Minnesota Sports Forum

The age thing doesn't bother me at all. Russell Westbrook and Draymond Green weren't great as freshmen. Curry, McCollum, and Lillard were great as freshman in part because of the competition they were up against.

I'd still take Hield. I think his progression as a player is more evidence of his work ethic and desire over anything else. Like I've said before, Hield's floor is a bigger, more athletic JJ Redick. He can flat out shoot it and, with his size and length, has a greater defensive upside than Murray.

Dunn intrigues me because of the fit with Thibodeau and the fact that it would hopefully get rid of the huge drop off the team has once Rubio sits.

I really like Murray. I think he's the 2nd best shooter in the draft behind Hield. I think his defense will always be a liability, however.

If we get any one of these 3 guys, I'd be fine.

I'll admit it, I'm waffling on a daily basis as to who we should pick. At various times I've felt Bender, Hield or trading the pick. Today for some reason I'm feeling love for Murray. Maybe it's his shooting prowess in the Celtics workout, maybe it's the Canadian connection with Wig, maybe it's the way Calipari talks about him.

I can't wait to see who I feel good about tomorrow.

Mr. Brightside wrote:The age thing doesn't bother me at all. Russell Westbrook and Draymond Green weren't great as freshmen. Curry, McCollum, and Lillard were great as freshman in part because of the competition they were up against.

I'd still take Hield. I think his progression as a player is more evidence of his work ethic and desire over anything else. Like I've said before, Hield's floor is a bigger, more athletic JJ Redick. He can flat out shoot it and, with his size and length, has a greater defensive upside than Murray.

Dunn intrigues me because of the fit with Thibodeau and the fact that it would hopefully get rid of the huge drop off the team has once Rubio sits.

I really like Murray. I think he's the 2nd best shooter in the draft behind Hield. I think his defense will always be a liability, however.

If we get any one of these 3 guys, I'd be fine.

You do realize Redick is a smidge taller than Hield, right? And Hield is only a smidge taller than Murray. So while you are technically correct that Hield has a better combination of height/length/weight vs. Murray, we are not talking about much of a difference here.

Q12543 wrote:

Mr. Brightside wrote:The age thing doesn't bother me at all. Russell Westbrook and Draymond Green weren't great as freshmen. Curry, McCollum, and Lillard were great as freshman in part because of the competition they were up against.

I'd still take Hield. I think his progression as a player is more evidence of his work ethic and desire over anything else. Like I've said before, Hield's floor is a bigger, more athletic JJ Redick. He can flat out shoot it and, with his size and length, has a greater defensive upside than Murray.

Dunn intrigues me because of the fit with Thibodeau and the fact that it would hopefully get rid of the huge drop off the team has once Rubio sits.

I really like Murray. I think he's the 2nd best shooter in the draft behind Hield. I think his defense will always be a liability, however.

If we get any one of these 3 guys, I'd be fine.

You do realize Redick is a smidge taller than Hield, right? And Hield is only a smidge taller than Murray. So while you are technically correct that Hield has a better combination of height/length/weight vs. Murray, we are not talking about much of a difference here.

Did you look at wingspan? Hield has a pretty big advantage there over JJ.

Edit:

Q I think your point about the differences may be small worth noting. JJ overachieved on both ends of the floor despite being undersized. Of course we know we can't expect other players to do that. I think the previous post about Hield having the floor of JJ is unfair to JJ who is a pretty good 2 way player. If I knew my floor for Hield (or Murray) was JJ I would be praying that he feel to #5.

Q12543 wrote:

Mr. Brightside wrote:The age thing doesn't bother me at all. Russell Westbrook and Draymond Green weren't great as freshmen. Curry, McCollum, and Lillard were great as freshman in part because of the competition they were up against.

I'd still take Hield. I think his progression as a player is more evidence of his work ethic and desire over anything else. Like I've said before, Hield's floor is a bigger, more athletic JJ Redick. He can flat out shoot it and, with his size and length, has a greater defensive upside than Murray.

Dunn intrigues me because of the fit with Thibodeau and the fact that it would hopefully get rid of the huge drop off the team has once Rubio sits.

I really like Murray. I think he's the 2nd best shooter in the draft behind Hield. I think his defense will always be a liability, however.

If we get any one of these 3 guys, I'd be fine.

You do realize Redick is a smidge taller than Hield, right? And Hield is only a smidge taller than Murray. So while you are technically correct that Hield has a better combination of height/length/weight vs. Murray, we are not talking about much of a difference here.

