Time to clear the way for Jaylen Nowell

[Lipoli390]

Monster - We'll have to agree to disagree on Okogie. Actually, I don't he'll be out of the League in a few years even thought I think that's possible. But unless he develops a reliable perimeter shot, he'll remain on the fringe of any roster like he was here because he offers nothing else on the offensive side of the ball. He's a tenacious, disruptive defender and that will probably keep him in the League. But he's a relative poor ball-handler with what appears to be a fairly low basketball IQ.

[Monster]

Monster - We'll have to agree to disagree on Okogie. Actually, I don't he'll be out of the League in a few years even thought I think that's possible. But unless he develops a reliable perimeter shot, he'll remain on the fringe of any roster like he was here because he offers nothing else on the offensive side of the ball. He's a tenacious, disruptive defender and that will probably keep him in the League. But he's a relative poor ball-handler with what appears to be a fairly low basketball IQ.

Why do you say he has a low basketball IQ? do you mean that because he didn't develop his skills? That I can see but I don't think it's how he plays on the floor. He just can't shoot. His percentages on 3's from the corners the last 2 years are horrific. The questions about him being a poor finisher around the basket from college have played out too. He does still have that ability to draw fouls though. It's almost an impressive rate considering how little he probably even possess the ball.

He plays differently but Jake Layman Is at least an average basketball IQ guy. If he could shoot 3's like even 34% he would be in relatively in demand as a cheap bench player. He will likely get some training camp invites but that's it. Meanwhile Okogie's youth, energy, athletic ability and worthwhile defense will get him probably at least one more season of a guaranteed contract. Prince basically took over his role on the team and obviously he is a better all around player. It's time for a new Josh era to begin.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Ahh, I misunderstood the Okogie contract situation. Ok, yeah, he's not worth 6 million a year, and if it's a team choice to put that on the table, as much as it hurts, you can't do that.

I love the defensive intensity that guy brings. Seriously, he might be one of my top 5 favorite Wolves of all time because of that. But there are two main reasons, both on offense, he can't be more than a vet min. guy.

As somebody mentioned, he clearly doesn't have the ball skills of guys like Payton and Brown. When he puts the ball on the deck, it's almost always a straight line to the basket at one speed and it's likely to end in a heavily challenged shot rather than a nice pass to an open shooter. It looks similar to Shabazz, but it's not out of selfishness like Bazz. He just never really developed the ability to adjust his speed while dribbling and keep his head up to make passes. Even if a guy can't really stretch the floor, if he's bringing great D and can at least manage the offense on the break or make a couple plays off the dribble in the half court too, then you can put him out there when you need the D.

And of course the shooting. That's the killer. If he'd have been able to hit outside shots at more like 33%, which is still below average but enough to demand attention, it would've kept defenses a bit more honest. He wouldn't even have needed to be able to dribble and pass if he could just knock down outside shots and space the floor a bit. Theoretically, that should have been easier to develop than the ball handling and passing, but it just hasn't happened, which is a shame. He's the quintessential Wolf for whom all signs pointed to him being a potentially decent deep threat, but who just never put it together. We all know so many of our guys have been cursed with that.

With either some ballhandling/playmaking skills or shooting, we could justify playing him whenever we need a ball stopper or a guy to deny a hot shooter from receiving the ball in the first place when we needed stops. That's still a limited purpose, but it's the sort of need teams will have at key moments in the playoffs. He really is a very good defender, and his hustle is infectious. Until PatBev and Vando got here, he was the one guy working to set that tone for us. His motor alone clearly energized his teammates on the floor.

One nice thing about this draft is that all 3 guys we picked up seem to be defensive guys (and Moore should also bring some of those offensive skills Okogie lacked). So while you hesitate to rely too much on rookies, their presence makes letting go of a guy like Okogie easier.

As somebody already mentioned, Prince already basically replaced Okogie last year because he can do those things--ballhandling/playmaking and shooting--that Okogie couldn't, even though he isn't nearly the defender Okogie is, and he was mostly average at those offensive skills. Hopefully Moore can be a better defender than Prince (who I think is passable on that end), but also bring those offensive tools. Those guys are more like Swiss Army knives. Okogie is a specialty tool. He's great at doing what he does and you love to have him, but if you can only have a few tools overall, you need them to be able to do more than one thing.

And of course there's Minott. I'm wary of his offense beyond dunking on the break and finishing off lobs or dunking off of cuts to the basket. But holy cow, I like the prospect of his defense! Check out the defensive section of this Minott video below (rebounding looks good too--that's part of the Vando similarity). They're highlights, so take it for what it's worth. But again, his per-minute steals and blocks were good and he looks like he could be a really high-level defender. So while losing Okogie may mean we're losing one great defender whose offense we hoped would come around, it looks like we might have another (longer) one of those guys on the way with the opportunity once again that his offense actually could arrive. Put on some muscle and work on that outside shot kid!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUSZCgw1uBw

[Q-is-here]

Dane Moore
@DaneMooreNBA
·
2h
Chris Finch: "We can talk about this draft class, we can talk about free agency, but the one thing we know for sure is that the internal development of Ant and Jaden and Jaylen, those three guys in particular, will be the single biggest driver of how far we can go next year."

