Minnesota Sports Forum

I'll say one thing about what Rosas etc has done since he has taken over that I do appreciate is that he hasn't given up assets or contracts to veteran players...except Rubio. There are a lot of teams in the past That are trying to take another step that sign veteran guys to too much money or Even give up a reasonably valuable asset to get some guy that probably won't be there when they are actually competing. Sometimes those teams are able to trade those guys for value but it doesn't always work out. My guess is Rubio is here for the 2 years left on his contract which makes him expensive that last year but...wait after the first few hours of FA this year maybe it's only by a couple million. Lol I could also see them moving Rubio in a deal to bring in someone making more money as Rubio is a positive contributor.

My basic point is this group so far has prioritized young talent on the roster for the most part not older placeholders. The only problem with that right now is the PF position. Nobody has confidence that anyone on the roster that is likely to play there is more than a bench player. Maybe they can make a move for someone or get some value guy for really cheap but we don't have a lot of roster spots to sign a guy.

It has been commented on already, but Spellman does (at least statistically) seem like a very positive player, and certainly fits the model of big men that can also shoot The organization needs to correct whatever happened last season and get him to buy in. For the low pricetag, we absolutely need to try to get value out of him. Whether that be a longer term deal or trade.

monsterpile wrote:I'll say one thing about what Rosas etc has done since he has taken over that I do appreciate is that he hasn't given up assets or contracts to veteran players...except Rubio. There are a lot of teams in the past That are trying to take another step that sign veteran guys to too much money or Even give up a reasonably valuable asset to get some guy that probably won't be there when they are actually competing. Sometimes those teams are able to trade those guys for value but it doesn't always work out. My guess is Rubio is here for the 2 years left on his contract which makes him expensive that last year but...wait after the first few hours of FA this year maybe it's only by a couple million. Lol I could also see them moving Rubio in a deal to bring in someone making more money as Rubio is a positive contributor.

My basic point is this group so far has prioritized young talent on the roster for the most part not older placeholders. The only problem with that right now is the PF position. Nobody has confidence that anyone on the roster that is likely to play there is more than a bench player. Maybe they can make a move for someone or get some value guy for really cheap but we don't have a lot of roster spots to sign a guy.

That's a great point, Monster. I agree. I like that part of Gersson's approach - a focus on building around KAT with players who are similar in age and, therefore, more likely to grow, develop and peak in the same time frame as KAT. My concerns are his poor draft judgment and his irrational obsession with style of play. And as you noted, he's built a roster with a huge void at PF and a serious lack of interior defense. I'd add that his roster lacks a real modern-day SF except perhaps for Layman.

lipoli390 wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I'll say one thing about what Rosas etc has done since he has taken over that I do appreciate is that he hasn't given up assets or contracts to veteran players...except Rubio. There are a lot of teams in the past That are trying to take another step that sign veteran guys to too much money or Even give up a reasonably valuable asset to get some guy that probably won't be there when they are actually competing. Sometimes those teams are able to trade those guys for value but it doesn't always work out. My guess is Rubio is here for the 2 years left on his contract which makes him expensive that last year but...wait after the first few hours of FA this year maybe it's only by a couple million. Lol I could also see them moving Rubio in a deal to bring in someone making more money as Rubio is a positive contributor.

My basic point is this group so far has prioritized young talent on the roster for the most part not older placeholders. The only problem with that right now is the PF position. Nobody has confidence that anyone on the roster that is likely to play there is more than a bench player. Maybe they can make a move for someone or get some value guy for really cheap but we don't have a lot of roster spots to sign a guy.

That's a great point, Monster. I agree. I like that part of Gersson's approach - a focus on building around KAT with players who are similar in age and, therefore, more likely to grow, develop and peak in the same time frame as KAT. My concerns are his poor draft judgment and his irrational obsession with style of play. And as you noted, he's built a roster with a huge void at PF and a serious lack of interior defense. I'd add that his roster lacks a real modern-day SF except perhaps for Layman.

Yes a long term SF is a problem too. I think at the stage they are right now playing Culver or Okogie at that spot would be fine and quite frankly needed because of the sheer amount of guys needing mi it's on the roster. Unlike most I do think Culver may actually be able to play SF full time but I wouldn't bet on it. Edwards could end up being the SF if his growth is real and he even grows a little more. Again not something I would bet on.

The good news...until Juancho signs his max deal (lol) is that the Wolves may be in good shape in terms of positive assets to make other moves either before the season or in season or even later.

I'm really frustrated with the Beasley contract because I simply think they should have gotten him at a lower number but there is a path to it being an ok or even solid deal but I wouldn't bet my job on it. I will say I looked through the list of FA guards last night and...there were not many guys (honesty pretty much nobody) I would want to sign to replace Beasley so...I kinda get it I guess.

At some point some perimeter players are gonna need to be moved (unless they simply suck) and I hope we pick the right guys when that happens.

We know Ryan prefers a 10-man rotation. Last year's opening day lineup produced an overtime win in Brooklyn:

Starters: Teague, Wiggins, Graham, Covington and Towns
Bench: Napier, Okogie, Culver, Laymen, Vonleh

We might as well assume Juancho will be re-signed. While many lineups are possible and it will take a training camp to develop the opening day lineup, a reasonable expectation would be:

Starters: D'Lo, Beasley, Okogie, Juancho and Towns
Bench: Rubio, Culver, Edwards, Laymen and Naz

The only change I would consider a downgrade is Juancho over Covington. But D'Lo over Teague is a win. Wiggins was so damn frustrating that Beasley over Wiggins a win. Without having played a minute, I am calling Edwards replacing Graham in the rotation a win. And Rubio over Napier is a win. Naz over Vonleh is probably a wash, but Naz wins on potential to develop.

