Minnesota Sports Forum

Q12543 wrote:

zigzag22 wrote:I'm a huge Dieng fan myself, but from what we have seen from him, pulling him 15+ feet from the basket to guard PF's (more and more PF's are becoming stretch 4's), I just don't see the lateral quickness to keep up. He is best when he can stay in the paint and protect the rim. Just my opinion.

What would you propose doing then? When Pek is healthy, he'll get 30 minutes per game. Do we really want one of our better players from last season to only play 18 minutes per game as Pek's backup? And then there is Turiaf, who proved to be very effective in the limited minutes he received last year. He wouldn't even get off the bench. Meanwhile, we're barely making ends meet at PF with Young and.....who else?

It just seems like an inefficient use of resources to have three of our solid players - Pek, Dieng, and Turiaf - to all be limited to Center. Dieng is the one guy who could play some PF.

I would actually have more faith in Turiaf playing PF next to Pek...

I think Pek and Dieng on the floor together will be more situational than routine, at least early on. And I imagine it could eventually grow into a routine if Dieng is able to handle it. I just don't see it happening as fast as you want it to happen, Q.

I'm with zig...Dieng's best position is clearly center. He can play some PF, but it certainly isn't ideal...he didn't look very good there in SL, and he looked terrific at C last year. And I can't envision Turiaf handling PF either offensively or defensively.

Which brings us back to Q's question...how does Flip use Pek, Gorgui and Turiaf? I think Flip has to continue to find a way to move the oft-injured Pek and his $12 million contract. We have talked about trading him for a 2-way wing, but with the Love departure and arrival of Wiggins and LaVine, maybe Flip is looking for a solid PF he can pick up for Pek. I'm not that familiar with the depth of other teams, but I wonder if there is a team that needs an offensive center, and has enough depth at PF that they can afford to trade us a starting PF? This would accomplish three team needs: provide a suitable replacement for Love, free up minutes for Gorgui which greatly improves our interior defense, and removes Pek's risky bad contract.

Flip seems to understand roster balance and has to know we're not there. Too many centers and SF's, no real answer at PF. I'm confident he is working on solutions, but nothing will happen until the Wiggins/Love deal happens and the Philly rumors are resolved. I think Pek is the third domino to fall in this roster shuffle.

I don't think Pek is going anywhere. Turiaf can play minutes at PF but I am not counting on him playing big minutes at either position he gets hurt we probably need to limit his minutes as well as Pek. I think Flip is going to try and limit Pek to between 25-30 minutes which would be smart. That leaves around 20 minutes for Dieng at C and he will play some minutes at PF but I just don't see him being able to handle that defensively. His man defense at any position is kinda raw. I think he will get better but he has a long way to go. The good news is he is a legit rim protector and very good rebounder. He will have a good amount of impact this season.

I try to picture Turiaf at PF, monster, and I just can't get there. His offensive game is limited to within 5 feet of the basket, and he just doesn't have the quickness to defend PF's. Ronny is what he is...a great locker room guy and energetic backup center.

There seems to be a perception on this board that Pek's injuries are due to his playing too many minutes, and if we limit him to 25 and give Dieng the remainder, Pek will stay healthier. I don't think there is any evidence that Pek is more likely to get injured if he plays 35 minutes rather than 25. In fact, it seems to me that his calf strains and thigh contusions happen as often in the 10th minute as the 35th. Pek misses games because he is injury prone and perhaps has a low pain tolerance, not because he is being overused.

I don't think we can ignore the fact that we have a Howard/Asik problem with Pek/Dieng...two good players capable of only playing center, and it didn't work out well for Houston. It limited Asik to 5 PPG last season, and as many of us predicted, limited his trade value when Houston finally moved him. The time for Flip to move on Pek is now, coming off a productive season.

LST - I think you are forgetting how dominant Pek can be. The Wolves chances of winning some games next year will depend heavily on Pek. And I also think it's a bit premature to anoint Dieng has an NBA starting C that can play 30-35 minutes. Let's give it another year and see what it looks like then...

