Minnesota Sports Forum

CoolBreeze44 wrote:
I suppose if they really are that close you would have to consider need. But we need everything, We don't have a backup point guard. We play D league level players at the wings during games. We obviously need a power forward. And who can count on Pek to stay healthy. Tell me what we don't need.

I agree with Cam. I'm more worried about the starting 5. The top 8 is definitely important, but we kinda need a solid 5 that works well together first.

SG is a lock. I'm ready to bank on Wiggins and I think most people would as well. I'm not worried about PG either. It was a freak injury with Rubio both times and I don't expect another one. We can pick up a vet backup if need be, but I wouldn't hate a Mudiay pick if there was a drop off after him.

PF has to be far and away the #1 need for this team. Ideally we'd roll with a Pek/Dieng/Towns 3 man rotation for most of the minutes at C/PF. Problem is we don't know if Towns will be there.

There are still a lot of games left to see how everyone meshes together especially now that Rubio is coming back. It'll be interesting to see how Dieng & Brown do the rest of the way. There are a lot of factors that will shape team need.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

Camden wrote:Fill the starting lineup up with best talent possible, then work on the bench. My opinion.

When you draft as high as we will be, you never know what you're going to get. If he's good enough, he will play no matter what. I think it's ridiculous for an 8-39 team to pick for need. It sounds silly just writing it.

Yes it would be dumb to pick solely for need, but the way the team is shaping up need has to factor in. I've always felt it better in most cases to consider both when drafting.

Okafor, midair, towns, Russell, Johnson. If that's the top five we will probably pick 6. Is Porzingis a consideration?

Carlos Danger wrote:

Camden wrote:Utah's not trading Favors for a pick outside the top-five.

None of us know where we'll pick yet. But, what I'm seeing is that I'm not the only one who would be open to trading our pick for the right deal. One thing about the NBA....players seem to move around a lot. I'm sure there will be guys available. And I think there is a decent chance Flip makes a deal for the pick. Let's not forget our last two shots at picking in the top 5 we pulled Derrick Williams and Wes Johnson. Ugh.

With the money tied up in rubio, potentially dieng And shabazz in 2 years, and what we'll have to pay wiggins and lavine, there is no way I'm trading for a guy who will demand or already costs 10-15 mil. We won't contend in the next two years so I'd rather plan to be able to let these current guys grow together and have the $ to keep the ones that pan out. That is achievable through the draft not by trading for expensive talent. I keep drafting and fully trust flip to make the right picks.

TheFuture wrote:With the money tied up in rubio, potentially dieng And shabazz in 2 years, and what we'll have to pay wiggins and lavine, there is no way I'm trading for a guy who will demand or already costs 10-15 mil. We won't contend in the next two years so I'd rather plan to be able to let these current guys grow together and have the $ to keep the ones that pan out. That is achievable through the draft not by trading for expensive talent. I keep drafting and fully trust flip to make the right picks.

They can always make the money work. Teams constantly churn roster spots for that purpose. I'm not worried about long term planning around Bazz and LaVine. I'm worried about long term planning around Wiggins and Rubio. Add a third good piece to those two and you have something.

Even if Flip makes the right picks, there's just only so many young guys that you can keep on a roster for it to make any sense. Look at GR3 this year - he's barely played on the worst team in the NBA even with all the injuries. And if we didn't have injuries, I doubt LaVine would have logged many minutes. Last year Bazz and Dieng (both good picks) didn't contribute much (Dieng more the second half of the year). You can't keep filling roster spots with guys who are not going to contribute. We just don't have enough established talent to do that. Furthermore, few coaches/GM's have the luxury of losing for 3 years while hoping talent develops. You normally get just a couple years to turn things around or at least show significant progress. We have one shitty season in the bag. Can he hold on for two more like that? Doubt it. It's for those reasons, that I think Flip at least considers dealing our pick should the right deal be available.

He had arguably his three best players out for half the season. I think we will be competing for the 8th spot in the playoffs next year. If I'm picking in the top 5 in this draft I'm adding one of Towns, Johnson, Okafor, Russell, or mudiay. If I'm picking 6th maybe I trade for a player, but more likely I'd look to trade down.

I don't really see a Holiday level player out there worth a top 5 pick. We'd be looking at Monroe (Detroit won't need to trade him to us because we won't be able to fit him under the cap most likely). I don't see Bledsoe moving anymore. I don't see GS breaking the splash bros up and Draymond Green isn't worth a too 5 pick in my opinion. Kanter isn't worth a top 5 pick. Faried is probably another one, but I don't think he's worth a top 5 pick either. Who are the teams that are going to be tanking next year that have all-star level guys to give up? It seems like most teams are trying to win and the ones who aren't don't have a guy worth a high pick. We might be able to get an Embiid or Noel if Philly gets Okafor, but that requires them to win the lottery and we most likely have to land Mudiay or Russell to make that happen. I just think it is going to be difficult to find a decent deal on top of rookie deals still being a lot of the best values in the league versus paying an established player. That's why it took Holiday, an Eastern Conference All-Star on a good deal to land the 6th pick in the draft.

I expect the Wolves to finish strong this season. But given where we're at in the standings and who's ahead of us, I don't see the Wolves finishing any better than 5th worst. Ultimately, I expect the Wolves to pass the Knicks, Sixers and Lakers. They might pass Orlando as well. But that's as it.

Picking in the top 5 will position the Wolves to draft a very good prospect. I'm sure that Flip will entertain trade offers, but I think he'll demand a high price to give up the pick. So far it looks like Okafor will go first, followed by Mudiya. I think the 3rd guy picked will be Russell followed by Towns and Johnson.

And that'd be fine with me. I'm as high on Stanley and Karl as anyone. Give me one of them and I'm a happy Wolves fan. Let's establish an identity and keep growing.