Minnesota Sports Forum

Speaking of the potential Wolves rookies this year... GR3 was in there too with a couple. KEEP HIM FLIP!

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24647439/video-andrew-wiggins-zach-lavine-jam-in-rookie-photo-shoot-dunk-contest

Really amazing how effortless LaVine looks when he dunks.

(that being said, I'd prefer he spent his off-time working on his left hand instead of concocting new dunks!).

SameOldDrew wrote:Anybody know the rationale behind not allowing teams to make a trade within 30 days after one of the players signs a contract?

I'll try and comment on this. Flip adressed this on a Funkadelic a couple weeks ago when asked about it. He basically said something like the league doesn't want teams signing guys and then moving them immediately.

What I think that means is the league doesn't want teams signing a random "Rookie" from say Europe to a 1 year deal or whatever and including them to make a trade work via the cap or maybe even basically sign and trade deals also. The 30 days makes it complicated enough to discourage teams from doing it. Did what I say make sense?

Q12543 wrote:Really amazing how effortless LaVine looks when he dunks.

(that being said, I'd prefer he spent his off-time working on his left hand instead of concocting new dunks!).

I agree on both points, q. I haven't wanted to kill the LaVine buzz we're all enjoying currently, so I've been staying away from any negative comments about LaVine's off-season focus on new dunks. It kind of reminds of that guy we all had on our high school teams. You'll remember him...talented guy who spent hours trying to master trick shots, like the shot from behind the backboard and the half court hook shot. You all know I'm not a fan of Kevin Love's character, but I admire how he always improved in the off-season...I always imagined him being hyper focused in his workouts, and that's how he got better. I want Zach to be like that (without the dink personality :) ).

Who knows...maybe Zach is spending 3 hours a day really working on his game, and just a half an hour playing around with new dunks. I hope so.

longstrangetrip wrote:

Q12543 wrote:Really amazing how effortless LaVine looks when he dunks.

(that being said, I'd prefer he spent his off-time working on his left hand instead of concocting new dunks!).

I agree on both points, q. I haven't wanted to kill the LaVine buzz we're all enjoying currently, so I've been staying away from any negative comments about LaVine's off-season focus on new dunks. It kind of reminds of that guy we all had on our high school teams. You'll remember him...talented guy who spent hours trying to master trick shots, like the shot from behind the backboard and the half court hook shot. You all know I'm not a fan of Kevin Love's character, but I admire how he always improved in the off-season...I always imagined him being hyper focused in his workouts, and that's how he got better. I want Zach to be like that (without the dink personality :) ).

Who knows...maybe Zach is spending 3 hours a day really working on his game, and just a half an hour playing around with new dunks. I hope so.

Isn't it just a bit ridiculous to be complaining of LaVine's dunking? There are 24 hours in every day, 7 days in each week, do we really believe that all the guy is doing is dunking? If the guy spent a few hours each and every day working on that left hand, do we think video of that would be popular? I would bet that even Kevin Love spends a little time on the court in the off season screwing around.

Yes, I'd love video of him using his left hand! Vines of layups, dunks, floaters, runners - all with his left hand. I'd be ecstatic.....But I'm kind of a geek that way.

What would be even better would be a Vine of Shabazz driving left and spinning to his right, then finishing with his right hand. I'd go especially nuts over that.

#dunkssucklarrybirdismyhero

You're right, sp, I'm nitpicking...but only because I want Zach to realize his full potential. I'm sort of a sports geek like q, so I would love to see video of Zach working over and over again on things he's going to actually use in a game. Living here in LA, I got the idea during Zach's freshman year that he's a little immature. A good guy, but just a little immature. He seems to me like the kind of guy who could use an off-season trainer to keep him focused.

But you're probably right...there are more important things to focus on than Zach's off-season training regimen.

longstrangetrip wrote:You're right, sp, I'm nitpicking...but only because I want Zach to realize his full potential. I'm sort of a sports geek like q, so I would love to see video of Zach working over and over again on things he's going to actually use in a game. Living here in LA, I got the idea during Zach's freshman year that he's a little immature. A good guy, but just a little immature. He seems to me like the kind of guy who could use an off-season trainer to keep him focused.

But you're probably right...there are more important things to focus on than Zach's off-season training regimen.

1. He's 19, of course he's a little immature! Hell, I'm damn near 50 and I'm more than a little immature!! :p

2. His off season training is very important, I just think we shouldn't read to much into a few dunking videos being released.

I wouldn't be worried about some dunking highlights. To me that shows he's in the gym, which is first and foremost a good thing. And if you've listened to his interviews, he knows exactly what he needs to work on. I've heard him talk about improving his left hand, his overall strength, his defensive stance, his BBIQ and his shot off the dribble. If he hadn't named his weaknesses word for word and was just posting dunk videos, then I'd be worried a bit. That's not the case, though, and I do believe he's putting in the time.

Also, his latest dunk video was for the rookie photoshoot I believe. Can't put too much into that.

(He did challenge Wiggins to a friendly dunk off I believe. See how he's already reaching out to a future teammate in an awkward situation. Leadership skills or just being a good guy, either way, I like it.)

Camden wrote: (He did challenge Wiggins to a friendly dunk off I believe. See how he's already reaching out to a future teammate in an awkward situation. Leadership skills or just being a good guy, either way, I like it.)

I think I liked this interaction more than the highlight reel dunks.