D-Loser wrote:I agree that jmac probably isn't good enough to be a long term starter, but he does seem to be a better fit with our starters for the short term, so I think we should make this switch here pretty soon. Who knows, maybe he'll even surprise and be a long term starter. I also agree that not drafting a PG in the first round was really really bad. I tried to be optimistic on TC for about a week when we were looking good in the preseason, but this guy has his head so far up his rear end.
What PG in the draft did you want them to draft.
Players they could of draftees
Ty Ty Washington: 0 GP
Jaden Hardy: 2 GP
Chandler: shooting 28% not in rotation
Ryan Rollins: 4 GP not in rotation
JD Davison: 0 GP
Just a silly thing to criticize TC on. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation.
Also what FA PG did you want the wolves to get. The wolves had the MLE. Tyus went for more than that. Who did you want instead. Sexton went for more. I guess Rubio was in the price range but he is still out for months.
They could of traded for Murray that is it. Just a silly and unfair take to say TC was dumb for not addressing the PG position
Kek, you left out Andrew Nembhard, who I was quite high on and he's now starting and doing well for Indiana. I liked him better than Moore.
Trading for Murray made a lot of sense too and I advocated for it and he would have been a much better fit, it would allow Wolves to dump DLO and get an up and coming two way star on a nice contract. Getting a rim protector is a lot easier than finding a two way point guard like Murray. Adding Murray and someone like Hartenstein and grooming Kessler made so much more sense than giving up so much future for an aging center who is a questionable fit here on a much bigger contract and not addressing the point guard situation.
My bad in the Nembhard thing. Legit just went to basketball reference and clicked every player picked after Moore and Nembhard was listed as a SG. I personally don't know much about him
An aside on Nembhard... I really liked him at Gonzaga... UNTIL I saw him struggle against athleticism so much a few times. Plus, he never really stepped outside his role or seemingly improved in college. I thought those were huge red flags...
...when in reality maybe it just made him the latest in the T. Jones/McLaughlin clones camp.
D-Loser wrote:I agree that jmac probably isn't good enough to be a long term starter, but he does seem to be a better fit with our starters for the short term, so I think we should make this switch here pretty soon. Who knows, maybe he'll even surprise and be a long term starter. I also agree that not drafting a PG in the first round was really really bad. I tried to be optimistic on TC for about a week when we were looking good in the preseason, but this guy has his head so far up his rear end.
What PG in the draft did you want them to draft.
Players they could of draftees
Ty Ty Washington: 0 GP
Jaden Hardy: 2 GP
Chandler: shooting 28% not in rotation
Ryan Rollins: 4 GP not in rotation
JD Davison: 0 GP
Just a silly thing to criticize TC on. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation.
Also what FA PG did you want the wolves to get. The wolves had the MLE. Tyus went for more than that. Who did you want instead. Sexton went for more. I guess Rubio was in the price range but he is still out for months.
They could of traded for Murray that is it. Just a silly and unfair take to say TC was dumb for not addressing the PG position
Kek, you left out Andrew Nembhard, who I was quite high on and he's now starting and doing well for Indiana. I liked him better than Moore.
Trading for Murray made a lot of sense too and I advocated for it and he would have been a much better fit, it would allow Wolves to dump DLO and get an up and coming two way star on a nice contract. Getting a rim protector is a lot easier than finding a two way point guard like Murray. Adding Murray and someone like Hartenstein and grooming Kessler made so much more sense than giving up so much future for an aging center who is a questionable fit here on a much bigger contract and not addressing the point guard situation.
My bad in the Nembhard thing. Legit just went to basketball reference and clicked every player picked after Moore and Nembhard was listed as a SG. I personally don't know much about him
But isn't Haliburton the starting PG for Indiana? It seems to me Nembhard is a SG.
D-Loser wrote:I agree that jmac probably isn't good enough to be a long term starter, but he does seem to be a better fit with our starters for the short term, so I think we should make this switch here pretty soon. Who knows, maybe he'll even surprise and be a long term starter. I also agree that not drafting a PG in the first round was really really bad. I tried to be optimistic on TC for about a week when we were looking good in the preseason, but this guy has his head so far up his rear end.
What PG in the draft did you want them to draft.
