Minnesota Sports Forum

Like the picks on a stand alone basis. I like the fact both are built like grown men instead of skinny dudes that get easily pushed around. And Okogie is still pretty damn young!

Where I have an issue is roster construction. The offseason is far from done, but our need for shooting is indeed desperate, as Cool mentions above. We are a chronically poor 3-point shooting team and this dates back many seasons. Thibs has known this, yet very little has been done to address it. If his plan is to keep Wiggins and Butler as his starting wings, then our MLE absolutely has to be targeted toward a 3-point sniper. And even if we land one, we'll still be in the bottom third of the league in 3-point shooting most likely.

Camden wrote:I for one at least feel better about our long-term potential. This, much like the 2014 draft with Zach LaVine, was a selection that screams home run swing instead of a solid ground-rule double. Okogie's not expected to be a star, but the tools are there for him to become one should he be able to capitalize on his God-given abilities. His physical profile alone is hard to come by.

Like his physical profile and he shows potential to be a good shooter. May be Trevor Ariza floor and Jimmy Butler ceiling?

As for Diop, he seems very slow. I have a hard time seeing him playing the 3. He will compete with Jefferson for minutes as a bench 4.

Do either of these guys even get on the floor? If we re-sign Rose, and add a 3pt threat, Teague, Tyus, Wig and Butler. Where are the minutes coming from? That is already more than Thibs plays.

I must admit it would be nice to see somebody step up and maybe relegate Wig to the bench more. Might be the only way left to try and light a fire under him.

Nice to see Thomas fall out of the first round after not working out for the wolves. Wonder if he fired his agent yet!

Q12543 wrote:Like the picks on a stand alone basis. I like the fact both are built like grown men instead of skinny dudes that get easily pushed around. And Okogie is still pretty damn young!

Where I have an issue is roster construction. The offseason is far from done, but our need for shooting is indeed desperate, as Cool mentions above. We are a chronically poor 3-point shooting team and this dates back many seasons. Thibs has known this, yet very little has been done to address it. If his plan is to keep Wiggins and Butler as his starting wings, then our MLE absolutely has to be targeted toward a 3-point sniper. And even if we land one, we'll still be in the bottom third of the league in 3-point shooting most likely.

FWIW both Okogie and KBD took more 3's last year in college per game than any player in the Wolves. Crawford was the only player that took more 3's per 36 mins than the 5+ that KBD took last year Ohio state. It's not like these draft picks aren't 3 point shooters. Maybe they aren't bigtime guys but both profile as defenders also. Even if KBD can only guard perimeter bigs that could help cut down on the ones anothe team gets up. We still need more shooting but I think these picks COULD move things in the right direction.

sjm34 wrote:Do either of these guys even get on the floor? If we re-sign Rose, and add a 3pt threat, Teague, Tyus, Wig and Butler. Where are the minutes coming from? That is already more than Thibs plays.

I must admit it would be nice to see somebody step up and maybe relegate Wig to the bench more. Might be the only way left to try and light a fire under him.

Nice to see Thomas fall out of the first round after not working out for the wolves. Wonder if he fired his agent yet!

The minutes come in the 20 games Jimmy misses.

Camden wrote:I for one at least feel better about our long-term potential. This, much like the 2014 draft with Zach LaVine, was a selection that screams home run swing instead of a solid ground-rule double. Okogie's not expected to be a star, but the tools are there for him to become one should he be able to capitalize on his God-given abilities. His physical profile alone is hard to come by.

I pretty much agree with your characterization, Cam. It was a home run swing in the sense that Okogie has the physical attributes, and appears to have the drive and work ethic, to become an allstar caliber player in my view. It will depend primarily on the development of his skill set, particularly as a shooter and ballhandler. The development of his skill set will depend largely on whether his drive and work ethic as are good as they are purported to be. But it will also depend on coaching and playing time. I'm pleased with what Thibodeau the PBO did last night, but I'm concerned about Thibodeau the head coach who is so loath to use his bench and so rigid in his rotations. When you consider the fact that Thibodeau appears intent on resigning Derrick Rose, it's hard to see how a Thibodeau-coached team will give Okogie the playing time and freedoms he needs to develop that skill set.

Another thing I like about what Thibodeau the PBO did last night was that, even though he took a home run swing, it didn't overswing. By that I mean he took a swing good enough to hit the ball over the fence but also likely to make contact and that means we're likely to end up with at least a long single and maybe a double or triple with our two picks combined. Again, the question is whether one or both of our picks will have enough opportunity to develop.

monsterpile wrote:

Q12543 wrote:Like the picks on a stand alone basis. I like the fact both are built like grown men instead of skinny dudes that get easily pushed around. And Okogie is still pretty damn young!