Hield has 20 pounds on Redick and is longer is both his standing reach (3.5 inches) and wingspan (6 inches). What about that doesn't make Hield bigger?

I would say Hield's floor is Marcus Thorton/Gerald Henderson. Upside would be JJ Redick or Michael Redd.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I would say Hield's floor is Marcus Thorton/Gerald Henderson. Upside would be JJ Redick or Michael Redd.

I'd take Michael Redd. He was one of the better 2 guards in the league for a stretch of about 6-7 seasons. He was also a better player than Redick ever has been. Little strange to group those two together.

Mr. Brightside wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

Mr. Brightside wrote:The age thing doesn't bother me at all. Russell Westbrook and Draymond Green weren't great as freshmen. Curry, McCollum, and Lillard were great as freshman in part because of the competition they were up against.

I'd still take Hield. I think his progression as a player is more evidence of his work ethic and desire over anything else. Like I've said before, Hield's floor is a bigger, more athletic JJ Redick. He can flat out shoot it and, with his size and length, has a greater defensive upside than Murray.

Dunn intrigues me because of the fit with Thibodeau and the fact that it would hopefully get rid of the huge drop off the team has once Rubio sits.

I really like Murray. I think he's the 2nd best shooter in the draft behind Hield. I think his defense will always be a liability, however.

If we get any one of these 3 guys, I'd be fine.

You do realize Redick is a smidge taller than Hield, right? And Hield is only a smidge taller than Murray. So while you are technically correct that Hield has a better combination of height/length/weight vs. Murray, we are not talking about much of a difference here.

Hield has 20 pounds on Redick and is longer is both his standing reach (3.5 inches) and wingspan (6 inches). What about that doesn't make Hield bigger?

True, he has weight and wingspan on Redick, but conventional height does still matter on offense because of sight lines for passing and shooting. The taller someone is, the more likely they can see over a defender. My larger point has to do with Murray vs. Hield - the size difference between these two isn't very significant.

I keep leaning toward Hield.

His three point shooting would be great to have. His senior 3pt% would put him just ahead of Curry and behind Redick (and former TWolf Troy Daniels, who doesn't count). He's clearly got NBA range. This is becoming a 3 point shooting league, and this guy could be great at that.

Hield also looks like he can get to the rim and finish a bit too. Moves well off the ball, which makes passing easier. Hield seems to just have a natural feel as an offensive player.

I like that he shows good effort on defense, and his length should help him as a defender. Gotta love the work ethic and steady improvement. Plus, he looks like a guy who's going to find a way to make basketball plays. I definitely see a guy who could really open up the court offensively for us.

Fit might be a bit of an issue. We need defense more than offense, generally speaking. Moving Bazz for a defending would make even more sense than it already does if we drafted Hield.

Hield should be in the game every minute LaVine is out, but if we wanted to have them out there at the same time, it might require LaVine to play the point for stretches with Hield at the 2.

If we played them at the 2 and 3, some opposing SFs would go at LaVine or Hield with a size advantage (Hield's a bit heavier than LaVine). In the West, guys like Durant, Kawhi, Hayward, Rudy Gay, Chandler Parsons, Harrison Barnes would have an advantage (to varying degrees), and that's not mentioning LeBron, Carmelo, the Greek Freak, and Paul George in the East.

It would still be worth a try because the mismatch could also work a bit the other way if LaVine and Hield are both hitting outside shots and/or using their quickness to get to the rim. And there are some good SFs in the West that LaVine and Hield could match up with size-wise, including Will Barton, maybe Trevor Ariza. Ok, that's a short list.

You could split up minutes something like this. Substitute Bazz's minutes for a defending wing who can guard the 2 and the 3 and you've got a flexible wing rotation (Wiggins, LaVine, Hield, *insert random defender*).

Rubio 32, Tyus, 10, LaVine 6
LaVine 26, Hield 20, Wiggins 2
Wiggins 34, Bazz 12, Hield 2

Yikes! We'd have to see LaVine at PG again, nooooo!

That same problem applies to Murray IF he can't play SG. Hield, LaVine, and Murray might all best be characterized as "pure" shooting guards that don't have the size to play SF or the chops to play PG.

It's one of the reasons (not the only one of course) I lean toward Dunn. I feel like he could play either guard position, even though PG is his natural position.