Minnesota Sports Forum

Even I'm not quite old enough to fit into WCCO's age demographic (Pat Miles slapped me at a party ten years ago for saying that to her when she asked me if I had listened to her show that day), so I picked this off the internet and attach it here.

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/show/the-chad-hartman-show/

Barreiro had a great rapport with Flip, and it looks like Chad is developing the same with Sam. Sam isn't as evasive as Flip, so you know where he stands...always. He's got a thinner skin than Flip too, and he's sounded clearly pissed about the local second guessing recently (Prince and KG in the starting lineup, Zach at PG, not enough Bazz, etc)...could be fun to follow as the year progresses!

The most interesting part of this segment with Chad is the 5 minutes about Zach. Warning...most of you need to take a deep breath before listening to it! For those who don't want to listen or want to keep their record of never having listened to WCCO alive, here are some excerpts ( paraphrased at times, because Sam's "southern talk" needs translation sometimes).

Chad: If this year were only about winning and not development, would you still be playing Zach at PG?

Sam (annoyed): Yeah, at the end of the day, he's a PG. He will have his success as a PG. He can play a little SG too if the matchups are right, but if he's ever going to be a star, it's going to be as a PG.

Sam clearly looks at positions from a defensive perspective, and tries to create favorable matchups. Here's what he said about that:

Sam: You try to give your guys an advantage. At PG, Zach has the advantage of height, strength and speed, and you give up 2 of those if you move him to SG. How tough would it be for Zach to guard a guy like Wiggins, or Klay tonight, or Jimmy Butler last week?

In terms of where Zach is as a PG right now, Sam compared him to Chauncey Billups. He had played with 3 other teams as primarily a SG before coming to the Wolves, and was considered kind of a failure. He told the Wolves he wanted to play PG, and although he struggled at first, he learned the position and made himself into an elite NBA PG. I thought this was a great analogy. Sam thinks Zach can be a taller Billups...let's hope he's right.

Finally, and this is vintage Sam:

Chad: Has Zach done what Chauncey did, and asked to be a PG.

Sam: "Well, he's gonna be a PG. " (now paraphrasing) I don't think 19-year-olds get to pick where they are going to play...that's for the coaches to decide.

I know most of you will be annoyed by this, because it doesn't sound like we will be seeing Zach at SG very often. I like it though. It's a very clear message to Zach that this is his position, and that this is his pathway to stardom. I'm willing to give him at least a year at PG to see if he can become what the coaching staff thinks he can become.

Thanks for posting LST. I really like Sam the person and think there are great coaching instincts in his personality. Some decisions challenge me but that is always the case with coaching and sports for me. Worth the listen.

A PG has to have vision and savvy on the court. And I just don't see that from LaVine.

I see many other things... but definitely not those things. Obviously there's time. But he has a LOOOOONGGG ways to go to help his teammates consistently.

Pardon my French, but fuck Mitchell for having that attitude. Zach is 19 years old. Of course he doesn't have the strength to be a 2 yet. Same as Wiggins doesn't have the strength to be a 3. Guess what Sam, they should bulk up enough to play the 2 and the 3. That's what you do with 19 year olds. You put them through actual strength training programs so they don't stay paper thin. This is so disappointing to hear. You don't have to be freaking 6'8 to play the 2. 6'5 with a 44 inch vert is perfectly fine. I'd like to ask him straight up how he thinks it's possible McCullom is lighting it up at 6'3 with a limited athletic profile at the 2. Newsflash Sam. There isn't a two in the league with all 3 traits he mentions and Lavine is taller and faster than most of the strength guys like Wade, Harden, etc. I just want to fucking scream at something. Trade Zach so he can be free from this bullshit. #FreeLavine

Well, if that really is how Sam Mitchell feels, then we can write off Zach LaVine ever becoming a star for this team. He's just not a point guard, and fortunately for us, we have Ricky Rubio at point guard who is leaps and bounds better than LaVine ever will be at that position.

Also, I can guarantee that isn't how Flip Saunders, God rest his soul, felt about Zach LaVine. He talked about how playing him at PG would help him become a better SG. He also didn't trade up to draft Tyus Jones just to sit and watch LaVine and Rubio play ahead of him over the course of his rookie contract.

Well LST I guess you were right about Sam liking Zach at PG. lol

I am trying to digest all this I just finished listening to the spot just now. It's a pretty surprising assertion by Sam.

I'll admit to a little devilish pot stirring in posting that link to Sam's appearance on Chad's show, because I knew it would provide some great entertainment for at least the next 24 hours! And even though I am on board with Sam's decision and know he has much more information than we here do based on what he sees in practice, I see on TV a lot of the same things khans, cam and abe cite. Zach doesn't show good judgement or vision (but I will put a big "yet" at the end of that sentence), and I do think Flip primarily played Zach at PG out of necessity and to aid in his development as a SG.

Having said that, even though Zach is not an NBA PG yet by any stretch of the imagination, I am seeing signs of growth. While he couldn't execute a simple entry bounce pass last game, he also had a couple nice assists that made me sit up and say "Damn!". And his 13-6-3 with only 1 TO against Atlanta sure looked like a guy who could develop into a good NBA PG. I love the Billups comparison. Everyone wanted to pigeon hole Chauncey as a SG coming out of college, but he kept insisting he could play the point even though it didn't look like it early in his career. Many are raving about Mudiay at PG, but compare his numbers to Zach's. Zach is kicking his butt in PER, and even after his 8 TO's last game, still has a better A/To ration than Mudiay. Zach and Emmanuel have a lot of similarities...long and ridiculously athletic, but still kids and in need of a lot of experience. Mudiay is going to get more minutes as a starter, but I think Zach may continue to have a better year.

Cam makes a good point that Zach is not likely to beat out Ricky, but I would add that he is also never going to beat out Wig...and Wig has shown that he can be dominant offensively and defensively at the SG position. So Zach's best chance to start is if Wig or Ricky misses games. And who do you think is going to miss more games? I suspect that enters into Sam's logic that Zach's best chance of being a star in this league is at the PG position.

monsterpile wrote:Well LST I guess you were right about Sam liking Zach at PG. lol

I am trying to digest all this I just finished listening to the spot just now. It's a pretty surprising assertion by Sam.

I think Sam's thin skin is part of what got him fired in Toronto...he doesn't like to be challenged! And when he is, he tends to dig in. I wonder if he really is as definite about Zach at PG as he comes off in this interview, or if he's just pissed off about being constantly challenged. Flip had a great ability to take criticism in a mature way (case in point, Lip's relationship with him)....Sam, not so much. Gets him in trouble sometimes, I think. I gotta admit I enjoy it though!

I don't get the idea that String Bean will ever be a star PG in the NBA. I have seen flashes though that suggest he could become a star combo guard assuming he's playing along with one or more other players who can handle the ball. I don't like the idea of any offense in which he is the lone distributor, but he can handle the ball just fine, but not in a floor general sense.

Bottom line, if Wiggins is going to be our 2 of the future then String Bean needs to find a place to make an impact on games, and combo guard is that place IMO. If Sam sees him as a traditional 1 then he's either delusional or a prophetic genius.