Monster wrote: ↑Wed Jun 18, 2025 11:21 pm
TheFuture wrote: ↑Wed Jun 18, 2025 4:24 pm
kekgeek wrote: ↑Wed Jun 18, 2025 10:51 am
Am I crazy to say Leonard Miller? I don’t think Finch trusts him at all but with that said he did average 25 and 11 in the G league this year and if they do trade Rudy it’s a make it or break it year for Miller.
Do I think Miller is good? No. Do I think he will play? Probably not. But I’m intrigued because he has all the tools to be an nba player just might not have it in the head.
I like the idea of Miller too because of the tools, but I can't be the only one who sees some Shabazz tendencies when he gets the ball - like you said "in the head".
I get what you are saying. I think the issue is Miller is a guy with a lot of skills but idk if he knows what he is or isn't or what he is good at for sure or isn't good at. This leads him to be kinda all over the place. He used to be a PG and grew into a guy with the size of a big. He has a less than conventional 3 point shot but he can make them. He is pretty athletic but isn't isn't super duper strong. Vanderbilt didn't figure it out till he had actually played in some NBA games. Miller has at least been mostly healthy and able to play in more G-league games. Idk how he will get minutes at this point unless something fairly drastic happens. Garza struggled to get minutes last season and he deserved them based on what he has done overall on the Wolves and in Iowa.
I think the question for Miller is if they decide to play him at some point can they tell him to do a couple things and he do them and not screw up too much. They kinda did that with Minott and it went ok-ish for a while but then not so much. To be fair to Minott it was the first time he was playing any kind of regular minutes that mattered. He probbaly has a better game to just go out and do shit than Miller but Miller has more talent. Will it amount to anything? Idk but to find out he needs to play at some point. That could be tough depending on who all is on the roster.
When I watch TSJ I actually think of Shabazz but TSJ is better and he can actually defend. I know Bazz was and is a flawed guy but I still kinda wonder what happened why he just dropped off the way he did. He is likely making some decent money Ballin in China or whatever so yeah. TSJ is a guy that forces the issue and this team has needed another guy like that for a while. I think the last guy to be like that and have success as a guard that wasn't top player was probaly Derrick Rose.
Ah Shabazz! Haven’t heard that name in long time.
Actually, it was Baz (as we used to call him) who connected me with Flip Saunders. My email to the Wolves front office criticized the Wolves draft decisions that year - specifically drafting Baz and selling the 27th pick for cash rather than using it to draft Rudy Gobert. I sent the email late on a Friday afternoon and it apparently found its way to Flip who promptly called me Monday morning. The voice on the other end of the phone introduced himself as Flip Saunders and at first I thought I was being pranked. But I quickly realized it was really him. He said he read what he called my “memo” and thought I made some good points but that he wanted to discuss and push back a bit. So he invited me to lunch at the Loon Cafe. We met for lunch that Wednesday, a week before that year’s draft. We spent two hours talking about the previous draft, including Baz, the upcoming draft, the Wolves overall and basketball generally. Flip regaled me with all sorts of behind-the-curtain moments he’d experienced. It was an incredible experience for me. We stayed in contact from that point forward, texting, emailing and occasionally talking. He was a great person and I miss him.
Regarding Baz, who had just had a very underwhelming rookie season, Flip told me he was still convinced Baz would become a really good scorer and a starter. My thought on Baz at the time, which I relayed to Flip, was that I didn’t see any upside. He didn’t have impressive length and lacked ball skills. He had a nice mid-range shot, but didn’t appear to have much range. He seemed slow and mechanical for his position. He definitely wasn’t explosive and he had a pretty bad handle. Watching him was incredibly underwhelming, I said he looked like a guy who had topped out in college. And it looked like the effort with Baz wasn’t always there. Flip didn’t agree but we didn’t dwell on it.
That’s the long way of saying I don’t see any similarity between Baz and TSJ. Unlike Baz, TSJ is a dynamic, quick, explosive, supremely competitive wing with terrific ball skills and a high revving motor. Watching the two side by side is night and day. I sort of get the comparison of Baz and Miller in relation to the sometimes missing effort or energy, but unlike Baz, Miller has great length for his position and a natural knack for rebounding.
I still like Miller, and I still like Minott too, even though I’d be fine including them in a trade package for the right return.