Should the Wolves tank the season now?

[Wolvesfan21]

Last place, young and unproven, arguably terrible roster. KAT injury and sick.

So what should the Wolves do in your opinion. Try and win every game with vets the rest of the year or maybe try and shoot for the worst record, play all the young guys and tank? (although playing the young guys might not tank since some of the vets suck themselves).

Should we be giving big minutes to McDaniels, Vandy, Jmac, Edwards, etc?

I am torn between tanking and creating a losing culture and winning. But what does wining a few more games really do?

I think I would play young guys more and more. Keep the vets on the bench. If we win we win and lose our pick, so be it. Try and develop guys and just pray we get lucky in the future drafts.

[Wolvesfan21]

I voted yes with a caveat. I don't see the point of playing aging vets at this point, much if at all. Rubio, Ed Davis, even Layman.

You go out and try and win with the young raw players but if we happen to lose more games by doing so then that's fine.

Youth and development with a side of tank.

[KiwiMatt]

Never known a team to tank with a high possibility not getting their 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. I just think we are that bad. From ownership to coaching to the players, this is a bad franchise.

[Coolbreeze44]

We need to try and win because losing doesn't net us anything. But try and win with the guys you are going to move forward with. The sad truth is I don't think we need to try to tank, it's going to happen naturally

[Wolvesfan21]

Never known a team to tank with a high possibility not getting their 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. I just think we are that bad. From ownership to coaching to the players, this is a bad franchise.

Isn't the pick top 4 protected? Which if the Wolves ended up with the worst record it would be very likely they have a top 4 pick. So in that sense I can see the motive to have the absolute worst record which the Wolves I think they have now. But I imagine KAT is going to come back and be healthy and that alone should knock any chance of having the worst record to be possible. Unless you sit KAT on purpose, then I think the worst record is unlikely.

I wouldn't run KAT into the ground either. Give him decent minutes but let's focus on youth the rest of the season barring any big trades which are probably unlikely at this point as all the Wolves are not guys teams would want outside of KAT. The players are mostly playing poorly as well so it would make little sense to sell low on them.

[kekgeek]

Never known a team to tank with a high possibility not getting their 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. I just think we are that bad. From ownership to coaching to the players, this is a bad franchise.

Isn't the pick top 4 protected? Which if the Wolves ended up with the worst record it would be very likely they have a top 4 pick. So in that sense I can see the motive to have the absolute worst record which the Wolves I think they have now. But I imagine KAT is going to come back and be healthy and that alone should knock any chance of having the worst record to be possible. Unless you sit KAT on purpose, then I think the worst record is unlikely.

I wouldn't run KAT into the ground either. Give him decent minutes but let's focus on youth the rest of the season barring any big trades which are probably unlikely at this point as all the Wolves are not guys teams would want outside of KAT. The players are mostly playing poorly as well so it would make little sense to sell low on them.

Top 3 protected. Even if the Wolves end with the worst record in the NBA they will have a 60% of losing their pick.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I think it's top 3 protected. And with the more flattened odds of winning the lottery, the chance of even the worst team getting a top 3 pick is definitely diminished. We could easily tank, have one of the worst records in the league, and still not keep our pick. Think about the impact on team morale.

I guess you could say we're arguably already the team with the worst reputation in the league and a horrific tradition of losing, so how much worse could it be? But really, no, I can't get on board with that. Seriously, this team is probably at risk of getting sold and moved, and tanking would just soil our reputation further and make that a greater likelihood.

Kiwi and Cool are right. We have to turn this franchise around, and tanking can't be the answer.

Actually, I have a question for the longtime guys who have been here forever. I can't even believe I'm writing this, but your post prompted me, WolvesFan, so here goes: When you guys watch losing season after losing season, and see gut-wrenching losses like last night, is there any part of you that actually thinks maybe we deserve to get sold and moved? Any part of you that secretly hopes for it?

It would devastate me, but sometimes, in these bleak, dark days, a small part of me kind of wants it to end. I'd lose something that's been so valuable to me over the years (2 decades of pretty intense fandom now), but it's just felt abusive, honestly, to be a fan of this team. If they moved, at least we could be a little more free to just be NBA fans generally. I love basketball, all of it, not just this team. I'd be able to spend more time actually watching good basketball on a regular basis instead of this never-ending nightmare.

Obviously, it's easier for me to say because I don't live in Minnesota and can't go to games there anyway (I actually became a fan just as I moved away from the state for what's turned out to be a really long time, maybe forever). I guess if the team moved, I could still be a fan, although honestly, I probably wouldn't. Why would I want to? Who in Seattle follows OKC? It would be an excuse for me to finally end this relationship.

