What If

[Lipoli390]

I'm watching a program called "What If" on NBA TV right now. It's a program that goes back and examines what might have been if certain teams had made different draft-day decisions. One segment looks back at David Kahn's decision to take pass on Curry in favor or Flynn. It's so painful. I was at the Wolves draft party at Target Center and the room was packed with fans chanting Curry, Curry after the Wolves picked Rubio. But unfortunately, Kahn had another idea in mind.

Just imagine a team with Love, Ricky and Curry. This franchise would have had a fun ride for a number of years, assuming the Wolves front office had remained as patient as Golden State with Curry's foot issues. For all all we know, Ricky wouldn't have torn his ACL because Curry's presence would have put him in a slightly different spot on the court. In any event, we know what happened.

What I didn't remember is that the Warriors had an offer on the table that year to trade the #7 pick to Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire. Apparently, Golden State's GM was facing a lot of external and internal pressure to make the deal for a quick fix, but he held fast and took the long view. There's a lesson for the Wolves in that decision by GS to take the long view over the "win now" approach. There's also a lesson in the decision of Golden State's GM to focus on Curry's strengths rather than be swayed by Curry's small size and perceived lack of physical strength or his propensity for turnovers. Kevin McHale commented that the key with Curry was his tremendous will to improve and his high basketball IQ. You can't overemphasize the importance of those two qualities in evaluating a draft prospect. There's also a lesson in Golden State's patience with Steph Curry as he struggled with injuries his first couple of years.

I'd like to believe that Rosas is a student of NBA history and smart enough to learn from that history. We'll see next Wednesday.

[thedoper]

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

[Lipoli390]

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

Exactly, Doper!! In fact, they interviewed Curry about this as part of the program. When asked what would have happened if the Wolves had drafted him, he smiled and said he would have had to have more warm weather cloths in his wardrobe. As Flip told me when we were talking about Marbury, "winning cures everything." Flip said that's why he was lobbying against trading Marbury when he was demanding it.

[WildWolf2813]

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

Exactly, Doper!! In fact, they interviewed Curry about this as part of the program. When asked what would have happened if the Wolves had drafted him, he smiled and said he would have had to have more warm weather cloths in his wardrobe. As Flip told me when we were talking about Marbury, "winning cures everything." Flip said that's why he was lobbying against trading Marbury when he was demanding it.

Thibs said the same thing and it led to Jimmy Butler going nuclear on the roster.

[Lipoli390]

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

Exactly, Doper!! In fact, they interviewed Curry about this as part of the program. When asked what would have happened if the Wolves had drafted him, he smiled and said he would have had to have more warm weather cloths in his wardrobe. As Flip told me when we were talking about Marbury, "winning cures everything." Flip said that's why he was lobbying against trading Marbury when he was demanding it.

Thibs said the same thing and it led to Jimmy Butler going nuclear on the roster.

It depends on the player and the situation. Thibs should have known better. Instead, he just buried his head in the sand. A rookie like Wiseman coming into the League isn't going to create a problem or refuse to compete.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

Exactly, Doper!! In fact, they interviewed Curry about this as part of the program. When asked what would have happened if the Wolves had drafted him, he smiled and said he would have had to have more warm weather cloths in his wardrobe. As Flip told me when we were talking about Marbury, "winning cures everything." Flip said that's why he was lobbying against trading Marbury when he was demanding it.

Thibs said the same thing and it led to Jimmy Butler going nuclear on the roster.

That's because Wiggins and KAT have no competitive drive. Jimmy didn't handle the situation well, but he was right. Winning does help a lot, but it didn't really help Wiggins and KAT. As soon as Butler went down with the knee that year, we collapsed back into a .500 team at best.

On the first issue, I agree if you think Wiseman is the best bet to become a star, you take him regardless of him avoiding us.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

Exactly, Doper!! In fact, they interviewed Curry about this as part of the program. When asked what would have happened if the Wolves had drafted him, he smiled and said he would have had to have more warm weather cloths in his wardrobe. As Flip told me when we were talking about Marbury, "winning cures everything." Flip said that's why he was lobbying against trading Marbury when he was demanding it.

