Wolves Summer League

[Monster]

Just finished watching the Wolves game against the Nets. The Nets have a group of guys that have been with the Nets and played NBA games. It wasn't close but at least the Wolves made it interesting in the 3rd quarter. One guy that helped keep it interesting was Brown. He played a nice game.

Moore was a mixed bag but he did some good things. One of the Wolves problems is that they don't really have much in terms of good PG play. Moore getting to play there was good for him but not probably that god for other players. I don't think it hurt Minott and just seeing Spagnolo play was good.

Spagnolo I like what I see out of him. He plays like a guy that is older at times in a good way. Maybe a little like Prigioni. Maybe he doesn't end up being a guy that makes it in the NBA but he has some game.

Minor had a relatively good game. I think I agree with Lip that he has a better handle than McDaniels did. They play differently offensively though. His shot looks fluid and he showed more ability on offense than expected. He did everything else we could have expected too. I didn't see the Bucks game but after this one it feels like he did enough to get an actual NBA deal. If they get him on a 2-way that would be good too. It's looking like a good pick.

I thought Lewis played a good first half and the 2nd half he played well except he couldn't knock down shots.

Harris was meh in this game. He did have a heck of a defensive possession in the first half on Cam Thomas. I still hope if we have a 2 way deal open we can find someone better. I think we can. I won't hate it if he is the guy though there is just something about him that makes me just feel like meh.

Also the analyst on the broadcast was driving me nuts. I was glad when they started talking about the Durant and Mitchell situations so I didn't have to hear her takes on the game.

[Lipoli390]

Just finished watching the Wolves game against the Nets. The Nets have a group of guys that have been with the Nets and played NBA games. It wasn't close but at least the Wolves made it interesting in the 3rd quarter. One guy that helped keep it interesting was Brown. He played a nice game.

Moore was a mixed bag but he did some good things. One of the Wolves problems is that they don't really have much in terms of good PG play. Moore getting to play there was good for him but not probably that god for other players. I don't think it hurt Minott and just seeing Spagnolo play was good.

Spagnolo I like what I see out of him. He plays like a guy that is older at times in a good way. Maybe a little like Prigioni. Maybe he doesn't end up being a guy that makes it in the NBA but he has some game.

Minor had a relatively good game. I think I agree with Lip that he has a better handle than McDaniels did. They play differently offensively though. His shot looks fluid and he showed more ability on offense than expected. He did everything else we could have expected too. I didn't see the Bucks game but after this one it feels like he did enough to get an actual NBA deal. If they get him on a 2-way that would be good too. It's looking like a good pick.

I thought Lewis played a good first half and the 2nd half he played well except he couldn't knock down shots.

Harris was meh in this game. He did have a heck of a defensive possession in the first half on Cam Thomas. I still hope if we have a 2 way deal open we can find someone better. I think we can. I won't hate it if he is the guy though there is just something about him that makes me just feel like meh.

Also the analyst on the broadcast was driving me nuts. I was glad when they started talking about the Durant and Mitchell situations so I didn't have to hear her takes on the game.

Some great takes, Monster. I totally agree with you on the broadcast analysis. She was terrible! I'm less impressive than you with Spagnolo. But I do see a potential NBA player in there somewhere. Not sure, but I think so. In any event, he's a long way from being an NBA-caliber player.

As for Moore, I agree was a mixed bag in the Nets game which is what he's been throughout Summer League. I just keep coming back to how much better I think he'll be when he's on the floor with really good players. Moore has an NBA-caliber shooting stroke, handle and court awareness. I worry that he might not be quick enough to be a good NBA defender and that would make the Moore pick and really bad one for the Wolves. But we'll see.

[Monster]

Just finished watching the Wolves game against the Nets. The Nets have a group of guys that have been with the Nets and played NBA games. It wasn't close but at least the Wolves made it interesting in the 3rd quarter. One guy that helped keep it interesting was Brown. He played a nice game.

Moore was a mixed bag but he did some good things. One of the Wolves problems is that they don't really have much in terms of good PG play. Moore getting to play there was good for him but not probably that god for other players. I don't think it hurt Minott and just seeing Spagnolo play was good.

