Minnesota Sports Forum

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:I don't like the idea of 2 years for a 5th big. Even if it is cheap.

Is it good money for the 3rd big in the rotation? Or, even a part-time starter?

It's conceivable that Hill gets 20 - 25 mpg. Personally, unless there's some underlying issues with the guy that end up surfacing... I think it's one of the better (financially) signings of the offseason.

We've got too many bigs. Hill and Aldrich make sense at those deals if they are as productive as they have been in the past, but we don't have the minutes for them to be as productive as they have in the past.

Even if you assume "Pek is done," KG is out, and Payne never plays, that's still 5 guys for 2 positions, a total of 96 minutes. How would you guys break down the minutes? Seriously, it doesn't work without drastically cutting somebody's minutes from what they got last year.

Abe says it's conceivable for Hill to get 20-25, which would be in line with his minutes the past couple seasons. But let's assume Towns, Dieng, Aldrich, Bjelica, and Hill are the priority list, and let's conservatively lay out how many minutes our guys should get for the first four and see how many would be left for Hill.

Towns (34), Dieng (28), Aldrich (16), Bjelica (16)

34-Towns should probably actually get 36.
28-Dieng's too good to get fewer minutes, and should arguably get more.
16-Aldrich should get 16 given his production last year.
16-Bjelica averaged almost 18 last year and should be better next year, and we need his outside shooting so we can't cut his minutes too much. Conservatively I'll say 16, but could realistically deserve 20 given his versatility and our need for shooting.

How many minutes does that conservative estimate for the first four guys leave for Hill? 2. And Hill averaged 20 minutes last year and complained when he got less. I'm glad we have depth, but a couple guys are going to be really unhappy in our locker room next year.

And this is assuming KG is not back.

For those who support signing Hill. How would you break down the 96 minutes? Then think about how Thibs is top-heavy with his lineups.

The easiest explanation is that thibs sees belly getting minutes at the 3.

I also don't see any big guaranteed the 3 spot. Aldrich, KG, Belly, and Hill will be fighting eachothet for minutes and that's a good thing. Hill signed for 4 mil in this new market, he wasntguaranteed any playtime. If he complains, 4 mil is easy to move. This quality of frontcourt is a great problem to have. Let's enjoy the depth.

SameOldDrew wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:I don't like the idea of 2 years for a 5th big. Even if it is cheap.

Is it good money for the 3rd big in the rotation? Or, even a part-time starter?

It's conceivable that Hill gets 20 - 25 mpg. Personally, unless there's some underlying issues with the guy that end up surfacing... I think it's one of the better (financially) signings of the offseason.

We've got too many bigs. Hill and Aldrich make sense at those deals if they are as productive as they have been in the past, but we don't have the minutes for them to be as productive as they have in the past.

Even if you assume "Pek is done," KG is out, and Payne never plays, that's still 5 guys for 2 positions, a total of 96 minutes. How would you guys break down the minutes? Seriously, it doesn't work without drastically cutting somebody's minutes from what they got last year.

Abe says it's conceivable for Hill to get 20-25, which would be in line with his minutes the past couple seasons. But let's assume Towns, Dieng, Aldrich, Bjelica, and Hill are the priority list, and let's conservatively lay out how many minutes our guys should get for the first four and see how many would be left for Hill.

Towns (34), Dieng (28), Aldrich (16), Bjelica (16)

34-Towns should probably actually get 36.
28-Dieng's too good to get fewer minutes, and should arguably get more.
16-Aldrich should get 16 given his production last year.
16-Bjelica averaged almost 18 last year and should be better next year, and we need his outside shooting so we can't cut his minutes too much. Conservatively I'll say 16, but could realistically deserve 20 given his versatility and our need for shooting.

How many minutes does that conservative estimate for the first four guys leave for Hill? 2. And Hill averaged 20 minutes last year and complained when he got less. I'm glad we have depth, but a couple guys are going to be really unhappy in our locker room next year.

And this is assuming KG is not back.

For those who support signing Hill. How would you break down the 96 minutes? Then think about how Thibs is top-heavy with his lineups.

