Minnesota Sports Forum

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Some video interviews are up, KAT is live at the mic right now. Aschberner's interview with Wiggins was weird. Wiggins seems like he might have a cold or something. But it's clear that Andrew doesn't see the criticism against him in the same light that seems to be the accepted narrative. His response to criticism of his D reminds me a bit of the narrative here. Everyone seems ready to win, definitely a different atmosphere.

KAT is continuing his quest to be the nicest person ever.

Butler was after Towns. The guy is awesome in every way. I still can't believe we got him for that deal.

Wiggins said he gained 5 lbs but at least in his arms it SEEMS he is bigger. I know this is stuff that's said talked about every year in camp but yeah I think it looks that way.

Bazz said he dropped weight. I wonder if last year he tried to get bigger to play more small ball PF.

A few thoughts:

Thibs
Overall, I like all the things he was saying, but these things can't be lip service, because he's right about all of them. I like that he stressed that Butler needs to set a tone of unselfishness, because that will be key for everybody this year, especially with all the scorers we've got now. I like that Thibs was honest about defense as being the area we need to improve most in, and he specified Towns and Wiggins as two guys who need to improve on that end. Thibs rightly called out our consistency as a problem. He seemed a bit defensive about it, but I like that he said we need to shoot more 3s next year, and among all the guys who he mentioned need to shoot the 3 more was Gorgui, which I was glad to see (I think he'd be valuable to the team as a good corner three shooter). I think we're going to see plenty of Teague-Towns pick and rolls, based on Thibs' praise of Teague's PNR work with Horford in Atlanta.

Butler
I really like his personality. He relies on cliches sometimes like all these guys, but he also comes off here as quick-thinking, thoughtful, and funny. I especially liked it when Asch asked if Thibs and him working together would be "good cop, bad cop," and he joked that "hell, sometimes it might be bad cop, bad cop." He's absolutely right that everybody is going to have to make personal sacrifices on this team. I like that he stressed that leadership needs to be actions and not just words, and he seemed to be gently calling everybody to live up to that. Watching his interview made me think about how much of being and becoming a star player is mental. When you think about the great players--Kobe, LeBron, Durant, etc.--it seems like they're disproportionately smart guys, at least from what I can tell. They obviously have great physical tools and gifts of talent, but it seems like having a sharp mind is key for helping these guys reach their potential. Butler's not on a tier with those guys, but he definitely seems to have found a way to elevate himself almost despite not having the natural talent that some of these stars showed as early as 18, 19 years old.

Wiggins
Wiggins was saying all the right things. I liked that he said he wanted to be a better rebounder, and seemed to indicate he needed to be a better defender too. I wish he would have been a little more forthcoming about how bad he has been in those areas, but at least he seems to want to be better. I like that he praised Butler's all-around game, so hopefully that's something he really aspires to. People have commented on this before, but the video (especially if you watch it after watching Butler, KAT, and Crawford) really strikes home for me that although Wiggins is blessed with quick-twitch muscles, he's not really a quick-twitch thinker, so to speak. He just kind of looks like his mind is not in it. We talked this summer about why he's not really much of a do-shit guy, and I think this may be part of the reason--he just doesn't seem to be as mentally locked in as other guys, so I wonder if his decision-making process is a beat slower so closing out, getting 50-50 balls, rebounding, etc. is harder for him because he's just not mentally making the decision to act quickly enough. Some guys are quiet and withdrawn, so hopefully that's just it. Kawhi doesn't come off as outgoing, but he's clearly a good decision-maker on the court. Man, I hope Wiggins lives up to this contract.

KAT
We've said it before, but this guy is clearly going to have a career in front of a camera after he retires. Hell, ESPN could hire him and put him on TV today without skipping a beat. He's obviously really poised and a good speaker. He's super quick with his answers, again indicating that he's a quick thinker, although his reliance on cliches makes me wonder to what extent his answers are thoughtful or superficial. His default is being nice, which is better than a default of being mean, but I hope he doesn't actually think Rubio was "such a good scorer inside." Still, the dude is smart and I like his attitude. I wish he had spoken with a bit more determination on areas he needed to improve in, specifically defense. But something tells me it'll be easier to get through to KAT to learn from these vets and improve his game than Wiggins.

Wiggins was much more engaging when I listened to him for the press conference. Teague isn't the most exiting guy either though.

Towns...I hope he actually plays defense this year or his whole thing even though I think it's genuine and not fake will continue to be annoying. His sit down was more annoying and his PC was more fun.

Bazz laid out why he was back and how excited he was. He sounded more comfortable and excited than the sit down with NBA TV where he didn't seem particularly comfortable.

Cole Aldrich sounds like such a good dude smart and pretty funny. Patton is young positive ball of energy. Tyus sounds like a 10 year vet.

It's funny listening to Amile and Trimble because their voices are opposite of what their physical size of players that they are