SOUND THE ALARMS!!!

[AbeVigodaLive]

Meh. I'm not worried.

Before the season, more than half of us here predicted 50 or more losses from the Timberwolves. They're on pace for 51 losses. For me, this isn't close to being one of the most frustrating Wolves teams. It's just a young team struggling to learn on the fly as uncertainty on the sidelines and front office swirls...

Let's recap where I think the Wolves are:

Coaching
Sam Mitchell wasn't supposed to be the head coach. Teams weren't lining up to hire him. He's fringe head coach quality in today's NBA. And he's in a really tough spot. No matter how poor the Wolves do from here, he's not getting fired, nor should he. Who would replace him? There's not an assistant coach on the team who's close to being a viable head coach candidate. Bringing in another coach without having a GM/POBO doesn't make any sense. So, in a way, Mitchell is a lame duck coach. But is that a bad thing?

He's familiar with Saunders' vision. And he's an "effort" coach. While it's maddening to watch the Xs and Os sometimes, the Wolves are going to be bad either way. I'd argue teaching the young promising players about effort and day-to-day NBA stuff will go a lot further than teaching them eccentric zone defense concepts. That's where Mitchell might be the right guy for the job. Give these kids the foundation to be a good NBA player. Stressing "hard work", "professionalism" and "effort" is a great start. Let the new coach (next season) take it from there.

Towns
Ok. The Wolves got lucky. Finally. And I'm not just talking about ping pong balls. The guy you choose has to reach expectations. Towns after 24 games looks up to the task. He's probably reached or surpassed expectations for most people. We know about his shooting. Blocking shots. And even passing (on occasion). But I dig how he comes up with so many loose balls. You need a guy like that to dig in and get it done. I'm excited for the Wolves future mostly because of this kid.

Wiggins
Has he already been relegated to "second fiddle" status? Probably not, after all, the guy has the potential to be a prolific scorer. But will that translate into an elite player? We know he doesn't rebound well. He disappears at times. And his handle/passing is not there yet. Defensively, he looks the part. But advanced stats suggest otherwise (somehow).

Right now, Wiggins is a 20 ppg scorer in the NBA at only 20 years old. I keep reminding myself that whenever I wish he'd do more. For now, that's a start. With the right foundation (back to Mitchell), he can take those other steps toward fulfilling his promise. I'm not sure if he'll reach superstar (or even star) status, but the potential is still there. And as most Wolves fans know from 26 years of mostly futility... legit potential is better than the alternative of a crappy team with subpar prospects.

LaVine
I was... ummm... errr... you see... ummm... ehh.... ummm... wrong?

Maybe? I was not a LaVine fan. (I saw McCants flashbacks) And I dismissed his stats at the end of last season as stat stuffing on a super bad team. But the guy continues to post decent stats consistently... far ahead of schedule, at least compared to what I expected from a guy who didn't even start in college.

Towns is my #1 reason for optimism. But LaVine... damn it. I hate it when I'm wrong, but I'm totally cool with it in this case. Don't let up now. He still has a long way to go, but I'm eager to watch the process now... with optimism!

Rubio
Lots of discussion about him lately. Actually, there always is. My stance hasn't changed. I like him. I think he's fun to watch. And I STILL don't think he's going to improve. I think it's time we realize it. It's not a bad thing, just the truth.

I don't care about anybody else on the roster enough to comment on them. Anybody else could be traded tomorrow and the long-term prospects of the club won't change significantly.

The Rest of the Season

We're only 24 games in. All the angst for starting Martin or Prince or whomever will be forgotten soon enough. Prince and Garnett are there for the foundation. They're setting the tone. And they'll move to the side soon enough.

Towns.
Wiggins.
LaVine.
Rubio.

That's the future of the Wolves. Everybody knows it. Yes... even Sam Mitchell. They'll get plenty of minutes together in the near future to begin the next phase of the rebuild. I'm actually ok with the delay in getting there. The Wolves are looking at the long haul. Besides, it gives us something to look forward to as we watch yet another 50+ loss season.



[Note: What the hell? When did I have to become the voice of opTIMism? This aint right.]