Spagnolo I like what I see out of him. He plays like a guy that is older at times in a good way. Maybe a little like Prigioni. Maybe he doesn't end up being a guy that makes it in the NBA but he has some game.

Minor had a relatively good game. I think I agree with Lip that he has a better handle than McDaniels did. They play differently offensively though. His shot looks fluid and he showed more ability on offense than expected. He did everything else we could have expected too. I didn't see the Bucks game but after this one it feels like he did enough to get an actual NBA deal. If they get him on a 2-way that would be good too. It's looking like a good pick.

I thought Lewis played a good first half and the 2nd half he played well except he couldn't knock down shots.

Harris was meh in this game. He did have a heck of a defensive possession in the first half on Cam Thomas. I still hope if we have a 2 way deal open we can find someone better. I think we can. I won't hate it if he is the guy though there is just something about him that makes me just feel like meh.

Also the analyst on the broadcast was driving me nuts. I was glad when they started talking about the Durant and Mitchell situations so I didn't have to hear her takes on the game.

Some great takes, Monster. I totally agree with you on the broadcast analysis. She was terrible! I'm less impressive than you with Spagnolo. But I do see a potential NBA player in there somewhere. Not sure, but I think so. In any event, he's a long way from being an NBA-caliber player.

As for Moore, I agree was a mixed bag in the Nets game which is what he's been throughout Summer League. I just keep coming back to how much better I think he'll be when he's on the floor with really good players. Moore has an NBA-caliber shooting stroke, handle and court awareness. I worry that he might not be quick enough to be a good NBA defender and that would make the Moore pick and really bad one for the Wolves. But we'll see.

I'm not sure we are far apart on Spagnolo. He is a 19 year old playing in SL league that plays with creativity and looks like he has a jumper. His athleticism might be lacking but he has some size and length as a combo guard to help offset that. If he becomes a rotation guy in the NBA that's good pick at 50. I think mostly he looked like a guy with some actual skills that knows how to play basketball. I'm glad to see him play in this environment and I think he will be a guy that will be enjoyable to follow his career.

[kekgeek]

I'm wrong. I've seen enough Harris deserves a 2-way contract

[Lipoli390]

I'm wrong. I've seen enough Harris deserves a 2-way contract

Glad you came around, Kek. As I mentioned in my the other thread, you appreciate him even more when you see him live and close to the court like we did in Vegas. After watching him play several times in Vegas, my friend, my wife and I all agreed that Harris was a stand-out performer who should get a two-way deal. My only caveat is that I'd sign McClung to the other two-way if possible. I just don't think it will be possible. I suspect he'll accept a 2-way offer from the Warriors.

[TheFuture]

I would like to be proven wrong, but I see nothing with Moore.

[Lipoli390]

I would like to be proven wrong, but I see nothing with Moore.

I too have been underwhelmed by what we've seen form Moore in Summer League. He seems a step slow defensively at this level and his three-point shooting has been disappointing. I've also been annoyed by how passive he's been. Nevertheless, I like his ball-handling and he seems to have a pretty good feel for the game. I keep clinging to my sense that he'll be much better when on the floor with really good players. He had great talent on the floor with him at Duke. He seems to be a pure complementary player who doesn't shine unless he's surrounded with a lot of talented players and alphas. I would have taken Ty Ty instead.

[Monster]

I would like to be proven wrong, but I see nothing with Moore.

I too have been underwhelmed by what we've seen form Moore in Summer League. He seems a step slow defensively at this level and his three-point shooting has been disappointing. I've also been annoyed by how passive he's been. Nevertheless, I like his ball-handling and he seems to have a pretty good feel for the game. I keep clinging to my sense that he'll be much better when on the floor with really good players. He had great talent on the floor with him at Duke. He seems to be a pure complementary player who doesn't shine unless he's surrounded with a lot of talented players and alphas. I would have taken Ty Ty instead.

I'm looking forward to seeing this last game but I'll say this about Moore's shooting he is 16/17 from the FT line in SL and this continues a strong trend of him being a good FT shooter.

