Minnesota Sports Forum

This is a topic that seems to be discussed over and over in threads. I wanted to have somewhere else to discuss. So let it be here.

I think the perfect player next to Towns would be a clone of him, but since that is not happening I really don't see us ever having that one guy. I see 2 players fitting the following molds.

1. Combo Forward can play both SF/PF. Is a solid rebounder and can guard in the paint and on the perimeter. I am hoping Bjelica can be this guy. Can play both against small and large lineups.

2. Punish PF/C that is a strong rebounds and can hold ground in the paint. When teams get physical with us we have a guy that can push back or if a team wants to go small against us we can just abuse them with Towns and this player inside.

We can have it all!

Towns Clone: Gorgui Dieng Nope he isn't nearly as good as Town but their skills overlap a lot.

Combo Forward: Bjelica and maybe some of Bazz plus a wing that could be added in FA or in a draft at some point.

Punish PF/C Sabonis. :)

If Bender fell to us you could get a guy that could be something close to Towns and/or be a sort of a hybrid guy too.

One of the great things about Towns is that his versatility makes it easy to put lots of different guys next to him fairly well.

Got a defensive specialist? That's cool, because Towns can carry the load offensively. Got an offensive player with some weaknesses defensively? We can manage ok because Towns can defend well (although I want to see him continue to get better at this). Got a low-post scorer? Ok, we can adjust because Towns can shoot with range. A stretch four? Ok, Towns can play down low offensively too. Not a great passer? Ok, Towns is pretty good there.

Ideally though for Towns, like bleed implies, the other guy would also be a flexible player (can play offense and defense, inside and outside). Their flexibility could play off each other and they could both develop multiple aspects of their game. And of course, it would also give us the flexibility to match up against different types of teams and play in different styles.

1. Horford
2. Noah

*Draft Sabonis

I really dont think Noel is ideal

I'm all in for going after Horford, but if we can somehow get Dunn (Westbrook Lite) in the draft I would like for a trade to get a long framed jumper type in return. I wouldn't mind going after Taj Gibson or A modestly cheap investment of Thomas Robinson. We need athleticism, quickness and someone who will attack the rim. That's why I am all for Dunn, he may not be a better shooter then Rubio but he plays above rim level which we need as much as possible.

SameOldNudityDrew wrote:One of the great things about Towns is that his versatility makes it easy to put lots of different guys next to him fairly well.

Got a defensive specialist? That's cool, because Towns can carry the load offensively. Got an offensive player with some weaknesses defensively? We can manage ok because Towns can defend well (although I want to see him continue to get better at this). Got a low-post scorer? Ok, we can adjust because Towns can shoot with range. A stretch four? Ok, Towns can play down low offensively too. Not a great passer? Ok, Towns is pretty good there.

Ideally though for Towns, like bleed implies, the other guy would also be a flexible player (can play offense and defense, inside and outside). Their flexibility could play off each other and they could both develop multiple aspects of their game. And of course, it would also give us the flexibility to match up against different types of teams and play in different styles.

Yeah, you can put a lot of different shapes and sizes next to Towns and he's fine. It's similar to the C vs. PF argument. He can play either.

But to me, the table stakes has to be that the guy that ultimately starts next to him is good defensively.

Steven Adams :thumb:

Q12543 wrote:

SameOldNudityDrew wrote:One of the great things about Towns is that his versatility makes it easy to put lots of different guys next to him fairly well.

Got a defensive specialist? That's cool, because Towns can carry the load offensively. Got an offensive player with some weaknesses defensively? We can manage ok because Towns can defend well (although I want to see him continue to get better at this). Got a low-post scorer? Ok, we can adjust because Towns can shoot with range. A stretch four? Ok, Towns can play down low offensively too. Not a great passer? Ok, Towns is pretty good there.

Ideally though for Towns, like bleed implies, the other guy would also be a flexible player (can play offense and defense, inside and outside). Their flexibility could play off each other and they could both develop multiple aspects of their game. And of course, it would also give us the flexibility to match up against different types of teams and play in different styles.

Yeah, you can put a lot of different shapes and sizes next to Towns and he's fine. It's similar to the C vs. PF argument. He can play either.

But to me, the table stakes has to be that the guy that ultimately starts next to him is good defensively.

Agree. Both for Towns and the team.

I think getting guys who are good on both sides of the ball is really important. It's one of the reasons I like Dunn, although I still lean slightly toward Hield because I think the guy would give us a bone fide deep three point threat with star potential. If we were to add Dunn and Deng or Noah, we'd add two guys who can play both ways but are better defensively. That would be awesome. But I still think there's something potentially really special about Hield, and his three-point shooting is so crazy good at a time when that shot is so important for a team's play. I'd be happy with either Hield or Dunn and Deng and Noah. Am I getting greedy?

Rubio/Tyus
LaVine/Hield
Wiggins/Bazz
Dieng/Bjelica
Towns/Noah

OR

Rubio/Dunn/Tyus
LaVine/Dunn
Wiggins/Bazz
Deng/Dieng/Bjelica
Towns/Dieng/KG

Someone tall with a pulse.

More seriously though Drew nailed it with Towns versatility and it doesn't matter who's next to him. So in general I'd go with the most skilled player overall and not necessarily a specific type of player (offensive, defensive, PF, or C etc).