Last year's team started 10-8 thru the end of November. I am actually kind of upbeat about the start of the season. Although that could be the Rubio effect...

This will be the first year that I can remember where the Wolves won't look prehistoric compared to the rest of the NBA in 3 point shooting ability, I'm curious to see how many wins it adds.

60WinTim wrote:We know Ryan prefers a 10-man rotation. Last year's opening day lineup produced an overtime win in Brooklyn:

Starters: Teague, Wiggins, Graham, Covington and Towns
Bench: Napier, Okogie, Culver, Laymen, Vonleh

We might as well assume Juancho will be re-signed. While many lineups are possible and it will take a training camp to develop the opening day lineup, a reasonable expectation would be:

Starters: D'Lo, Beasley, Okogie, Juancho and Towns
Bench: Rubio, Culver, Edwards, Laymen and Naz

The only change I would consider a downgrade is Juancho over Covington. But D'Lo over Teague is a win. Wiggins was so damn frustrating that Beasley over Wiggins a win. Without having played a minute, I am calling Edwards replacing Graham in the rotation a win. And Rubio over Napier is a win. Naz over Vonleh is probably a wash, but Naz wins on potential to develop.

Last year's team started 10-8 thru the end of November. I am actually kind of upbeat about the start of the season. Although that could be the Rubio effect...

Tim upbeat!? Ahhhhhh, all is right in the world.

BloopOracle wrote:This will be the first year that I can remember where the Wolves won't look prehistoric compared to the rest of the NBA in 3 point shooting ability, I'm curious to see how many wins it adds.

That's why I felt bringing Beasley back probably makes sense, even though I say that with clenched jaws. The fact is he is a flat-out sniper that will likely only get better from the outside given his age and having not played a ton of career minutes yet.

You guys are certainly right that we seem to have a glut of guards and dearth of PF's. The roster seems quite unbalanced right now, and it makes me wonder what moves still lie ahead.

That said, I can see the makings of a decent rotation. I may be more comfortable than some others with our SF situation because both Edwards and Okogie have the requisite size and athleticism to defend NBA small forwards. Edwards reportedly is still growing and is already 6'6"; more importantly he has a 6'10" wingspan, which is at least average for SFs. After all, you block or disrupt shots with your arms, not your head. And Okogie's 7'1" wingspan combined with quickness and defensive instincts make him ideally suited as a SF defender. This reduces somewhat the logjam at the 1 and 2, where I see Rubio, DLO, Beasley and Culver dividing the available minutes.

That then leaves the position with the most uncertainty- PF. I recognize there is reason for concern here, but even if no further deals are made, I'm comfortable with beginning the season with a (hopefully wisely) re-signed Juancho and a potentially exciting Jarred Vanderbilt. While I have some concerns about Juancho's defense, he proved to be an efficient scorer in his first NBA experience with significant minutes post-trade. He averaged 13 and 7 in 29 minutes as a starter post-trade- certainly adequate offensive numbers on a team that may have 3 explosive scorers- and he did this with a very efficient TS% of 57.6% (and by the way, his TS% was even higher in 2 of his first three seasons).

But since we don't really need scoring from our starting PF, I'm hoping that, absent trading for a starting PF, Vanderbilt can develop and take over the starting PF role this season- hopefully sooner than later. His pedigree and athleticism are both outstanding, he has demonstrated a strong ability to rebound and defend in the G League, and has apparently added a lot of muscle to his frame this off-season. He may (and I emphasize "may", because we don't know yet) be exactly whom we need next to Rubio, DLO, Edwards and KAT.

But I would not stand pat if I were Rosas, because I think he is sitting on a nice trade chip that could make this team better. And that trade chip is Russell. While I acknowledge his offensive production and flashiness, I have never liked his overall game. He is a consistently strong scorer, but his underlying metrics are terrible. His poor defense not only is obvious from watching him, but also is borne out by his horrible defensive metrics. And he is by no means an efficient scorer- his career TS% of 52.6% falls significantly below the league average for SG's of 55.2%, and is embarrassingly just north of Andrew Wiggins' career TS% of 52.2%- not someone I want my starting SG to model in efficiency. I'm generally a fan of defensive studs and efficient scorers, and DLO is neither. Yet still, NBA GM's seem willing to trade for him, because there will always be a market for scorers. With that in mind, I would be looking at teams that need a scoring SG but have a surplus of bigs, and could be willing to give up a very good 2-way PF in exchange for Russell (sorry, I have no PFs in mind at the moment). This would allow Beasley and Culver to share the SG minutes, and move Mc Laughlin into a backup role behind Rubio. I would love to roll into 2020-21 with a starting lineup of KAT/stud 2-way PF/Edwards/Beasley or Culver/Rubio.

Not likely, but a guy can dream...

Considering the DLO-KAT relationship, it seems highly unlikely Rosas would even consider moving DLO.

And you forgot to mention Layman. He wound up playing quite a bit of PF for us in our small ball style...