Minnesota Sports Forum

I know there's still a few that think the Wolves can make a playoff push next year and some still cling that we would be fighting for a playoff chance if we were healthy. Well don't worry, I'm here to change your mind.

The roster construction has been pretty awful and is going against the new NBA. In today's world you need two things to be a good team. 3 point shooting and good interior defense. The Wolves right now are probably the worst in league in both areas. Dieng has been a huge bust as far as being the Wolves rim protector goes, and the only real 3 point shooter on the team is Martin, who is not going to be here for much longer.

Nobody seems to mention the fact of what we do if we don't get Towns or Oakafor. So now if they don't, they don't have any assets to get a big man, and they won't be players in the free agent market. Wolves have a whole lot of big men they have invested in, but none have the potential to change this defense.

Even if you did get a guy like Towns, you can't expect him to change the defense right away. Also, I have big doubts that the coaching staff can develop big men, considering how bad our big men have looked this year.

Lastly, the Wolves have shown they can't keep people healthy. It's been going on for about 5 years now, and they still aren't close to a solution. It's dumb to play the what if they were healthy card at this point, since they have shown that's it's not just bad luck that everyone keeps getting injured

What you need to win in the league today is not necessarily what you will need in 5 years. The game changes, and those who try to copy styles typically never catch up. The key is to come up with the next big thing. And you need an innovative front office and coaching staff to do that. I don't want to copy someone else's style of play. I want us to come up with something different that other teams will have to adjust to. I'm not smart enough to know what that is today, but I hope those running the organization can figure it out.

CoolBreeze44 wrote:What you need to win in the league today is not necessarily what you will need in 5 years. The game changes, and those who try to copy styles typically never catch up. The key is to come up with the next big thing. And you need an innovative front office and coaching staff to do that. I don't want to copy someone else's style of play. I want us to come up with something different that other teams will have to adjust to. I'm not smart enough to know what that is today, but I hope those running the organization can figure it out.

I don't know if this is true Cool. The Spurs have been the exact same team for like 20 years, and they seem to be doing just fine. They didn't "figure out something new". They play defense and play the game to their strengths. Also helps to have probably the best coach in the past 30 years at the helm. No teams are built identical, and I don't think there is this magical sweet spot for how you need to construct your team. What we do know for sure is that you probably can't be a bottom 3 defensive team as well as a poor shooting team and have any success. The Wolves failure to make the playoffs isn't necessarily that they are building wrong, it's simply that they haven't accrued the necessary talent to win.

Hicks123 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:What you need to win in the league today is not necessarily what you will need in 5 years. The game changes, and those who try to copy styles typically never catch up. The key is to come up with the next big thing. And you need an innovative front office and coaching staff to do that. I don't want to copy someone else's style of play. I want us to come up with something different that other teams will have to adjust to. I'm not smart enough to know what that is today, but I hope those running the organization can figure it out.

I don't know if this is true Cool. The Spurs have been the exact same team for like 20 years, and they seem to be doing just fine. They didn't "figure out something new". They play defense and play the game to their strengths. Also helps to have probably the best coach in the past 30 years at the helm. No teams are built identical, and I don't think there is this magical sweet spot for how you need to construct your team. What we do know for sure is that you probably can't be a bottom 3 defensive team as well as a poor shooting team and have any success. The Wolves failure to make the playoffs isn't necessarily that they are building wrong, it's simply that they haven't accrued the necessary talent to win.

I disagree with the Spurs being exactly the same, they in my opinion have DRAMATICALLY altered their offensive philosophy over the years to being more of a 3 point shooting team. They used to have such a boring but effective slow paced offense but they knew they had to change with the times.

When I saw the title of this thread I had an idea who started it.

*clicks thread*

Yep, I was right

BloopOracle wrote:

Hicks123 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:What you need to win in the league today is not necessarily what you will need in 5 years. The game changes, and those who try to copy styles typically never catch up. The key is to come up with the next big thing. And you need an innovative front office and coaching staff to do that. I don't want to copy someone else's style of play. I want us to come up with something different that other teams will have to adjust to. I'm not smart enough to know what that is today, but I hope those running the organization can figure it out.

