Draft prospects - Who do we want?

[ahughes53 [enjin:6639223]]

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Mario-Hezonja-6392/

Worth a look at the first video, I'm liking a lot of what I see.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Jahlil-Okafor-vs-Frank-Kaminsky-Head-to-Head-Matchup-Video-Analysis-4791

Also, a pretty good watch.

[bleedspeed]

Mario is an interesting prospect. He has the length and moves well without the ball. I wonder if he will struggle finishing and if can become a good teammate. (red flag by DE)

Here is a good Town video:
http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Karl-Towns-vs-Jarell-Martin-Video-Analysis-4815/

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Hezonja is a terrific prospect...has a chance to be a star in the NBA. That said, I stay far away from him because of his personality...the guy is a world-class jerk. Think Christian Laettner. The guy has all the talent in the world, but has the reputation of getting really down on his teammates when things don't go his way. There's only one way I would consider him. We get the 5th or 6th pick and think Mario is a better prospect than Stanley Johnson, and KG is signed for 2 more years. Hezonja is the kind of guy that KG would deck in practice or the locker room the first time he got out of line...might be fun to see!

[bleedspeed]

I wonder how Mario will feel when he is not the best player on the team. It will be interesting how his ego handles that.

[Coolbreeze44]

Hezonja is a terrific prospect...has a chance to be a star in the NBA. That said, I stay far away from him because of his personality...the guy is a world-class jerk. Think Christian Laettner. The guy has all the talent in the world, but has the reputation of getting really down on his teammates when things don't go his way. There's only one way I would consider him. We get the 5th or 6th pick and think Mario is a better prospect than Stanley Johnson, and KG is signed for 2 more years. Hezonja is the kind of guy that KG would deck in practice or the locker room the first time he got out of line...might be fun to see!

KG won't deck anybody. As soon as somebody stands up to him he cowers like a Frenchmen. I'm hoping he crosses Pek in some way and the big guy gives him cab fare home.

[bleedspeed]

KG won't deck anybody. As soon as somebody stands up to him he cowers like a Frenchmen. I'm hoping he crosses Pek in some way and the big guy gives him cab fare home.

Pek is not really a tough guy himself. Strong, but not a guy that just doesn't get worked up.

I think having KG on the team will be good for protecting our younger players. He won't stand by when players take cheap shots at them. We need someone like that and the league gives him a little more leeway in that regard. I honestly think the young players will learn something seeing how he works the officials to a degree.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

KG sounds like the NBA equivalent of Jesus on this board. If KG's the real deal like some of you are hyping him up to be, let's go ahead and bring back Michael Beasley and let KG fix him. He's a miracle worker right.

[bleedspeed]

KG sounds like the NBA equivalent of Jesus on this board. If KG's the real deal like some of you are hyping him up to be, let's go ahead and bring back Michael Beasley and let KG fix him. He's a miracle worker right.

I actually was going to say something like this. Flip is very interested in the right guy. Not going after guys like Whiteside etc. McHale dumped Rider and Latneer. I think Flip is thinking about that when building the team.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

KG sounds like the NBA equivalent of Jesus on this board. If KG's the real deal like some of you are hyping him up to be, let's go ahead and bring back Michael Beasley and let KG fix him. He's a miracle worker right.

I don't know, cam...I see the opinions about the KG return a little more balanced than you suggest. Hardly the NBA equivalent of Jesus...maybe more the prodigal son. I know at least my thoughts are balanced. There is a subset of the board that is generally excited about KG returning to the fold, and I think that's understandable. He's by far the best player in franchise history, and many of us long-suffering fans can't help but look back with gratitude at the KG playoff years. (Again for the benefit of the younger members of this forum...the word "playoffs" refers to a series of NBA games played after the Wolves have completed their season). Certainly the season ticket holders on this board have to be more excited about the rest of the season. And the universal enthusiasm from the rest of the team about the deal, combined with articles like the one citing his mentorship as a key component of Plumlee's revival, are evidence that Flip's mentoring and culture changing statements have some validity.

But I also think that even the staunchest advocates admit that KG is not the player he was in his prime. The intensity and desire is still there, but the body is clearly not totally willing. I don't think anyone expects him to give more than 20 minutes a night, and he isn't likely to score in double figures. And his defensive contribution will be more as a coach on the court than the individual spectacular contributions he made in his prime...but that is enough for me.

As I have said before, if he can have the same impact on a few of our young bigs...and we have many plus perhaps one more next year...that he had on Plumlee, this deal has to be viewed positively, and there is reason for the enthusiasm in some posts on this board. We will have to find a way to replace Thad's scoring, and with Muhammad gone for the season that becomes a taller order, but I think Martin and Wiggins are ready to fill much of that void. And there is no question in my mind that the Wolves are now a much better rebounding and defensive team. As always, we will need time to see how this plays out, but there certainly seems to be room for some optimism and joy here.

[Coolbreeze44]

Can I ask one question? Is he going to be walking on water at all? Because that's one thing I would pay to see. I mean supposedly he's going to:

1) Make people pay more money to see a losing product
2) Leave his thuggerish past behind
3) Inject his DNA into guys like AB and Dieng to turn them into KG clones
4) Change the culture of a franchise (One that he helped build by the way)
5) Transition from trash talking player to master mentor
6) Use osmosis to make defenders out of even the least interested TWolves
7) Make us a tougher team even though his toughness was always a mirage (remember all those 4th quarter failures?)

So yeah, if he's going to walk down the Mississippi I don't want to miss it.