Thibs said the same thing and it led to Jimmy Butler going nuclear on the roster.

It depends on the player and the situation. Thibs should have known better. Instead, he just buried his head in the sand. A rookie like Wiseman coming into the League isn't going to create a problem or refuse to compete.

Yep. A rookie doesn't have nearly as much clout (or media contacts) as a seasoned vet with All Star appearances.

[Lipoli390]

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

Exactly, Doper!! In fact, they interviewed Curry about this as part of the program. When asked what would have happened if the Wolves had drafted him, he smiled and said he would have had to have more warm weather cloths in his wardrobe. As Flip told me when we were talking about Marbury, "winning cures everything." Flip said that's why he was lobbying against trading Marbury when he was demanding it.

Thibs said the same thing and it led to Jimmy Butler going nuclear on the roster.

That's because Wiggins and KAT have no competitive drive. Jimmy didn't handle the situation well, but he was right. Winning does help a lot, but it didn't really help Wiggins and KAT. As soon as Butler went down with the knee that year, we collapsed back into a .500 team at best.

On the first issue, I agree if you think Wiseman is the best bet to become a star, you take him regardless of him avoiding us.

I guess this is especially relevant with the murmurs out there that Wiseman is avoiding us. Ignore the hype, take the best prospect, and deal with it.

Exactly, Doper!! In fact, they interviewed Curry about this as part of the program. When asked what would have happened if the Wolves had drafted him, he smiled and said he would have had to have more warm weather cloths in his wardrobe. As Flip told me when we were talking about Marbury, "winning cures everything." Flip said that's why he was lobbying against trading Marbury when he was demanding it.

Thibs said the same thing and it led to Jimmy Butler going nuclear on the roster.

That's because Wiggins and KAT have no competitive drive. Jimmy didn't handle the situation well, but he was right. Winning does help a lot, but it didn't really help Wiggins and KAT. As soon as Butler went down with the knee that year, we collapsed back into a .500 team at best.

On the first issue, I agree if you think Wiseman is the best bet to become a star, you take him regardless of him avoiding us.

I agree that Wiggins has no competitive drive. However, I think KAT has some competitiveness in him, albeit not at the level Butler demanded. Nevertheless, as you noted, Butler was essentially right even though he didn't handle the situation well.

I still think it's worth remembering that the Butler/KAT duo had the Wolves in position to finish with the 4th or 5th best record on the West. Butler was the most important part of that, but he didn't do it himself. Keep in mind that the Bulls won only 41 games in the East with Butler the year before and 42 games the season before that one. The Wolves won 47 games in the West with Butler and KAT even though Butler missed a lot of games that season. Note also that KAT was only 21 years old at the time.

I'm not sure whether KAT will ever be the alpha superstar that can carry the team to the Western Conference or NBA finals. However, he's obviously an elite player and I'm not sure it's fair to judge him by Butler's standards as a 21 year old. I tend to think that we need another all-star caliber player who is more of an alpha than either KAT or DLO and who brings mental toughness and a winning mentality that I'm not sure is there in KAT or DLO. He doesn't have to be the best or even second-best player on the team. He needs to be the guy who ignites and pushes the team through adversity when needed and he has to be good enough to have credibility in that role. I suspect that this year's draft, like nearly every draft, has that sort of player in it. The question is whether the Wolves front office will be smart and fortunate enough to get him. Here's my list of prospects who have that sort of potential in my view:

1. Isaac Okoro
2. Killian Hayes
3. Deni Advija
4. Tyrell Terry

I'm not suggesting these four are the most talented prospects by any stretch. I think that Wiseman, Edwards, and Okongwu are more talented. But these four strike me as really tough-minded, hyper competitive players who can fill the role that KAT and DLO don't seem capable of filling.