Around the NBA:2025-6

[Q-is-here]

Where would you all rank those matchups for the 3/6 stand off?
As in who do you want to play most of the three teams

I'd go:

Lakers
Houston
Denver

This is with the understanding that Luka and Reaves are expected to miss round 1

I agree, Aussie...with a wide gap between the Lakers and Houston, and a less wide (but still wide) gap between Houston and Denver. I don't yet know if I believe enough in this Wolves' team...it's going to depend a lot on how effective Jaden and Ant are when they return. But getting to the finals two years in a row has me eager to get at least to the second round, and I think we all agree the Lakers are the easiest path to round 2. Unfortunately Denver looks to be our most likely opponent right now, but we've seen in the past few days how quickly things can change!

Our supporting cast has made me go wobbly. Getting trounced by Detroit (without Cade) and then Charlotte at home was pretty humbling. Ayo's stock has fallen, Naz looks broken, Randle has a hard ceiling, and Rudy's age is showing.

I expect big changes this offseason.

[FNG]

It'll be Denver. Houston is already a game behind in the loss column, and Denver owns the tie breaker. So, Houston needs to win out AND have Denver lose two games. I don't see either of those scenarios panning out, let alone both of them.

The silver lining is Denver could certainly lose to both OKC and San Antonio. It comes down to the OKC mindset first and foremost. OKC could usher Denver our of their side of the bracket by resting some guys. Then again San Antonio would seemingly like to beat them and send them out of their side. So back to that Blazers game. .

I agree with Tim that Denver is the most likely scenario, but I would not be surprised if Denver loses two. Anything can happen with teams jockeying to get the most favorable outcome.

[Lipoli390]

Where would you all rank those matchups for the 3/6 stand off?
As in who do you want to play most of the three teams

I'd go:

Lakers
Houston
Denver

This is with the understanding that Luka and Reaves are expected to miss round 1

I agree, Aussie...with a wide gap between the Lakers and Houston, and a less wide (but still wide) gap between Houston and Denver. I don't yet know if I believe enough in this Wolves' team...it's going to depend a lot on how effective Jaden and Ant are when they return. But getting to the finals two years in a row has me eager to get at least to the second round, and I think we all agree the Lakers are the easiest path to round 2. Unfortunately Denver looks to be our most likely opponent right now, but we've seen in the past few days how quickly things can change!

Our supporting cast has made me go wobbly. Getting trounced by Detroit (without Cade) and then Charlotte at home was pretty humbling. Ayo's stock has fallen, Naz looks broken, Randle has a hard ceiling, and Rudy's age is showing.

I expect big changes this offseason.

Q - I agree unless this team suddenly catches fire and ends up in the NBA finals, which seems highly unlikely. Unfortunately, the Wolves are in a really bad situation.

When your team has a star in his prime like we do in Edwards, but the team has hit the wall with no realistic hope that the current roster can take it to the next level, you really only have two choices. One alternative is to trade your star and start over with a bevy of picks and young talent to develop over the next five years. The other option is to trade for a much better supporting cast around your star. But unfortunately for the Wolves, trading to upgrade around Ant requires a full cupboard of 1st round picks, which of course the Wolves do not have. Trading current players for replacement players is a plus-minus equation that rarely results in significant net improvement. That’s because other teams aren’t dumb and know the flaws in the players you’re trying to trade - which is of course why you’re trying to trade them. To upgrade the veteran talent around your star, you need to give up picks to teams that want to trade top players as part of beginning a rebuild. The Wolves can’t do that because of Rudy deal, combined with the Dillingham deal, and other deals. Keep in mind, the Wolves are also extremely thin on 2nd round picks.

I don’t see the Wolves trading Ant or even Jaden this off-season. So while I would expect the Wolves to make substantial personnel changes after this season, I think those changes will likely be part of a continuing downward slide that will eventually culminate in trading Ant a couple years from now for a full rebuild or losing him to free agency. It’s no accident that the three best teams in the NBA are OKC, San Antonio and Detroit. All three teams built their current rosters primarily from the ground up through the draft or by trading a vet star for a young player - SGA - who had not yet developed into the star he’s become.

As I see it, the only hope for the Wolves is to pull off a deal similar to OKC’s SGA deal - i.e., parley Randle, Rudy and/or Naz into acquiring a young soon-to-be all star player in the 19-23 age range - from a team that has lost patience with the young player or doesn’t see the player’s full potential. TC has whiffed pretty miserably on his draft picks with the Wolves. He’s made some good trades, but no game-changing deals. It’s time for him to pull off an SGA caliber trade - or the trade equivalent of drafting Jokic, which is the one move he made that put him on the map as an elite NBA executive.

