Minnesota Sports Forum

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:

Q12543 wrote:It will be interesting to see how the dynamic between Ant and KAT evolves over time. If Edwards truly keeps making strides toward his ceiling, it won't be long before he's the best player on the team (KAT is still clearly the best player as of TODAY). Ant already has the biggest personality on the team. How will KAT react? He's been the guy that has been dragged through the muck and mud and stuck with the franchise during a fairly disastrous time period for the Wolves. Will he be resentful in any way if Edwards becomes the real face of the franchise?

I don't know that Karl-Anthony Towns has that kind of ego where he'd be upset over whose team it was. He doesn't strike me as a guy that care about that. I also think he's smart enough to realize that it takes multiple great players to contend in this league. As long as Towns gets his money, his touches, and some portion of the credit for getting the Wolves out of the basement, then I think there would be no issues. Plus, those two have excellent camaraderie despite the age difference. It really is a good pairing as long as the two make an impact in the wins column, which remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic.

I hope you are right and I am not making a prediction - I just don't know. Humans are funny things. If KAT is good to go with a strong partner, that would be great. I think he's perfectly fine as being Batman to Ant's Robin. But what happens when the capes get exchanged and he's wearing green tights? I'm not so sure....

I have absolutely no concern about KAT in relation to Edwards. First, KAT strikes me as someone who wants respect but doesn't need a lot of attention or adulation. Second, Edwards has a big personality, but it's a likable personality. He's not the sort whose personality rubs people the wrong way or belittles them. Third, KAT and Edwards have complementary personalities. Edwards is the funny, off-the-cuff guy, while KAT is the more serious introspective intellectual guy. In other words, as personalities, they don't compete on each other's turf. Finally, as the article makes clear and as Finch noted, Edwards has a very high "emotional intelligence." Therefore, he'll be sensitive to how his personality and presence are impacting KAT as well as others on the team and he'll act accordingly.

Ultimately, the key to keeping the team together an happy will be winning. But that's true regardless of the team's various personalities or potential personal rivalries. Of all the things to worry about, concern about KAT becoming jealous of Ant doesn't even make it on the radar and isn't even worth a footnote in my view.

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:

Q12543 wrote:It will be interesting to see how the dynamic between Ant and KAT evolves over time. If Edwards truly keeps making strides toward his ceiling, it won't be long before he's the best player on the team (KAT is still clearly the best player as of TODAY). Ant already has the biggest personality on the team. How will KAT react? He's been the guy that has been dragged through the muck and mud and stuck with the franchise during a fairly disastrous time period for the Wolves. Will he be resentful in any way if Edwards becomes the real face of the franchise?

I don't know that Karl-Anthony Towns has that kind of ego where he'd be upset over whose team it was. He doesn't strike me as a guy that care about that. I also think he's smart enough to realize that it takes multiple great players to contend in this league. As long as Towns gets his money, his touches, and some portion of the credit for getting the Wolves out of the basement, then I think there would be no issues. Plus, those two have excellent camaraderie despite the age difference. It really is a good pairing as long as the two make an impact in the wins column, which remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic.

I hope you are right and I am not making a prediction - I just don't know. Humans are funny things. If KAT is good to go with a strong partner, that would be great. I think he's perfectly fine as being Batman to Ant's Robin. But what happens when the capes get exchanged and he's wearing green tights? I'm not so sure....

What I know is that Towns for some reason has stayed loyal to this shitty franchise. He has gone through a bunch of ineptness and tragedy. To some extent this may have prepared him to be paired with a guy with a huge personality and possibly the best player on the roster. Like I have said before Towns seems to take things too seriously but Edwards has some sort of oh shucks goofiness to him. Both guys give a shit but Edwards certainly isn't a martyr and his live story is much tougher than Towns. Could this all go wrong? Sure. Meanwhile there are high level players that are trying to trade their way onto teams with other good players. Simmons is trying to get off a good team to anywhere else. Is Towns coach and other best player going to question his ability to be a championship player publicly? Towns has an ego but it doesn't seem like one that's threatened but someone like Edwards.

