The Case for Russell

[TheFuture]

I take Roy as well. He was the best of those players by the time he was 25 or so. Who's knows how good he'd get without the injuries.

[Monster]

I would have a hard time passing up Sheed without mental issues because he was a pretty good player on both ends of the floor. He had all the talent you could ask for. A healthy Roy is the best player (I remember Brad playing but not really how good he was so maybe I have this all wrong. Lol) but Sheed would be a really nice player especially with the group we have and the need for legit bigs right now. That's kind of an interesting question

[Volans19]

I would have a hard time passing up Sheed without mental issues because he was a pretty good player on both ends of the floor. He had all the talent you could ask for. A healthy Roy is the best player (I remember Brad playing but not really how good he was so maybe I have this all wrong. Lol) but Sheed would be a really nice player especially with the group we have and the need for legit bigs right now. That's kind of an interesting question

Exactly if Sheed wasn't so bonkers he had the talent to be one of the elite players in the game, so that is who I would chose.

[bleedspeed]

I look at it as Sheed was never in the league of TD/Dirk/Weber/KG during his time. I would take one of the top 3 SG in the league over top 10 PF/C.

I am surprised that Russell actually is longer then Roy. His college stats project him to be very good pro.

[Monster]

I look at it as Sheed was never in the league of TD/Dirk/Weber/KG during his time. I would take one of the top 3 SG in the league over top 10 PF/C.

I am surprised that Russell actually is longer then Roy. His college stats project him to be very good pro.

I get what you are saying but remember Sheed was a big key in that Piston's championship team. Remember the Wizards had that Wallace/Wallace frontline at one point...oops! Lol Sheed was a very good defender. Webber and Dirk were a better offensive players but Sheed was the better defender and probably by a pretty large margin. Tough to pass up a healthy Roy though man he was really good it's a shame he couldn't stay healthy he was a fun player to watch.

[bleedspeed]

I get what you are saying but remember Sheed was a big key in that Piston's championship team. Remember the Wizards had that Wallace/Wallace frontline at one point...oops! Lol Sheed was a very good defender. Webber and Dirk were a better offensive players but Sheed was the better defender and probably by a pretty large margin. Tough to pass up a healthy Roy though man he was really good it's a shame he couldn't stay healthy he was a fun player to watch.

Monster I think you said the part that is important with Sheed and I think will be the same with Towns. He will be a big key. He won't be the man that drives it he will be a supporting player. I am not sure Wiggins will be that leader or not yet. He seems like he will be damn good might not have that edge.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

If I'm Flip I would see what Rubio or LaVine would fetch in a trade. If I could get a good young big in return I would draft Russell. I see Russell being the star of this draft.

If Flip likes Porzingis as much as he does, I think landing both he and Russell may be in his best interest.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Anyone else had this issue? ...

So even though I think we definitely need a big, especially when there are 2 great prospects at the top of the draft, i keep having this feeling that we're gonna screw up by passing on Russell as he goes on to be far and away the best player in this draft.

Just wondering if anyone else feels that same way, or maybe im being a smart wolves fan setting myself up to expect imminent failure?

He shoots, he passes, he rebounds, he plays decent D, he's a leader, he's everything you want in a PG/SG really.... I really think moving martin and playing a 4 man rotation of Rubio, Russell, LaVine, and Wiggins at the #1 and #2 spots would be a great thing.

28 mins for Ricky at PG, 20 for Russell,
28 mins for LaVine at SG, 20 for Wiggins

I really like Russell, but his somewhat average size and athleticism limits his ceiling a bit. I personally think he would struggle to defend NBA 1's, which means he will primarily be a 2. He will have to get by on pure skill because he won't be a physical mismatch against most wing defenders in the NBA.

Now the reigning NBA MVP had similar concerns coming out of Davidson, so it's not unheard of for someone to become a superstar without upper level size/length/athleticism for their position.

(and I don't really buy the James Harden comparisons. Harden is built like a tank - he has something like 30 lbs. on Russell and it allows him to muscle his way into the paint and throw his arms into people to draw fouls).

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I take Roy as well. He was the best of those players by the time he was 25 or so. Who's knows how good he'd get without the injuries.

Here again though Roy was 2 inches taller and 15 lbs heavier coming out of college. He also sported a 40 inch vertical.

I love Russell, but the lack of elite size/athleticism puts a little doubt in my mind. I think he could still be a great player, but we are talking about the #1 pick here.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

If I'm Flip I would see what Rubio or LaVine would fetch in a trade. If I could get a good young big in return I would draft Russell. I see Russell being the star of this draft.

If Flip likes Porzingis as much as he does, I think landing both he and Russell may be in his best interest.

This seems to happen every draft and it makes no sense to me - fans way overvalue upcoming draft picks over known quantities. Why is it that players that haven't played a lick of NBA ball are suddenly worth more than one guy who has proven himself to be an upper half NBA starting PG (Rubio) and another guy who clearly isn't done developing yet (LaVine)?

Keep it simple. Let's take Towns at #1, bring in one other rookie with #31, stash the other 2nd rounder or trade it for a future 2nd rounder, and then make some minor moves around the fringes of the roster to clean things up.