I don't know if this is true Cool. The Spurs have been the exact same team for like 20 years, and they seem to be doing just fine. They didn't "figure out something new". They play defense and play the game to their strengths. Also helps to have probably the best coach in the past 30 years at the helm. No teams are built identical, and I don't think there is this magical sweet spot for how you need to construct your team. What we do know for sure is that you probably can't be a bottom 3 defensive team as well as a poor shooting team and have any success. The Wolves failure to make the playoffs isn't necessarily that they are building wrong, it's simply that they haven't accrued the necessary talent to win.

I disagree with the Spurs being exactly the same, they in my opinion have DRAMATICALLY altered their offensive philosophy over the years to being more of a 3 point shooting team. They used to have such a boring but effective slow paced offense but they knew they had to change with the times.

Yes, the Spurs have done a great job at innovating and adapting. You can certainly strive to copy their overall success in a small market.

You just need talent. Philosophy means nothing without the talent. Memphis wins without shooting a ton of 3s because they are talented with size. Conversely, Philly takes lots of 3s and stinks. The NBA will always be changing and with the influx of talented bigs coming up teams will have to make new considerations. I am happy with our talent at this point and hope we add one or two more talented pieces this offseason. I agree with Cool in that we make other teams adjust to our talent rather than doing what's hot.

Hicks123 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:What you need to win in the league today is not necessarily what you will need in 5 years. The game changes, and those who try to copy styles typically never catch up. The key is to come up with the next big thing. And you need an innovative front office and coaching staff to do that. I don't want to copy someone else's style of play. I want us to come up with something different that other teams will have to adjust to. I'm not smart enough to know what that is today, but I hope those running the organization can figure it out.

I don't know if this is true Cool. The Spurs have been the exact same team for like 20 years, and they seem to be doing just fine. They didn't "figure out something new". They play defense and play the game to their strengths. Also helps to have probably the best coach in the past 30 years at the helm. No teams are built identical, and I don't think there is this magical sweet spot for how you need to construct your team. What we do know for sure is that you probably can't be a bottom 3 defensive team as well as a poor shooting team and have any success. The Wolves failure to make the playoffs isn't necessarily that they are building wrong, it's simply that they haven't accrued the necessary talent to win.

It's interesting because the league does tend to trend every so often and the big thing right now are these Uber point guards, yet none of them have rings. The teams that win rings combine a great system with great defense like Boston, San Antonio, or Detroit, and have a wing that controls the game like LeBron, Kobe, Jordan, or a dominant post player ala Duncan or Shaq.

We hope Wiggins becomes that great wing player that carries his team but that remains to be seen. At this point this team needs to focus on talent accumulation, system and defense. This is what gives me hope that Ricky can be a part of a winning situation here. He can be really good in the right system and can be a piece of a great defense. I understand why many get googlieyed for the new wave of point guards but Parker is the best one to win a title recently and he doesn't fit that mold.

My biggest concern has been Glen and also Flip. I was not a fan of Flip returning and it falls on Glen. WildWolf has been saying this for years that Glen is the biggest problem here. If only he had sold a couple years ago. Now when he sells, Flip will become a permanent fixture. He has made a few good moves but he has to leave the sidelines, remove any fingerprints from the coaching staff and let a brand new system in. If not, the only thing that will bring this team from the ashes will be a superior talent. I am as concerned as I have ever been as a Wolves fan.

Good shooting and interior defense are timeless underpinnings to a becoming a very good team. Neither can be described as a fad, trend, or style. And the 3-pointer became part of the lifeblood of running a good offense years ago. Flip is a Luddite in this case.

What can be trendy are player archetypes such as "The Stretch 4" or "The Scoring Point Guard" or the "Shotblocking Center". How you achieve good outside shooting and interior defense can come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and player types - just as long as you get to the end result.

Back to Alex's original rant, part of the problem is our coaching. Coaches can have a huge influence on defense and I'm convinced a Brett Brown, Steve Clifford, or Thibs could do a lot better with our current roster than Flip has done. That doesn't mean we still don't need to upgrade.

As for shooting, well, that's harder to coach up, but it doesn't take a genius to realize the odds of scoring more points per shot with an open 3 vs. an open long 2 is so much better that even your mediocre shooters should be making sure they take a step or two back to get behind the arc.

So yeah, we need more talent and we need to stay healthier, but the right coach could make a world of difference too.