With me back in town and the news wire being slow today, I decided to check out what Just A Fan at Canis has said recently. I'll post the various blurbs below, but here is the link to his profile showing his recent posts:
http://www.sbnation.com/users/Just%20A%20Fan
Inside info from Just A Fan
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
The issue with Ricky has been and continues to be
his insistence on play as a back up point guard on the Spanish National team every summer. Unlike Team USA, the Spanish Team gathers and practices for weeks before the tournament - then plays in the tournament. Team practices - not individual skill maximizing practices. Making this choice, Ricky simply doesn't have the opportunity to go into an intense, off season program dedicated to rebuilding his jump shot.
Ricky has a good release point - as shown by his ability to make free throws. The ball has nice arc and good rotation. Release point is the hardest part to fix - but Ricky doesn't need that fixed. Ricky needs to quicken his release. That you can rebuild - but it takes lots of repetitions to get the body mechanics down to the point that it's second nature. Ricky needs to commit the time to doing it.
He really needed to take a pass on the National team this year to focus on his shooting. But he didn't. And I feel that, more than anything else, is what holds him back from being a top 5 NBA point guard.
As an aside, there was some real hope that Ricky's local girl friend was going to help influence Ricky to stay put this summer. But not so.
by Just A Fan on Jul 16, 2014 | 10:59 AM
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? Huh?
You don't build your personal skills set during the season. During the season, your focus is completely on preparing for the next game and recovering from the previous game. That's it.
When did KLove take his jump? The season after he joined Westbrook, et al, in Los Angels for grueling off season training.
http://www.awolfamongwolves.com/2012/04/want-to-see-how-kevin-love-lost-all-that-weight/
That's not Twolves facilities and Twolves employees - that's KLove hiring trainers to push him to be better. Because that's what KLove felt he needed to do to achieve what he wanted to achieve.
If Ricky has other priorities that's his choice. As they say, you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
by Just A Fan on Jul 16, 2014 | 3:51 PM
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Two points
You just aren't able to take the thousand shots a day it takes to fix a shot and play 35-40 minutes a night in back to back NBA games. Your body just doesn't work that way.
As to the training staff, if you ever seen a practice, they work with the young guys extensively (who are not playing 35-40 min per game) and with the experienced players on very specific things. A drop step move. A cross over move. A shot off a pick and roll.
You never see them mess with a shooting stroke during the season unless something is totally broken.
As to "popular bullshit" let's actually have Ricky do the work one summer and see what happens before passing judgement.
by Just A Fan on Jul 17, 2014 | 10:45 AM
his insistence on play as a back up point guard on the Spanish National team every summer. Unlike Team USA, the Spanish Team gathers and practices for weeks before the tournament - then plays in the tournament. Team practices - not individual skill maximizing practices. Making this choice, Ricky simply doesn't have the opportunity to go into an intense, off season program dedicated to rebuilding his jump shot.
Ricky has a good release point - as shown by his ability to make free throws. The ball has nice arc and good rotation. Release point is the hardest part to fix - but Ricky doesn't need that fixed. Ricky needs to quicken his release. That you can rebuild - but it takes lots of repetitions to get the body mechanics down to the point that it's second nature. Ricky needs to commit the time to doing it.
He really needed to take a pass on the National team this year to focus on his shooting. But he didn't. And I feel that, more than anything else, is what holds him back from being a top 5 NBA point guard.
As an aside, there was some real hope that Ricky's local girl friend was going to help influence Ricky to stay put this summer. But not so.
by Just A Fan on Jul 16, 2014 | 10:59 AM
-----
? Huh?
You don't build your personal skills set during the season. During the season, your focus is completely on preparing for the next game and recovering from the previous game. That's it.
When did KLove take his jump? The season after he joined Westbrook, et al, in Los Angels for grueling off season training.
http://www.awolfamongwolves.com/2012/04/want-to-see-how-kevin-love-lost-all-that-weight/
That's not Twolves facilities and Twolves employees - that's KLove hiring trainers to push him to be better. Because that's what KLove felt he needed to do to achieve what he wanted to achieve.
If Ricky has other priorities that's his choice. As they say, you can bring a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
by Just A Fan on Jul 16, 2014 | 3:51 PM
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Two points
You just aren't able to take the thousand shots a day it takes to fix a shot and play 35-40 minutes a night in back to back NBA games. Your body just doesn't work that way.
