Minnesota Sports Forum

I want to square the new guys off against the guys we got rid of last year. Here are the teams (I had to take some liberties on positions to make teams work)

New Guys
PG: Tyus Jones
SG: Andre Miller
SF: Tayshaun Prince
PF: Nemanja Bjelica
C; Karl Towns

vs. Guys we ditched:

PG: Mo Williams
SG: Gary Neal
SF: Chase Budinger
PF; Anthony Bennett
C: Justin Hamilton

Would it be a close game?

That is tough. I think last year we were better at PG/SG/SF. I would have put Hummel before Chase or AB though. I think Mo and Neal would have torched the guys this year and I am not sure Towns and Belly are ready to dominate inside.

New guys, easily

Hmm. I actually think it might be fairly close game. I tend to agree with Bleed:

Mo Williams > Tyus Jones at this moment (I hope Tyus develops - but as of now I'd go with Mo)
Gary Neal > Andre Miller at SG. (Probably not fair since Miller is actually a PG)
Chase Budinger > Tayshaun Prince I think would be pretty even considering Prince's age

Towns/Bjelica should be the mismatch against Hamilton/Bennett in theory. But I think the other positions would be a push or even favor the guys we got rid of.

I would compare the beginning of this season with the beginning of last season...

Mo, Brewer, Budinger, Hummel, Young, Bennett, Turiaf

compared to

Jones, Miller, Prince, Payne, KG, Bjelica, Towns.

60WinTim wrote:I would compare the beginning of this season with the beginning of last season...

Mo, Brewer, Budinger, Hummel, Young, Bennett, Turiaf

compared to

Jones, Miller, Prince, Payne, KG, Bjelica, Towns.

Well, we can bench mark some of these guys based on the ESPN rankings/scores. I'm not saying this is the most accurate or best way...but since we have another thread about it - here would be the comparisons for the sake of fun and stirring the pot::

Tyus Jones #270 Mo Williams ranked #213 (we got worse)
Andre Miller #253, Corey Brewer not ranked yet, but will be top 140 (we got worse)
Tayshaun Prince #368, Chase Budinger ranked #284 (we got worse)
Adrian Payne #372, Robbie Hummel - not ranked/in Europe (let's call this a push)
Kevin Garnett #190, Thad Young not ranked yet but will be top 140 (we got worse)
Nemaji Bjelica #301, Anthony Bennett ranked #263 (we got worse)
Karl Towns (not ranked yet, but will be in top 140), Ronny Turiaf is out of league. (we win this one).

CD - That really makes the roster look worse. I think this group is a better group to develop then the mix of in or near prime guys that have bounced around the league.

bleedspeed177 wrote:CD - That really makes the roster look worse. I think this group is a better group to develop then the mix of in or near prime guys that have bounced around the league.

Ha! I was thinking same thing Bleed. I don't necessarily believe that (I don't know what to think until I see these guys start playing). But it's just an interesting way to look at the roster churn. Thad Young, Cory Brewer, Mo Williams and Chase Budinger are all solid/established rotation guys. We need to cross our fingers on Ty Jones, Bjelica and Payne. Each could end up better or worse than what we had. And KG/Prince/Miller are all limited by age. It will be interesting. Games start next week!

The key to the team being better then last year hinges on 3 things.

1. Towns living up to 1st pick
2. Rubio and Shabazz being healthy for at least 60 games
3. LaVine's improvement.

I think all are realistic. (I am hoping we get 40 games out of Pek)

bleedspeed177 wrote:The key to the team being better then last year hinges on 3 things.

1. Towns living up to 1st pick
2. Rubio and Shabazz being healthy for at least 60 games
3. LaVine's improvement.

I think all are realistic. (I am hoping we get 40 games out of Pek)

Those are all good points. But IMO there is more i.e.

1.) Wiggins has to establish himself as an All Star
2.) Dieng has to step defensively (I can't count on Pek for anything at this point)
3.) Payne or Bjelica need to step up and show they can be effective PF in NBA