Also it will be interesting what happens with Russell. He seems to be kinda smart and has an ego but also doesn't seem to be a guy that is going to be that upset if Edwards ascends to one of the top players in the league. Will he be here beyond his current contract? I agree there could be some things that go wrong but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. If Edwards is the joyful guy he seems to be and ascends to being a top 5 player and someone can't deal with that fine trade them and move on. Ok it's not quite that simple but I'll live with that outcome.

You bring up a good point, monster, and there are questions that come from it. What happens with D'Angelo Russell? If the best-case scenario plays out, Russell will be the third-best player on the roster. Is that something he can handle mentally? Would that be a role that he could excel at? Would he be willing to take on even more of a facilitator role in order to allow the top two options on the team to carry the scoring load? And what is a player like that worth monetarily? With free agency only a couple seasons away and a possible extension even closer than that, what would be considered fair market value for him if he has the kind of season we know he can have?

I know what my answers are to those questions, but it's up to Minnesota's front office to determine their own conclusions and go from there. They have some things to consider, no doubt about it.

Camden wrote:You bring up a good point, monster, and there are questions that come from it. What happens with D'Angelo Russell? If the best-case scenario plays out, Russell will be the third-best player on the roster. Is that something he can handle mentally? Would that be a role that he could excel at? Would he be willing to take on even more of a facilitator role in order to allow the top two options on the team to carry the scoring load? And what is a player like that worth monetarily? With free agency only a couple seasons away and a possible extension even closer than that, what would be considered fair market value for him if he has the kind of season we know he can have?

I know what my answers are to those questions, but it's up to Minnesota's front office to determine their own conclusions and go from there. They have some things to consider, no doubt about it.

Its interesting to think about. Another possible consideration is if other players on the roster make Russell less of a fit. What if Balmaro turns into a starting level player? What if he becomes a better version of Satoransky and is sort of the versatile guy that might be perfect with a bunch of scores and guys that need the ball? What is Beasley does develop some decent ball handling ability? What is Nowell turns into a nice player? These are alot of ifs but There are some guys with some talent that could make things interesting when it comes to Russell. Nowell is a guy I see the talent base there to be a really nice player. Q is right he has to actually make shots and do things but that dude has ball creation skills and he isn't a liability on defense it feels like the Wolves MIGHT be one of those good franchises that actually develops and selects some good talent.

Meanwhile if Edwards ascends to a top 5 player that dude is going to be so marketable Lore and ARod may be willing to pay whatever it cost to put together a winner because even financially it would pay off. 3 max contract guys? Ok cool. Also will there be a new CBA by then? Will someone on the Wolves (even if its not a max guy) take less money to keep things together?

Camden0916 wrote:You bring up a good point, monster, and there are questions that come from it. What happens with D'Angelo Russell? If the best-case scenario plays out, Russell will be the third-best player on the roster. Is that something he can handle mentally? Would that be a role that he could excel at? Would he be willing to take on even more of a facilitator role in order to allow the top two options on the team to carry the scoring load? And what is a player like that worth monetarily? With free agency only a couple seasons away and a possible extension even closer than that, what would be considered fair market value for him if he has the kind of season we know he can have?

I know what my answers are to those questions, but it's up to Minnesota's front office to determine their own conclusions and go from there. They have some things to consider, no doubt about it.

I think we underestimate how much a head coach needs to be able to handle these personalities as well. Is finch the right guy to keep everyone on the same page. X and Os I know he is for sure.

Jackson had to keep Kobe and Shaq on the same page and Jordan and Pippen.
Riley has done it multiple times as well and same with Erik Spoelstra.
Pop with his big three but couldn't manage Kawhi personality and look where the spurs are now because of it right in middle where no one wants to be.
Doc Rivers literally got two good seasons out of his Big Three and then couldnt convince Ray Allen to stay because he was third fiddle.
It will be interesting to see how Vogel handles Westbrook this year.

My point is you have to right coach in position as well to handle multiple talents as well.

I think the good news is that Finch just might have that right combination of gravitas and blandness to be a nearly perfect compliment to this roster, which is quite the bundle of talent and unique personalities.

Q12543 wrote:I think the good news is that Finch just might have that right combination of gravitas and blandness to be a nearly perfect compliment to this roster, which is quite the bundle of talent and unique personalities.

