Your 2018-2019 Timberwolves!!!

[MikkeMan]

I see that Wolves could have a very similar identity after this trade than they had in 2016-17 season in short period when Lavine had injured and Belly wasn't yet. They had very promising 9-8 record with Brandon Rush starting in place of Zach and they played the best defense they have played under Thibs with defensive rating 108.6. Towns was playing having his best games as pro by posting averages of 28.2 pts and 13.3 rbs with superb 67.6 TS% and even Wiggins was playing his best stretch of games as pro with 25.3 pts, 2.3 asts and 1.6 stls with somehow acceptable 53.8 TS%.

If Wiggins and Towns can get their self confidence back to same level than then, I see that Wolves team has very well potential to win at least half of their remaining games. Covington is much better defender and offensive player than Rush was and Saric is upgrade over Belly with more consistent and confident offensive game.

[Monster]

I think Saric is a great potential compliment to KAT. He's a good passer, nice length, he fights. Thibs better fucking play him.

I think he will replace Tolliver in the rotation and split PF duties with Taj. I think Saric is a nice player, but defensively he and KAT are going to be pretty bad.

Yeah, those are my thoughts too. I sense Thibs is going to continue to start Taj at PF, and I don't necessarily disagree with that. You could hide Saric's defense next to Embiid, but not next to KAT. But still I like Dario's offensive game so much I still want him to get the 30+MPG he was getting in Philly. I see him as our first guy off the bench replacing Taj in the 1st quarter, and then staying in the game to get some minutes at SF.
Tolliver is the rotation loser in the new scheme and should only get minutes if there are injuries. And if Dario gets some wing minutes, Okogie might also lose some playing time. I don't have a problem with that as it gives the kid more time to learn the NBA game rather than just being thrown in there.

I think the guy that could lose the most minutes is Dieng. It's gonna be interesting whonstarts at PF. It makes more sense to start Saric because you have Tolliver to play a somewhat similar role off the bench and Taj you can play as a backup C. Dieng should still get minutes at times but I could see him losing out. Thibs has seen hesitant to mix and match based on lineups but maybe these guys that all have their value might force him or allow him to consider it. We will see.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I think Saric is a great potential compliment to KAT. He's a good passer, nice length, he fights. Thibs better fucking play him.

I think he will replace Tolliver in the rotation and split PF duties with Taj. I think Saric is a nice player, but defensively he and KAT are going to be pretty bad.

Yeah, those are my thoughts too. I sense Thibs is going to continue to start Taj at PF, and I don't necessarily disagree with that. You could hide Saric's defense next to Embiid, but not next to KAT. But still I like Dario's offensive game so much I still want him to get the 30+MPG he was getting in Philly. I see him as our first guy off the bench replacing Taj in the 1st quarter, and then staying in the game to get some minutes at SF.
Tolliver is the rotation loser in the new scheme and should only get minutes if there are injuries. And if Dario gets some wing minutes, Okogie might also lose some playing time. I don't have a problem with that as it gives the kid more time to learn the NBA game rather than just being thrown in there.

I think the guy that could lose the most minutes is Dieng. It's gonna be interesting whonstarts at PF. It makes more sense to start Saric because you have Tolliver to play a somewhat similar role off the bench and Taj you can play as a backup C. Dieng should still get minutes at times but I could see him losing out. Thibs has seen hesitant to mix and match based on lineups but maybe these guys that all have their value might force him or allow him to consider it. We will see.

It depends on whether Thibs prefers Dieng backing up KAT, or Tolliver backing up Dario...I'm still inclined to think it will be the former with Tolliver losing minutes, but we'll have to see how it plays out.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think Saric is a great potential compliment to KAT. He's a good passer, nice length, he fights. Thibs better fucking play him.

I think he will replace Tolliver in the rotation and split PF duties with Taj. I think Saric is a nice player, but defensively he and KAT are going to be pretty bad.

Yeah, those are my thoughts too. I sense Thibs is going to continue to start Taj at PF, and I don't necessarily disagree with that. You could hide Saric's defense next to Embiid, but not next to KAT. But still I like Dario's offensive game so much I still want him to get the 30+MPG he was getting in Philly. I see him as our first guy off the bench replacing Taj in the 1st quarter, and then staying in the game to get some minutes at SF.
Tolliver is the rotation loser in the new scheme and should only get minutes if there are injuries. And if Dario gets some wing minutes, Okogie might also lose some playing time. I don't have a problem with that as it gives the kid more time to learn the NBA game rather than just being thrown in there.

