Minnesota Sports Forum

There's no doubt in my mind the Wolves will be getting 4+ nice pieces in this trade. Whether it's 2 players & 2 picks or 3 players & 1 pick and I still think it's possible they end up with 5 nice pieces. Some combination of Wiggins/Bennett/Waiters/Young or other PF/picks. Typically when I hear about deals it's been Love for Wiggins/Bennett/PICKS. I just don't see Flip going for those 2 guys & 1 pick.

Personally I'm still hoping for Thompson or someone else that can start where the Wolves will have contract control over vs Young since there's the potential he will just opt out & leave. Ideally:

Wiggins/Bennett/Starting PF/picks for Love/Brewer/JJ/Shved

I see Wiggins as a Harrison Barnes 2.0. I hope I am wrong.

I hope we land Wiggins, Waiters, and Bennett out of the deal. I would love to trade Shabazz for Young if we can, but honestly if we are betting on youth lets bet on Bennett too.

I just finished watching some highlights and the DX scouting report on Bennett. I am MUCH more upbeat about him being included in the trade that I was before. Not so much for this upcoming year -- we still need a starting PF -- but he can be part of our young core that can grow.

I expect Flip to get Wiggins and Bennett, and then complete a deal to get a starting PF using expiring contracts and the pick we get from Cleveland (the non-guaranteed contract might play a role as well!).

It's possible the starting PF arrives as part of a 3-team deal with Cleveland, but I doubt it. I think Flip needs to move at least two of his expiring contracts for the starting PF, so the need to use the excess Love salary-matching will not be there.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I see Wiggins as a Harrison Barnes 2.0. I hope I am wrong.

I hope we land Wiggins, Waiters, and Bennett out of the deal. I would love to trade Shabazz for Young if we can, but honestly if we are betting on youth lets bet on Bennett too.

Bleed -- I join you in hoping you're wrong about Wiggins. I have the same fear, but I'd be surprised if Wiggins doesn't turn out better than Barnes. Wiggins is longer, faster and more fluid than Barnes. But I do have my doubts about Wiggins. I agree with you that, since we're betting on youth, we should be betting on both Wiggins and Bennett.

Even though I'm high on Bennett's potential, I'd prefer either Tristan Thompson or Waiters because they are proven commodities. They have both shown they can play regularly at a high level in the NBA; yet both still have significant upside. Unfortunately, I don't see either one coming here as part of the trade. But we'll see.

Who is going to be most like Clyde Drexler, Wiggins or Lavine? I see Clyde in Wiggins.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:Who is going to be most like Clyde Drexler, Wiggins or Lavine? I see Clyde in Wiggins.

I like that reference. But I like the mechanics on Wiggins and Lavine's shot more. But Clyde was shifty and clever. I think both of these guys could be very unique talents. I am much higher on Wiggins right now, but if Lavine has the killer instinct and work ethic we are in for some fun years ahead.

Lip, Wiggins played in a slightly stronger conference than the Mountain West or whatever mid major UNLV is in, so I don't think those stat comparisons are fair.

However I do agree that Bennett can be a good starting forward. We don't need him to be an All-Star for this trade to be in our favor. Perhaps Thad Young can bridge the gap, but even if we don't get Young, there are other lineups we can use until Bennett gets comfortable.

It's odd to me that only three of us have Waiters coming here, especially since his name has appeared in rumors off and on over the past month. I didn't include him, because if the Wolves deal Love only, his salary isn't needed. But if Flip is able to unload an undesirable player or contract in the deal, Waiter may be included. I suspect that is why we don't have a deal yet...that Flip is playing hardball trying to include JJ and Waiters in the deal.

BizarroJerry wrote:Lip, Wiggins played in a slightly stronger conference than the Mountain West or whatever mid major UNLV is in, so I don't think those stat comparisons are fair.

However I do agree that Bennett can be a good starting forward. We don't need him to be an All-Star for this trade to be in our favor. Perhaps Thad Young can bridge the gap, but even if we don't get Young, there are other lineups we can use until Bennett gets comfortable.

I hear what you're saying, Lloyd, but emphasis on the word "slightly". Honestly, the old assumptions about differences between conferences don't seem to apply anymore. Therefore I think those stat comparisons are between Bennett and others carry a lot of weight. But like you, I'm not expecting Bennett to be a star. However, I am expecting him to be a solid starter and I still see all-star potential in him. He really is Barkley-like.

Honestly; I'm more worried about the mediocrity of Wiggins' stats. You usually see much better college stats (even freshman stats) from players who become NBA stars, especially at the wing positions -- e.g., Durant and Melo. Even players like Love and Jordan, while not exceptionally productive as freshman, had far better shooting percentages than Wiggins and Love's 10.6 rebounds in 29 minutes per game actually was exceptional production. I'd feel better if Wiggins had at least one standout stat like perhaps 2.5 steals per game or 9 boards. And I'd feel much better if he shot closer to 50% from the field. Given his elite athleticism, Wiggins should have had a much higher shooting percentage via points on dribble penetration, put-backs and alley oops. Jordan's perimeter shooting was suspect in college, but he shot 53.4% from the field his freshman year based on using his athleticism to blow by defenders and finish around the basket.

None of this means Wiggins can't eventually be a very good player or even a star in the NBA. It just means he has a long way to go and doesn't have the same certainty of success as players like Durant, Melo and Jordan among others.

I hate the Barkley comparison. Barkley was physical as hell and lived in the paint. Bennett's a jump shooter who thinks he's a SF. Oh man, this potential of Bennett's. I guess we'll see.