Minnesota Sports Forum

Volans19 wrote:My vote for Russell makes it a three way tie.

To tell you the truth I'm going into this draft almost carefree, if we get Okafor awesome; Russell? Sounds good; oh we are going to take (insert prospects name here)? Alright!

Of the three options presented I would lean more towards Russell. The more guards we have that can handle the ball and be either a capable shooter, capable defender, or a facilitator, the happier I'll be. I would love for Russell to be the 3rd guard or maybe even the starting 2 (he has good size). Okafor would be nice on offense but I think that we need to focus on perimeter shooting and defense, something Okafor does not provide.

If Russell could be acquired for #5+ Payne+ Rudez then I would pull the trigger no hesitation. If we had to give up either Bazz or Dieng to get it done I would have my reservations. Zach and 5? No F'N way.

Agree, I don't have any really strong opinions and could probably put out a credible argument for or against any number of prospects or young vets we could land in a trade. My preference for prospects is Dunn and I also like the Russell or Noel options in a trade. But I certainly won't be upset if we end up with Hield or Murray.

Q12543 wrote:

Volans19 wrote:My vote for Russell makes it a three way tie.

To tell you the truth I'm going into this draft almost carefree, if we get Okafor awesome; Russell? Sounds good; oh we are going to take (insert prospects name here)? Alright!

Of the three options presented I would lean more towards Russell. The more guards we have that can handle the ball and be either a capable shooter, capable defender, or a facilitator, the happier I'll be. I would love for Russell to be the 3rd guard or maybe even the starting 2 (he has good size). Okafor would be nice on offense but I think that we need to focus on perimeter shooting and defense, something Okafor does not provide.

If Russell could be acquired for #5+ Payne+ Rudez then I would pull the trigger no hesitation. If we had to give up either Bazz or Dieng to get it done I would have my reservations. Zach and 5? No F'N way.

Agree, I don't have any really strong opinions and could probably put out a credible argument for or against any number of prospects or young vets we could land in a trade. My preference for prospects is Dunn and I also like the Russell or Noel options in a trade. But I certainly won't be upset if we end up with Hield or Murray.

I'm with you guys. It's such an odd feeling going into a draft with so little anxiety. Like Q, I have my opinions, but they're not that strong. I could see getting on board with any option that Thibs chooses...and there do seem to be a lot of potential ones.

My favorite option is probably Russell though (assuming it turns out to indeed be an option). Like Volans, I like the idea of adding a really good ball handler (and 3-point shooter) to the mix, and I just have the feeling Russell could thrive under Thibodeau after getting out of the madhouse on Figuera St.

By the way, I would still be an advocate for picking up Luol Deng in free agency, even if we acquire Russell or another guard in the draft. I recognize this would likely result in Zach and D'Angelo starting games on the bench, but they're young and still need time to develop. And they would be a couple nice 3-point options coming off the bench. That would leave a lot of uncertainty at PF, but I'm more confident than most here that center and PF can be cobbled together through some combo of KAT, G, Belly, KG, Payne, Pek and Rudez.

Q12543 wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:Is Okafor a worse defender then Murray projects to be? I think he can be an average defender in this league just because of his size, strength, and rebounding.

Apples and oranges....A weak big man defender is much more damaging to an overall team defense than a weak wing defender. Although defense is a legit question mark with Murray. Can you imagine a Tyus Jones, Jamal Murray, Shabazz Muhammed perimeter trio off the bench? That is pretty awful defensively. Heck, insert Buddy Hield instead of Murray. Still terrible. Now insert Kris Dunn playing in Tyus's spot with Courtney Lee at backup SG. Or Tyus at PG and Dunn at SG with Shabazz....seems a bit more balanced between offense and defense.

Great post, Q. Plugging the different options into our roster the way you did here is very illuminating. I've been leaning towards Hield and Murray at #5, but your hypothetical makes a strong case for Dunn.