Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:

kekgeek1 wrote:Kelan Martin was released by the Pacers today. He had a similar non-guaranteed contract as Nowell did (wolves guaranteed his).

Wolves have a 10 day hardship waiver because of Bolmaro having covid. I would not be surprised if he is back for a 10 day contract. Knowing the Iowa Wolves connection, one of Dlo best friends and he was playing 16 minutes a game on the Pacers

Maybe, but I don't think Kelan Martin is all that good so I'd like to see them go in another direction if they do sign someone on a hardship waiver. It should probably be another big considering the upcoming games on the schedule are against teams with more size in the frontcourt.

Camden wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Malik Beasley is 25.

Has he improved much in the past 5 years? He's a specialist whose value varies depending on how well he does exactly one thing on the basketball court.

Per 36, he seems to largely be the same player now as he was in Denver. I haven't seen any growth or expansion of his skills. Anybody else see something else?



[Note: From there, I guess it depends on fit whether that's worth another team wanting him and his contract.]

I won't pretend to be the biggest Malik Beasley fan because I'm far from it, but the one skill that Beasley actually has just happens to be the most sought after in the league. Since 2018, when he became a regular rotation player in the NBA, he's made 38.3-percent of his threes on 6.3 attempts per game. I probably don't need to explain how good that is in terms of volume and efficiency, but it's well above average. He's been a roller coaster of sorts this season, but if your specialty is arguably the most important element of the game today and you're that good at it, you're allowed to have holes in your game.

To your point, when Beasley's shot isn't falling, he really has no way to contribute to the team and arguably makes his team worse because the shots are still going up despite not hitting, among the other weaknesses he has. And there hasn't been much growth, if any, in his all-around game, but one could argue that as a three-point specialist his focus should be on maintaining/improving a high-level of shooting prowess. In that regard, he's been excellent outside of a handful of games this season. I wouldn't expect Joe Harris or Duncan Robinson to significantly improve their handle or three-level scoring ability so I won't expect that from Beasley either.

lipoli390 wrote:

Camden wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:Malik Beasley is 25.

Has he improved much in the past 5 years? He's a specialist whose value varies depending on how well he does exactly one thing on the basketball court.

Per 36, he seems to largely be the same player now as he was in Denver. I haven't seen any growth or expansion of his skills. Anybody else see something else?



[Note: From there, I guess it depends on fit whether that's worth another team wanting him and his contract.]

I won't pretend to be the biggest Malik Beasley fan because I'm far from it, but the one skill that Beasley actually has just happens to be the most sought after in the league. Since 2018, when he became a regular rotation player in the NBA, he's made 38.3-percent of his threes on 6.3 attempts per game. I probably don't need to explain how good that is in terms of volume and efficiency, but it's well above average. He's been a roller coaster of sorts this season, but if your specialty is arguably the most important element of the game today and you're that good at it, you're allowed to have holes in your game.

To your point, when Beasley's shot isn't falling, he really has no way to contribute to the team and arguably makes his team worse because the shots are still going up despite not hitting, among the other weaknesses he has. And there hasn't been much growth, if any, in his all-around game, but one could argue that as a three-point specialist his focus should be on maintaining/improving a high-level of shooting prowess. In that regard, he's been excellent outside of a handful of games this season. I wouldn't expect Joe Harris or Duncan Robinson to significantly improve their handle or three-level scoring ability so I won't expect that from Beasley either.

I agree with your take, Cam. But I'll add that Beasley is actually a good rebounder for his position. So that's something he brings to the table that a lot of the League's better three-point shooters don't. And as Q noted, he improved his efficiency and 2-point shooting with the Wolves before this season. Beasley has been pretty disappointing this season, but I think he'll ultimately progress to his mean as a shooter. Meanwhile, I like his hustle and rebounding. Unfortunately, he's a poor defender and not a good facilitator or ballhandler. I think the development of Nowell makes Beasley expendable if the right deal comes along

Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee:

The New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks have seats reserved for pro personnel scouts at tonight's Kings-Cavaliers game. That's more than usual. Maybe it's nothing ... or maybe business is picking up with a month to go before the trade deadline.