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Dane Moore
@DaneMooreNBA
·
2h
Chris Finch: "We can talk about this draft class, we can talk about free agency, but the one thing we know for sure is that the internal development of Ant and Jaden and Jaylen, those three guys in particular, will be the single biggest driver of how far we can go next year."

Chris Finch is the truth. I definitely like seeing Jaylen Nowell apart of that conversation.

[Monster]

Dane Moore
@DaneMooreNBA
·
2h
Chris Finch: "We can talk about this draft class, we can talk about free agency, but the one thing we know for sure is that the internal development of Ant and Jaden and Jaylen, those three guys in particular, will be the single biggest driver of how far we can go next year."

Chris Finch is the truth. I definitely like seeing Jaylen Nowell apart of that conversation.

That's a pretty strong statement. Finch has really talked up some of the younger guys with smaller roles like McLaughlin and Vanderbilt and so far he has been right on them. When he says that about Nowell you wonder how he is gonna be getting minutes...

[Lipoli390]

Dane Moore
@DaneMooreNBA
·
2h
Chris Finch: "We can talk about this draft class, we can talk about free agency, but the one thing we know for sure is that the internal development of Ant and Jaden and Jaylen, those three guys in particular, will be the single biggest driver of how far we can go next year."

Chris Finch is the truth. I definitely like seeing Jaylen Nowell apart of that conversation.

That's a pretty strong statement. Finch has really talked up some of the younger guys with smaller roles like McLaughlin and Vanderbilt and so far he has been right on them. When he says that about Nowell you wonder how he is gonna be getting minutes...

Yes, that's a really strong statement. I was about to post it before noticing that Q beat me to it. I think the writing is on the wall with it comes to Beasley. I'd say there's at least a 75% chance Beasley gets dealt this summer. I don't think they can clear to way for Nowell's development without flipping Beasley for a player at another position.

[Q-is-here]

I also think Jaylen is important because if they move on from DLO eventually and don't get an equivalent creator, then you sure as hell better have a 3rd guy on the roster that can get his own shot and create for others. I'm not suggesting that Nowell would become our starting PG, but rather his importance as a 6th man creator would only grow and contrasts with a guy like Beasley, who needs a lot of help to get his shots.

[Monster]

Dane Moore
@DaneMooreNBA
·
2h
Chris Finch: "We can talk about this draft class, we can talk about free agency, but the one thing we know for sure is that the internal development of Ant and Jaden and Jaylen, those three guys in particular, will be the single biggest driver of how far we can go next year."

Chris Finch is the truth. I definitely like seeing Jaylen Nowell apart of that conversation.

That's a pretty strong statement. Finch has really talked up some of the younger guys with smaller roles like McLaughlin and Vanderbilt and so far he has been right on them. When he says that about Nowell you wonder how he is gonna be getting minutes...

Yes, that's a really strong statement. I was about to post it before noticing that Q beat me to it. I think the writing is on the wall with it comes to Beasley. I'd say there's at least a 75% chance Beasley gets dealt this summer. I don't think they can clear to way for Nowell's development without flipping Beasley for a player at another position.

Yeah with this info I have to think Beasley is the guy on the trading block the Wolves have been looking for a landing spot for him with some of the supposed rumors. For example Capela and Murray are guys with similar salary to Beasley. I'm not suggesting those were possible deals but the salaries match.

One option for the a wolves is if a team with Cap space just trades for Beasley and takes nothing back and sends us a small asset like a draft pick. Maybe it would be like two 2nd rounders at most. I highly doubt someone is gonna give up a 1st. The Wolves then would have a trade exception and take back someone from a team in trade without worrying about the other team taking back salary which could be a good way to get a worthwhile player. They could just sit on that trade exception for a while too and maybe even keep a roster spot open or sign a vet to a partially guaranteed deal until they make a move for a player. Maybe they use that trade exception to absorb a salary and get paid an asset to do so. That seems unlikely but you never know. Maybe a team like Detroit would be interested in Beasley in this type of scenario.

Edit: It's handy Connelly has already traded Beasley once. The last time he got basically a First round pick. I'm not expecting that kind of return but I could see a team that wants a young productive player that can give them something now instead of later might give up something decent of value for him.

[Lipoli390]

Monster - I really like your idea of swapping Beasley for a pick and trade exception. I think he could garner a lottery-protected first. I just don't see how the Wolves can clear the way for Nowell's development with Beasley still on the team. I'm a Beasley fan and I hate to lose his three-point shooting. But given what Finch has been saying, I have to believe that Beasley will be on the move this summer.

As I've posted elsewhere, I'd rather not swap him for another big because I think we can get a quality big in the free agent market. Getting a pick and trade exception would be a good return for Beasley. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Wolves ended up trading Beasley and Naz for Myles Turner or even Clint Capela. I'm just not sure what else the Wolves would have to give up to get either one - obviously they'd have to give up more for Capela.