Team leadership

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm not seeing the locker room unhappiness or friction that some of you are. I see a camaraderie level that rivals any team in the league. You can see it in the way they interact on the bench, and how they go out of their way to praise their teammates in post game interviews. Ant was pissed yesterday, but he seems generally joyful to me most of the time. Rudy seems to enjoy his teammates. And reporters close to the team say Ju is as happy as he's ever been.

But that might be the problem...we're too content. Two conference finals in a row, everyone on a contract they like, a player-friendly coaching staff, and a 51-win pace this season may have led to contentment...and contentment can lead to performances like we saw yesterday. That's why I think they need some sort of shake up even more than someone to back up Rudy or a pass-first PG. Maybe replacing Finchy with a no-nonsense fiery coach could be the answer. But I would prefer bringing in a fiery in-your-face vet. Ju is Ju, and I agree that he is not likely to change his style of play because someone gets in his grill. But Ant seems to have both a thick skin and a lot of respect for guys who have been there and are willing to tell it like it is...I thought he played a lot harder on defense when Pat Bev was here than he does now for example. And the two guys not afraid to call out a teammate that Rap suggested as being easier to obtain might also provide a little on-court assistance too...SloMo for 10-12 non-Rudy minutes or Chris Paul if he could provide anything close to what he brought starting every game for the Spurs last season. A pass-first PG with a terrific assist to TO ratio like he had last season and who also doesn't need to take many shots away from his teammates seems like just what this team needs...and pairing Donte up with Naz off the bench would do wonders for our bench production. A quick google search of "CP to the Wolves" provides several articles in early December saying the Wolves were interested and that it would make sense. One article even said the talks were "in the advanced stages" (although the credibility of the author might be questionable, as she said CP's pick and roll ability would be terrific for Karl Anthony Towns!). TJ Shannon for CP works I think.

Anyway, 21-13 is fine I guess, but I still think this talented roster is capable of much more. I don't see ALore or TC as being long on patience, and I'm not going to be surprised if they either change coaches or bring in a kick-ass vet.

I think there might be something to your contentment angle.

The Wolves are coming off two WCF trips... one that come after a mostly meandering, uneven and underwhelming first 60 games of the regular season. At some point, content teams start coasting, especially when what's happening right now isn't the primary goal. Especially when nobody is playing for tens of millions of dollars. Especially when they know that the desperately thin bench isn't pushing anyone else for more minutes.

I would question someone like Chris Paul showing up as the guy to give a charge to the team. The Lil General's act would wear quickly if he can no longer back it up on the court... and he can't do it anymore... not even Spurs Chris Paul. He'd be Mike Conley, only without the trust and goodwill and personal impact from years of experience with him in the organization. Heck, even if he could still ball, I'm not sure how some new guy is going to give this team a lift like that. I think it's more likely to come from an all-out energy guy who makes it impossible to ignore. The rub is that the Wolves don't have that guy on the roster.

- Clark is closest... but it's only on one end of the court... the less flashy side.
- Dillingham... no.
- Shannon... no.

Nobody else on the bench fits the mold either.

The other angle to all of this... the Wolves have a young (quite probably immature) leader in Anthony Edwards. EVERYONE knows that Edwards runs this organization, but he's also still the youngest guy in the rotation. As Johnny K wrote today... the Wolves are also a quieter, more introspective bunch... other than Edwards and Clark, another young guy.

Might just be a tough needle to thread chemistry wise?

[FNG]

Miami is actually an ideal trade partner for offloading Julius. He would excel in that environment in a weak Eastern Conference.

Call me crazy but I wouldn’t be opposed to a Randle for Wiggins swap.

Wiggins has actually found his role in the NBA the last few season and is putting up solid numbers in Miami. Averaging over 1 steal and block per game while shooting 49/41/72 splits.

Wiggins and Jaden as perimeter defenders would give us great length and switch ability.

Interesting, kiwi, and I agree our perimeter defense would be better. But what happens to our distributing and rebounding? Ju ranks 1st and 2nd on the Wolves in those important categories, while Wig ranks 5th in both. I think Miami would do that deal because they don't really have a PF, but I wouldn't.

Ware and Adebayo are a real good frontcourt.