Saric isn't getting any minutes at the wing. He is not like Bjelica in that he's no where near as light on his feet to be able to defend those guys.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I think Saric is a great potential compliment to KAT. He's a good passer, nice length, he fights. Thibs better fucking play him.

I think he will replace Tolliver in the rotation and split PF duties with Taj. I think Saric is a nice player, but defensively he and KAT are going to be pretty bad.

Yeah, those are my thoughts too. I sense Thibs is going to continue to start Taj at PF, and I don't necessarily disagree with that. You could hide Saric's defense next to Embiid, but not next to KAT. But still I like Dario's offensive game so much I still want him to get the 30+MPG he was getting in Philly. I see him as our first guy off the bench replacing Taj in the 1st quarter, and then staying in the game to get some minutes at SF.
Tolliver is the rotation loser in the new scheme and should only get minutes if there are injuries. And if Dario gets some wing minutes, Okogie might also lose some playing time. I don't have a problem with that as it gives the kid more time to learn the NBA game rather than just being thrown in there.

Saric isn't getting any minutes at the wing. He is not like Bjelica in that he's no where near as light on his feet to be able to defend those guys.

He is slower than Belly, but just a quick "can Dario saric play SF" google search shows many think he can adequately play SF...including Brett Brown who seemed to view him as a combo forward (and even a C in small ball lineups). Saric's slow feet will hurt the Wolves' defensively, but frankly I think he will hurt us defensively at PF too...his biggest weakness defensively is staying with quick guards after a PnR, and that will happen regardless of the position he is playing. Thibs likes Taj and needs his defense next to KAT, so I see SF minutes as Dario's best chance of getting the 30 MPG I think he deserves.

[bleedspeed]

Interesting read.

https://hoopshype.com/2018/11/10/minnesota-timberwolves-jimmy-butler-robert-covington-dario-saric-karl-anthony-towns/

As much as I want Thibs gone he now has to coach this group. I would let him coach up until the All-Star game and make a decision then. If you want to move on can him and tank. Did I say tank? I meant to say develop players for the future.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think Saric is a great potential compliment to KAT. He's a good passer, nice length, he fights. Thibs better fucking play him.

I think he will replace Tolliver in the rotation and split PF duties with Taj. I think Saric is a nice player, but defensively he and KAT are going to be pretty bad.

Yeah, those are my thoughts too. I sense Thibs is going to continue to start Taj at PF, and I don't necessarily disagree with that. You could hide Saric's defense next to Embiid, but not next to KAT. But still I like Dario's offensive game so much I still want him to get the 30+MPG he was getting in Philly. I see him as our first guy off the bench replacing Taj in the 1st quarter, and then staying in the game to get some minutes at SF.
Tolliver is the rotation loser in the new scheme and should only get minutes if there are injuries. And if Dario gets some wing minutes, Okogie might also lose some playing time. I don't have a problem with that as it gives the kid more time to learn the NBA game rather than just being thrown in there.

Saric isn't getting any minutes at the wing. He is not like Bjelica in that he's no where near as light on his feet to be able to defend those guys.

He is slower than Belly, but just a quick "can Dario saric play SF" google search shows many think he can adequately play SF...including Brett Brown who seemed to view him as a combo forward (and even a C in small ball lineups). Saric's slow feet will hurt the Wolves' defensively, but frankly I think he will hurt us defensively at PF too...his biggest weakness defensively is staying with quick guards after a PnR, and that will happen regardless of the position he is playing. Thibs likes Taj and needs his defense next to KAT, so I see SF minutes as Dario's best chance of getting the 30 MPG I think he deserves.

Saric is a combo forward only in the sense that he might be able to give you minutes at center for a stretch, but he is not adequately suited to guard 3's in this league. Literally 99% of his minutes last year came at PF/C and 1% came at SF. That means roughly 23 of his 2310 minutes last year were at SF. Don't hold your breath on him getting much, if any, run at the wing.

Note: I see both Saric and Gibson getting the bulk of the minutes in the frontcourt next to Towns so I don't believe it's an either/or type issue with those guys. It's Dieng and Tolliver that will see their minutes reduced or gone completely.

[bleedspeed]

Saric is a combo forward only in the sense that he might be able to give you minutes at center for a stretch, but he is not adequately suited to guard 3's in this league. Literally, 99% of his minutes last year came at PF/C and 1% came at SF. That means roughly 23 of his 2310 minutes last year were at SF. Don't hold your breath on him getting much, if any, run at the wing.