Where I have an issue is roster construction. The offseason is far from done, but our need for shooting is indeed desperate, as Cool mentions above. We are a chronically poor 3-point shooting team and this dates back many seasons. Thibs has known this, yet very little has been done to address it. If his plan is to keep Wiggins and Butler as his starting wings, then our MLE absolutely has to be targeted toward a 3-point sniper. And even if we land one, we'll still be in the bottom third of the league in 3-point shooting most likely.

FWIW both Okogie and KBD took more 3's last year in college per game than any player in the Wolves. Crawford was the only player that took more 3's per 36 mins than the 5+ that KBD took last year Ohio state. It's not like these draft picks aren't 3 point shooters. Maybe they aren't bigtime guys but both profile as defenders also. Even if KBD can only guard perimeter bigs that could help cut down on the ones anothe team gets up. We still need more shooting but I think these picks COULD move things in the right direction.

Yeah, they both took a lot of 3's even though they were the main focus of opponent's defenses...they should each get far more open looks with the Wolves when everyone is focused on our big scorers, so it's not unlikely that their 3-point %'s will actually go up.

I continue to maintain that the Wolves' lack of 3-pointers is systems-related, not player related. The last half of Thibs' first season, the Wolves finished in the top 3 in the league in 3-point percentage...unfortunately, they ranked near the bottom in attempts. So often we see opponents design their offenses to set up open corner threes, but we seem to continue to favor PnR and isolation. So often I have watched our players drain 3 after 3 pre-game and at halftime at a 80-85% clip...we just need to redesign our offensive approach to focus on threes, and these guys (including the 2 new ones) will make them.

Q12543 wrote:

Camden wrote:I for one at least feel better about our long-term potential. This, much like the 2014 draft with Zach LaVine, was a selection that screams home run swing instead of a solid ground-rule double. Okogie's not expected to be a star, but the tools are there for him to become one should he be able to capitalize on his God-given abilities. His physical profile alone is hard to come by.

Like his physical profile and he shows potential to be a good shooter. May be Trevor Ariza floor and Jimmy Butler ceiling?

As for Diop, he seems very slow. I have a hard time seeing him playing the 3. He will compete with Jefferson for minutes as a bench 4.

As you know Q, my initial reaction to the Diop pick was less than enthusiastic mainly because of his limited athleticism and ball-handling, which I thought would relegate him to the role of a slightly undersized PF without the 3-point shoot to be considered a stretch 4. But after watching every video of him I could find, I can see him becoming a very solid SF. His ballhandling isn't as bad as I initially thought and he's actually pretty quick with the ball. He seems to have a good feel for the game and gets his shot off in a variety of ways from different parts of the floor. One thing I noticed was that he's not only long for a SF, but he plays long with a high release point on his shot, not overdribbling or exposing the ball down low and some nice shot-blocking instincts. He also shows some toughness. So not only was he a good value pick at #48 as most analysts have said, but I'm thinking he might have a makings of a very good SF who can swing between the SF and PF position. His shot looks good enough that I could see him taking his 36% college 3-point average up to 38% in the pros. So I'm fairly high on this pick.

But as you mentioned, Thibodeau has to use the MLE to get the best 3-point shooter available. The question will be playing time. How will Okogie and Diop get the minutes they'll need to develop with Butler, Wiggins, Rose and presumably another veteran wing signed with the MLE?

sjm34 wrote:Do either of these guys even get on the floor? If we re-sign Rose, and add a 3pt threat, Teague, Tyus, Wig and Butler. Where are the minutes coming from? That is already more than Thibs plays.

I must admit it would be nice to see somebody step up and maybe relegate Wig to the bench more. Might be the only way left to try and light a fire under him.

Nice to see Thomas fall out of the first round after not working out for the wolves. Wonder if he fired his agent yet!

I had the same question as you about minutes. Since I'm certain Thibs will sign Rose and assuming he uses the MLE to sign a 3-point shooting wing, I think drafting Okogie and Diop might mean one of the following:

1. Thibs intends to deal one or both of these guys picks. One possibility would be trading one or both as an inducement to clear Gorgui's salary from the team's books. Another would be including one in a Wiggins deal.

2. Thibs anticipates losing Belly to free agency and sees these two picks as an insurance policy to provide wing depth in the absence of Belly. Actually, Diop fits the dual PF/SF role that Belly played.

LST - I blame our lack of 3-point attempts more on the decision making our our two young studs than the system they play in. If they would only put a higher priority on creating shots for others than merely creating their own shots, we would see more 3-point attempts. And it would get more players involved in the offense, including the bench. But I firmly believe that is something that will continue to improve as those players continue to mature.