Are we tanking?

[thedoper]

Did Towns go to the front office and ask to tank?

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I doubt it, but it certainly feels like it. The front office certainly isn't doing a whole lot to win right now. I feel confident in saying that much.

[Monster]

If so...some of the vet players like Teague, Napier, Dieng and Graham than have been playing....um...well...?

[Wolvesfan21]

Yes and No. :idea:

[Leado01]

Why? To package something? There is no rookie savior, no miracle worker coach.

Here's an old school concept . . . . develop your players.

Develop Culver . . . he is 19 with height, a handle, some defensive skill, a damn good rebounder. He needs a shot. Develop his shot. He fits in with what we are trying to build.

Develop KDB . . . he has shown us that he has a shot. He needs work with weights and some toughness.
But he fits in with what we are trying to build.

Develop K. Martin . . .  He might be as close as any of the young guys we have on our team, as he is a pretty good defender, a good rebounder, and as a good stroke.

Teach Towns how to play defense and control his emotions.

Teach Wiggins how to read defenses more effectively.

Teague and Covington can go . . . that's fine. But we have only developed a few players in our history and until we actually develop players there's no reason to rebuild, or trade

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Why? To package something? There is no rookie savior, no miracle worker coach.

Here's an old school concept . . . . develop your players.

Develop Culver . . . he is 19 with height, a handle, some defensive skill, a damn good rebounder. He needs a shot. Develop his shot. He fits in with what we are trying to build.

Develop KDB . . . he has shown us that he has a shot. He needs work with weights and some toughness.
But he fits in with what we are trying to build.

Develop K. Martin . . .  He might be as close as any of the young guys we have on our team, as he is a pretty good defender, a good rebounder, and as a good stroke.

Teach Towns how to play defense and control his emotions.

Teach Wiggins how to read defenses more effectively.

Teague and Covington can go . . . that's fine. But we have only developed a few players in our history and until we actually develop players there's no reason to rebuild, or trade

To your point, this franchise has shown no ability to identify and develop young talent. This season looks the same as others with 2nd year guys showing no improvement (Okogie, KBD) and our rookies struggling big-time (Culver). It's pretty much the same story year after year....

I do like the way the team is using the G-League this year and that squad is actually competitive, unlike the big league team. They really need to send Culver down there in my opinion.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Towns and Wiggins MIGHT play tonight. But I don't think it matters at this point.

Signs are pointing to "tank" pretty clearly at this point. Despite the season literally going down the drain, the team doesn't seem to be worried too much about it. They aren't exactly giving out the signals that these are do-or-die games. Maybe it's more important for the team to finish 8 - 7 at the very end of the season with nothing at stake so the diehard fans can get all excited about the potential for next year's team.

It's just the latest in what seems to be more than a few lagging absences:

- Teague missed 9 days (4 games) because of "illness" or "stitches" or something. Maybe it's the inaccurate illness tag there... or simply the Wolves mysterious take behind his absence. But it was a bit odd.

- Shabazz Napier missed a month for his hamstring. Ok. Those are tricky. Sometimes, it's a day-to-day thing (Hardaway Jr. in Dallas right now). He's expected to miss a few games. He missed one game with it last year, but it affected him in many. Every hamstring injury is different though.

- Jake Layman is on 18 games and counting... with no timetable for returning. Turf toe is legit. Jimmy Butler missed 11 games back in 2013. Some guys, Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer, didn't miss any, or much, time. They played through the pain, but did so for a good team in the thick of a potential championship run. But it does impact performance. I understand the Wolves being cautious. But again... the season is literally going down the drain at this moment.

- Andrew Wiggins missed a week for his grandmother's funeral. This one is dicey. Death sucks. Grieving is a really personal thing for people. Some guys play immediately after the death of a parent (Favre). Some don't miss any games but note that the loss of a loved one affects their play for an entire season (Kyrie Irving). I remember Kevin Love missing one game for his grandmother several years ago. Everybody is different. Every employer/employee is different in policies, too.

- So... add it all up... and maybe Wiggins will only need a couple of days and not a week to recover from the flu. And maybe Towns will jeopardize more damage down the line if he tried to return tonight to try to save the Wolves season. Or, maybe they need more time to recover which is entirely reasonable. Or, maybe they will be out just a bit longer than usual for whatever malady they have... which would certainly be consistent with the early season trend.

[Wolvesfan21]

Abe I think that Wiggins was listed as having flu like symptoms after his funeral, which is why he was out so long.

I don't blame Rosas and Ryan for tanking. It is in their best interest to do so. Get a higher draft pick (barring luck or bad luck of ping pong balls). It also sets the bar lower for the next season or two. "See look, we won 10 more games from last year!"

There have been a large number of extensive absences though, that's for sure.

Saying that, I think it's the right thing to do. Don't risk anyone health or fake health for short term gain. Long term should be the ultimate goal.

If you are playing and practicing however, you should be giving 100%. Bad habits are never good.

[Monster]

Towns and Wiggins MIGHT play tonight. But I don't think it matters at this point.

Signs are pointing to "tank" pretty clearly at this point. Despite the season literally going down the drain, the team doesn't seem to be worried too much about it. They aren't exactly giving out the signals that these are do-or-die games. Maybe it's more important for the team to finish 8 - 7 at the very end of the season with nothing at stake so the diehard fans can get all excited about the potential for next year's team.

It's just the latest in what seems to be more than a few lagging absences:

- Teague missed 9 days (4 games) because of "illness" or "stitches" or something. Maybe it's the inaccurate illness tag there... or simply the Wolves mysterious take behind his absence. But it was a bit odd.

- Shabazz Napier missed a month for his hamstring. Ok. Those are tricky. Sometimes, it's a day-to-day thing (Hardaway Jr. in Dallas right now). He's expected to miss a few games. He missed one game with it last year, but it affected him in many. Every hamstring injury is different though.

- Jake Layman is on 18 games and counting... with no timetable for returning. Turf toe is legit. Jimmy Butler missed 11 games back in 2013. Some guys, Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer, didn't miss any, or much, time. They played through the pain, but did so for a good team in the thick of a potential championship run. But it does impact performance. I understand the Wolves being cautious. But again... the season is literally going down the drain at this moment.

- Andrew Wiggins missed a week for his grandmother's funeral. This one is dicey. Death sucks. Grieving is a really personal thing for people. Some guys play immediately after the death of a parent (Favre). Some don't miss any games but note that the loss of a loved one affects their play for an entire season (Kyrie Irving). I remember Kevin Love missing one game for his grandmother several years ago. Everybody is different. Every employer/employee is different in policies, too.

- So... add it all up... and maybe Wiggins will only need a couple of days and not a week to recover from the flu. And maybe Towns will jeopardize more damage down the line if he tried to return tonight to try to save the Wolves season. Or, maybe they need more time to recover which is entirely reasonable. Or, maybe they will be out just a bit longer than usual for whatever malady they have... which would certainly be consistent with the early season trend.

Abe usually pushes the tanking narrative pretty hard but this is a REALLY fair and balanced breakdown. I have nothing to add.

[thedoper]

Thanks for the breakdown Abe. Most injuries and leaves from work can be relative. This team this year has definitely aired on the side of caution in this area. I think the biggest issue is that they're (Mostly Rosas) really not getting out in front of the media to condemn the losing. Hard to believe you're a franchise shifting to excellence and you wont even share a plan to address the losing. Ryan has simply been regurgitating his platitudes about the system which must be the message he's getting from above. If they're not tanking this might be the most disappointing of a storied history of disappointing seasons.