Minnesota Sports Forum

sjm34 wrote:As for trades, making us better should only be the benchmark when moving vets. Our market requires that we hit on developing young players that we can hope to hold onto for 5-10 years. There is no alternative plan for success in Minnesota.

Q mentioning a trade for other up and coming young guys works, but that is really the only thing that makes sense. If you are taking back a vet, he has to be locked up long term and be considerably better, which likely means significantly more expensive as well. That means he has to be a difference maker.

One other thing I would like to point out with Shabazz. He may not have been starting, but to say he hasn't been playing against starters isn't exactly accurate. When you are playing mid twenties in minutes, you are playing against starters for a good portion of that time, teams have been rolling their better defenders trying to stop him. He has put up good numbers against good defensive teams like SA and Houston.

Camden wrote:I know this doesn't really fit here, but since doper brought up how he liked how people around Bazz talked about his work ethic, I'm going to say it anyway.

Go to YouTube and watch videos or read articles about how people around Karl Towns talk about him. Most say he goes above and beyond, does what is asked of him and more, terrific young man and a great work ethic. Listen to him talk and he has that "Kobe/LeBron thing" in that he's intelligent when he speaks and commands your attention. We can argue about physical play and all that between draft prospects, but I like to try (even though I'm not around these prospects in person) to get a feel for their mentality; where their head is. That is equally important and I expect Towns to wow front office, coaching members at the combine and closed workouts.

I guess what I'm saying is I'd really like Towns in a Wolves uniform. We're still a ways away from the draft, and the more we talk about needing a big, the more I think Towns would be awesome here.

D'Natagal wrote:Let's look at it this way...with the following caveats: we have our current roster FULLY healthy and ready for action on this night.

Center may be more of a hole than you think if Pek can never come back healthy. Luckily the upcoming draft can help us out here.

But yeah, PF is a larger concern. The good news is that there are a ton of credible PFs in this league. We don't necessarily need a stud in that slot if we have good players in the other four areas. I'm far more concerned about a) keeping Rubio healthy and seeing if his improved shot is a mirage or the real deal; 2) continue to see improvement from Shabazz and Wiggins, and 3) Find the right answer at Center between the Dieng/Pek/Lotto pick. THEN I'll worry more about the long-term answer at PF. But if you have upper level players at the four other positions, you can get away with a lunchpail type guy at PF.