Minnesota Sports Forum

TheFuture wrote:

monsterpile wrote:

jester1534 wrote:

TheFuture wrote:

Q12543 wrote:I watched last night's game with my son and nephew, both of whom also have followed the Wolves over the years, so they cast a similarly leery eye toward rookies. But Edwards made our collective jaws drop a couple times. We all collectively almost lost it when he pulled the Dirk one-footed mid-post fadeaway for a hoop. That was basically the cherry on top of what had been a series of impressive plays.

We've been burned so often by high-lottery rookies that it's hard for me to get too excited, but there is no question Edwards has a massively high ceiling if he continues to work on his game and his body.

I didn't intend to watch the replay, but now I think I have to.

Still think the best play that made me go out crap. Is when he drove at Gobert and
Pushed Gobert back going to the rim.

All this and...he looks like he already knows how to play defense. Oh and that left handed pass on the break wasn't too shabby either.

That pass was awesome, I think he is already proving he needs more minutes. I have only watched the first two quarters, but our wings keep me excited. The defense seems terrifying, and I am loving the ball movement. I was questionable on the DLo trade, but Cam was right. The guy makes shots.

Still looking forward to that slam on Gobert, Jester.

Not a slam just attacking the chest of Gober to the hoop. It's very Harden like.

David Thorpe said as Kevin Martin's trainer one of his problems on defense was that he didn't have the body to really dish it out. Sam Mitchell always mentioned LaVine and Wiggins and even Towns getting stronger and they would be better players especially Defensively.

Edwards can already dish it out. Heck even Okogie as a rookie was ready to dish it out some and he wasn't as physically ready as Edwards but he had the mentality at least on defense. Edwards can physically muscle people around and I think one of the questions about him was whether he would use that advantage or not. So far he has used it to a promising degree on both ends.

2 other promising things I see from him:

1. I thought his footwork was really good at Georgia. That big deal whether it's in the perimeter getting jumpers or in the lane on on the break. Last night he had a post up on Conely and catch and work his way into a look around the rim. He is pretty advanced getting to where he needs to be because of his footwork.

Edwards currently has 1 turnover. That pretty impressive for a rookie who has handled the ballad event amount and put up 33 points.

Honestly right now in this moment I'm feeling pretty good about the Edwards pick.

Wiseman looks good I would not be sorry to have him on the roster either.

monsterpile wrote:David Thorpe said as Kevin Martin's trainer one of his problems on defense was that he didn't have the body to really dish it out. Sam Mitchell always mentioned LaVine and Wiggins and even Towns getting stronger and they would be better players especially Defensively.

Edwards can already dish it out. Heck even Okogie as a rookie was ready to dish it out some and he wasn't as physically ready as Edwards but he had the mentality at least on defense. Edwards can physically muscle people around and I think one of the questions about him was whether he would use that advantage or not. So far he has used it to a promising degree on both ends.

2 other promising things I see from him:

1. I thought his footwork was really good at Georgia. That big deal whether it's in the perimeter getting jumpers or in the lane on on the break. Last night he had a post up on Conely and catch and work his way into a look around the rim. He is pretty advanced getting to where he needs to be because of his footwork.

Edwards currently has 1 turnover. That pretty impressive for a rookie who has handled the ballad event amount and put up 33 points.

Honestly right now in this moment I'm feeling pretty good about the Edwards pick.

Wiseman looks good I would not be sorry to have him on the roster either.

Great post.

I wanted Wiseman, but I am comfortably surprised by Edwards. He looks fantastic on both ends.

One small piece of good news is that Edwards has not degraded his trade value yet in my opinion. While he hasn't been great, he has shown enough flashes of potential during pre-season and early regular season at such a young age that I still think his trade value as a top lottery pick (if not a typical #1 pick) is largely in tact. This is just something to keep an eye as the season wears on and perhaps some opportunities open up for Rosas to do some big-game hunting. After KAT, Edwards is our second most valuable trade asset and I don't think anyone else on the roster is even close to those two.

