Minnesota Sports Forum

SameOldNudityDrew wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 2:50 pm Why does Conley get minutes?

Dane has reported that Finch has been frustrated by Bones and Clark not knowing where to be on the floor.

I get how you might rather give minutes a guy who does, even if he's a diminished player.

But that's a band aid at best, and the band aid is getting soggy.

If we want to be a threat in the playoffs, Bones and Clark (and now Ayo) need to learn what Finch wants them to do, and then they need to actually do it.

Conley shouldn't be used as a substitute for that, he should be used to help teach those guys what to do.

When he comes back, somebody needs to sell EVERYBODY on this idea. The best thing for Mike is to jumpstart his coaching career by giving him this task, and the best thing for Ayo, Bones, Clark, and maybe TSJ is to learn everything they can from Mike. This would obviously be the best thing for winning as well.

Essentially, we need to get Mike's brain into their bodies before the playoffs.

Monster wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:48 pm Ayo is gonna play more minutes than any bench guard has consistently up to this point. That's not going to leave a whole lot more left for anyone else. The question might be more who plays minutes at SF. Finch does usually stick with a hierarchy but he also has a new player in Phillips who he can throw in if guys aren't doing what they are supposed to do and he is more of a SF sized guy. He actually has played quite a few more minutes and played in more games than Clark so it's not out of the realm of possibility he could get some minutes. He is more experienced than Dillingham too and as I've said before 10x more experienced than Miller. The Wolves have up a couple guys they weren't playing and replaced them with 1 guy that's gonna play a lot and another guy that's actually played some NBA games so he might be ready to help. The wolves got better and more experienced in this trade even if Phillips is total garbage but he might be useful. Depending on who they are playing I'd guess Ayo can probably play some SF minutes or Edwards or whatever. I don't know the league as well as I used to but usually teams have one guy you don't need a big SF to guard on the wing.

Monster wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:48 pm Ayo is gonna play more minutes than any bench guard has consistently up to this point. That's not going to leave a whole lot more left for anyone else. The question might be more who plays minutes at SF. Finch does usually stick with a hierarchy but he also has a new player in Phillips who he can throw in if guys aren't doing what they are supposed to do and he is more of a SF sized guy. He actually has played quite a few more minutes and played in more games than Clark so it's not out of the realm of possibility he could get some minutes. He is more experienced than Dillingham too and as I've said before 10x more experienced than Miller. The Wolves have up a couple guys they weren't playing and replaced them with 1 guy that's gonna play a lot and another guy that's actually played some NBA games so he might be ready to help. The wolves got better and more experienced in this trade even if Phillips is total garbage but he might be useful. Depending on who they are playing I'd guess Ayo can probably play some SF minutes or Edwards or whatever. I don't know the league as well as I used to but usually teams have one guy you don't need a big SF to guard on the wing.

60WinTim wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 6:15 pm Here are the apron numbers that factor into bringing Mike back:

The Wolves are about 1.5 mil below the 1st apron. The pro-rated vet minimum as of today is over 800k. Assuming the Wolves want to add another buyout guy, they'll want to hold off signing Mike until they know they have sufficient room under the 1st apron to sign both players. That day will occur over the all-star break, so I expect Mike to be brought back just before the first game of the all-star break. If the right buyout guy shows up, they'll snarf him as soon as they can.

Unless they plan to convert Rocco!

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 5:56 pm

Monster wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:48 pm Ayo is gonna play more minutes than any bench guard has consistently up to this point. That's not going to leave a whole lot more left for anyone else. The question might be more who plays minutes at SF. Finch does usually stick with a hierarchy but he also has a new player in Phillips who he can throw in if guys aren't doing what they are supposed to do and he is more of a SF sized guy. He actually has played quite a few more minutes and played in more games than Clark so it's not out of the realm of possibility he could get some minutes. He is more experienced than Dillingham too and as I've said before 10x more experienced than Miller. The Wolves have up a couple guys they weren't playing and replaced them with 1 guy that's gonna play a lot and another guy that's actually played some NBA games so he might be ready to help. The wolves got better and more experienced in this trade even if Phillips is total garbage but he might be useful. Depending on who they are playing I'd guess Ayo can probably play some SF minutes or Edwards or whatever. I don't know the league as well as I used to but usually teams have one guy you don't need a big SF to guard on the wing.

Yes, Clark has usually been coming in for Jaden, so size off the bench doesn't matter as much as the starting lineup.

Ayo will likely absorb two of the following three players' minutes: Conley, Bones, and Clark. The question is which two out of the three and does that change from night to night depending on situations and matchups?

But no way can Finch split the baby with Ayo and the other guards and throw him out there for only 10-12 minutes per game. He needs at least 20-25 MPG, if not more.

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 07, 2026 7:16 pm

Q-is-here wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 5:56 pm

Monster wrote: ↑Fri Feb 06, 2026 4:48 pm Ayo is gonna play more minutes than any bench guard has consistently up to this point. That's not going to leave a whole lot more left for anyone else. The question might be more who plays minutes at SF. Finch does usually stick with a hierarchy but he also has a new player in Phillips who he can throw in if guys aren't doing what they are supposed to do and he is more of a SF sized guy. He actually has played quite a few more minutes and played in more games than Clark so it's not out of the realm of possibility he could get some minutes. He is more experienced than Dillingham too and as I've said before 10x more experienced than Miller. The Wolves have up a couple guys they weren't playing and replaced them with 1 guy that's gonna play a lot and another guy that's actually played some NBA games so he might be ready to help. The wolves got better and more experienced in this trade even if Phillips is total garbage but he might be useful. Depending on who they are playing I'd guess Ayo can probably play some SF minutes or Edwards or whatever. I don't know the league as well as I used to but usually teams have one guy you don't need a big SF to guard on the wing.

Yes, Clark has usually been coming in for Jaden, so size off the bench doesn't matter as much as the starting lineup.

Ayo will likely absorb two of the following three players' minutes: Conley, Bones, and Clark. The question is which two out of the three and does that change from night to night depending on situations and matchups?

But no way can Finch split the baby with Ayo and the other guards and throw him out there for only 10-12 minutes per game. He needs at least 20-25 MPG, if not more.

In his press conference the other day, Finch was asked whether Ayo would slot into the rotation. Finch’s answer was “yes, I don’t want to be fired.”