Players they could of draftees
Ty Ty Washington: 0 GP
Jaden Hardy: 2 GP
Chandler: shooting 28% not in rotation
Ryan Rollins: 4 GP not in rotation
JD Davison: 0 GP
Just a silly thing to criticize TC on. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation.
Also what FA PG did you want the wolves to get. The wolves had the MLE. Tyus went for more than that. Who did you want instead. Sexton went for more. I guess Rubio was in the price range but he is still out for months.
They could of traded for Murray that is it. Just a silly and unfair take to say TC was dumb for not addressing the PG position
Kek, you left out Andrew Nembhard, who I was quite high on and he's now starting and doing well for Indiana. I liked him better than Moore.
Trading for Murray made a lot of sense too and I advocated for it and he would have been a much better fit, it would allow Wolves to dump DLO and get an up and coming two way star on a nice contract. Getting a rim protector is a lot easier than finding a two way point guard like Murray. Adding Murray and someone like Hartenstein and grooming Kessler made so much more sense than giving up so much future for an aging center who is a questionable fit here on a much bigger contract and not addressing the point guard situation.
FNG wrote:I don't know whether to put this post in the Finch thread or this one, because I don't know whom to blame, but there was a bizarre moment in the second quarter of the Suns game. The Wolves had closed within 8 points and DLo was waiting at the scorer's table to check in...he thought for Nowell who was at the free throw line. But Finchie was actually subbing him in for Prince, who was already on the bench. So the Wolves defended the Suns with only 4 players, and of course the Suns got an uncontested 3! How can that happen??? Did Finchie not make it clear whom Russell was going in for, or was Russell not paying attention? Either way, I can't decide whether to laugh or cry about it.
Now, a cynic might say that our perimeter defense on that possession was no worse with just 4 out there and DLo waiting to check in...
I think the problem is Finch didn't point, which is the language DLO specializes in.
FNG wrote:I don't know whether to put this post in the Finch thread or this one, because I don't know whom to blame, but there was a bizarre moment in the second quarter of the Suns game. The Wolves had closed within 8 points and DLo was waiting at the scorer's table to check in...he thought for Nowell who was at the free throw line. But Finchie was actually subbing him in for Prince, who was already on the bench. So the Wolves defended the Suns with only 4 players, and of course the Suns got an uncontested 3! How can that happen??? Did Finchie not make it clear whom Russell was going in for, or was Russell not paying attention? Either way, I can't decide whether to laugh or cry about it.
Now, a cynic might say that our perimeter defense on that possession was no worse with just 4 out there and DLo waiting to check in...
I think the problem is Finch didn't point, which is the language DLO specializes in.
D-Loser wrote:I agree that jmac probably isn't good enough to be a long term starter, but he does seem to be a better fit with our starters for the short term, so I think we should make this switch here pretty soon. Who knows, maybe he'll even surprise and be a long term starter. I also agree that not drafting a PG in the first round was really really bad. I tried to be optimistic on TC for about a week when we were looking good in the preseason, but this guy has his head so far up his rear end.
What PG in the draft did you want them to draft.
Players they could of draftees
Ty Ty Washington: 0 GP
Jaden Hardy: 2 GP
Chandler: shooting 28% not in rotation
Ryan Rollins: 4 GP not in rotation
JD Davison: 0 GP
Just a silly thing to criticize TC on. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation. No person after Moore (who could be good) is in a nba rotation.
Also what FA PG did you want the wolves to get. The wolves had the MLE. Tyus went for more than that. Who did you want instead. Sexton went for more. I guess Rubio was in the price range but he is still out for months.
They could of traded for Murray that is it. Just a silly and unfair take to say TC was dumb for not addressing the PG position
Kek, you left out Andrew Nembhard, who I was quite high on and he's now starting and doing well for Indiana. I liked him better than Moore.
Trading for Murray made a lot of sense too and I advocated for it and he would have been a much better fit, it would allow Wolves to dump DLO and get an up and coming two way star on a nice contract. Getting a rim protector is a lot easier than finding a two way point guard like Murray. Adding Murray and someone like Hartenstein and grooming Kessler made so much more sense than giving up so much future for an aging center who is a questionable fit here on a much bigger contract and not addressing the point guard situation.
