Minnesota Sports Forum

Ok - it's only been 4 games so far this season for the Heat and 3 for the Wolves. But let's face it, the Wolves botched the draft by trading up for Culver rather than sitting tight at #11 and simply drafting Tyler Herro. Culver had a broken shot coming out of college and his shot remains broken. He doesn't have elite length for his position and doesn't appear to have elite athleticism. His handle seems OK, but not elite. Meanwhile, Herro continues to kick ass as a rookie. Tonight he had 29 points and 7 rebounds against the Hawks. I watched the game and the eye test aligned well with the stats. I'll admit I wasn't super high on Herro, but on draft night I noted that I would have preferred him over Culver. I would have taken Alexander-Walker at #11. Cam was the one who really advocated for drafting Herro and I don't need to see a lot more of him to know Cam was right. But I'll add that my guy, John Collins, had 30 points for Atlanta tonight. :)

So imagine how exciting things would be right now if we had Herro on this team rather than Culver. Note that we'd also have either Saric or some other valuable asset received in a trade for Saric. What if we also had John Collins?

These are the things that separate top organizations from the others. The elite organizations consistently make smart decisions. Every decision matters. The cumulative impact of good versus bad player personnel decisions eventually determines the fate of a franchise - e.g., taking Flynn over Curry or DeRozan, taking Dunn over Murray or Hield and taking Patton over John Collins or Anunoby. The first major decision by Rosas, his 2019 draft pick, may turn out to be very good. But so far, it's looking every bit as questionable as I thought it was on draft night.

Thankfully, it's not all bad. The Vonleh, Layman, Graham and Napier acquisitions look good so far and Rosas had the good judgment to keep Okogie who seems to be taking his game to another level. Nowell, Reid and Martin remain intriguing talents. Of course, there are many more decisions Rosas will be making as the Wolves PBO. I'm hoping that Rosas knocks one out of the park.

Great. We get to hear about this all season. Awesome.

It's too early to declare any of Rosas's decisions as good or bad at this point, including Culver along with the vet free agent signings.

That being said, given our history, it should be no surprise if ultimately we effed up the draft. Rosas would join a long line of Minnesota GMs that have consistently failed this franchise in that regard. We'll see.

I'll continue to preach patience with Culver as I believe he'll wind up being a pretty solid starter for this team -- that is if he isn't traded in a package for a young All-Star to pair with Towns. I think evaluating him every 20 or so games will give us a better look at how he's adjusting to the NBA than holding these early games against him heavily.

Keep in mind, Culver is one of those self-made players rather than a naturally-gifted stud. By self-made, think Jimmy Butler and Buddy Hield as examples of what I'm talking about -- guys that had to put in hours upon hours to get where they are rather than just having it like that in their bag from day one.

With all that said, watching Herro last night was tough for me and the reason why was exactly what you alluded to. It's the "what if" that hurts. I think Herro is a star in the making and one of those naturally-gifted studs that also happens to be a "Ball is Life" addict, meaning he'll also be a gym rat.

Herro would have been a great get, but I don't think hope is lost with Culver. He's a great kid with some pretty good tools and a tremendous work ethic. At worst, he should be solid in time.

I'm not convinced Herro was best pick if we stayed at 11, I liked PJ Washington better and still do and his stats are better so far this NBA season.

Herro would help this team now. I still think Culver is a better fit for what Rosas wants to do with this team long term. Rosas wants an offensive stud ball handler like a Russell and those guys usually come with defensive deficiencies. Culver slots in right next to them and can guard either spot. His offense isn't supposed to be as broken as Okogie for hoping he can fill that secondary creator role and being a spot up shooter as well. I still think Rosas made the move to get Garland though and got Culver as a consolation prize.

Garland is not all that impressive yet. I wish he were as I took him as a late round flyer in Fantasy Hoops.

KG4Ever wrote:Garland is not all that impressive yet. I wish he were as I took him as a late round flyer in Fantasy Hoops.

You're right about Garland. He hasn't been very good overall so far, but he's shown flashes. I still think he's going to be an all-star caliber player. After only playing a few college games, it will take him a while.