Are we tanking?

[Coolbreeze44]

All the questionable guys out again tonight. I think this answers the question once and for all.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

All the questionable guys out again tonight. I think this answers the question once and for all.

Rosas is being overly cautious with these nicks.

Whats with laymans toe? Did it get amputated?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Wolves are dead last in attendance. The fans have checked out. The veteran players will at some point too.

[KG4Ever]

Wolves are dead last in attendance. The fans have checked out. The veteran players will at some point too.

You haven't paid attention as this is nothing new. We have been near the bottom in the league in attendance for a long time, essentially since KG was traded away.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I'm officially worried about Andrew Wiggins.

7 days... 4 games. I really hope he can recover from this obviously very serious illness. It's more than a common cold. More than the flu. Maybe it's scurvy.

Get that man some oranges. Or something.

[Wolvesfan21]

99% chance they are tanking. But it is the smart thing to do. Get the young players some experience and see how they progress. Did anyone think they would win a championship this year? So what is the point of trying to win a few more games? To sneak into the playoffs and get demolished? It's shortsighted. Working towards a contending team is smart. Otherwise they would just max out at mediocre, and that's no good either.

[Lipoli390]

99% chance they are tanking. But it is the smart thing to do. Get the young players some experience and see how they progress. Did anyone think they would win a championship this year? So what is the point of trying to win a few more games? To sneak into the playoffs and get demolished? It's shortsighted. Working towards a contending team is smart. Otherwise they would just max out at mediocre, and that's no good either.

Well said!

[AbeVigodaLive]

99% chance they are tanking. But it is the smart thing to do. Get the young players some experience and see how they progress. Did anyone think they would win a championship this year? So what is the point of trying to win a few more games? To sneak into the playoffs and get demolished? It's shortsighted. Working towards a contending team is smart. Otherwise they would just max out at mediocre, and that's no good either.

Get to the playoffs more than once in 15 years. Win more than 1 playoff game in 15 years. Get past the first round more than once in 31 years.

That's it. Once they prove capable of those very low standards... then people can whisper about "championships" without it seeming like a pipe dream or an excuse to give the latest regime a longer leash to tout all the promise the franchise has... and keep their jobs longer.

Franchises like Portland and Utah and Indiana should not be ripped for "sneaking into the playoffs" or failing to win titles year after year. They should be celebrated for not tolerating abject losing FOR DECADES. They should be applauded for rebounding quickly to be relevant again.

Decent.

Sounds easy. But until Taylor's Wolves can prove that they're capable of being "decent" for more than 1 year... any talk about potential titles or contention seems like a fairy tale of epic proportions.

[Wolvesfan21]

99% chance they are tanking. But it is the smart thing to do. Get the young players some experience and see how they progress. Did anyone think they would win a championship this year? So what is the point of trying to win a few more games? To sneak into the playoffs and get demolished? It's shortsighted. Working towards a contending team is smart. Otherwise they would just max out at mediocre, and that's no good either.

Get to the playoffs more than once in 15 years. Win more than 1 playoff game in 15 years. Get past the first round more than once in 31 years.

That's it. Once they prove capable of those very low standards... then people can whisper about "championships" without it seeming like a pipe dream or an excuse to give the latest regime a longer leash to tout all the promise the franchise has... and keep their jobs longer.

Franchises like Portland and Utah and Indiana should not be ripped for "sneaking into the playoffs" or failing to win titles year after year. They should be celebrated for not tolerating abject losing FOR DECADES. They should be applauded for rebounding quickly to be relevant again.

Decent.

Sounds easy. But until Taylor's Wolves can prove that they're capable of being "decent" for more than 1 year... any talk about potential titles or contention seems like a fairy tale of epic proportions.

They will never have the players to ever do anything in the playoffs unless they draft and develop better players.

You might enjoy being Utah, but we can't even be Utah unless we develop these younger guys, see what we have.