Camden wrote:

Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee:

The New Orleans Pelicans, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks have seats reserved for pro personnel scouts at tonight's Kings-Cavaliers game. That's more than usual. Maybe it's nothing ... or maybe business is picking up with a month to go before the trade deadline.

My hope is that the Wolves scout(s) were there with an intent to focus on Harrison Barnes. I continue to think that he would be an awesome addition to this roster.

Camden wrote:Harrison Barnes has played over two-thirds of his minutes the last two years at the four for Sacramento. His ability to provide shooting/scoring as a stretch four is part of why I think he'd be an awesome fit on this roster because the Wolves truly lack that player type right now. The two guys Minnesota currently have for that role just haven't gotten it done. Jaden McDaniels is much less effective at the four and Taurean Prince has been inconsistent at best. The idea of "five-out" basketball offensively would become a reality with Barnes.

With that said, I tend to think Barnes has played that much at the four versus the three the last couple of years because of the Kings' roster makeup being so guard-heavy that he was needed to slide down to allow for them to coexist. For instance, Buddy Hield has played the majority of his minutes at the three this season and last. That's to say that I don't think Barnes has lost his ability to play on the wing. Recently, Barnes has been playing a lot more at the three with Marvin Bagley entering Sacramento's starting lineup. Simply, Barnes is valuable because he's more than capable defending either forward position.

I think Barnes is a starter and would be Minnesota's fourth-best player if they acquired him. Chris Finch may have different ideas considering how dominant the current starting-five has been, and I totally get that. I think Barnes is a starter and would be Minnesota's fourth-best player if they acquired him. Chris Finch may have different ideas considering how dominant the current starting-five has been, and I totally get that. I think the Wolves as a whole could be even better, though. I think you start Barnes next to D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Karl-Anthony Towns, and then bring Patrick Beverley off the bench with Jaylen Nowell, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid. The lineup combinations you could forge between those nine players would be stifling.

Barnes provides length/size/shooting at the wing that Minnesota's lacking in the starting lineup. Everything we wanted from McDaniels entering the season we'd be getting from Barnes. It forces defenses to account for him, which means Anthony Edwards could potentially see smaller defenders having to guard him. It allows Minnesota to avoid mismatches on switches. More length essentially shrinks the court, and we see this when McDaniels and Vanderbilt share the floor. Beverley would likely still close games despite coming off the bench, but ultimately Finch would have more options. The Wolves could really frustrate opposing teams with some really long and rangy lineups that not many, if any, teams can match up with.

Q-was-here wrote:

Camden wrote:Harrison Barnes has played over two-thirds of his minutes the last two years at the four for Sacramento. His ability to provide shooting/scoring as a stretch four is part of why I think he'd be an awesome fit on this roster because the Wolves truly lack that player type right now. The two guys Minnesota currently have for that role just haven't gotten it done. Jaden McDaniels is much less effective at the four and Taurean Prince has been inconsistent at best. The idea of "five-out" basketball offensively would become a reality with Barnes.

With that said, I tend to think Barnes has played that much at the four versus the three the last couple of years because of the Kings' roster makeup being so guard-heavy that he was needed to slide down to allow for them to coexist. For instance, Buddy Hield has played the majority of his minutes at the three this season and last. That's to say that I don't think Barnes has lost his ability to play on the wing. Recently, Barnes has been playing a lot more at the three with Marvin Bagley entering Sacramento's starting lineup. Simply, Barnes is valuable because he's more than capable defending either forward position.

I think Barnes is a starter and would be Minnesota's fourth-best player if they acquired him. Chris Finch may have different ideas considering how dominant the current starting-five has been, and I totally get that. I think Barnes is a starter and would be Minnesota's fourth-best player if they acquired him. Chris Finch may have different ideas considering how dominant the current starting-five has been, and I totally get that. I think the Wolves as a whole could be even better, though. I think you start Barnes next to D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Karl-Anthony Towns, and then bring Patrick Beverley off the bench with Jaylen Nowell, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid. The lineup combinations you could forge between those nine players would be stifling.

Barnes provides length/size/shooting at the wing that Minnesota's lacking in the starting lineup. Everything we wanted from McDaniels entering the season we'd be getting from Barnes. It forces defenses to account for him, which means Anthony Edwards could potentially see smaller defenders having to guard him. It allows Minnesota to avoid mismatches on switches. More length essentially shrinks the court, and we see this when McDaniels and Vanderbilt share the floor. Beverley would likely still close games despite coming off the bench, but ultimately Finch would have more options. The Wolves could really frustrate opposing teams with some really long and rangy lineups that not many, if any, teams can match up with.

