2022 Off-Season Around the League

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Nobody's talking about him, and I understand why to some degree, but James Wiseman looks healthy and ready to produce. If he's anything close to the player so many thought he could be, including myself, then the Golden State Warriors could be even more dangerous than expected this year. Wiseman is a massive human being and would really give the Dubs a presence in the middle.

[Lipoli390]

Nobody's talking about him, and I understand why to some degree, but James Wiseman looks healthy and ready to produce. If he's anything close to the player so many thought he could be, including myself, then the Golden State Warriors could be even more dangerous than expected this year. Wiseman is a massive human being and would really give the Dubs a presence in the middle.

I was going to post something on Wiseman. He looks really good. He has a rare combination of size and skill. He looks really fluid on the court. So far tonight he has 18 points in 18 minutes along with 7 rebounds. Kevin Looney isn't playing tonight, but in earlier preseason games he looked like an even better version of the guy we saw in the playoffs last season. Another young guy on the Warriors who looks really good is Moses Moody. He has 20 points so far tonight and made a couple tremendous buckets tonight. He's only 20 years old. Another 20 year old on their roster, Ryan Rollins, has 10 points and 5 assists on not 13 minutes tonight. I liked him coming out of college and the Warriors nabbed him with the 44th pick in the draft. Of course, there's the 20 year old Kuminga and as well along with the 23 year old Poole. Lots of terrific very young talent on the Warriors to blend with the older vets Curry and Thompson and young vets, Wiggins and Looney, who all continue to play at at high level. The Warriors won it all last season and I expect them to be even better this season with a healthy Thompson the entire season, Looney and Wiggins just entering their prime and all that very young talent continuing to improve.

Meanwhile, this Clippers look like the team most likely to challenge the Warriors for the top seed in the West. Superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are back healthy and look terrific. John Wall looks like he has plenty left in his tank. Then there's Terrance Mann, Luke Kennard, Robert Covington, Reggie Jackson, Nic Batum, Marcus Morris and Ivica Zubac. We saw how well they played against the Wolves the other night and that was without Norman Powell. The Clippers are loaded.

I don't see the Wolves finishing ahead of either the Warriors or Clippers. To finish in the top 4 the Wolves will need to beat out Denver and Phoenix. That will be a challenge.

[Porckchop]

Paul showed his age in the playoffs last year and the Organization has dealt with its share of distractions. I think the Suns fall back to the pack a bit. Memphis overachieved last year with no clear cut second option next to Morant.
Golden State and The Clippers are the only two teams that have a clear advantage with overall talent and depth. The one advantage the Wolves have over those two teams is the willingness of every player to play every game. Barring injuries, Ant,Kat and Gobert will play every game.

[FNG]

Paul showed his age in the playoffs last year and the Organization has dealt with its share of distractions. I think the Suns fall back to the pack a bit. Memphis overachieved last year with no clear cut second option next to Morant.
Golden State and The Clippers are the only two teams that have a clear advantage with overall talent and depth. The one advantage the Wolves have over those two teams is the willingness of every player to play every game. Barring injuries, Ant,Kat and Gobert will play every game.

Yeah, I agree with Pork that the Clips and Warriors look better on paper than us... but not by a huge gap. Lip, I think you meant to say that in order to finish in the top 4 the Wolves have to beat out eitherPhoenix or Denver. Denver is loaded if healthy, but Porter's back is always going to be a problem and now Murray has a nagging hammy. I've got our Wolves finishing 4th.

[Q-is-here]

The Clippers are such a good team IF they can stay healthy. The thing about them is that they can play "small" without actually being that small. Put Morris, Kawhi, and George out there as your 4th quarter crunch time front line and I just don't see a lot of teams bullying those three in the paint. Add in Wall or Jackson along with Norman Powell in backcourt and they can easily go 5-out without giving up that much in terms of size and strength.

[Lipoli390]

Ben Simmons seems like he hasn't missed a beat. He had 10 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals in 28 minutes last night. He had 6 points on 3-5 shooting with no three-point attempts. He'll be a great fit in Brooklyn alongside two scorers, Kyrie and Kevin Durant.

[Q-is-here]

Ben Simmons seems like he hasn't missed a beat. He had 10 assists, 8 rebounds and 2 steals in 28 minutes last night. He had 6 points on 3-5 shooting with no three-point attempts. He'll be a great fit in Brooklyn alongside two scorers, Kyrie and Kevin Durant.

Those guys should be among the favorites in the East IF they stay healthy and IF they stick with each other. Simmons works really well with those two. But those are big ifs!

[Lipoli390]

Draymond Green was back on the floor for the Warriors last night. Jordan Poole had 3 points on 1-10 shooting in that game. Hmm. Do you think Poole might have been impacted mentally by the Warriors' decision to essentially give Green a pass on sucker punching him? I get a kick out of all the virtue-signaling we get from Kerr and the Warriors organization. But when it comes to violence committed by one of their own under their own nose, they turn a blind eye and put winning above principle.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Jordan Poole is finalizing a four-year, $140-million contract extension with Golden State.

Personally, I think that's a real overpay, but the Warriors are in a position where they can't afford to let their top guys walk right now while they're still in win-now mode. Makes sense.

I'd love to see Minnesota take care of a couple of their extension-eligible players sooner rather than later...

- D'Angelo Russell: four-years, $110-million

- Jaylen Nowell: four-years, $40-million

[Wolvesfan21]

Jordan Poole is finalizing a four-year, $140-million contract extension with Golden State.

Personally, I think that's a real overpay, but the Warriors are in a position where they can't afford to let their top guys walk right now while they're still in win-now mode. Makes sense.

I'd love to see Minnesota take care of a couple of their extension-eligible players sooner rather than later...

- D'Angelo Russell: four-years, $110-million

- Jaylen Nowell: four-years, $40-million

DLO was benched because he was terrible in the playoffs. I'm only resigning DLO if it doesn't take away from extending Jaden and Nowell and of course Ant. I can't be tied to DLO and let my younger guys with real upside walk.

If the new owners want to pay a bunch of Lux tax, sure. I personally don't think an extension is a good idea.