Of course, I'd lose the investment I'd have in this team--the hope that maybe our next pick could blossom and turn things around, or even possibly the feeling of excitement if this team were ever competitive again. I feel excitement when we play well. I feel hurt when we lose. Those feelings are valuable, and I wouldn't want to lose them. But so often a part of me feels like I don't get enough of the positive feelings from this team to offset even remotely all the negative feelings this team causes me. I've poured so much time and attention and emotion into this team for so long that losing the team would feel a bit like all that's been wasted. But that sounds like the rationalization of a person who can't break out of a really unhealthy relationship, and if anybody ever told me that they felt like that about a relationship with another person, I'd tell them to get the hell out. A relationship with a person and a relationship with a team are not quite the same thing, but it's pretty damn close.

Honestly, this board and my need for (probably irrational) hope in the future are the main reasons why I didn't give up long ago. Anybody else feel like this?

[KG4Ever]

Only KAT has earned playing time. I'd give out minutes based on playing hard on both ends. Just giving minutes to Edwards or whoever because they are young sends the wrong message. We don't want to make the Thibs mistake of giving mega minutes to KAT, Lavine and Wiggins when they only played hard on offense. And just because DLO has a max contract doesn't mean he shouldn't be benched if he's not playing hard on defense as both the Nets and Lakers benched his a$$ when he loafed too much.

[Wolvesfan21]

I think it's top 3 protected. And with the more flattened odds of winning the lottery, the chance of even the worst team getting a top 3 pick is definitely diminished. We could easily tank, have one of the worst records in the league, and still not keep our pick. Think about the impact on team morale.

I guess you could say we're arguably already the team with the worst reputation in the league and a horrific tradition of losing, so how much worse could it be? But really, no, I can't get on board with that. Seriously, this team is probably at risk of getting sold and moved, and tanking would just soil our reputation further and make that a greater likelihood.

Kiwi and Cool are right. We have to turn this franchise around, and tanking can't be the answer.

Actually, I have a question for the longtime guys who have been here forever. I can't even believe I'm writing this, but your post prompted me, WolvesFan, so here goes: When you guys watch losing season after losing season, and see gut-wrenching losses like last night, is there any part of you that actually thinks maybe we deserve to get sold and moved? Any part of you that secretly hopes for it?

It would devastate me, but sometimes, in these bleak, dark days, a small part of me kind of wants it to end. I'd lose something that's been so valuable to me over the years (2 decades of pretty intense fandom now), but it's just felt abusive, honestly, to be a fan of this team. If they moved, at least we could be a little more free to just be NBA fans generally. I love basketball, all of it, not just this team. I'd be able to spend more time actually watching good basketball on a regular basis instead of this never-ending nightmare.

Obviously, it's easier for me to say because I don't live in Minnesota and can't go to games there anyway (I actually became a fan just as I moved away from the state for what's turned out to be a really long time, maybe forever). I guess if the team moved, I could still be a fan, although honestly, I probably wouldn't. Why would I want to? Who in Seattle follows OKC? It would be an excuse for me to finally end this relationship.

Of course, I'd lose the investment I'd have in this team--the hope that maybe our next pick could blossom and turn things around, or even possibly the feeling of excitement if this team were ever competitive again. I feel excitement when we play well. I feel hurt when we lose. Those feelings are valuable, and I wouldn't want to lose them. But so often a part of me feels like I don't get enough of the positive feelings from this team to offset even remotely all the negative feelings this team causes me. I've poured so much time and attention and emotion into this team for so long that losing the team would feel a bit like all that's been wasted. But that sounds like the rationalization of a person who can't break out of a really unhealthy relationship, and if anybody ever told me that they felt like that about a relationship with another person, I'd tell them to get the hell out. A relationship with a person and a relationship with a team are not quite the same thing, but it's pretty damn close.

Honestly, this board and my need for (probably irrational) hope in the future are the main reasons why I didn't give up long ago. Anybody else feel like this?

I don't want the team to move at all. As much as I've been gutted, I still have some serious delusions of grander for this franchise. If I went to a psyche they'd put me on meds.

I know the odds are long, so maybe it doesn't hurt so bad year after year of losing. It's sort of made me conditioned to it, but I still expect, more like hope to see improvement. I even thought just maybe this season we'd see things turn around. 2-0 with great wins then KAT gets hurt in game 4? KAT comes back plays with a cast and then he gets covid. Ant starts the season well then falls into a slump. I mean WTF. It's blow after blow. Now any chance to make the playoffs is long gone.