Regarding your point about the starting lineup, I suspect Gupta & Co. are going to be paying REALLY close attention to these next couple of weeks. We get a chance to compare ourselves to the best of the best within a very short time period and at a time when it appears our team is (mostly) healthy and clicking. That will tell us a lot about this squad's limitations and ceiling and what our sense of urgency should be re: the trade deadline.

FNG wrote:

Q-was-here wrote:

Camden wrote:Harrison Barnes has played over two-thirds of his minutes the last two years at the four for Sacramento. His ability to provide shooting/scoring as a stretch four is part of why I think he'd be an awesome fit on this roster because the Wolves truly lack that player type right now. The two guys Minnesota currently have for that role just haven't gotten it done. Jaden McDaniels is much less effective at the four and Taurean Prince has been inconsistent at best. The idea of "five-out" basketball offensively would become a reality with Barnes.

With that said, I tend to think Barnes has played that much at the four versus the three the last couple of years because of the Kings' roster makeup being so guard-heavy that he was needed to slide down to allow for them to coexist. For instance, Buddy Hield has played the majority of his minutes at the three this season and last. That's to say that I don't think Barnes has lost his ability to play on the wing. Recently, Barnes has been playing a lot more at the three with Marvin Bagley entering Sacramento's starting lineup. Simply, Barnes is valuable because he's more than capable defending either forward position.

I think Barnes is a starter and would be Minnesota's fourth-best player if they acquired him. Chris Finch may have different ideas considering how dominant the current starting-five has been, and I totally get that. I think Barnes is a starter and would be Minnesota's fourth-best player if they acquired him. Chris Finch may have different ideas considering how dominant the current starting-five has been, and I totally get that. I think the Wolves as a whole could be even better, though. I think you start Barnes next to D'Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Karl-Anthony Towns, and then bring Patrick Beverley off the bench with Jaylen Nowell, Jaden McDaniels, and Naz Reid. The lineup combinations you could forge between those nine players would be stifling.

Barnes provides length/size/shooting at the wing that Minnesota's lacking in the starting lineup. Everything we wanted from McDaniels entering the season we'd be getting from Barnes. It forces defenses to account for him, which means Anthony Edwards could potentially see smaller defenders having to guard him. It allows Minnesota to avoid mismatches on switches. More length essentially shrinks the court, and we see this when McDaniels and Vanderbilt share the floor. Beverley would likely still close games despite coming off the bench, but ultimately Finch would have more options. The Wolves could really frustrate opposing teams with some really long and rangy lineups that not many, if any, teams can match up with.

Regarding your point about the starting lineup, I suspect Gupta & Co. are going to be paying REALLY close attention to these next couple of weeks. We get a chance to compare ourselves to the best of the best within a very short time period and at a time when it appears our team is (mostly) healthy and clicking. That will tell us a lot about this squad's limitations and ceiling and what our sense of urgency should be re: the trade deadline.

I couldn't agree more, Q. This next few weeks have a chance to finally show us who these guys are, because I don't think Gupta or anyone else does yet. We looked quite good at the start of the season playing against team's missing one or more of their best starters, and then terrible when we lost 8 out of 9 and then followed up with another 5 losses in a row. And finally our offense has looked nothing short of spectacular the past four games against admittedly horrible teams. So we really don't know much yet and the next three weeks are critical. Gupta should feel lucky to have the benefit of this brutal stretch before the trade deadline. If we can be anywhere near .500 by the end of this run, I think he will choose to stand pat...betting that this core can continue to improve. But if we go on another losing bend like we did earlier in the season, I think he will do some major reshuffling in February. This is going to be interesting!

So it starts tonight in New Orleans. They are still missing their best player, and yet have managed to play .500 ball the past ten games. The Wolves are favored by anywhere from 1 to 3 1/2 points depending on where you look...I think the uncertainty of PatBev's availability accounts for the disparity. I think a solid win would be very meaningful tonight, and I'm really looking forward to watching the replay tomorrow morning.