You would think so, WW, but they've been terrible this season playing together...Offensive rating of only 108.5 and a terrible defensive rating of 121.2 adds up to the worst net rating on the Heat for pairs playing more than 200 minutes together. I like them both, but they just don't work well together I think because they're really both centers...offense is clunky because neither is much of a 3-point threat (although Ware is getting better), and defense struggles because neither is very good on the perimeter. Both of them are much better when they're playing next to Jovic, but I don't think Spoelstra considers him to be a starting PF.

[FNG]

I'm not seeing the locker room unhappiness or friction that some of you are. I see a camaraderie level that rivals any team in the league. You can see it in the way they interact on the bench, and how they go out of their way to praise their teammates in post game interviews. Ant was pissed yesterday, but he seems generally joyful to me most of the time. Rudy seems to enjoy his teammates. And reporters close to the team say Ju is as happy as he's ever been.

But that might be the problem...we're too content. Two conference finals in a row, everyone on a contract they like, a player-friendly coaching staff, and a 51-win pace this season may have led to contentment...and contentment can lead to performances like we saw yesterday. That's why I think they need some sort of shake up even more than someone to back up Rudy or a pass-first PG. Maybe replacing Finchy with a no-nonsense fiery coach could be the answer. But I would prefer bringing in a fiery in-your-face vet. Ju is Ju, and I agree that he is not likely to change his style of play because someone gets in his grill. But Ant seems to have both a thick skin and a lot of respect for guys who have been there and are willing to tell it like it is...I thought he played a lot harder on defense when Pat Bev was here than he does now for example. And the two guys not afraid to call out a teammate that Rap suggested as being easier to obtain might also provide a little on-court assistance too...SloMo for 10-12 non-Rudy minutes or Chris Paul if he could provide anything close to what he brought starting every game for the Spurs last season. A pass-first PG with a terrific assist to TO ratio like he had last season and who also doesn't need to take many shots away from his teammates seems like just what this team needs...and pairing Donte up with Naz off the bench would do wonders for our bench production. A quick google search of "CP to the Wolves" provides several articles in early December saying the Wolves were interested and that it would make sense. One article even said the talks were "in the advanced stages" (although the credibility of the author might be questionable, as she said CP's pick and roll ability would be terrific for Karl Anthony Towns!). TJ Shannon for CP works I think.

Anyway, 21-13 is fine I guess, but I still think this talented roster is capable of much more. I don't see ALore or TC as being long on patience, and I'm not going to be surprised if they either change coaches or bring in a kick-ass vet.

I think there might be something to your contentment angle.

The Wolves are coming off two WCF trips... one that come after a mostly meandering, uneven and underwhelming first 60 games of the regular season. At some point, content teams start coasting, especially when what's happening right now isn't the primary goal. Especially when nobody is playing for tens of millions of dollars. Especially when they know that the desperately thin bench isn't pushing anyone else for more minutes.

I would question someone like Chris Paul showing up as the guy to give a charge to the team. The Lil General's act would wear quickly if he can no longer back it up on the court... and he can't do it anymore... not even Spurs Chris Paul. He'd be Mike Conley, only without the trust and goodwill and personal impact from years of experience with him in the organization. Heck, even if he could still ball, I'm not sure how some new guy is going to give this team a lift like that. I think it's more likely to come from an all-out energy guy who makes it impossible to ignore. The rub is that the Wolves don't have that guy on the roster.

- Clark is closest... but it's only on one end of the court... the less flashy side.
- Dillingham... no.
- Shannon... no.

Nobody else on the bench fits the mold either.

The other angle to all of this... the Wolves have a young (quite probably immature) leader in Anthony Edwards. EVERYONE knows that Edwards runs this organization, but he's also still the youngest guy in the rotation. As Johnny K wrote today... the Wolves are also a quieter, more introspective bunch... other than Edwards and Clark, another young guy.

Might just be a tough needle to thread chemistry wise?

Yeah, you're probably right about Paul...I think I'll back off that idea unless anybody else backs me up.

