Minnesota Sports Forum

Carlos Danger wrote:

WolvesFan21 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Wolves in a ducking weird spot now. Garza pretty much out of NBA games. So they can cut someone and give Garza a contract but if it's one year deal that lose his RFA rights. If they give him a multi year deal that might stop them from resigning Naz next year

I offer Garza a 3 year 12 (something in that cheap 3 year ballpark) and just let Naz go. Garza has shown me enough on offense that I think he could become as good as Naz is right now. Both are terrible defenders but Garza has a little more upside being younger and more raw.

With all the money going to Kat and Rudy a cheaper third/fourth big is more appetizing.

I had to double check, but Naz is actually younger than Garza by like 9 months. That said, I sort of agree with your take because I'm not sure they would want to pay Naz what he's worth to bring him back as a third center next year.

It seems like Naz has been in the league for a long time so I thought he had to be a year older.

It'd be cool to have both back but I think Garza can be had for way less as he is unproven. Garza is a little more roll of the dice obviously, but I think for the money he will get offered compared to Naz. I think I go Garza and hope he pans out. I am converting him now too so he can start filling in. Maybe we can get him for 4 years 11-12 million even. I was looking at comparable backups and it seems 2.5-3 mill per is in the ballpark for end bench guys. But we could also win big if he pans out.

WolvesFan21 wrote:It seems like Naz has been in the league for a long time so I thought he had to be a year older.

It'd be cool to have both back but I think Garza can be had for way less as he is unproven. Garza is a little more roll of the dice obviously, but I think for the money he will get offered compared to Naz. I think I go Garza and hope he pans out. I am converting him now too so he can start filling in. Maybe we can get him for 4 years 11-12 million even. I was looking at comparable backups and it seems 2.5-3 mill per is in the ballpark for end bench guys. But we could also win big if he pans out.

It doesn't just seem like Naz has been in league a long time - he has, ha! This is his fourth year and Garza's second year. That's why I had to double check. Naz came in as a 20 year old UDFA and has just gotten better and better each season. It would be shame to see him leave as he's a nice success story for us. But I remember going through this when Gorgui Dieng's contract was up....it just gets really expensive unless you see a bigger role for the guy. Maybe they can do a sign and trade with Naz to bring back a PG? We'll see.

On the positive, Garza has also improved year over year. He's certainly put himself in line as "next man up" after averaging about 30 pts/game in G-League. He only has 235 minutes this year, but they have been good ones. Here is how his per 36 numbers compare to Naz:

Naz: 22.5 points, 9.6 rebounds
Garza: 27.1 pts, 9.2 rebounds

Garza is also 6-11 vs. Naz at 6-9. It's two inches...hey, I'm searching for any potential positives here! Losing Naz sucks, but the show must go on.

Yeah, when he was grabbing his wrist in pain like that on the floor, my heart just sank. Not surprised to hear it's broken.

I'd love to keep him, but I have no idea how that'd be possible financially. I do think it could work on the floor because he can play the 5 and the 4, but he's really more of a wing in many ways if you think about it. He's been miscast somewhat as a big because he's tall and thick. But his legs are so long and his upper body so muscular that his center of gravity is too high to really hold post position well against bigs defensively. So I think he got dismissed as a bad defensive big, and when he lost that weight and his handle improved it became clear he was a good scoring wing who happened to be really tall and strong in his upper body and doesn't really have the hip flexibility to stay in front of quicker, smaller wings. He's an unusual player, that's for sure.

He's still improving, and if he makes even some of the strides defensively that he's made offensively, he'll be a hell of a player. I'll root for him, whoever he plays for.

So Naz will reportedly be out 6 weeks. So does that put him in line for a return in the WCF then? Definitely for the Finals right?

A couple more things about Naz and Garza.

Naz is a switchable big. His individual defense sometimes (depending on matchups) is probably good. He just isn't a guy that anchors a defense. That's a problem when he is a center or playing next to a guy that isn't a center. I don't think he is a guy teams target individually but he isn't scaring teams away from going into the paint although he is a good shot blocker. I think his team defense is probably just ok but maybe Finch says it's good. If seen Finch praise Nowell's D and I don't think there is anyone here that thinks Nowell is even close to average on that end. Nowell tries and has some good moments but he has a long way to go on that end.

Reid (and to some extent Knight) are different physically (or the way they play) compared to Garza. Reid has a longer wingspan so even though he is shorter than Garza they are probably comparable in length and Reid might actually be longer. Knight actually moves really well and probably offers more as a defender than Garza in general. His offense isn't what Garza brings. Meanwhile Garza has dropped weight and is more mobile than he used to be but the guy still holds his ground like he weighs at least 20 more pounds. Amusingly Naz is 264lbs Knight 253lbs and Garza 243lbs. You would not guess by watching those 3 guys play that Garza is the lightest of all them. For example if I had to pick a guy to guard Embiid for a few minutes between Naz, Knight and Garza I might pick Garza because a I feel like he would at least be able to hold up if Embiid wanted to force his way into the paint. This also shows up offensively. He is sorta like Pek in that he knows how to play and is pretty strong. Not Pek strong but he also can handle the ball and jack up 3's.

Naz can handle the ball and if given the opening can drive and score from anywhere. He has some passing skills. Meanwhile Garza is more of a guy you can sorta run an offense through. He has more passing skills and is probably the 2nd best screener on the roster. His per 36 numbers on offense which some already posted are pretty insane. He probably isn't putting up THAT kind of numbers if he played that much but it also seems like the guy is skilled enough to put up some pretty good numbers like Naz if he got legit rotation minutes.

One thing I'll say about Garza on D is that I think he is kinda smart on that end. He does make some good rotations and get where he is supposed to be and at times does a good job of walking up. Of course he has the highest foul rate of any player. It feels like some of that is because he is the big dude that doesn't get any respect. He also fouls sometimes because he simply gets beat physically. I think he also gets fouls because when he is in there he isn't holding back which is fine with me.

I know there are probably reasons for it but I wish they would get rid of the limit of 2-way guys not being able to play in the playoffs.

Naz out six weeks...Dane Moore reports the conference finals start in six weeks. I think we can all agree it will be nice to have him back for a tough finals matchup against Phoenix.