Minnesota Sports Forum

There's been so much excitement here lately for good reason. Towns, Tyus, Wiggins, LaVine, and now maybe Bjelica. And despite some differences of opinion on how valuable Rubio and Martin are, when healthy, those are both good players.

But I feel like there are some guys we're NOT talking about who should also keep us excited--Bazz, Dieng, and *cringing here* (yes, Payne).

Bazz was a per-minute beast last year. I think we've forgotten that when he went down, he was this board's consensus best player of the year (not Wiggins). And while he didn't have a chance to show the improvement Wiggins and LaVine did at the end of the season, he still had the highest PER, 20, on the team. I wish his defense was better, but if that guy steps up and plays this year like he did last, we might be talking about HIM starting over Martin and not LaVine. His shooting percentage was great, and he was even starting to show 3 point range with good percentages when he went down. I'm REALLY excited to see Bazz play next year.

While Dieng gets pushed around on the block and didn't put up numbers as impressive as we were hoping for at the end of his rookie year, he's still a big plus to the team and his offensive game still showed some flashes (those bank shots?!). Only a very little bump in stats and he'd be averaging 10 and 10 with 2 blocks. Out of the guys who played more than 17 games, he had the second highest PER at 17.3 (Hamilton's was slightly better), and he had the absolute highest PPS on the team--that guy should get more shots! And he shot almost 80% from the FT line. Plus he showed the ability to play the 4 a bit.

And finally, Payne. Ok, ok, so in a lot of ways, he was bad. No doubt about it. His PPS was the worst on our team, largely because he didn't hit his shots at a high clip and they tended to be long 2s. He also didn't shoot FTs very well. There are a lot of reasons to be down on the guy. But in his defense, he only played 30 games in his rookie year (yes, he's older, but still an NBA rookie), he looked pretty laterally mobile defensively and I think he could end up being a good pick and roll defender, if he just stretched his long twos out 2 or 3 feet, he'd be shooting 40% from 3 (c'mon, bear with me! :) ), and of course, there's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeufYTG5LuMthis! Either way, I'd be interested to see if he could etch out a role for himself next year.

I agree that we're not talking much about those three young players, and especially Bazz and Dieng. But we're also not talking about this guy, except in the context of getting rid of him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd9YOFoN8Ys

I'd love to see him make plays like these on a consistent basis next year. As Jim Peterson has said a number of times, you can't dispute the talent...it's all about confidence.

Wow who is that guy? Can KG teach him to play good defense?

I worry this guy will turn out to be very good and will leave since we likely wont pick up his option. I think bennett will figure it out.

Ha! Watching all these highlights from our scrubs makes me wonder how we won only 16 games. :) I think the Bennett video is a clip of every time he touched the ball and did something good with it! It reminded me though he is capable of some nice passes sometimes. But yeah, D will always be an issue with Bennett I think. I'd like to see some PnR stats on him offensively. He always looks good when he throws down that two handed dunk, but I wonder how often he finishes when he's the roll man in that play.

I lean more towards Payne because I think his defense is just better. Contractually, it also makes more sense to hang on to Payne. But that's also why it would be more difficult to move Bennett.

longstrangetrip wrote:I agree that we're not talking much about those three young players, and especially Bazz and Dieng. But we're also not talking about this guy, except in the context of getting rid of him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd9YOFoN8Ys

I'd love to see him make plays like these on a consistent basis next year. As Jim Peterson has said a number of times, you can't dispute the talent...it's all about confidence.

Personally, I would trade Payne this year before Bennett. I'd rather keep them both though and move/not resign budinger, hummel, Hamilton if necessary.

Bennett has a nice looking shot, and can definitely throw down a dunk. If he gets a fire lit inside, then watch out. It's not too late for him.

We're still not talking about Bazz and Dieng, myself included! :)

I think Bennett will be dealt for nothing. Just my gut. But that said - I would love to be able to say "We have the last three #1 overall picks starting and playing well" Wiggins (SF), Bennett (PF) and Towns (C). It ain't gonna happen. But it would be cool if it did.

SameOldNudityDrew wrote:We're still not talking about Bazz and Dieng, myself included! :)

Ha, you're right...okay, I'll talk about Muhammad. Or better yet, let's read what Brit Robson wrote about him at the end of last season:

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2015/04/underrated-gem-bazzy-muhammad?utm_content=buffera5362&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Robson is an unabashed Shabazz supporter, and is always advocating for a Wiggins/Shabazz wing combo. But I think he has given Muhammad a reasonably accurate portrayal here. I didn't know that Shabazz led the NBA in points scored every time he touched the ball last year, and that's an impressive stat. I have pointed out here before that even in his forgettable rookie season, he still led all rookies in points per minute. The guy can flat out score, and he is driven to get better. I like that he is working on a floater and his 3-point shooting, and it was good to see Flip acknowledge that he was our best 3-point shooter last year (at least by percentage). Bazz was a decent 3-point shooter in college, and with his intense drive to improve and if Flip gives him the green light, I think it could become an important part of his offense and open up the inside for Towns, Wiggins and Pek.

Defense is always an area where Shabazz is questioned, and I was glad to see it took a central role in Robson's interview. Muhammad recognizes it as an area he needs to improve, and says he is working on it. I see his defensive shortcomings as an issue of technique, not effort, and am confident he can improve. That said, players he was guarding only converted 42% of their shots last season...not an overly impressive stat, but one of the best on the Wolves roster.

The Wolves have four wings who should command a lot of minutes this season...Wiggins, Martin, LaVine and Shabazz...and that's potentially a potent quartet of wing players. Wiggins is obviously the star in the group and by far the best defender, but Martin and Bazz might be the best volume scorers. It will be interesting to see how Flip uses them. Robson wants to see a lot of Wiggins/Bazz, but that may not be our best option because Martin and LaVine is not a good pairing. I would prefer to see him start Wiggins and LaVine, and have Martin and Shabazz provide scoring off the bench. Not many teams would be able to match us in terms of bench wing scoring.

Okay, who's going to talk about Dieng?