The perfect team to trade Pek to what the Pelicans. Before the got Asik. I honestly think they might still be willing to trade for Pek. It would ensure Davis doesn't need to play center. They could offer up Ryan Anderson and Austin Rivers for Pek and I would do it.

longstrangetrip wrote:I try to picture Turiaf at PF, monster, and I just can't get there. His offensive game is limited to within 5 feet of the basket, and he just doesn't have the quickness to defend PF's. Ronny is what he is...a great locker room guy and energetic backup center.

There seems to be a perception on this board that Pek's injuries are due to his playing too many minutes, and if we limit him to 25 and give Dieng the remainder, Pek will stay healthier. I don't think there is any evidence that Pek is more likely to get injured if he plays 35 minutes rather than 25. In fact, it seems to me that his calf strains and thigh contusions happen as often in the 10th minute as the 35th. Pek misses games because he is injury prone and perhaps has a low pain tolerance, not because he is being overused.

I don't think we can ignore the fact that we have a Howard/Asik problem with Pek/Dieng...two good players capable of only playing center, and it didn't work out well for Houston. It limited Asik to 5 PPG last season, and as many of us predicted, limited his trade value when Houston finally moved him. The time for Flip to move on Pek is now, coming off a productive season.

I'm positive Turiaf played PF at various stops over the years.

Granted he was younger but how many injuries did Pek have playing fewer minutes in Europe? I think limiting Pek's minutes is worth a try. I'm not saying it is going to work but at the very least Flip said he was going to play Pek for shorter stretches of time.

We MAY have a Asik Howard problem but people are jumping the gun on Dieng. He hasn't proven to be a starting level player yet. Houston was just dumb not taking a reasonable offer for Asik last season (or trading him for something worthwhile this offseason) and they sold out trading him for cap space and we know how that worked out. How long did it take for Asik to become a starting level player? It took more than 1 year. If Dieng progresses the way we hope and becomes a legit starting center then Pek becomes a nice asset and I think he will have value as long as he is around as healthy as he has been the past 3 years.

Ronny's not going to play. There's a reason he's a minimum salary guy. He's a good locker room guy and can fill in when injuries dictate which they do with Pek. We have to stop trying to find playing time for everyone on the team. It's just not going to happen. The rotation in any game should include no more than 10 guys so pick which 10 you think should play and everybody else is gonna be riding the bench pending injuries.

Anyone think the Hawks would do a Pek for Millsap trade straight up? That's about the only team I can find that has anything we would want and could use a guy like Pek next to Horford and Payne. All the other Center needy teams don't really have anything that would help us moving forward. I'd rather overpay Millsap to bring him back than Thad, that's for sure. A Ricky/Martin/Wiggins/Millsap/Dieng lineup would be very good defensively and Millsap can make up most if not all of the lost offensive production for Pek. It's a lot of faith to put in Dieng, but I think given how stacked next year's draft is with bigs that his shot needs to be given this year so we can truly see if he has the potential to be the long-term starting C or if he should be our primary bench big.

khans2k5 wrote:Anyone think the Hawks would do a Pek for Millsap trade straight up? That's about the only team I can find that has anything we would want and could use a guy like Pek next to Horford and Payne. All the other Center needy teams don't really have anything that would help us moving forward. I'd rather overpay Millsap to bring him back than Thad, that's for sure. A Ricky/Martin/Wiggins/Millsap/Dieng lineup would be very good defensively and Millsap can make up most if not all of the lost offensive production for Pek. It's a lot of faith to put in Dieng, but I think given how stacked next year's draft is with bigs that his shot needs to be given this year so we can truly see if he has the potential to be the long-term starting C or if he should be our primary bench big.

It would be a good trade for us. I am not sure what the Hawks are trying to do. Are they trying to build a team or win? I am a huge fan of Millsap.