It's almost always better to just get the All-Star for your fodder rather than rely on that fodder to improve to the level of that All-Star.
So first round exit to Houston happens. You pay Jimmy, you come back the next year and you potentially get into the top 4 as we were originally on pace to do. That team maybe wins a playoff series against a Utah or OKC or Portland. Or maybe they don't and they end up at 21 where they draft Brandon Clarke like OKC before they trade him.
Then you know you are capped as a 4 seed during this season with Wiggins and you make the same trade for Russell at the deadline last year to get a better fit next to Jimmy.
Now you have Russell/Butler/Covington/Clarke/Towns going into the bubble. That's a team that could have made some noise. It's so hard for a team like the T Wolves to get All-Stars that you just have to do it when you can and then there is room for opportunities to keep improving down the line to get over the top.
Which team would you rather have? The one that I outlined or the one that we have? Sure mine is a long-shot but you can see the opportunities for improvement that are out there to surround your stars with quality players that fit around them that teams can fall into if they are patient for the right moves. If Towns had the right attitude he could have been on a juggernaut right now and Jimmy's window compared to his wouldn't mean shit because we'd be a really, really good team.
Edit: we probably don't end up with Covington so it's not as good, but there would have been plenty of guys to add in the 20's this year to Russell/Butler/Clarke/Towns to keep improving around that core.
