Minnesota Sports Forum

We got him. 2 year 8 million.

Meh. Even if KG is not back, he should be at best the 5th big after Towns, Gorgui, Aldrich, and Bjelica.

I'm guessing Payne had half a chance to stave that off this week, but obviously blew it with Thibs watching in Las Vegas. This is injury insurance. And word is that he wasn't happy about getting relegated out of the rotation halfway through the season in Indiana last year.

EDIT: I've seen enough references to his "mellow attitude" in the last few years to wonder whether that's code for pothead. It's just speculation, and probably somewhat based on people's stereotypes, but for such a late bench guy, I want a freakin' boy scout who won't corrupt our youth!

Dunn > Jones
Aldrich > gimpy Pekovic and Greg Smith
Rush > Rudez; Rush > or = to Shabazz
Hill > Payne

Together, these moves help fortify the foundation with an improved supporting cast. Outside of the Dunn move, none are sexy. But together, these are the kinds of moves that could keep us afloat in the event of injuries to key guys as opposed to having the season collapse like a house of cards just because one or two guys get hurt for a stretch.

I'm not sure Rush is better than or equal to Shabazz, but I agree with everything else

I know it's just one stat... but I read where Hill posted a PER of 20.5 when playing center last season. His PER has ranged from 15.8 - 19.3 over the past 5 seasons.

He's had some really good stretches/games in the past few years. But then bouts of inconsistency inevitably surface and teams seem to sour on him. Whether that's being in/out of the doghouse in LA before they passed on picking up the team option on his contract or falling out of the rotation by the end of the season in Indiana...

... but as a backup big for that price? Heck, one 25/14 off the bench in a win might make him worth it.

I like the pick up. We needed some Bigs and Aldrich and Hill will certainly be nice complimentary players. I know a lot of people still think Bjelica is going to be something. Maybe he will (or maybe he won't). But at least now we have a couple other options with an established track record of what we can expect vs. crossing our fingers he makes a jump his second year. And I also hope this means Payne gets bought out.

It's looking more and more like Thibbs is going into this year with the mindset of giving last year's core a chance. Remember the guys that finished last year as starters fared pretty well (at least on offense). But we literally had nobody for role players/bench outside of Bazz as the volume scorer. All these guys that they've picked up are going to be huge improvements to what we were throwing out there last year for subs. It seems like it's already been a long off-season. But now I'm starting to get excited again!

Great deal for Wolves. Hill is not perfect....but then again, we just basically paid him barely above vet min money. Guessing he does have some character concerns, because he is worth way more in this market if you simply review his skill set and previous production. I like it. I am not worried about character as much with a guy like Hill as the surrounding guys have a lot of positivity among them, and Hill is a complimentary piece. Also, as others have stated, I feel comfortable with Hill playing major minutes during parts of the season in which we face some injuries. He is a solid signing.

I would say Hill is definitely a rotation player in this league, obviously back end. Injuries have been a big deterant for him. He and Cole should prevent us from being bullied so much. I like the move a lot. Improved us while keeping flexibility.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:I know it's just one stat... but I read where Hill posted a PER of 20.5 when playing center last season. His PER has ranged from 15.8 - 19.3 over the past 5 seasons.

He's had some really good stretches/games in the past few years. But then bouts of inconsistency inevitably surface and teams seem to sour on him. Whether that's being in/out of the doghouse in LA before they passed on picking up the team option on his contract or falling out of the rotation by the end of the season in Indiana...

... but as a backup big for that price? Heck, one 25/14 off the bench in a win might make him worth it.

I think we all know that Hill is a guy that's had problems with making enough impact to really be an effective player that you can really depend on which is why he is a bench player not a starter. On him leaving the Lakers the option they didn't pick up was for 9 million which was a decent chunk of money at the time and is now even if a bunch of guys got that money. The Lakers and Pacers sort of ended up trading roster spots of Bigs Hill and Hibbert. I'd say the Pacers got a bargain out of that one since he was probably more useful period but he also only cost 4 million. Like you said the good news is we aren't looking to have to lean on Hill as a starter or maybe even the top big off the bench (although my guess is that he will play a decent amount) so it's a steal to get a guy like him for 4 million for the next 2 years.

Another thing that's interesting is he seems to be another big like Dieng and Towns who can hit those long jumpers. That helps spacing some. You don't want Hill taking a ton of those shots but it's nice to have a guy that can hit a shot at a decent rate more than 10 feet from the hoop at times.

Never been a huge fan of Jordan Hill, but can't complain at 8 mil over 2 seasons. Serviceable big who should be able to hold his own and not make too many appearances on Shaq'tin the fool.

I think this spells the end of Pek, Payne and possibly KG.