Who's the target? Jimmy Buckets?

[TheFuture]

Around the league there is a lot of chatter about trading for Butler or George.

I look at Boston who has all the assets to make a move, have a hole at PF, yet they only are in talks about a wing.

That got me thinking, is there a large of a lack of PFs that aren't worth a top pick? Are they so coveted that teams won't shop them? Is the league still on it's toes when it comes to deciding on which direction to spend on a 4?

What's your view?

Teams want star players those guys are star players and both teams might not have enough talent to be true contenders and have some pieces to rebuild.

The PF spot is interesting. The league is being infused with a ton of young talented bigs. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

I understand that view. But Boston is essentially stacked at the wing position. MN also has two potential stars there. Both have a glaring hole at PF.

I had trouble coming up with any PFs I'd trade for with our pick. Do you have any?

Everyone talks about the dead C position, yet it seems the PF position is really dead.

You make a good point. Part of why it seems dead too is that the top PFs are on very good teams so you don't think about them. Griffin Love Aldridge and Draymond Green. Some of those top guys are getting older like Zach randolph and Bosh can't play anymore Duncan retired and Dirk is going that direction. The young guys are coming in but they haven't gotten there yet or we aren't sure whether they are PFs or Cs like Towns and Porzingis. To me the C position might be getting pretty interesting because Jokic And Embiid (if healthy) are beasts and I'm tending to lean towards Towns being more of a C. You have guys like Nurkic and Turner and some other guys plus the Cousins AD combination.

I agree I don't think there is a PF I would trade the pick for either of guy that reasonably would be available. I think the Wolves probably need to sign a fringe starter mobile PF and try and develop their future starter there on way or another.

I agree with everything you said.

It is a combination of knowing if these new guys are PFs or Cs + knowing what pieces to choose/fit in the new NBA style.

Going further on the current league set up, out of those PFs you listed which actually fit the mold? I can only say Draymond. Guys like Patterson, Johnson, Ja. Green, etc. are going to be overpaid simply because the talent at the pf position has not transitioned as fast as the league direction has.

Maybe the direction should be to ensure the 1,2,3,5 positions and be in a position to solidify the 4 position in 2+ years when we're in contention and the league has firmly dictated what the 4 position actually is?

Unfortunately we're in a spot where the 4 is our biggest hole and there are few options to solidify it...

[Monster]

Around the league there is a lot of chatter about trading for Butler or George.

I look at Boston who has all the assets to make a move, have a hole at PF, yet they only are in talks about a wing.

That got me thinking, is there a large of a lack of PFs that aren't worth a top pick? Are they so coveted that teams won't shop them? Is the league still on it's toes when it comes to deciding on which direction to spend on a 4?

What's your view?

Teams want star players those guys are star players and both teams might not have enough talent to be true contenders and have some pieces to rebuild.

The PF spot is interesting. The league is being infused with a ton of young talented bigs. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

I understand that view. But Boston is essentially stacked at the wing position. MN also has two potential stars there. Both have a glaring hole at PF.

I had trouble coming up with any PFs I'd trade for with our pick. Do you have any?

Everyone talks about the dead C position, yet it seems the PF position is really dead.

You make a good point. Part of why it seems dead too is that the top PFs are on very good teams so you don't think about them. Griffin Love Aldridge and Draymond Green. Some of those top guys are getting older like Zach randolph and Bosh can't play anymore Duncan retired and Dirk is going that direction. The young guys are coming in but they haven't gotten there yet or we aren't sure whether they are PFs or Cs like Towns and Porzingis. To me the C position might be getting pretty interesting because Jokic And Embiid (if healthy) are beasts and I'm tending to lean towards Towns being more of a C. You have guys like Nurkic and Turner and some other guys plus the Cousins AD combination.

I agree I don't think there is a PF I would trade the pick for either of guy that reasonably would be available. I think the Wolves probably need to sign a fringe starter mobile PF and try and develop their future starter there on way or another.

I agree with everything you said.

It is a combination of knowing if these new guys are PFs or Cs + knowing what pieces to choose/fit in the new NBA style.

Going further on the current league set up, out of those PFs you listed which actually fit the mold? I can only say Draymond. Guys like Patterson, Johnson, Ja. Green, etc. are going to be overpaid simply because the talent at the pf position has not transitioned as fast as the league direction has.

Maybe the direction should be to ensure the 1,2,3,5 positions and be in a position to solidify the 4 position in 2+ years when we're in contention and the league has firmly dictated what the 4 position actually is?

Unfortunately we're in a spot where the 4 is our biggest hole and there are few options to solidify it...

If there are positions you can find really worthwhile players outside the lottery it's bigmen. What you have laid out is why a guy like Bjelica is pretty valuable (assuming he comes back healthy and plays well) especially on his cheap contract. He isn't a starter level guy but showed signs of being a worthwhile rotation guys that has a lot of versatility. In theory Payne is a guy that could help in a limited role as well. It makes a lot of sense why they gave him minutes this year and it was a small sample but he actually looked like an NBA player instead of a tragic comedy. Can you find the next Jermichael Green? Draymond Green might be the 2nd best PF in the league behind AD and he was a 2nd round pick. You don't have to get that level of player and with Dieng here getting another really solid player that compliments him might be good enough if the rest of the team is really good.