Note: I see both Saric and Gibson getting the bulk of the minutes in the frontcourt next to Towns so I don't believe it's an either/or type issue with those guys. It's Dieng and Tolliver that will see their minutes reduced or gone completely.

I wonder if there will be any trade value in Rose, Teague, and Towns around the trade deadline.

[crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]]

Speaking of taj and saric, interesting take by the ringer as to what we should do:

The trade could create a domino effect in the Wolves rotation. Jeff Teague, who has missed the last six games with a knee injury, will return shortly, and he could share a starting lineup with four good 3-point shooters when he does. A pick-and-roll between Teague and Towns would be hard to defend in so much space, while posting up Towns should be more effective in four-out lineups. One of the few bright spots in Minnesota this season has been the career-high 3-point shooting from Wiggins (39.6 percent on 5.3 attempts per game). The Wolves could go from one of the worst floor spacing teams in the NBA last season (they were no. 30 in 3-point attempts per game) to one of the best.

It isn't just the starters, either. Gibson should be more effective as the sole big man on the floor on the second unit, a role which would have the added benefit of removing Gorgui Dieng from the rotation entirely. Derrick Rose would be free to hunt shots while sharing a backcourt with Tyus Jones, arguably the best passer on their team. Josh Okogie, the no. 20 overall pick in this year's draft, has shown promise as a hard-nosed perimeter defender on the wing, while Anthony Tolliver could space the floor next to Gibson.

This version of the Wolves has more lineup flexibility, theoretically giving Thibodeau the ability to stagger the minutes of his best players and give each more time with the ball. There's a reason most NBA teams don't play five-man bench units anymore. It makes no sense to give Towns and Wiggins max contracts and force them to spend the entire game spotting up on Butler, while keeping all of them on the bench as more limited offensive players like Jamal Crawford and Rose dominate the ball. The easiest way to get buy-in from young players on defense is to give them freedom on offense.

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/11/18084790/timberwolves-jimmy-butler-trade-saric-covington

[Monster]

I think Saric is a great potential compliment to KAT. He's a good passer, nice length, he fights. Thibs better fucking play him.

I think he will replace Tolliver in the rotation and split PF duties with Taj. I think Saric is a nice player, but defensively he and KAT are going to be pretty bad.

Yeah, those are my thoughts too. I sense Thibs is going to continue to start Taj at PF, and I don't necessarily disagree with that. You could hide Saric's defense next to Embiid, but not next to KAT. But still I like Dario's offensive game so much I still want him to get the 30+MPG he was getting in Philly. I see him as our first guy off the bench replacing Taj in the 1st quarter, and then staying in the game to get some minutes at SF.
Tolliver is the rotation loser in the new scheme and should only get minutes if there are injuries. And if Dario gets some wing minutes, Okogie might also lose some playing time. I don't have a problem with that as it gives the kid more time to learn the NBA game rather than just being thrown in there.

Saric isn't getting any minutes at the wing. He is not like Bjelica in that he's no where near as light on his feet to be able to defend those guys.

He is slower than Belly, but just a quick "can Dario saric play SF" google search shows many think he can adequately play SF...including Brett Brown who seemed to view him as a combo forward (and even a C in small ball lineups). Saric's slow feet will hurt the Wolves' defensively, but frankly I think he will hurt us defensively at PF too...his biggest weakness defensively is staying with quick guards after a PnR, and that will happen regardless of the position he is playing. Thibs likes Taj and needs his defense next to KAT, so I see SF minutes as Dario's best chance of getting the 30 MPG I think he deserves.

Saric is a combo forward only in the sense that he might be able to give you minutes at center for a stretch, but he is not adequately suited to guard 3's in this league. Literally 99% of his minutes last year came at PF/C and 1% came at SF. That means roughly 23 of his 2310 minutes last year were at SF. Don't hold your breath on him getting much, if any, run at the wing.

Note: I see both Saric and Gibson getting the bulk of the minutes in the frontcourt next to Towns so I don't believe it's an either/or type issue with those guys. It's Dieng and Tolliver that will see their minutes reduced or gone completely.

I could see Saric playing some SF minutes against another team's bench where guys are basically just guy that are limited offensive players like Wes Johnson/guy that all you have to do is stand there and make sure they don't shoot a 3. That's more an option in case of injury though and Thibs has already been willing to actually put CJ Williams and Nunnally on the floor so I kinda doubt Saric is gonna be needed in that role. Of course you could probably have Tolliver play those types of minutes also. Personally I'd rather see Nunnally get a shot at 10 mins or whatever in those situations.