[FNG]

Where would you all rank those matchups for the 3/6 stand off?
As in who do you want to play most of the three teams

I'd go:

Lakers
Houston
Denver

This is with the understanding that Luka and Reaves are expected to miss round 1

I agree, Aussie...with a wide gap between the Lakers and Houston, and a less wide (but still wide) gap between Houston and Denver. I don't yet know if I believe enough in this Wolves' team...it's going to depend a lot on how effective Jaden and Ant are when they return. But getting to the finals two years in a row has me eager to get at least to the second round, and I think we all agree the Lakers are the easiest path to round 2. Unfortunately Denver looks to be our most likely opponent right now, but we've seen in the past few days how quickly things can change!

Our supporting cast has made me go wobbly. Getting trounced by Detroit (without Cade) and then Charlotte at home was pretty humbling. Ayo's stock has fallen, Naz looks broken, Randle has a hard ceiling, and Rudy's age is showing.

I expect big changes this offseason.

I hear you, Q, but I'm still clinging to optimism...maybe I'm just a dumb homer. I think we are better than the three teams we just lost to, but we're not better than any of them missing 2 key starters. Get Jaden and Ant back, and I still am expecting a fun post season. I agree that Ayo's stock has fallen, but I never bought into the narrative that he should replace Donte in the starting lineup...but I love him off the bench. And I have been quite impressed with Ju at both ends of the court recently, and I was down on him before that. Naz is the problem...we need him to progress back to his mean.

[AussieWolf3]

I agree, Aussie...with a wide gap between the Lakers and Houston, and a less wide (but still wide) gap between Houston and Denver. I don't yet know if I believe enough in this Wolves' team...it's going to depend a lot on how effective Jaden and Ant are when they return. But getting to the finals two years in a row has me eager to get at least to the second round, and I think we all agree the Lakers are the easiest path to round 2. Unfortunately Denver looks to be our most likely opponent right now, but we've seen in the past few days how quickly things can change!

Our supporting cast has made me go wobbly. Getting trounced by Detroit (without Cade) and then Charlotte at home was pretty humbling. Ayo's stock has fallen, Naz looks broken, Randle has a hard ceiling, and Rudy's age is showing.

I expect big changes this offseason.

I hear you, Q, but I'm still clinging to optimism...maybe I'm just a dumb homer. I think we are better than the three teams we just lost to, but we're not better than any of them missing 2 key starters. Get Jaden and Ant back, and I still am expecting a fun post season. I agree that Ayo's stock has fallen, but I never bought into the narrative that he should replace Donte in the starting lineup...but I love him off the bench. And I have been quite impressed with Ju at both ends of the court recently, and I was down on him before that. Naz is the problem...we need him to progress back to his mean.

I wouldn't say I'm optimistic, but I am curious about how they'll play when the game really really matter.

Ant is just something else in the playoffs and is such a galvanizing force. I think a lot of folks will say this year feels different and I don't disagree entirely but I think we're forgetting how people felt about the Suns matchup before the Wolves blew their doors off and the run up to the Lakers matchup last year was ridiculous with Wolves negativity.

This is a proven playoff team that is really going through it right now. Naz is especially concerning right now because there really isn't any reason to think he'll improve before the season ends (whenever that is). The injury is very clearly affecting him and it's not going to magically get better. The only hope there is that he is able to adapt his play in time for the playoffs and affect the game in different ways

That said I still feel pretty damn certain that this team will be a hell of first round opponent for whoever they face, and wouldn't be surprised at all if they quickly round into their top form.

[Coolbreeze44]

I expect Luka to be back for round 1. I've seen him drag himself up and down the court before, and he doesn't rely that much on athleticism anyway.

[FNG]

I expect Luka to be back for round 1. I've seen him drag himself up and down the court before, and he doesn't rely that much on athleticism anyway.

I don't know, Cool...he's choosing to opt out of American medical care to instead go for the medical system of Eastern Europe...seems kind of desperate and ill advised to me. Would you rather see us play Denver than LA?

[60WinTim]

Thanks for the pep talks, piss ants!

[Phenom]

One more quarter. Go PDX!

[Phenom]

Cmon hold on!