The start is not since KG left, the start is THIS YEAR since Rosas and Ryan came in. What happened 5 or 10 years ago only matters to you and other fans. What happens now only matters.

You won't EVER contend if you don't build patiently UNLIKE what Thibs did. Who traded away future and went with all experienced expensive players and snuck into the 8th seed. The what? Start 5-15 the next season?

Patience is needed and in fact I like watching the young guys who play hard every night. You can't shortcut your way to success, it has to take time and remember the clock started this season. Not 10 years ago.

[AbeVigodaLive]

99% chance they are tanking. But it is the smart thing to do. Get the young players some experience and see how they progress. Did anyone think they would win a championship this year? So what is the point of trying to win a few more games? To sneak into the playoffs and get demolished? It's shortsighted. Working towards a contending team is smart. Otherwise they would just max out at mediocre, and that's no good either.

Get to the playoffs more than once in 15 years. Win more than 1 playoff game in 15 years. Get past the first round more than once in 31 years.

That's it. Once they prove capable of those very low standards... then people can whisper about "championships" without it seeming like a pipe dream or an excuse to give the latest regime a longer leash to tout all the promise the franchise has... and keep their jobs longer.

Franchises like Portland and Utah and Indiana should not be ripped for "sneaking into the playoffs" or failing to win titles year after year. They should be celebrated for not tolerating abject losing FOR DECADES. They should be applauded for rebounding quickly to be relevant again.

Decent.

Sounds easy. But until Taylor's Wolves can prove that they're capable of being "decent" for more than 1 year... any talk about potential titles or contention seems like a fairy tale of epic proportions.

They will never have the players to ever do anything in the playoffs unless they draft and develop better players.

You might enjoy being Utah, but we can't even be Utah unless we develop these younger guys, see what we have.

The start is not since KG left, the start is THIS YEAR since Rosas and Ryan came in. What happened 5 or 10 years ago only matters to you and other fans. What happens now only matters.

You won't EVER contend if you don't build patiently UNLIKE what Thibs did. Who traded away future and went with all experienced expensive players and snuck into the 8th seed. The what? Start 5-15 the next season?

Patience is needed and in fact I like watching the young guys who play hard every night. You can't shortcut your way to success, it has to take time and remember the clock started this season. Not 10 years ago.

Patience?

The team has TWO #1 draft picks and max contract guys. It's been SIX years with one of them... FIVE years with the other.

And yet we're STILL being asked to be patient with them? NO. Either they have it -- or move on. The Wolves don't get their cake and eat it too with those "young and promising" guys anymore.

We're asked to be patient with guys like Kelan Martin or Graham or KDB? I'm not cool with soft tanking by sitting out the two #1 max picks in favor of developing G League randoms. Some teams are able to develop guys while still being decent or credible.

I'll grant Culver more time. He's a rookie.

__________________________

Yes. The "clock" started this season. Much like it started in 2017. Much like it started in 2015. Much like it started in 2011. Much like it started in 2009. Et al.

That clock is for the new regime(s) looking to keep their highly paid jobs for as long as possible. Time after time after time. We've experienced it more than virtually any other franchise in pro sports. Yet, we keep gobbling it up each time.

"THIS time it'll be different. We promise."

Eventually, it will be different. It has to be by sheer odds of luck or something. But I've lost my patience with it. And yes... that "only matters to me and other fans." But how/why is that a bad thing? Do we not matter? As fans, we're already marginalized enough. Are we now being marginalized by other fans? Should we just accept one Promise of Hope campaign after another forever... just because it's only fair to the latest regime?



[Note: I'm in no way about leveraging the future just to sneak into the playoffs this season. But I am completely and entirely against soft tanking for yet another slightly higher draft pick. I am against "purposely" losing games and putting an inferior team on the floor when people pay money to watch this team play. I'm against continuing this culture of losing that's permeated the organization for years. It's time to hold Taylor responsible. It's time Wiggins and Towns and others figure out how to win NBA games. That's not about patience... it's about accountability.]