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Of course I still think this club will lose less than 50 games this season, but that is a excellent analysis of where we are right now...couldn't agree more. Not many franchises have three pieces like KAT, Wig and Zach to look forward to for many years. And I was wrong about Zach too...he's way ahead of where I thought he would be in his second year.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Good synopsis. I think the gap between KAT and everyone else is huge though. While Zach shows flashes of individual virtuosity, his decision making and overall IQ is still lacking - that could hold him back. BB-IQ is the difference between a JR Smith and Klay Thompson.

Wiggins is going to keep improving, but I'm pretty sure he can't be the best player on a contender.

KAT has THE total package: Skills, smarts, work ethic, character, size, fluidity, floor vision. Imagine 2013-14 Kevin Love with elite defense. That's what he could become very soon.

To me, there are two keys to our future: 1) KAT staying healthy, because if he does, he will be without question our most valuable player, and 2) Further improvement from Wiggins and LaVine. These guys have GOT to keep getting better, otherwise we will fritter away the talent of a future Hall-of-Famer.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Good synopsis. I think the gap between KAT and everyone else is huge though. While Zach shows flashes of individual virtuosity, his decision making and overall IQ is still lacking - that could hold him back. BB-IQ is the difference between a JR Smith and Klay Thompson.

Wiggins is going to keep improving, but I'm pretty sure he can't be the best player on a contender.

KAT has THE total package: Skills, smarts, work ethic, character, size, fluidity, floor vision. Imagine 2013-14 Kevin Love with elite defense. That's what he could become very soon.

To me, there are two keys to our future: 1) KAT staying healthy, because if he does, he will be without question our most valuable player, and 2) Further improvement from Wiggins and LaVine. These guys have GOT to keep getting better, otherwise we will fritter away the talent of a future Hall-of-Famer.

I agree about the gap. I hope I didn't make it seem like LaVine is near Towns. But just having him be part of the 3 key guys moving forward is amazing to me.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Good synopsis. I think the gap between KAT and everyone else is huge though. While Zach shows flashes of individual virtuosity, his decision making and overall IQ is still lacking - that could hold him back. BB-IQ is the difference between a JR Smith and Klay Thompson.

Wiggins is going to keep improving, but I'm pretty sure he can't be the best player on a contender.

KAT has THE total package: Skills, smarts, work ethic, character, size, fluidity, floor vision. Imagine 2013-14 Kevin Love with elite defense. That's what he could become very soon.

To me, there are two keys to our future: 1) KAT staying healthy, because if he does, he will be without question our most valuable player, and 2) Further improvement from Wiggins and LaVine. These guys have GOT to keep getting better, otherwise we will fritter away the talent of a future Hall-of-Famer.

I agree about the gap. I hope I didn't make it seem like LaVine is near Towns. But just having him be part of the 3 key guys moving forward is amazing to me.

Very true, very true. I was heartened to see LaVine make a backdoor cut off the ball and receive a perfect bounce pass from Rubio for a dunk. That never happens when he's at the PG slot, either as the passer or the recipient.

What's a little ironic about the situation with Kevin Martin is that he would probably make for the perfect 2-guard mentor for Zach (at least offensively). In Martin's hey day under Adelman's system, he was a brilliant cutter. That's something Zach has never had to learn much about since he's been mostly on the ball.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Nice report Abe. You've talked me off the ledge too. We all know now Ricky is the worst shooter of all time, but if he's able to rack up high assist numbers by getting these young athletes up and down the court faster and creating high percentage dunks, then I wanna watch more.

Bring in a coach who's gonna fun and gun. Best defense is a good offense. Ask Golden State.

[bleedspeed]

And it is a lot easier to play defense if there other team is always in-bounding the ball after a bucket.

[Shumway]

LaVine
I was... ummm... errr... you see... ummm... ehh.... ummm... wrong?

Hey everybody.

ABE WAS WRONG!!!!!!

[Shumway]

More seriously though, great post. The losses mounting are frustrating - but I think your take is pretty spot on. We're a young developing team that is still a little way away. But, we have some major pillars in place to become genuine contenders, and I think that's a lot better than being solid but topping out at mediocre (I know, we dream of being mediocre over the last 10 years).

[TAFKASP]

LaVine
I was... ummm... errr... you see... ummm... ehh.... ummm... wrong?

Hey everybody.

ABE WAS WRONG!!!!!!

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