We have kinda said it but it's a weird time for bigs. Some guys may not be able to guard in space even if they can shoot so that's bad for them. Some guys can guard players but if they can't shoot outside the paint that's bad.

I was looking for hidden gems and ran across a guy a few posters have said they wanted in the past Christian Wood. He turns 22 in September I think and has the basic skills size/length and athletic ability of the modern big man but obviously he hasn't put it together otherwise The Hornets would have kept him around. It looks like he has gotten stronger since he was a rookie. The good franchises find a guy that turns into a worthwhile player at least every year or 2. If the Wolves can't do that they probably won't be contenders. We need to start expecting they find some lesser players and they turn into something worthwhile to some extent.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I think the PF and SF position for the Wolves are equally important. I also think Thibs has a decision to make as it relates to the PF role. We tend to just assume KAT is a Center, but he rarely guarded opposing team Centers to start halves. He tends to start games at PF and end games at C. So do we really need a big, traditional paint protector that gives us 25 MPG but sits on the bench in crunch time? Or do we need a versatile PF that can guard both traditional, bigger PFs AND guard in space (Milsap, Gibson, etc.)? That means KAT has to guard Centers more often and spend more time defensively in the paint.

As for the SF role, that gets sort of blended with the PF issue as well. Guys like PJ Tucker and Rudy Gay are probably big and strong enough to play some small-ball PF, with Wiggins and LaVine playing the wing positions. So if you get a guy like that, do you really have a defensive Center need instead of a pure PF need?

[Monster]

I think the PF and SF position for the Wolves are equally important. I also think Thibs has a decision to make as it relates to the PF role. We tend to just assume KAT is a Center, but he rarely guarded opposing team Centers to start halves. He tends to start games at PF and end games at C. So do we really need a big, traditional paint protector that gives us 25 MPG but sits on the bench in crunch time? Or do we need a versatile PF that can guard both traditional, bigger PFs AND guard in space (Milsap, Gibson, etc.)? That means KAT has to guard Centers more often and spend more time defensively in the paint.

As for the SF role, that gets sort of blended with the PF issue as well. Guys like PJ Tucker and Rudy Gay are probably big and strong enough to play some small-ball PF, with Wiggins and LaVine playing the wing positions. So if you get a guy like that, do you really have a defensive Center need instead of a pure PF need?

Well laid out post Q. I tend to lean towards a mobile PF and a sizable SF as bigger needs than C because Inthinknthe Wolves have 3 centers in Towns Dieng and Aldrich. All of those guys can also play PF to some extent (Aldrich only in certain matchups) but I wouldn't turn down a true longthy strong defenive center wither.

Q I'm not so sure about Towns guarding PF at the beginning of the game at least as the season wore on. It seemed like Dieng would be guarding PFs plenty at the beginning of the game. It seemed like he was the guy getting burned by Ryan Anderson (it was a team effort though) and...ok I can't remember too definitively past that (who want to remember that far back right?) but Britt mentioned in his last podcast that he thought Towns and Dieng had flipped their defensive roles compared to the beginning of the year especially down the stretch. Britt and Brauer both thought Towns is better (or more like less terrible) playing defense as a center at this point and I tend to agree. It gets old to say this stuff but Towns is 21 and I'm hos 2nd year in the league so we don't know where he will play best at. I think everyone will agree he will be able to play both positions some for the next decade plus but like your post says what type of plays do you put next to him? It's further complicated by the possibility of how the league is evolving as well. Some true defensive centers that had worth just 5 or so years ago are nearly unplayable now. I don't buy the thought they lost that much game (some sure) but I think a lot of it is it's a different league now.

[Crazysauce]

Just curious, Lavine for Porzingis? Who says no? Who would do this deal?

[Monster]

Just curious, Lavine for Porzingis? Who says no? Who would do this deal?

Unless the problems with the Knicks have gotten really bad the Knicks say no. Keeping Porzingis. I would do the deal if they say yes but I would feel bad sending Lavine to the Knicks. I love that kid. My biggest hesitation with Porzingis is he has had some problems staying healthy.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Just curious, Lavine for Porzingis? Who says no? Who would do this deal?

Lol they hang up the phone immediately. Zach is coming off a major knee injury. Nobody is giving anything of value up for him untill they see him play.

[Crazysauce]

So I get the worry about the injury, but lets say the knicks arent worried about the injury. Maybe deal is before season and lavine is playing great in preseason? They still say no and hang up?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

So I get the worry about the injury, but lets say the knicks arent worried about the injury. Maybe deal is before season and lavine is playing great in preseason? They still say no and hang up?

Ya, they'd clean everything else out before Porzingas including Phil. He's their future. It'd be close if you were offering Wiggins and they'd take Towns no doubt, but Zach just isn't the prospect Porzingas is. You just can't teach 7'3 with length and shooting touch. Zach is a great prospect, but he hasn't shown nearly enough to put him on Porzingas' level. I think from recent drafts you have Embiid, Towns, Porzingas, Simmons and Wiggins as the top tier. I think Zach is in the tier below with guys like Myles Turner and Jokic (Jokic is just a little more time away from that top tier IMO).

[AbeVigodaLive]

LaVine for Porzingis?

That dude is crazy. Or on the sauce.