Q12543 wrote:One small piece of good news is that Edwards has not degraded his trade value yet in my opinion. While he hasn't been great, he has shown enough flashes of potential during pre-season and early regular season at such a young age that I still think his trade value as a top lottery pick (if not a typical #1 pick) is largely in tact. This is just something to keep an eye as the season wears on and perhaps some opportunities open up for Rosas to do some big-game hunting. After KAT, Edwards is our second most valuable trade asset and I don't think anyone else on the roster is even close to those two.

Edwards didn't attack like I wanted him to the past two games, but I'll still take a per 36 of 21.4/3.2/2.5 from a 19-year-old in his first 4 NBA games any day. The kid still hasn't missed a free throw, and I think he can become a scoring monster if he uses his elite athletic ability to get to the rim.

Q12543 wrote:One small piece of good news is that Edwards has not degraded his trade value yet in my opinion. While he hasn't been great, he has shown enough flashes of potential during pre-season and early regular season at such a young age that I still think his trade value as a top lottery pick (if not a typical #1 pick) is largely in tact. This is just something to keep an eye as the season wears on and perhaps some opportunities open up for Rosas to do some big-game hunting. After KAT, Edwards is our second most valuable trade asset and I don't think anyone else on the roster is even close to those two.

As everyone surely knows by now I don't know a lot about the details of the game. That being said I would hate to see Edwards traded, in fact I'd rather trade KAT and DLO and start to build around Edwards. The kid seems to have all the physical tools to be a one of the great players in the NBA, and the type that is the difference between a team being good, and a team being great. I have no idea if he'll get there, but I've seen enough to think he's a better bet than KAT or DLO when it comes to carrying a team at both ends of the floor.

If I had to be on the above I'd bet that I'm wrong, just because I usually am, but that is my gut feel about the Wolves current situation.

FNG wrote:

Q12543 wrote:One small piece of good news is that Edwards has not degraded his trade value yet in my opinion. While he hasn't been great, he has shown enough flashes of potential during pre-season and early regular season at such a young age that I still think his trade value as a top lottery pick (if not a typical #1 pick) is largely in tact. This is just something to keep an eye as the season wears on and perhaps some opportunities open up for Rosas to do some big-game hunting. After KAT, Edwards is our second most valuable trade asset and I don't think anyone else on the roster is even close to those two.

Edwards didn't attack like I wanted him to the past two games, but I'll still take a per 36 of 21.4/3.2/2.5 from a 19-year-old in his first 4 NBA games any day. The kid still hasn't missed a free throw, and I think he can become a scoring monster if he uses his elite athletic ability to get to the rim.

Exactly. There is no question his value as a trade asset has held up and perhaps even risen a bit since he was drafted.

The thing we have to remember is that unless Edwards gets really good really fast, he's simply not in the same window as KAT and DLO. Don't think for a second that Rosas won't trade him if it lands him another star. In fact, we all might want to get to know Bradley Beal a bit better tonight!

Q12543 wrote:

FNG wrote:

Q12543 wrote:One small piece of good news is that Edwards has not degraded his trade value yet in my opinion. While he hasn't been great, he has shown enough flashes of potential during pre-season and early regular season at such a young age that I still think his trade value as a top lottery pick (if not a typical #1 pick) is largely in tact. This is just something to keep an eye as the season wears on and perhaps some opportunities open up for Rosas to do some big-game hunting. After KAT, Edwards is our second most valuable trade asset and I don't think anyone else on the roster is even close to those two.

Edwards didn't attack like I wanted him to the past two games, but I'll still take a per 36 of 21.4/3.2/2.5 from a 19-year-old in his first 4 NBA games any day. The kid still hasn't missed a free throw, and I think he can become a scoring monster if he uses his elite athletic ability to get to the rim.

Exactly. There is no question his value as a trade asset has held up and perhaps even risen a bit since he was drafted.