As to the training staff, if you ever seen a practice, they work with the young guys extensively (who are not playing 35-40 min per game) and with the experienced players on very specific things. A drop step move. A cross over move. A shot off a pick and roll.
You never see them mess with a shooting stroke during the season unless something is totally broken.
As to "popular bullshit" let's actually have Ricky do the work one summer and see what happens before passing judgement.
by Just A Fan on Jul 17, 2014 | 10:45 AM
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
? To Wiley E Coyote - from a 6 hour round of golf
In a charity event yesterday, I had a chance to get some updates from some friends in the basketball world. Nothing too earth shattering - but here goes.
Privately, the Twolves are resigned to trading KLove. But they are not going to do it at any cost. They are absolutely firm in a very young, super star potential player AND a "for sure" top lottery pick in 2015 is the minimum price for a KLove trade prior to the start of the season. The Twolves are absolutely convinced that a KLove trade at the deadline will yield at least one or the other - and Flip is willing to keep a disgruntled player on the team (more on that below) until the trade deadline to prove it. So the flotsam offers have all been politely turned down.
Twolves are more than willing to add pieces, trade other players, take back some salary, etc. in a larger deal. But the top young player and lottery pick are the must haves in any preseason deal.
Flip has not had to work the phones to come up with trade prospects - KLove's agent is doing that for us!! KLove really does not want to play for us on an expiring contract - for many reasons (probably the largest being lost market potential should he have a major injury). So trade partners are being solicited by his agent. That is why KLove on a couple of occasions has casually mentioned his willingness to sign extensions with certain clubs. He has a huge incentive to get this done.
The Cleveland deal with Wiggins is by far the preferred trade. As discussed here - to make the deal work best - Wiggins needs to sign his contract. But, Wiggins and his agent are so far not all that interested in signing the contract. Wiggins doesn't want to be a Twolve. And it has very little to do with the team - and everything to do about building his "brand". (Don't take this as Wiggins not wanting to play here - take it as Wiggin's agents feeling Wiggins best business interest rest in Cleveland) Wiggins playing next to LeBron means lots of National TV exposure, lots of extra media following the team, etc - all of which Wiggins agent feels will strongly help build his "brand".
(One of the guys went off on rant about this. Young players far more worried about building a reputation and outside interests than they are about being a star NBA player has complicated many a deal. Really pisses the old timers off who hate the focus being so much on off the court items)
They know Wiggins is in play in a trade here. So the longer they delay, the more hope they have that it falls apart. And since Wiggins is not earning any money until the season starts (except the signing bonus portion), they don't have any incentive to move this along. In fact, if he wants to stay in Cleveland, he has a pretty large incentive to not sign any time soon - like say just before training camp in September.
This is creating some angst in Cleveland - they don't real have anyway to make Wiggins sign and/or offer more incentives to sign. Making the deal without having Wiggins signed is possible, but much less desirable. So the deal sits in limbo.
The Twolves are mixed on Klay Thompson. They see him as a strong player and a good fit to the current roster - but not as a super star in the making. So not everyone agrees Klay meets the preseason trade minimum. That being said, Golden State has been far more proactive on flotsam proposals. So there is not so much here to talk about.
Flip plans to rebalance the roster with some minor deals once the KLove situation is resolved. But if KLove stays until the trade deadline, you might not see much happening.
A couple of other throw away comments.
Ricky has been working extensively with a shooting coach on the west coast.
Expects that Ricky will be signed to a max length, but not max dollars contract. (Ricky likes it here - which helps)
No plans to move Pek. Feeling there will be plenty of minutes for Pek and Deing. (Not sure if that's due to Pek's injury issues or if he means they can play some time together)
by Just A Fan on Jul 22, 2014 | 11:35 AM
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I think originally
Cleveland was dragging their feet to use up cap space to sign support players for LeBron. But once Miller verbally agreed to his deal, Cleveland was done and ready to go on Wiggins. That was almost 2 weeks ago.
This is personal opinion not something we talked about.
by Just A Fan on Jul 22, 2014 | 12:55 PM
In a charity event yesterday, I had a chance to get some updates from some friends in the basketball world. Nothing too earth shattering - but here goes.
