Wolves war room

[mrhockey89]

https://www-espn-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30300355/nba-draft-2020-no-1-pick-timberwolves-see-opportunity-pressure?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&platform=amp&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%3D#aoh=16052789254826&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fnba%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F30300355%2Fnba-draft-2020-no-1-pick-timberwolves-see-opportunity-pressure

Just posted. Nothing crazy, but more info, and talks about them looking into Wiseman

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Thanks for posting that link, mrhockey. I hadn't read that yet. It would appear that the Wolves are being thorough in their evaluation and scouting process. Hopefully, they get it right next week.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Nice read. They seem to be doing the right things to prepare. It's a bit predictable given how professional front offices have become in the last decade or so, but I definitely don't get the sense it's as insular a process as it was with Thibs.

One thing I like was that the front office and coaching staff seem to be open to each other. That's a good sign.

At the end of the day, you research as rigorously as you can, but it's also about predicting the future, and there's always more of an unknown in that than we want to believe. Still, you have to control what you can, and it seems like a methodical organization that is trying to do that, which is reassuring.

[Monster]

That was a nice article with good info and simple reporting.

Below was an interesting quote from Sikka and I think there is some worthwhile wisdom there.

"I think it's much easier to predict failure than it is to predict success," Sikka says. "Our goal, in many cases, is to eliminate people on the basis of failure characteristics.

"As opposed to saying someone is going to be great, I would just like to be able to predict that [a player] is more likely to not be good."

It would be interesting to see some of the Zoom calls teams have had with players. My boss has been interviewing a lot of people for open positions and she said she still gets surprised at how poorly some people are set up for the video interviews. Dirty clothes strewn around, Radom junk Stacked boxes everywhere etc. It's been a couple months ago but one person actually told them partway through the interview they were only doing this to fulfill their requirement for unemployment benefits. I guess they were at least honest. Lol So yeah I wonder if there have there been any of these interviews that teams were like...um...maybe not that guy.

I also thought it was interesting that the Wolves clearly gave someone some legit access to what they were doing during their process. Did they intentionally go over anything specially during those days? Apparently they might be interested in the idea of Wiseman...or was that a bit of a smokescreen? :) I did like that they were tapping into some real basketball folks about the possibility of 2 bigs playing together. The talk of Rudy T taking about Ralph Sampson and Hakeem reminded me of Fran Fraschilla on Wolfson's podcast taking about that tall French guy that's in the 2022 or 2023 draft and he said he might be a Ralph Sampson type and Fran actually said that he wonders if In another era it would have made some sense for in to have played some PG in college but nobody would have done that back then. I thought Fran had some solid takes on the draft and prospects with not a whole lot of BS.

Anyway thanks for posting I would not have seen this otherwise.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I like the Hakeem-Sampson comp but this is looking like the 99 Spurs team.

2 lefties with Russel/Wiseman (Avery Johnson-Robinson)

All Star power forward

We just need a Sean Elliott.

[AbeVigodaLive]

That was a nice article with good info and simple reporting.

Below was an interesting quote from Sikka and I think there is some worthwhile wisdom there.

"I think it's much easier to predict failure than it is to predict success," Sikka says. "Our goal, in many cases, is to eliminate people on the basis of failure characteristics.

"As opposed to saying someone is going to be great, I would just like to be able to predict that [a player] is more likely to not be good."

It would be interesting to see some of the Zoom calls teams have had with players. My boss has been interviewing a lot of people for open positions and she said she still gets surprised at how poorly some people are set up for the video interviews. Dirty clothes strewn around, Radom junk Stacked boxes everywhere etc. It's been a couple months ago but one person actually told them partway through the interview they were only doing this to fulfill their requirement for unemployment benefits. I guess they were at least honest. Lol So yeah I wonder if there have there been any of these interviews that teams were like...um...maybe not that guy.

I also thought it was interesting that the Wolves clearly gave someone some legit access to what they were doing during their process. Did they intentionally go over anything specially during those days? Apparently they might be interested in the idea of Wiseman...or was that a bit of a smokescreen? :) I did like that they were tapping into some real basketball folks about the possibility of 2 bigs playing together. The talk of Rudy T taking about Ralph Sampson and Hakeem reminded me of Fran Fraschilla on Wolfson's podcast taking about that tall French guy that's in the 2022 or 2023 draft and he said he might be a Ralph Sampson type and Fran actually said that he wonders if In another era it would have made some sense for in to have played some PG in college but nobody would have done that back then. I thought Fran had some solid takes on the draft and prospects with not a whole lot of BS.

Anyway thanks for posting I would not have seen this otherwise.

1. That quote about "eliminating failure" if indicative of their thinking would probably imply the Wolves dig a guy like Haliburton more than a guy like Ball?

2. I read the first couple of graphs... and thought immediately... that them watching video of Wiseman was DEFINITELY intentional. Ha. The business is much more savvy stuff than they used to be.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yeah, love the philosophy of eliminating failure - makes sense to me that it might be easier to predict than whether someone will become a superstar.

When you have someone that can shoot like KAT, I just don't know if you can really compare twin towers of yesteryear. Remember, these guys aren't competing for the same floor space on offense.

[thedoper]

Its cool that Rudy T was on the call, even though he's ancient. It would be a huge move for them to ignore the narrative that the league is going small and draft Wiseman. I am excited about them potentially taking that risk and trying to do something different. Even though Edwards is my top choice, I think Wiseman is the most exciting thing we could do. It would finally make us innovators rather than followers. That risk could absolutely fail, but it would be a refreshing departure from our narrative of this franchise to take a risk and lead via an unorthodox style of ball relative to what is en vogue.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Its cool that Rudy T was on the call, even though he's ancient. It would be a huge move for them to ignore the narrative that the league is going small and draft Wiseman. I am excited about them potentially taking that risk and trying to do something different. Even though Edwards is my top choice, I think Wiseman is the most exciting thing we could do. It would finally make us innovators rather than followers. That risk could absolutely fail, but it would be a refreshing departure from our narrative of this franchise to take a risk and lead via an unorthodox style of ball relative to what is en vogue.

Exactly. What do we have to lose here? Absolutely nothing.

[Lipoli390]

I wonder if the Wolves were as well prepared last year when they traded up for Garland, whiffed on him, then picked Culver and declined to trade back in. And in spite of all their prep, they had Tyler Herro as a late first round prospect. I love the preparation and thoroughness. But the draft is ultimately about judgment. This draft will be a final test of Gersson's judgment. If he botches this draft with all the assets the Wolves have, then we should start looking for the next PBO.