Minnesota Sports Forum

By my count, the Wolves have 13 roster players with guaranteed contracts for this season along with Anthony Brown as our only two-way player so far with one more two-way slot available.

I just don't' see any point keeping Melo Trimble. We're three deep at PG and Melo doesn't looked like an NBA player to me. I also see no point in keeping Georges-Hunt. Again, I dont' see him as an NBA-caliber player. So we could go into the season with 13 roster players since we'd alway have the option of filling one or both of the remaining two regular roster spots later in the season if necessary. But how about filling one of those two roster spots now with one of the remaining free agents. Amazingly, there are still some unsigned players who would seem to be worth considering as a final addition to our roster. The names that jump out at me are Barbosa, Matt Barnes, Mike Dunleavy, Derrick Williams, David Lee, Spencer Hawes, Roy Hibbert, Larry Sanders and Varejao.

I think our roster could still use a bona fide upper tier 3-point shooter. Barbosa and Dunleavy would appear to fit that profile. Or perhaps we should add more toughness, which would suggest signing Matt Barnes. From a pure talent/youth perspective, Derrick Williams still seems like an intriguing 13th man on our roster. Although we would appear to have enough bigs, there are a number of talented bigs worth considering as a final addition to our roster -- namely David Lee, Spencer Hawes, Roy Hibbert, and Varejao. Actually, Larry Sanders might be worth a flier.

What do you y'all think? Should we fill the 14th roster spot? If so, who would be your first choice?

I don't see any rush for now. If we really need a 13th guy to contribute that means our team has bigger problems than we realize.

I also got to image these guys want to play. So that want to see where injury happen and sign there.

Players like Barnes, Sanders and Dwill I think would be bad options because they won't play and their personalities could clash hard core with the rest of the team

All the reports I have heard is they aren't looking to add anyone right now. You do have a decent list of guys there that sound interesting in one way or another.

Please no Roy Hibbert. I think I would rather play a PG at center than him the way the league is now. Plus the last thing this team needs is another center.

You may not see MGH as an NBA player but when he was on waivers it was reported there were several teams that wanted him. Supposedly he turned down other offers to come here because of the opportunity. I think it's very possible he makes the roster or MAYBE signs a 2-way deal if he really likes it here. If the Wolves need a vet because of injuries...they can cut him and Glen will have to fork over a few hundred thousand more to pay for the other guy. I'm not suggesting he is a lock but just sayin. Plus we still have another roster spot to add someone down the road or before the season starts.

Beyond your list of guys there are other guys that will be cut as teams don't have room for everyone. That may put a couple more decent vets out on the market and even more likely some halfway intruiging younger players. I think if the Wolves add to their roster that may be when they are going to do it which could be replacing MGH with a young developmental guy they like better. That might also be where they add their second 2-way player.

Like Doper said let's ride this out. Having some open spots could be helpful down the road espcially when we actually have a G-league team where you can develop guys to help out your roster if needed which is a nice addition.

With Thibs seemingly only willing to play 3 wings (at least last night), it's time to revisit this topic. We have 2 open roster spots and a terrible shortage at the wing position (I'm sorry, but I just don't see Georges-Hunt as a viable option, and it's clear Thibs doesn't either). The team played very well with Brandon Rush starting last year after Zach went down, and he actually looked rather good on defense while hitting 37.4% of his threes. Plus he appears to fit into the rare category of a non-starter that Thibs actually will play, and he's only 32. Can someone give me a good reason why we shouldn't sign him today? Or is there someone else you would prefer and that Thibs actually might give some court time to?

longstrangetrip wrote:With Thibs seemingly only willing to play 3 wings (at least last night), it's time to revisit this topic. We have 2 open roster spots and a terrible shortage at the wing position (I'm sorry, but I just don't see Georges-Hunt as a viable option, and it's clear Thibs doesn't either). The team played very well with Brandon Rush starting last year after Zach went down, and he actually looked rather good on defense while hitting 37.4% of his threes. Plus he appears to fit into the rare category of a non-starter that Thibs actually will play, and he's only 32. Can someone give me a good reason why we shouldn't sign him today? Or is there someone else you would prefer and that Thibs actually might give some court time to?

I haven't seen the whole game from last night but it's worth considering LST. Would Rush be better than what Bazz has been giving us? Unless there is some injury issue with Rush the answer is yes because Bazz has been so bad. One problem with Rush is last year he really only hit above league average from 1 spot on the floor the left corner 3. He shot 43% at the rim and the rest of his shooting numbers are even worse. The guy is basically not a threat to score. I'd honestly rather give MGH or Anthony Brown or some other young/ish wing a shot and see if they can be something before calling Rush right now. If we haven't found something in a couple more months? Sure. If we add someone I want a guy with length to guard SFs or we may as well just play a guard like Tyus or Crawford more minutes when Teague is healthy.

Edit: The reason I may prefer to give a younger player the chance is this team needs to develop some cheap young talent. We are u likely going to win a championship this year so yeah.

Other available players that would have some level of intrigue.

Morrow
Gerald Green

Also Wolfson reported the Wolves did check in on Kuzminskus who was waived by the Knicks but he was interested in a better opportunity. So apparently the Wolves might be looking around. Wolfson reported the summer before Kuzminskus signed with the Knicks that Layden liked him.

I kinda like that Rush signing two offseasons ago, but damn, he didn't really do as much for us as we needed. Once you ran him off the 3-point line, he was a non-threat, seemingly missing every open pull up 2-point shot he took.

One thing you noticed though when he was out there was the gravitational pull he provided on the perimeter. That's the beauty of having good three point shooters with a long track record on your team. They can simply park themselves in a corner and help the offense flow better without lifting a finger (Abe will recall James Jones doing this for years and years as one of LeBron's sidekicks - all he ever did was make corner 3's every once in a while).

So in some ways, Rush's do-nothingness may actually be better than what Bazz has provided this year! But I feel like we could do better in the trade market or D-League or may be even MGH. But it's that similar sort of role - a guy that you simply can't leave open for 3's and otherwise plays pretty mistake free ball.

Monster, you may be on to something when you mention a possible injury to Rush...it seems odd that nobody has taken a chance on him this year.

Q and Monster, you're both right that Rush wasn't much of an offensive threat last season, but I was pleasantly surprised with his defense in games I attended when he started. And it was clear to me how much better we performed with him in the starting lineup rather than Zach.

It wouldn't be a move for the future as Monster suggested, but it would shore up a weak area. By the way, the Strib mentioned Rush this morning as a possible target.

longstrangetrip wrote:Monster, you may be on to something when you mention a possible injury to Rush...it seems odd that nobody has taken a chance on him this year.

Q and Monster, you're both right that Rush wasn't much of an offensive threat last season, but I was pleasantly surprised with his defense in games I attended when he started. And it was clear to me how much better we performed with him in the starting lineup rather than Zach.

It wouldn't be a move for the future as Monster suggested, but it would shore up a weak area. By the way, the Strib mentioned Rush this morning as a possible target.

LST FWIW innthe injury thing Rush was in camp with the Bucks with like 30 other decent NBA vets including Gerald Green.