The thing we have to remember is that unless Edwards gets really good really fast, he's simply not in the same window as KAT and DLO. Don't think for a second that Rosas won't trade him if it lands him another star. In fact, we all might want to get to know Bradley Beal a bit better tonight!

I think Edwards can easily become an allstar caliber player well within KAT's window. Really good players, especially those like Edwards who already have NBA bodies, generally don't take 4-5 years to become high-caliber players. It usually happens within 2-3 years at which point KAT will still be 27 years old, in the heart of his prime and at least a year or two left on his current contract. I'm not arguing against trading Edwards if the right deal comes along. I'm simply suggesting that the Wolves don't have to trade Edwards for him to have significant value as part of building around KAT. Keeping Edwards is also insurance against the possibility of moving KAT and starting another rebuild.

I agree that Rosas will be big-game hunting up to the trade deadline and that he'll be willing to deal Edwards for what he considers the right deal. My fear is that Rosas will become increasingly desperate as the Wolves continue to falter from his own incompetence to date. If you think he overpaid for DLO and Juancho as I do, just imagine how much he'll overpay when he's desperate to save his job at the trade deadline. Beal and Simmons were the guys I wanted to trade for on draft day. Simmons is unattainable in my view. But if the Wizards continue to struggle against just about every team except the Wolves this season, they might finally decide to move Beal and start over. Edwards would be an attractive piece for the Wizards to starting building around.

Lip, You are technically correct that Edwards and KAT's windows can overlap in terms of age. But I define KAT's window in the context of his Timberwolves window, which I think has a pretty short runway, i.e. perhaps this season and next, before he wants out. Edwards is not going to be that 2nd or 3rd star we need between now and next season - I just don't see it happening.

Q12543 wrote:Lip, You are technically correct that Edwards and KAT's windows can overlap in terms of age. But I define KAT's window in the context of his Timberwolves window, which I think has a pretty short runway, i.e. perhaps this season and next, before he wants out. Edwards is not going to be that 2nd or 3rd star we need between now and next season - I just don't see it happening.

I see your point, Q. I think we have at least a 2-season window with KAT - this season and next. We might have a third season given KAT's injury and the Covid weirdness this season. In any event, I generally agree with your analysis of KAT's effective window with the Wolves as distinct from his overall window as a player. But I'd still keep Edwards and focus on the development of all our young players this season for a playoff push next season with KAT for two reasons:

First, I think there's still a chance this team could become a playoff contender next season with the development of our young guys and one or two shrewd moves by Rosas to better balance the roster with more size. We do have a lot of young talent in Edwards, Culver, Okogie, Nowell, Beasley, Naz Reid, JMac, Vando and McDaniels. All of them, except Edwards, will have been in the League for multiple years by the start of next season. The problem is poor roster construction/balance and poor coaching in my view. Those things could potentially be fixed by next season, although I have little confidence in Rosas fixing those issues. However, it's possible.

Second, we're at a point were we need to simultaneously prepare for a future after KAT and Edwards is a key to that future. Unfortunately, I don't think this team is one Bradley Beal away from contending next season. Just look at how bad the Wizards were last season and how bad they've been thus far this season. He certainly wouldn't solve the size issue and acquiring Beal (or someone similar) would further deplete the assets we need to acquire talent with more size. We're already without our draft picks next season and to get Beal or someone comparable, we'd have to give up more future picks as well as Edwards and other young players. We'd completely mortgage the Wolves future for sake of one more star but we'd still barely be a playoff team.

I guess my bottom line is that I see this team eventually having to bite the bullet and move on from KAT because of how royally Rosas has screwed up this last off season after already missing the mark in last year's draft. Given that distinct possibility, I think we need to hang onto our best young assets so we're best prepared for an effective and reasonably expeditious rebuild without KAT. And there's always a possibility that Edwards, Culver, Okogie, Vado, Nowell, Beasley, Naz Reid and/or JMac improve enough by next season for the Wolves to become a playoff team, in which case, KAT probably won't demand a trade.