Moore hasn't looked impressive. It's also worth remembering the guy is being thrown into summer league as a rookie expected to play PG with very few guys that are good at shot creating and what looks like meh talent on that end in general. Typically guard play in SL is pretty strong and players and teams play pretty aggressive defense on ball handlers. I see Moore as a Tyus Jones type of PG who is smart making the right plays and looking back Tyus numbers his first year in SL were meh. The next year he was VERY good and he lead a bunch of scrubs to the championship game in a thrilling loss against the Bulls who had multiple NBA roster players on their team. I'm not suggesting Moore is going to be the level of PG as Tyus but a year from now I could see him looking much better in that role at this level even if the talent around him still isn't very good. Of course he also has the position flexibility to play some on the wing too. If you watched those early games this year of him at Duke running the point against good teams I think you would feel a lot better about him.

Meanwhile it's not like TyTy has shot the ball well in SL either. Or Kennedy Chandler who has been even worse. Sure those guys are younger with less college experience but Moore is also less of a pure PG than either guy. Actually TyTy is only a few weeks younger than Moore and Chandler is almost exactly a year younger. I like all 3 of those guys but remembering his age compared to those guys I'm happy we have Moore.

[Q-is-here]

I would like to be proven wrong, but I see nothing with Moore.

I too have been underwhelmed by what we've seen form Moore in Summer League. He seems a step slow defensively at this level and his three-point shooting has been disappointing. I've also been annoyed by how passive he's been. Nevertheless, I like his ball-handling and he seems to have a pretty good feel for the game. I keep clinging to my sense that he'll be much better when on the floor with really good players. He had great talent on the floor with him at Duke. He seems to be a pure complementary player who doesn't shine unless he's surrounded with a lot of talented players and alphas. I would have taken Ty Ty instead.

Yeah, we can't take too much from a pretty mediocre summer league performance, but I do agree that athletically and physically he seemed a step slow on both ends - not really able to break anyone down off the bounce and also getting blown by a few times defensively. That means he's going to need to use a high level of savvy and skill to earn an NBA regular rotation slot. Time will tell if he can made the adjustment.

[Lipoli390]

I would like to be proven wrong, but I see nothing with Moore.

I too have been underwhelmed by what we've seen form Moore in Summer League. He seems a step slow defensively at this level and his three-point shooting has been disappointing. I've also been annoyed by how passive he's been. Nevertheless, I like his ball-handling and he seems to have a pretty good feel for the game. I keep clinging to my sense that he'll be much better when on the floor with really good players. He had great talent on the floor with him at Duke. He seems to be a pure complementary player who doesn't shine unless he's surrounded with a lot of talented players and alphas. I would have taken Ty Ty instead.

Yeah, we can't take too much from a pretty mediocre summer league performance, but I do agree that athletically and physically he seemed a step slow on both ends - not really able to break anyone down off the bounce and also getting blown by a few times defensively. That means he's going to need to use a high level of savvy and skill to earn an NBA regular rotation slot. Time will tell if he can made the adjustment.

His draft combine numbers gave us a bit of a clue that he might not be particularly quick. He had times of 3.23 in the shuttle run and 3.30 in the 3/4 court sprint. Those were both less than Christian Koloko's times and about same as EJ Liddell's. They were slower times than the much heavier Roddy, who passed Moore on my draft board the morning of the draft as I was watching his videos and looking back at his stats. Moore had a decent but not overly impressive agility time. Sometimes what you see on the court doesn't match the combine testing. Unfortunately, in Moore's case so far the two appear to align.

Let's hope Moore simply needs more time to adjust to the speed of the game and that, once he does, he'll be the defender and playmaker the Wolves obviously thought he'd be when they drafted him. So far he looks far from it; and that's against Summer League competition. Then there's his shooting. It's been terrible through Summer League as it did in his first two years at Duke. And he had some bad misses with air balls that fell way short, making me wonder if he will have NBA 3-point range. But I do think he has a nice feel for and smoothness to his game. He seems to see the court and understand what's happening. He was a late bloomer in college and perhaps its a pattern he'll repeat in the NBA. He's still the same age as most 1st and 2nd-year college players. So while I'm disappointed with what I've seen from Moore, I'm not pessimistic yet about his potential. With Kessler traded away I'm really glad Connelly nabbed Minott at #45 as someone we can get excited about.