Minnesota Sports Forum

Big O wrote:I believe the team needs a Bill Laimbeer like player to light a fire by example under our max contract cupcakes.

If Jimmy and Thibs couldn't do it, nobody but Towns and Wiggins can light that fire. They don't respond to anything external to them. Being a hard ass didn't work and then they get Ryan as a coach and they praise him and in their first real test with Ryan at the helm they let him down so being personable and open doesn't light that fire either.

khans2k5 wrote:

Big O wrote:I believe the team needs a Bill Laimbeer like player to light a fire by example under our max contract cupcakes.

If Jimmy and Thibs couldn't do it, nobody but Towns and Wiggins can light that fire. They don't respond to anything external to them. Being a hard ass didn't work and then they get Ryan as a coach and they praise him and in their first real test with Ryan at the helm they let him down so being personable and open doesn't light that fire either.

As KG said, you can't teach dog, you have it in you, or you don't. What I don't understand is how the Wolves could end up with three former top picks, none of whom appears to have any dog in them.

TheSP wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

Big O wrote:I believe the team needs a Bill Laimbeer like player to light a fire by example under our max contract cupcakes.

If Jimmy and Thibs couldn't do it, nobody but Towns and Wiggins can light that fire. They don't respond to anything external to them. Being a hard ass didn't work and then they get Ryan as a coach and they praise him and in their first real test with Ryan at the helm they let him down so being personable and open doesn't light that fire either.

As KG said, you can't teach dog, you have it in you, or you don't. What I don't understand is how the Wolves could end up with three former top picks, none of whom appears to have any dog in them.

Saying Towns doesn't have ANY dog in him seems unfair to me although I get the frustration.

Wiggins has a dog...but Tyus has the best dog his name is Duke Stones Jones and he loves the cold and no doesn't need a coat he already has one.

My point wasn't to go at them like Thibs or Butler but rather to lead by example.

We need Steven Adams and the PG version of him.

It's easy to pick on the two max contract guys, and they deserve to be criticized. But that loss the other night was a total team disaster. Nobody should be singled out as the culprit(s)

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's easy to pick on the two max contract guys, and they deserve to be criticized. But that loss the other night was a total team disaster. Nobody should be singled out as the culprit(s)

With all due respect, and I do respect your opinion, bullshit! You sign players to max contracts to lead your team to wins, the key word being lead. When your leaders roll over like KAT and Wig did last night everybody on the team knew it was all over. That's not to say the rest of the team isn't responsible for their own play, but KAT and Wig better get used to being singled out, and rightly so. There is never an excuse for a max contract player quitting.

TheSP wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's easy to pick on the two max contract guys, and they deserve to be criticized. But that loss the other night was a total team disaster. Nobody should be singled out as the culprit(s)

With all due respect, and I do respect your opinion, bullshit! You sign players to max contracts to lead your team to wins, the key word being lead. When your leaders roll over like KAT and Wig did last night everybody on the team knew it was all over. That's not to say the rest of the team isn't responsible for their own play, but KAT and Wig better get used to being singled out, and rightly so. There is never an excuse for a max contract player quitting.

I get your point, but the whole max contract thing is artificial to me. You don't get paid what you're worth, you get paid what someone is willing to pay you. If you ask me if Wig is an all star level player I would say no, not really close at this point. But if you ask me whether he was in the right place at the right time I would say yes. It doesn't mean he is a "max" performer. Further, this team has some veterans on it that were no shows too. Wig is never going to be a leader for this team. But Teague, Rose, and Gibson could be expected to provide some needed leadership. It's too convenient to look at KAT and Wig and place 100% responsibility for the abomination we saw Tuesday.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's easy to pick on the two max contract guys, and they deserve to be criticized. But that loss the other night was a total team disaster. Nobody should be singled out as the culprit(s)

Hi Cool, I do agree with you that the other night's lost was a team disaster, and it completely underscores how badly this team needs RoCo to get healthy, but your comment made me think of the old story about (veteran) Sam Mitchell talking to the young KG after a loss in the lockerroom...

"I tell a story about -- we were in the locker room when KG was in like his third year in the league, and (veteran) Sam Mitchell was sitting in the locker room," Saunders said. "KG was in there, and we had lost a couple games, and we were all sitting there talking.

"KG started going, 'Hey, you've got to start doing more.' And he's talking to some of the bench guys. 'You've got to start doing more.' And Sam said, 'Hey, hold it, hold it. Let me tell you something. You're making all the money. Hey, it's your responsibility. You make the money, you've got to live up to that.' So, that was the mentality, and from that time, KG never ever from that point, he always took responsibility."

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

TheSP wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:It's easy to pick on the two max contract guys, and they deserve to be criticized. But that loss the other night was a total team disaster. Nobody should be singled out as the culprit(s)

With all due respect, and I do respect your opinion, bullshit! You sign players to max contracts to lead your team to wins, the key word being lead. When your leaders roll over like KAT and Wig did last night everybody on the team knew it was all over. That's not to say the rest of the team isn't responsible for their own play, but KAT and Wig better get used to being singled out, and rightly so. There is never an excuse for a max contract player quitting.

I get your point, but the whole max contract thing is artificial to me. You don't get paid what you're worth, you get paid what someone is willing to pay you. If you ask me if Wig is an all star level player I would say no, not really close at this point. But if you ask me whether he was in the right place at the right time I would say yes. It doesn't mean he is a "max" performer. Further, this team has some veterans on it that were no shows too. Wig is never going to be a leader for this team. But Teague, Rose, and Gibson could be expected to provide some needed leadership. It's too convenient to look at KAT and Wig and place 100% responsibility for the abomination we saw Tuesday.

You're right, Wig isn't a max player, but that isn't because he doesn't have the physical attributes, or isn't good enough. It's because he can't be bothered to give full effort nightly. We've seen what happens on those rare occasions when he decides to assert himself, the talent is there, the motivation isn't. I can live with a guy who is overpaid, but works his ass off every night to earn that paycheck and help his team win. What I cannot accept, or make excuses for, is someone who has the talent Wig has, and signed the contract Wig signed, but can't be bothered to give max effort for more than a few times per season. The idea that Wig actually believes he's worth that contract, is there a more delusional player in the NBA?

Unless this team gets lucky and some other sucker of a team takes that contract off the Wolves hands without expecting to be paid to do so this team is already sunk.