Last roster spot

[Carlos Danger]

All right, all right, Carlos stop lobbying me, I’ll take the last roster spot and promise to cheer my significant ass off!

You got my vote Sundog! Just remember not to smile or laugh if our team is losing. Guys on here HATE that -

[Monster]

I value Rivees more than most but there are some folks on here that suggest he simply isn’t very good. I think that’s a fair position and if you value some of the advanced stats it doesn’t look good. Interestingly last season he shot an overwhelmingly career high of his 3’s from the corner and shot them well. That could have been partly during his hot streak in the middle of the season so maybe nothing to take from that but it’s interesting. I do think there is a chance like Kek said our depth isn’t as good as it looks and they need Rivers or some vet that doesn’t suck. In addition I could see Rivers having value in the playoffs against some guards that aren’t big time athletes like Curry and Murray. Rivers struggles defensively with guys that have some athletic advantage over him. In the regular season it may make sense to play a young guy and see if he can give you anywhere near what Rivers can. Is it really so hard to imagine Moore playing solid D and not screwing up in a similar way that Rivers does? I like not guys to some extent just sayin.

Signing Rivers or a vet like him can still give the team roster flexibility. Last year his contract was partially guaranteed. They could have cut him last season instead of Forbes but they kept him because he had been the clear overall better player and a locker room presence. They also had plenty of space under the luxury tax so cutting Forbes wasn’t an issue. Depending on what salary they take back they might still have enough space under the luxury tax to cut someone without worrying about the lux tax.

As for taking a shot on a young/younger guy sometimes you end up with a player that’s young that is actually worth playing. Jordan McLaughlin is an example of that. The chances of that young player we sign to the last roster spot working out isn’t high (even as a decent bench player) but sometimes vets who you assume are worthwhile simply aren’t. Bryn Forbes couldn’t hit 3’s last year and the guy was what a 40% career 3 point shooter? Sometimes you get a vet that’s worth more than you thought they might be also so that route shouldn’t be discounted either. On the other hand I’d like to take a shot at finding the next Spencer Dinwiddie or Joe Harris or Seth Curry or even Torrey Craig (Denver found him after he played years internationally).

Ultimately there are a number of ways to go with the last roster spot and a number of possible players to fill it. Matt Ryan hasn’t signed his 2-way deal yet and even if he did they could move on from him if they wanted to do there is another chance to add a better player (or one with more potential) if one comes available. One other option is having an open roster spot can mean someone can earn their way onto the roster. Maybe Garza looks so impressive they decide to lock him into an NBA deal. I think it can be good to have a possible carrot like that for guys to see they have a real shot at making the actual roster. We are a little over a month from players reporting and training camps so there is time for things to happen. There also some lingering moves that could be made like a Dame or Harden trade which could shake loose various players either in a deal or maybe a team cuts someone loose. I think it’s fun to talk about various options. It matters even if there are 20-50 possible options of how to fill that spot and we don’t know much about what will happen. One thing I think seems clear from the reporting of the last couple weeks the Wolves aren’t looking to deal Gobert or Towns so that’s on hold at this point and I don’t think that possibility is going to affect what the Wolves do with the last roster spot.

[Monster]

All right, all right, Carlos stop lobbying me, I’ll take the last roster spot and promise to cheer my significant ass off!

You got my vote Sundog! Just remember not to smile or laugh if our team is losing. Guys on here HATE that -

Yeah you better look serious all the time unless Rubio tells you to change your face then you can maybe smile. Also be sure to stay locked in during every huddle.

I think we should have a tryout for that last roster spot to see who can cheer the best while staying serious about the game. We should also be ready to shake Glen’s hand and look him in the eye.

[Carlos Danger]

All right, all right, Carlos stop lobbying me, I’ll take the last roster spot and promise to cheer my significant ass off!

You got my vote Sundog! Just remember not to smile or laugh if our team is losing. Guys on here HATE that -

Yeah you better look serious all the time unless Rubio tells you to change your face then you can maybe smile. Also be sure to stay locked in during every huddle.

I think we should have a tryout for that last roster spot to see who can cheer the best while staying serious about the game. We should also be ready to shake Glen’s hand and look him in the eye.

LOL - yep, you are spot on with the part about looking Glen in the eye during hand shakes. Another very important piece of that 15th roster spot job description - ha!

[KG4Ever]

No love for Gorgui Dieng? He's a spry 33 year old and looking for a gig.

[Carlos Danger]

No love for Gorgui Dieng? He's a spry 33 year old and looking for a gig.

Gorgui was one of my favorite All Time Wolves players. He's #6 in All Time Win Shares for the Wolves. But I'm not sure how much he has left in the tank. Last season was the first season of his 10 year career that he put up negative VORP. I think if we do use the last spot, we could probably do better. As others have mentioned, there might be some interesting cuts once rosters are finalized. Maybe we can scoop up something better at that time.

[KG4Ever]

I love Gorgui too, but I wasn't advocating that we sign him now. However, if Gobert or Naz was out for the season, then I'd consider him among with all other options. I hope Gorgui finds a home, but 33 year old centers are not a priority for most NBA teams.

[Carlos Danger]

I love Gorgui too, but I wasn't advocating that we sign him now. However, if Gobert or Naz was out for the season, then I'd consider him among with all other options. I hope Gorgui finds a home, but 33 year old centers are not a priority for most NBA teams.

I hear ya. It gets tough for aging pros though...every year another crop of young guys that are ready to take your job. Looking at our current roster, I feel pretty good about our depth of bigs:

KAT
Rudy
Naz
Anderson

Garza
Miller
Minott

Plus probably another couple guys that will be on the G-League roster. The first four of those guys are going to be playing a lot. I'm hoping there will still be some minutes available for Garza/Miller/Minott so we can see where they are at in their development. I doubt all three turn out, but - maybe one or two of them can turn into rotational guys (or hopefully more).

[KG4Ever]

As earlier predicted, TyTy Washington has been reportedly waived by OKC who was facing a numbers game with 20 rostered guys. I'm all for signing this guy and at least bringing him into training camp and preseason.

[Monster]

As earlier predicted, TyTy Washington has been reportedly waived by OKC who was facing a numbers game with 20 rostered guys. I'm all for signing this guy and at least bringing him into training camp and preseason.

I’m all for bringing in TyTy.

OKC still has to cut I think 3 more players as they resigned a guy to a 2-way deal so they now have 20 guys on their roster.