Minnesota Sports Forum

Let's hope the Wolves follow through with the idea that Jon K suggested hearing from the organization that they wanted to be a team that focuses highly on development. This team hasn't had really either focused on that aspect or had enough of players coaches executives stay around long enough to make that happen.

As for guys underwhelming as Wolves... Kevin Love was obviously talented put up some good numbers at UCLA. There were people that said he was going to be the next David Lee...before David Lee was really good for a few years. Love was fat out of shape and there was real questions about his length and Athletic abilities. As Abe has laid out well dozens of times Kevin love became the player he was probably in spite of the woeful Wolves organization for a few years. He changed his body blew up I to a star type player (based on some really terrific statistical performances) and was wanted by the most powerful and best player in the game Lebron James.

This franchise needs to make the right picks but it needs an executive AND a coach with a vision that's shared...and both of them are actually competent at their jobs. Those 2 guys don't have to be everything either. They need to surround themselves with talented smart people. If that happens we likely get more out of our draft picks even if we don't knock them out of the park.

As for Reddish...I think my question about him is whether or not he is actually talented. I think some guys that didn't achieve were along with not either motivated enough or just couldn't figure out how to be motivated they actually had some talent deficiencies. Beasley had the talent an the physical traits to be an all star at least. Injuries and the mental aspect held him back. Bazz has at one point highly regarded as a prospect but at the draft teams I think had some real concerns about his actual skill level in addition to other stuff. Ben McLemore...is sorta like a worse version of Wiggins. Damn I thought the KIng's had gotten a steal when he fell to them. Nope. I don't know what all his problem is (don't watch him play enough) but he just isn't any good and for sure it seems like he doesn't know how to play and he has played for some good coaches so even though he probably didn't go to a great situation etc you would think he had some sort of chance to figure things out. I'll be interested to watch some of these players in the tourney and get a read on them. The Wolves will have a chance to draft at least 1 good player in this draft. Whether they picky he right guy and develop him? Only time will tell.

The Wolves have had 4 coaches in 4 seasons.

Kinda tough to implement a strong development program with that much turnover.

If the Wolves go the development route... the fans and owner and KAT have to be patient to pull it off.

lipoli390 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

Camden0916 wrote:Reddish looks better on YouTube than he does in live game action.

I'm not surprised, Cam. He's shooting 36% from the field on 12 shots per game. That stat alone tells me to cross him off the Wolves draft board - even before looking at the scouting reports in his motor that look like the reports we saw on Wiggins.

I think Reddish will drop into the 20s if not lower.

I'll be shocked if he isn't a lotto pick. This is considered a terrible draft with no depth at all in it. A team is going to draft him when his NBA body, on a good team, projected good shooter, who was a high recruit who had moments this year.

*I'm not saying he will be good but I'll be shocked if he falls because of how bad the draft is projecting to be. I mean NBAdraft.net, SI, ESPN, The athletic all have him in the top 5

Simple rule of thumb with a prospect like this....If the Wolves draft him, all of his flaws and question marks from college will come into full bloom and he will be a source of profound disappointment. If anyone else drafts him, his range is anywhere from solid starting wing to superstar.

Lol. Yes Q. A rule of thumb rooted in a sad truth for Wolves fans. Seriously, I have a hard time seeing Reddish being anything better than a profound disappointment no matter where he lands. If it were just the scouting reports reporting questions about his motor and effort reminiscent of Wiggins I might not say that. But then I look at his stats, which include 35.6% FG shooting on 12 attempts. That's astoundingly bad, especially for a 6'6" wing. He has a decent 78.7% free throw percentage, but gets to the line only 3 times per game. He has only 2.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game - worse than mediocre. The only impressive stat is his 2 steals per game. I can't think of any elite player in the NBA who had comparable college stats. Wiggins had much better stats in college. And then you mix in the Reddish motor issue and you have to wonder.

If you draft him in the lottery, you're doing
it based on raw talent that you see in highlight reels and on his high school career.

I disagree with you on his range. I agree he has a superstar ceiling. I can see the talent watching him play. But his stats and the scouting reports suggest a floor lower than solid starting wing. He's a true gamble. I hope someone takes him before the Wolves are on the clock. It's the sort of gamble the Wolves organization would likely take - and lose.

Once again, I am not a big Reddish fan but he is going to go early in the draft. New ESPN Mock came out today and they have him going #4. They have the Wolves taking De'Andre Hunter who I like a lot at that spot. Think it is a weak draft after the top 3 though.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:The Wolves have had 4 coaches in 4 seasons.

Kinda tough to implement a strong development program with that much turnover.

If the Wolves go the development route... the fans and owner and KAT have to be patient to pull it off.

Yep. To belabor the point how many top basketball executives during that time also?

Every year people talk about how weak a draft class is, but time and time again there are stars found. I get it, there might not be many no-brainer stars at the top, but go back class by class and it's not always the guys at the top who turn out to be the best players. Individual player makeup, situation, and opportunity dictate what a player becomes much more often than how they're viewed on a big board.

Duke13 wrote:The only way I'd feel comfortable drafting Reddish is if and only if Glen were to sit down with him man to man and look him in the eye.