I like basketball, not that into it where I will watch every game I can. I like the playoffs but I do watch every Wolves game and have for years. So if they left, I would struggle to pick a new team to root for but maybe I would. I actually liked the Lakers with Kobe and Shaq, but once Shaq left so did I. I also was soured when we had to play them and lost. I think I lost my fandom for the Lakers then.

If the pick is only top 3 protected, someone said top 4 at one point which got me confused. Then no I don't see the point in sitting KAT and explicitly trying to lose. I would still plan for the future though. Play any young guy who could be here in a few years. Forget the vets, take whatever you can get for them, which is nothing more then likely.

[kekgeek]

I think it's top 3 protected. And with the more flattened odds of winning the lottery, the chance of even the worst team getting a top 3 pick is definitely diminished. We could easily tank, have one of the worst records in the league, and still not keep our pick. Think about the impact on team morale.

I guess you could say we're arguably already the team with the worst reputation in the league and a horrific tradition of losing, so how much worse could it be? But really, no, I can't get on board with that. Seriously, this team is probably at risk of getting sold and moved, and tanking would just soil our reputation further and make that a greater likelihood.

Kiwi and Cool are right. We have to turn this franchise around, and tanking can't be the answer.

Actually, I have a question for the longtime guys who have been here forever. I can't even believe I'm writing this, but your post prompted me, WolvesFan, so here goes: When you guys watch losing season after losing season, and see gut-wrenching losses like last night, is there any part of you that actually thinks maybe we deserve to get sold and moved? Any part of you that secretly hopes for it?

It would devastate me, but sometimes, in these bleak, dark days, a small part of me kind of wants it to end. I'd lose something that's been so valuable to me over the years (2 decades of pretty intense fandom now), but it's just felt abusive, honestly, to be a fan of this team. If they moved, at least we could be a little more free to just be NBA fans generally. I love basketball, all of it, not just this team. I'd be able to spend more time actually watching good basketball on a regular basis instead of this never-ending nightmare.

Obviously, it's easier for me to say because I don't live in Minnesota and can't go to games there anyway (I actually became a fan just as I moved away from the state for what's turned out to be a really long time, maybe forever). I guess if the team moved, I could still be a fan, although honestly, I probably wouldn't. Why would I want to? Who in Seattle follows OKC? It would be an excuse for me to finally end this relationship.

Of course, I'd lose the investment I'd have in this team--the hope that maybe our next pick could blossom and turn things around, or even possibly the feeling of excitement if this team were ever competitive again. I feel excitement when we play well. I feel hurt when we lose. Those feelings are valuable, and I wouldn't want to lose them. But so often a part of me feels like I don't get enough of the positive feelings from this team to offset even remotely all the negative feelings this team causes me. I've poured so much time and attention and emotion into this team for so long that losing the team would feel a bit like all that's been wasted. But that sounds like the rationalization of a person who can't break out of a really unhealthy relationship, and if anybody ever told me that they felt like that about a relationship with another person, I'd tell them to get the hell out. A relationship with a person and a relationship with a team are not quite the same thing, but it's pretty damn close.

Honestly, this board and my need for (probably irrational) hope in the future are the main reasons why I didn't give up long ago. Anybody else feel like this?

For how much as the Wolves have sucked for 20 years (Wolves have probably have had 3 "fun" seasons in that span). I do not want them to move. Right or wrong this board is all apart of us. I check this board every day and the board will lose a lot if they were not based in Minnesota. We wouldn't get Lip game reports, Im lucky enough to have a buddy who gives me tickets that are in the 2nd row and I've had great memories at Target center even though the Wolves suck. I have a buddy who works in the Wolves organization as one of the head graphic designers and I would hate for the Wolves to move. Wolves are part of our lives, it is an abusive relationship but I would feel really weird if the Wolves moved and I was not apart of the growth in the organization.

Also Minnesota is a great basketball State. Minnesota had 4 players drafted in this years draft. Minnesota Gophers have a top 20 team this year. Minnesota HS has a chance to produce the #1 overall NBA pick in the 2021 and 2022 draft class (Suggs and Holmgren), Minnesota might of just produced the best Womans basketball player in the last 10 years in Pagie Bueckers (plays at UCONN was the #1 recruit in HS played at Hopkins). Famous parents in Master P are moving his kids to Minnesota to play at Minnehaha Academy. Minnehaha Academy might be the #1 HS team in the nation. Minnesota is a sleeping giant when it comes to basketball. Wolves are just not good but they have the fanbase to be special if they ever get there.