Yes. And it would have taken far fewer assets to get Murray than it took to get Gobert. The Hawks gave up 3 future picks and the first of those three is top 16 protected. The only player they gave up was solely for salary purposes and had no value as a player to the Spurs. So the Wolves could have gotten Murray while still keeping Beverley, Vando, Beasley and Kessler as well as their 2029 first-round pick. Murray averaged almost a triple double last season. He's also a great defender. He and Edwards would have combined to form a dynamic backcourt.
Finch and the front office now have a couple of precedents with struggling vet PGs moving to the bench in Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons. Each have their own individual circumstances, but in both cases, neither team had an ace up their sleeve sitting on the bench that was an obvious replacement in the starting lineup. Troy Brown Jr. and Edmond Sumner...anyone heard of these guys?
While things haven't necessarily improved in LA, they do seem to be gradually turning around for Brooklyn, who have won 6 of their last 10, with Ben Simmons playing better off the bench. Perhaps at some point he gets re-inserted into the starting lineup.
The point being that while Jordan McLaughlin may not be our long-term answer at starting PG, he certainly is a credible replacement for DLO and we've seen other teams bench much more accomplished PGs for lesser talents.
I still hold out hope that DLO improves his play and we've seen some recent signs of life, but the leash doesn't need to be much longer at this point either.
Q, I'm playing off your comment in the "patience" thread about the Wolves needing an Alex Caruso type PG. I also like Caruso, but frankly I would call him a poor man's Jordan McLaughlin. Both are hustling players who are pesky defenders and move the ball well, but JMac is by far the better distributor...more assists and fewer TOs per 36 by a wide margin. Compare their career stats:
Statistically, I see JMac as clearly the better player. And of course JMac was by far the stronger performer coming out college. And while I have some concerns about JMac's durability with his lingering calf issue (might end up being a problem for KAT too), Caruso has carried the "injury prone" label since he entered the Association.
We all enjoyed the way the ball moved in our first game in the post-KAT era. It can only get better when JMac returns...hopefully this Saturday.
FNG wrote:Q, I'm playing off your comment in the "patience" thread about the Wolves needing an Alex Caruso type PG. I also like Caruso, but frankly I would call him a poor man's Jordan McLaughlin. Both are hustling players who are pesky defenders and move the ball well, but JMac is by far the better distributor...more assists and fewer TOs per 36 by a wide margin. Compare their career stats:
Statistically, I see JMac as clearly the better player. And of course JMac was by far the stronger performer coming out college. And while I have some concerns about JMac's durability with his lingering calf issue (might end up being a problem for KAT too), Caruso has carried the "injury prone" label since he entered the Association.
We all enjoyed the way the ball moved in our first game in the post-KAT era. It can only get better when JMac returns...hopefully this Saturday.
I guess I don't see it as an either/or situation....why not both? Neither are that high-priced. Would love that combination at PG for us.
But, if we are to compare the two, the thing I like about Caruso is that he's bigger and stronger than JMac and so is better suited to play crunch time defense, switch onto wings, etc. He also brings a level of toughness and grit that this roster so desperately needs. He's a better rebounder and 3-point shooter as well.
With JMac's triumphant return to the court last night and also the uncertainly surrounding what the Wolves are going to do before the deadline, it's a good time to revisit this thread. I maintain that JMac is ideally suited next to many of the high scorers on this team (the starters plus Naz and Jaylen) and is ready to take over the reins if TC finds a suitable deal for DLo. My only concern is durability, because calf issues can be tricky.
If Russell stays and JMac remains healthy, he will make the bench much stronger because of his chemistry with Naz and Nowell. But I also would be comfortable with him starting if there is a move this week.
It was fun to see the energy level pick up at both ends of the court when JMac checked in last night (I didn't watch the entire game, but did check out the end of the first quarter). And as Dane Moore points out, the Wolves were a +16 in the six minutes he was on the court in the first half, and only +4 in the other 18. I also found it telling what quiet Jaden McDaniels said about him post-game:
Jaden McDaniels on how Jordan McLaughlin helps the other four players around him:
"He just talks everyone through it. He's a great PG, real PG. Yeah, I feel like I play better when he's on the court, for sure."
Isn't that exactly what we need from our starting PG, and especially if KAT eventually returns? It's a good time to ask the question Lip teed up this thread with: Why not JMac?
