Minnesota Sports Forum

Anyone know our odds for each pick?
1 - x%
2.- y%
3 - z%
4 - f%

Brandon BassHole wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:So you're saying the Wolves 2nd most important player may actually be the team's biggest problem in its rebuild?

Oh oh.

It absolutely still could be the case. He's making 14 million a year starting next year so if he misses a bunch of games I don't see how that isn't a big problem moving forward. Ricky is not a sure thing at this point so why are you so surprised it could be a problem moving forward? Or is Pek the only guy who can have a bad contract because he is always injured? People seem to be fine with drafting his replacement even after the good news from his surgery.

I'm not surprised. I'm acknowledging that if the Wolves are curbing the minutes of a 25 year old right after he becomes the team's most expensive player because they're fearful of his health... the Wolves have some serious issues trying to rebuild.

Does wanting to play under Larry Brown at SMU indicate that he wants to be great? I think wanting to play for him and then decommiting because of his situations is a good sign as well. Ive never seen him in an interview tho, We will learn more about him as we get closer to the draft... Anyways crossing my fingers for the top 2 picks

No idea. And I don't think it becomes clear right away with a lot of guys.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

KiwiMatt wrote:Would be just our luck in a three man draft!

I chose Winslow ahead of Muiday because I think he's a better fit. We can't afford to have two PG's who can't shoot. A Wiggins / Winslow wing pairing gives us a couple of nice, young, two ways players to work with. Add Bazz and LeVine and we are looking good at the wing positions going forward.

Even I would be optimistic about that collection of wings...

Wiggins
Winslow
LaVine
Muhammad

The thing I like about it is that it's a fairly diverse group.

So you're fine stacking the wings and splitting up minutes there (only 24 MPG's average available per player on the wing), but God forbid we have 2 PG's needing minutes because Ricky just has to play all of them or why have him at his price point. That makes sense.

1. I don't think Muhammad is in the same tier as Wiggins. Or Winslow. And probably not even LaVine. I don't see Muhammad as a difference maker. He's fine as a scorer off the bench.

2. I'm still not totally sold on LaVine. But I do think his ultimate potential could be as a combo guard off the bench. If that's the case, I see plenty of minutes available for Winslow, Wiggins and LaVine. There's more leeway when you have 3 or even 4 guys to spread among 2 or even 3 positions. And it gives the Wolves 3 guys with some serious high-end potential. All three working out perfectly is unlikely... but if two do... good deal.

3. None of those guys JUST signed a $55M contract as the team's most expensive player. I don't see the value in jumping "all in" and then immediately getting out dripping wet to dip a toe in.

4. Can a guy like Mudiay play off the ball? What happens to his development if Rubio is healthy? Will the minutes be there? Otherwise, I've come around to LaVine getting Rubio's 12 or so bench minutes as a complete change of pace guy and encourage his future as a combo guy off the bench... and it would be a HUGE dichotomy from what Rubio provides which could energize a team in spurts.

We literally can't go into next season with the backup plan to a Rubio injury being playing Lavine significant minutes again out of position. That's the kind of strategy that has already sunk 2 seasons of ours in the past 4 years. I don't care how much he makes. There needs to be a better backup plan in case of injury than playing a guy out of position. Someone said this team was built on a house of cards this year where we weren't prepared for injuries. Rubio is the card that consistently causes the whole house to fall down when he is out. We need a better backup plan for a Rubio injury pure and simple. Mudiay is 1 option. He's not the only option, but I would rather have a young guy with elite potential take over for an injured Ricky than another vet like Mo Williams.

I said Mudiay. I think he is the BPA at that point.

Winslow for me. Artest without the baggage.

khans2k5 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

KiwiMatt wrote:Would be just our luck in a three man draft!

I chose Winslow ahead of Muiday because I think he's a better fit. We can't afford to have two PG's who can't shoot. A Wiggins / Winslow wing pairing gives us a couple of nice, young, two ways players to work with. Add Bazz and LeVine and we are looking good at the wing positions going forward.

Even I would be optimistic about that collection of wings...

Wiggins
Winslow
LaVine
Muhammad

The thing I like about it is that it's a fairly diverse group.

So you're fine stacking the wings and splitting up minutes there (only 24 MPG's average available per player on the wing), but God forbid we have 2 PG's needing minutes because Ricky just has to play all of them or why have him at his price point. That makes sense.

1. I don't think Muhammad is in the same tier as Wiggins. Or Winslow. And probably not even LaVine. I don't see Muhammad as a difference maker. He's fine as a scorer off the bench.

