Very thankful we have Brewer and not AK

[maelstrom11 [enjin:6599701]]

I got to say after watching the D Corey played I am so grateful Flip made the decision to cut bait on AK and sign Brewer. Yes it's pretty early and this is only one game but CBrew looks to be well worth the contract we gave him so far. Flip thank you. Your looking like the smartest guy in the room in my eyes on this one.

Regarding Kmart I think we did well too. It's been said by some that so far Kmart is a disappointment but I've been satisfied. Maybe I'm comparing to the Luke Ridnour experiment? I'm not sure but getting 24 and then 9 and then having the veteran leader and positive attitude in my eyes it's refreshing. This team is going to be tough. I'll stick with my earlier predictions. Top 3 seed. We are going to win the division. OKC has some clear problems and isn't the same as last year. Westbrook being hurt and the loss of some key bench players like Kmart drops them behind the wolves.

[Eitan]

I agree that Brewer is better fit than AK. In my opinion it was obvious decision: Brewer is younger, matured and coming after very good season. AK on the other hand is older, injured a lot , expansive and came back to the N.B.A from Europe for extra money (and now maybe for a title).

Also Brewer will have bad games this season, in the long run it`s much better decision.

In the beginning I didn`t like the K. Martin`s signing. I`ve thought that we better sign Mayo. But now I think Martin is a better fit than Mayo and glad that we have him on the team. He makes us one of the best offensive team in the League.

Don`t know about top 3 seed, though.

[maelstrom11 [enjin:6599701]]

Yeah top 3 is a tall task but if we stay healthy I like our chances. We are a very very hungry team and I think we are going to pick up a lot of games early (like last night) in the season that the more veteran proven contenders might blow off. Utah, Denver,Portland are not threats. Okc will be dealing with injury to Westbrook for a while and If when he does come back is not as good as last year during the regular season. TRANSLATION division title for us and top three seed. Time will tell....

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

We'll see....I was one of the people hoping that we would sign AK to a cheaper deal after he opted out of his option year. He is a superior passer, more efficient scorer, and better team defender than Brewer. How quickly we forget that Aflalo was regularly able to create space against the weaker Brewer to get clean looks at the hoop a couple nights ago.

All of that being said, and I've beat this drum since we signed him, the key to maximizing his talents is by slotting him into the starting lineup, where Love, Martin, and Pekovic are clearly the top three offensive options and Brewer can focus almost solely on defense and opportunistic offense. So far it's working well.

[mjs34]

Seems like his pairing isn't limiting his offense much Q. He took 8 shots in just over 20 minutes last night. I would be a lot happier if he limited those shots to within 8 feet. He is a terrible outside shooter.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I loved Corey last night, but on balance I would probably still prefer AK...I say "probably" because injuries are the big wild card.

I watched AK last night against Miami, and I was reminded of what an extraordinary basketball player he is. His long arms and instincts around the basket make him twice the rebounder that Corey is...having Corey as our starting SF puts a lot of pressure on Love and Pek to rebound. AK is also a superior ballhandler compared to Corey.

Defensively, I actually see them as equals. AK is the smarter player, and uses his length effectively to clog lanes and block shots. But AK could never demonstrate the relentless defensive energy that Corey gave Durant last night. Corey frustrated Durant and at times completely took him out of the game...he was our MVP last night.

Offensively they are both challenged in shooting, but seem to get their points in other ways. AK is smart at moving without the ball and putting himself in a position to get the ball for easy buckets. Corey is more effective and spectacular at times on the fast break, especially with the chemistry he is developing with Love.

All in all, I have been very happy with Corey in the first two games. But AK is far and away the more complete player. I think the Wolves would win the division with AK...make that with a healthy AK.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Seems like his pairing isn't limiting his offense much Q. He took 8 shots in just over 20 minutes last night. I would be a lot happier if he limited those shots to within 8 feet. He is a terrible outside shooter.

Gotta agree, sjm, that Corey needs to always understand his role on this team. When he plays within himself and doesn't force things, he is much more effective. I actually thought his offensive choices were perfect in the early part of last night's game, and that he only forced a couple shots after the game was well in hand.

The only area I disagree with you on is Corey's ability to hit the three from the left corner. George Karl set him free on that shot last year, and Corey rewarded him with a 40% success rate. Corey will have a lot of wide open chances from that spot in this offense, and Adelman should give him the green light until Corey proves he can't hit it. But other than that, he should avoid mid-range jumpers and threes other than corner left, and limit his shooting to fast breaks and layups.

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Can you guys imagine if we'd have been able to keep AK and get Brewer? Wouldn't have happened because Glen Taylor doesn't have any lucrative oil interests to promise AK under the table (not that we're above that sort of thing *Joe Smith*), but that would have eased my worries about our defense a lot.

AK was great for us last year. And he'd be great for us this year too. Rubio, Brewer, AK would give us some really good defense.

Besides position and age, the main difference to me between Brewer and AK is that Brewer's defense is all about intensity and effort, and AK's defense is all about length and cleverness. We could use both.

[TAFKASP]

Brewer is going to have some bad games, that's a given. AK is going to miss a lot of games, and his backup would likely be less effective than Brewer. So on balance I think AK is the more consistently good player when he's on the court, I don't really think when looked at over a full season that the Wolves have lost much at all.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Seems like his pairing isn't limiting his offense much Q. He took 8 shots in just over 20 minutes last night. I would be a lot happier if he limited those shots to within 8 feet. He is a terrible outside shooter.

He's 5th on the Wolves in shots taken through two games. Last season, he was second on the Nuggets in shots taken for the season. While I agree that he still occasionally jacks up an ill-advised shot, he is much less able to do so when playing with Martin, Pek, and Love. If we were to start Williams and then bring Brewer off the bench, I guarantee you he would be taking a lot more shots per stint than he does now.