Finch could ultimately be the best thing that Rosas did for this franchise. I have yet to hear anyone say anything negative about the guy. I suppose we will see what its like when we hit our inevitable bumps in the road, but so far it has been really good.

Ant's monthly shooting splits, starting with his rookie year. I exclude the first "stub" month because it's 5 games or less.

'20-21
FG%/3PT%/TS%
January - 35.8%/32.9%/46%
February - 37.2%/29.4%/46.5%
March - 42.3%/30.1%/51.9%
April - 43.7%/34.4%/55.4%
May - 52.8%/40.6%/65.4%

'21-22
FG%/3PT%/TS%
November - 44.1%/35.3%/54.4%
December - 45%/40.6%/59%
January - 47.6%/40.1%/61.1%

....and this is just his scoring efficiency. His defense might be the bigger story here. There is obviously a limit to what's possible, but as Abe has said, it's hard to overstate just how dramatic the improvement has been.

Q-was-here wrote:Ant's monthly shooting splits, starting with his rookie year. I exclude the first "stub" month because it's 5 games or less.

'20-21
FG%/3PT%/TS%
January - 35.8%/32.9%/46%
February - 37.2%/29.4%/46.5%
March - 42.3%/30.1%/51.9%
April - 43.7%/34.4%/55.4%
May - 52.8%/40.6%/65.4%

'21-22
FG%/3PT%/TS%
November - 44.1%/35.3%/54.4%
December - 45%/40.6%/59%
January - 47.6%/40.1%/61.1%

....and this is just his scoring efficiency. His defense might be the bigger story here. There is obviously a limit to what's possible, but as Abe has said, it's hard to overstate just how dramatic the improvement has been.

Yeah, the physical tools and ability were apparent when Anthony Edwards was at Georgia, but he had shown nothing that would indicate he would put it all together against even better competition in the NBA. His improvement has been nothing short of extraordinary, in my opinion, and I think it stems from his unmatched confidence and a competitiveness that wasn't as obvious as his natural talent. He's answered nearly every question or concern I had about him pre-draft and we're only halfway into his second year.

His perimeter shot and its near-elite efficiency is what I find to be the most surprising. He shot 29.4-percent on 7.7 attempts in 32 collegiate games, which is objectively bad. He followed that up by shooting 30.2-percent on 6.3 attempts in his first 36 NBA games, which is still bad but showing some improvement. He finished his rookie season shooting 34.9-percent on 8.2 attempts in the final 36 games. There's a slow-but-steady uptrend there heading towards average, which is what most of us thought he needed to aspire to be from deep to maximize his game as a slasher.

Well, Ant had other plans because in 41 games this season he's shot 37.6-percent on 8.8 attempts per game -- 3.3 3P made per game. He's increased his efficiency significantly while somehow still getting up more shots from behind the arc. There are only three players in the entire league making more threes per game than him right now: Stephen Curry (4.8 3P, 37.3-percent), Fred VanVleet (3.9 3P, 39.3-percent), and Buddy Hield (3.4 3P, 37.6-percent).

What's even more wild is that through Edwards' development to this point, I don't think his shot selection has improved nearly as much as his shot-making has. He's still taking a lot of difficult shots from my view. He's just making a lot more of them. Raise your hand if you thought Edwards would become an elite volume three-point shooter as a 20-year old, if ever? I certainly didn't. I also have to imagine that at some point Edwards will figure out how to draw more fouls at the rim, which will increase his free throw rate AND his two-point percentage resulting in even greater scoring efficiency. His ceiling is basically whatever he wants it to be at this point.

Yeah, the 3-ball development might be the most un-Wolves thing to ever happen. I don't even think his mechanics are all that great, but he's such a natural athlete that when he puts his mind to something, he just gets good at it.

I think the foul-drawing will come. To me, the next frontier for him is play making. As he becomes an increasingly skilled scorer, he is going to need to be a bit better at taking the blinders off. I know he gets on these epic rolls as a scorer, but that doesn't mean you don't still throw a pass to KAT or Beasley if they have an open layup or 3. That's still the higher percentage play. KAT especially can't be reduced to just a sidekick to Ant.