Lol. Well done, Duke! I can't add a thing. :)

monsterpile wrote:Let's hope the Wolves follow through with the idea that Jon K suggested hearing from the organization that they wanted to be a team that focuses highly on development. This team hasn't had really either focused on that aspect or had enough of players coaches executives stay around long enough to make that happen.

As for guys underwhelming as Wolves... Kevin Love was obviously talented put up some good numbers at UCLA. There were people that said he was going to be the next David Lee...before David Lee was really good for a few years. Love was fat out of shape and there was real questions about his length and Athletic abilities. As Abe has laid out well dozens of times Kevin love became the player he was probably in spite of the woeful Wolves organization for a few years. He changed his body blew up I to a star type player (based on some really terrific statistical performances) and was wanted by the most powerful and best player in the game Lebron James.

This franchise needs to make the right picks but it needs an executive AND a coach with a vision that's shared...and both of them are actually competent at their jobs. Those 2 guys don't have to be everything either. They need to surround themselves with talented smart people. If that happens we likely get more out of our draft picks even if we don't knock them out of the park.

As for Reddish...I think my question about him is whether or not he is actually talented. I think some guys that didn't achieve were along with not either motivated enough or just couldn't figure out how to be motivated they actually had some talent deficiencies. Beasley had the talent an the physical traits to be an all star at least. Injuries and the mental aspect held him back. Bazz has at one point highly regarded as a prospect but at the draft teams I think had some real concerns about his actual skill level in addition to other stuff. Ben McLemore...is sorta like a worse version of Wiggins. Damn I thought the KIng's had gotten a steal when he fell to them. Nope. I don't know what all his problem is (don't watch him play enough) but he just isn't any good and for sure it seems like he doesn't know how to play and he has played for some good coaches so even though he probably didn't go to a great situation etc you would think he had some sort of chance to figure things out. I'll be interested to watch some of these players in the tourney and get a read on them. The Wolves will have a chance to draft at least 1 good player in this draft. Whether they picky he right guy and develop him? Only time will tell.

Excellent post, Monster! As I think about McLemore I remember having doubts about him coming out of college for two reasons -- reports about his motor AND what looked like a bad handle and lack of all-around basketball skill. So you make a great point about some players, perhaps Reddish, who aren't as talented as some may think.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:The Wolves have had 4 coaches in 4 seasons.

Kinda tough to implement a strong development program with that much turnover.

If the Wolves go the development route... the fans and owner and KAT have to be patient to pull it off.

I agree. It's just unfortunate the Wolves organization didn't show patience before hiring Thibodeau and trading for Butler. But fortunately KAT is still only 23 and will be in the first year of a new five year contract next season. Okogie is 20, very talented and on the front end of the NBA's rookie deal. Meanwhile, Tyus Jones is slightly younger than KAT with good enough upside and accomplishment so far to keep as a relatively inexpensive building block. Add the 25 year old Saric and 28 year old Covington with 3 years left on a fairly team-friendly contract and there is still some time for patience with one last window of opportunity to retool.

Speaking of development, we have three current roster players the organization has to focus on - Okogie, KBD and Dario Saric. And there's only so much time the organization has to develop them. Okogie has 3 years left on his rookie deal, assuming the Wolves pick up their two team options. KBD has 2 years left assuming the Wolves pick up their one team option. Finally, Saric has only 1 year left. I suppose the Wolves can keep Okogie and Saric one additional season with a qualifying offer. But the point is that there is only so much time a team has to develop young players and the Wolves have a limited window on these three key guys. At the end of the day, players don't develop much without playing time. The need for playing time to develop and the time-limited window for developlement should compel the Wolves to play these three guys a lot of minutes the rest of the season. I've been saying that for while now and it bears repeating.

lipoli390 wrote:Speaking of development, we have three current roster players the organization has to focus on - Okogie, KBD and Dario Saric. And there's only so much time the organization has to develop them. Okogie has 3 years left on his rookie deal, assuming the Wolves pick up their two team options. KBD has 2 years left assuming the Wolves pick up their one team option. Finally, Saric has only 1 year left. I suppose the Wolves can keep Okogie and Saric one additional season with a qualifying offer. But the point is that there is only so much time a team has to develop young players and the Wolves have a limited window on these three key guys. At the end of the day, players don't develop much without playing time. The need for playing time to develop and the time-limited window for developlement should compel the Wolves to play these three guys a lot of minutes the rest of the season. I've been saying that for while now and it bears repeating.

You pretty much said everything that needed to be said right here. I would add that it's likely, in my opinion, that we have Saric for the next four or five years. I can't imagine acquiring him in the Butler trade and owning his RFA rights only to let him walk away. I also don't see him commanding an outrageous deal that the Wolves could not or would not match -- if they were unable to come to an agreement before it got to that point.

Additionally, this 2019 first-round pick is also part of the development game. In my opinion, this is one of the last couple of chances the Wolves have at snagging a future All-Star to play and grow with Towns before the losing becomes too much for him. I think you could potentially see the Wolves reach for a guy this summer that is more of a risk/reward pick than we'd normally take -- think Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr., or Coby White, for example. I also think the likelihood of the Wolves drafting a 4/5 is basically none.