DEPTH

I also can see something like the Towns - 32 Dieng - 28 Aldrich - 14 Hill - 14 Belly - 8 at PF and 6 at SF.

KG staying makes it very difficult.

Is everyone just assuming that the Wolves will stay healthy next season? Arnie Kander and his strange wizard techniques are gone and Thibs stigma of running players ragged create a potential scenario where all these guys may need to be available to play big minutes. Bigs tend to get dinged up. I don't see having 5 capable bigs is a bad thing. Competition for minutes should be a good thing

Let me see if I understand this. KAT and Dieng were essentially healthy all year last season. Can't count on that as much as we need to hope it continues. In addition, we had a worse than lousy second unit.

So, we draft PG who maybe can play some SG and who can defend (a weakness), we sign a SF who can maybe shoot some 3's (a weakness), we sign a C who can maybe defend (another weakness), and now a PF who maybe can also play some center... and we've gone overboard on big's???

Color me confused.

In addition, we did it without compromising the dollars we'll need in 3 years to sign our top players.

Color me really confused.

Drew -- I had the same thought you did. Pek will definitely be on the roster and I'm assuming KG will be back as well. Hard to believe he'd retire now after last season. I just don't see KG going out with a whimper. So that leaves us with the following 8 centers and PFs:

1. KAT -- C/PF
2. Aldrich - C
3. Pek -- C
4. Jordan Hill -- PF/C
5. Gorgui -- PF/C
6. KG -- PF
7. Payne - PF
8. Belly - PF/SF

That's more than half our roster at two of our five positions. Seems a bit out of whack. So I'm assuming that we don't know the whole story. My guess is that Thibs already knows (1) that KG won't be back; (2) that Pek absolutely has no realistic chance of providing meaningful minutes based on medical reports; and (3) that Payne will be released or traded. Five guys at these two positions is reasonable.

Unfortunately, we still seem mighty thin in the 3-point shooting department with at most Zach, Belly and Rush as our only bona fide 3-point shooters. So I'd still like to see us fill out our roster with another perimeter shooter.

I loved the Aldrich signing and feel pretty good about Rush. I'm not thrilled with the Jordan Hill signing. I've been told that he has a very poor motor. I think he'll end up on the end of Thibs' bench.

Overall, I like the way Thibs and Layden have filled gaps and added depth to our roster without breaking the bank. Aldrich, Rush and Dunn add quality depth. And anything we get out of Jordan Hill will be a bonus in my view. I expect another roster move or two before the summer ends.

Thibs couldn't go into the off season thinking Pek will give us anything. He also couldn't assume we'd get many more than 40 some games of KG at limited minutes. He knows Payne is in a suit every night, but is a cheap body if absolutely needed. Towns and Dieng were the only two known and reliable commodities at the 4 and 5. So that leaves Belly/Hill/Aldrich fighting for two spots while they all are also familiar with riding the bench if they don't earn the spot. Having too many capable players is a lot better than what we've had the past two years which is not nearly enough.

This happens every year. We wring our hands wondering how on earth we're going to give the guys minutes and then, sure enough, we end up going to the scrap heap for things called Gelabales, Adriens, Onuwakueas, Kirkpatricks, and large sloth-like characters that were team mates of Bjelica back home.

If Jordan Hill doesn't see any time, that's a GOOD thing. While his deal is a bargain, he really isn't that great. But I have a feeling we'll see plenty of him anyway....No way do these guys all stay healthy.

TheFuture wrote:I also can see something like the Towns - 32 Dieng - 28 Aldrich - 14 Hill - 14 Belly - 8 at PF and 6 at SF.

KG staying makes it very difficult.

Why so few minutes for Belly? Belly thrived getting 24-26 minutes and I want him getting at least 20 minutes. I don't care if Hill gets any minutes. He's more an injury fill-in, match-up and garbage time player, though if he plays well he might see some regular minutes.

I agree that Belly should see time at the 3. We really dont have much depth there, especially if Wiggins gets hurt.