2. I'm still not totally sold on LaVine. But I do think his ultimate potential could be as a combo guard off the bench. If that's the case, I see plenty of minutes available for Winslow, Wiggins and LaVine. There's more leeway when you have 3 or even 4 guys to spread among 2 or even 3 positions. And it gives the Wolves 3 guys with some serious high-end potential. All three working out perfectly is unlikely... but if two do... good deal.

3. None of those guys JUST signed a $55M contract as the team's most expensive player. I don't see the value in jumping "all in" and then immediately getting out dripping wet to dip a toe in.

4. Can a guy like Mudiay play off the ball? What happens to his development if Rubio is healthy? Will the minutes be there? Otherwise, I've come around to LaVine getting Rubio's 12 or so bench minutes as a complete change of pace guy and encourage his future as a combo guy off the bench... and it would be a HUGE dichotomy from what Rubio provides which could energize a team in spurts.

We literally can't go into next season with the backup plan to a Rubio injury being playing Lavine significant minutes again out of position. That's the kind of strategy that has already sunk 2 seasons of ours in the past 4 years. I don't care how much he makes. There needs to be a better backup plan in case of injury than playing a guy out of position. Someone said this team was built on a house of cards this year where we weren't prepared for injuries. Rubio is the card that consistently causes the whole house to fall down when he is out. We need a better backup plan for a Rubio injury pure and simple. Mudiay is 1 option. He's not the only option, but I would rather have a young guy with elite potential take over for an injured Ricky than another vet like Mo Williams.

Ok. We have philosophical differences on this. And that's fine. But here's me trying to explain mine...

1. If Rubio is healthy... spending a super high draft pick on his backup is poor value and the team won't reach its ultimate promise. There are other positions of need where the team hasn't just devoted $55M and where the team is below average.

2. If Rubio is injured... as with any injury to any key player, it will affect the team. That doesn't mean you REBUILD the franchise by planning for injuries to your best players. That's an extremely cautious and even negative approach. So... great, the Wolves have two better than average PGs. But, there are still holes elsewhere that derail the team. If the team has soured that quickly on Rubio... they MUST trade him.

3. For the most part, people here so optimistic about the development of LaVine and Wiggins and Muhammad and others... but suddenly we should take the cautious low-end approach with Rubio?

4. I think a guy like Mo Williams is a fine backup for a PG who is about to start a $55M contract. I think playing LaVine there a bit as a backup is fine too for a team that will still lose 50 or more games. If Rubio is injured... see point #2.

5. The Wolves are the worst team in the NBA for a reason (it goes beyond the injuries). This is no time for settling. Drafting a backup just in case of a "worst-case" scenario with Rubio is a disservice in my opinion.

Abe - I don't think it is about drafting a backup. I go BPA. If it happens to be Winslow that is fine, but I think Mudiay is projected to be better at this time. I am fine going with him. Lucky we have tons of depth at the wing with Wiggins, Shabazz, Martin, Wiggins, LaVine, and Chase. The 2nd rounder should be a need pick or Euro stash.

I really hope the Wolves are able to get Towns or Okafor. I get taking Mudiay based on the BPA principle but I just do not see him and Ricky being able to coexist all that well. They cant just split minutes as they are both heavily invested in. They would have to play together some. I guess they could survive defensively on the floor together but offensively? They both need the ball to be their best and neither are knock down shooters. I think I would rather have Muhammad, Winslow, anx Wiggins play smal ball 4 from time to time. Hopefully this thread will be for naught.

bleedspeed177 wrote:Abe - I don't think it is about drafting a backup. I go BPA. If it happens to be Winslow that is fine, but I think Mudiay is projected to be better at this time. I am fine going with him. Lucky we have tons of depth at the wing with Wiggins, Shabazz, Martin, Wiggins, LaVine, and Chase. The 2nd rounder should be a need pick or Euro stash.

I'm OK if Mudiay is drafted as the BPA. The team is still piss-poor enough where the BPA philosophy has merit and I won't rip anybody for wanting to go that route.

I'm not OK with drafting Mudiay on "need" or more accurately, Rubio's "needed" backup. Maybe that's where the wires are crossed?

Kevin Glasshands wrote:Winslow and Wiggins would have potential to be one of the best wing combos on the defensive end. Wiggins would need to put some weight on to hold his own with some of the bigger SFs first though.

Wiggins would be the SG in your scenario. He's much better suited, at least right now, to guard SGs. It also makes the opposing SG deal with all of his length.

Another thought is that the two of them would be interchangeable, and with Wiggins being the better scorer of the two, the Wolves would put Winslow on the tougher assignment regardless of position to allow Wiggins to spend more energy on offense.