I hadn't read Jon K's latest until just now, but what he writes about is something I've been thinking about for a couple weeks. This is a talented roster, but it's a roster full of introverts. We have three starters (Jaden, Rudy and Ju) who barely over talk, and Donte is almost as quiet. I don't agree with Jon K that Mike is talkative (and he's falling out of the rotation anyway) and Naz is pretty silent also. Clark and Hyland appear to be gregarious guys, but they're not important enough players to have an impact on the locker room. So that leaves Ant. He has a big personality, but his leadership style is to praise...he loves to give credit to a teammate who had a good game (I love that about Ant), but he's not the kind of guy to get in the face of a teammate who's not bringing it. And frankly, while he's an elite scorer, his often lazy defense doesn't make him a lead by example kind of guy. And to make it worse I would describe our coaching staff as more cerebral than emotional. Contentment is still the main culprit in producing crappy games like yesterday I think, but the lack of emotional leadership is also a factor.

Hence the need for a get-in-your-face vet with credibility. Or replace Finchy with a guy like Malone...or even Jenkins or Thibs. There aren't many available candidates for option 1, so maybe a coaching change is the way to go.

[Coolbreeze44]

The best kind of leader isn't a rah, rah guy. In fact you can be very quiet and still be a great leader. I would say the two best leaders in Minnesota sports history are Bud Grant and Tom Kelly. And Grant had Jim Marshall, and Kelly Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek. The coaches were quiet leaders and the players made sure everybody respected them. Tom Kelly had very few rules, but they were the most important ones. Be professional in your approach to the game, prepare yourself to play, and play the game the right way. His players bought in to that simple philosophy, and if you didn't, you weren't going to be a Twin for very long.

I believe Finch is a really good coach. But he doesn't have a Marshall, Puckett, or Hrbek going for him. He has the uber talented Edwards who is a dumbass both on and off the court. He has Randle who doesn't lead by example on one end of the floor. He has experience and a presence in Rudy, but he's too inconsistent. He has Jaden who plays the right way but is too quiet and more of a follower. A younger Mike Conley would have been the natural leader, but it's hard to lead from the bench. History is going to show this team supposedly led by Ant, failed at bringing a professional approach to the game and being prepared to play every night. You develop your habits in the regular season. You just can't bear down in the playoffs and expect it to be different. We need to find that young Mike Conley who can bring leadership and be the bridge from the players to the coaches.

[60WinTim]

Ja, LaMelo, Trae, Garland. Anyone else TC might consider to be a "big knocker" that could potentially be had? I didn't list some of the older players, like Harden or Holiday -- I don't think TC would go the "old guy route"...

[WildWolf2813]

Interesting, kiwi, and I agree our perimeter defense would be better. But what happens to our distributing and rebounding? Ju ranks 1st and 2nd on the Wolves in those important categories, while Wig ranks 5th in both. I think Miami would do that deal because they don't really have a PF, but I wouldn't.

Ware and Adebayo are a real good frontcourt.

You would think so, WW, but they've been terrible this season playing together...Offensive rating of only 108.5 and a terrible defensive rating of 121.2 adds up to the worst net rating on the Heat for pairs playing more than 200 minutes together. I like them both, but they just don't work well together I think because they're really both centers...offense is clunky because neither is much of a 3-point threat (although Ware is getting better), and defense struggles because neither is very good on the perimeter. Both of them are much better when they're playing next to Jovic, but I don't think Spoelstra considers him to be a starting PF.

So knowing that, you think the solution to their problems, especially defensively, is Randle?

[60WinTim]

SloMo WENT OFF for the Jazz last night. Are they trying to show case him for a trade?!? I hope not. I would rather see him bought out...

[FNG]

Ware and Adebayo are a real good frontcourt.

You would think so, WW, but they've been terrible this season playing together...Offensive rating of only 108.5 and a terrible defensive rating of 121.2 adds up to the worst net rating on the Heat for pairs playing more than 200 minutes together. I like them both, but they just don't work well together I think because they're really both centers...offense is clunky because neither is much of a 3-point threat (although Ware is getting better), and defense struggles because neither is very good on the perimeter. Both of them are much better when they're playing next to Jovic, but I don't think Spoelstra considers him to be a starting PF.

So knowing that, you think the solution to their problems, especially defensively, is Randle?

Ha, good point WW! And both were pretty effective together in their last game. I hope they're not against us Sunday.