Privately, the Twolves are resigned to trading KLove. But they are not going to do it at any cost. They are absolutely firm in a very young, super star potential player AND a "for sure" top lottery pick in 2015 is the minimum price for a KLove trade prior to the start of the season. The Twolves are absolutely convinced that a KLove trade at the deadline will yield at least one or the other - and Flip is willing to keep a disgruntled player on the team (more on that below) until the trade deadline to prove it. So the flotsam offers have all been politely turned down.
Twolves are more than willing to add pieces, trade other players, take back some salary, etc. in a larger deal. But the top young player and lottery pick are the must haves in any preseason deal.
Flip has not had to work the phones to come up with trade prospects - KLove's agent is doing that for us!! KLove really does not want to play for us on an expiring contract - for many reasons (probably the largest being lost market potential should he have a major injury). So trade partners are being solicited by his agent. That is why KLove on a couple of occasions has casually mentioned his willingness to sign extensions with certain clubs. He has a huge incentive to get this done.
The Cleveland deal with Wiggins is by far the preferred trade. As discussed here - to make the deal work best - Wiggins needs to sign his contract. But, Wiggins and his agent are so far not all that interested in signing the contract. Wiggins doesn't want to be a Twolve. And it has very little to do with the team - and everything to do about building his "brand". (Don't take this as Wiggins not wanting to play here - take it as Wiggin's agents feeling Wiggins best business interest rest in Cleveland) Wiggins playing next to LeBron means lots of National TV exposure, lots of extra media following the team, etc - all of which Wiggins agent feels will strongly help build his "brand".
(One of the guys went off on rant about this. Young players far more worried about building a reputation and outside interests than they are about being a star NBA player has complicated many a deal. Really pisses the old timers off who hate the focus being so much on off the court items)
They know Wiggins is in play in a trade here. So the longer they delay, the more hope they have that it falls apart. And since Wiggins is not earning any money until the season starts (except the signing bonus portion), they don't have any incentive to move this along. In fact, if he wants to stay in Cleveland, he has a pretty large incentive to not sign any time soon - like say just before training camp in September.
This is creating some angst in Cleveland - they don't real have anyway to make Wiggins sign and/or offer more incentives to sign. Making the deal without having Wiggins signed is possible, but much less desirable. So the deal sits in limbo.
The Twolves are mixed on Klay Thompson. They see him as a strong player and a good fit to the current roster - but not as a super star in the making. So not everyone agrees Klay meets the preseason trade minimum. That being said, Golden State has been far more proactive on flotsam proposals. So there is not so much here to talk about.
Flip plans to rebalance the roster with some minor deals once the KLove situation is resolved. But if KLove stays until the trade deadline, you might not see much happening.
A couple of other throw away comments.
Ricky has been working extensively with a shooting coach on the west coast.
Expects that Ricky will be signed to a max length, but not max dollars contract. (Ricky likes it here - which helps)
No plans to move Pek. Feeling there will be plenty of minutes for Pek and Deing. (Not sure if that's due to Pek's injury issues or if he means they can play some time together)
by Just A Fan on Jul 22, 2014 | 11:35 AM
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I think originally
Cleveland was dragging their feet to use up cap space to sign support players for LeBron. But once Miller verbally agreed to his deal, Cleveland was done and ready to go on Wiggins. That was almost 2 weeks ago.
This is personal opinion not something we talked about.
by Just A Fan on Jul 22, 2014 | 12:55 PM
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
Another round of golf and a little more info
Another six hour round, another day shooting the breeze on NBA basketball. Again, nothing too earth shattering but here goes.
The Cleveland - Twolves trade has been agreed to in principle by both parties. Wiggins/Bennett for Love as the keys. So the rumor mill should be pretty quiet. There is always the chance that someone does something completely foolish and makes a "Godfather" offer that the Twolves can't refuse. But my friend says the odds on that are less that 0.1% Nearly every team with reasonable offers have already been talked to multiple times.
There was some internal debate on the Chicago inquiry. But contrary to several reports, Mirotic has not been in the discussions. That cooled the Twolves' interests. If Mirotic ever came into discussions it could change the Twolves interest level. But it's getting pretty late for that.
Internally, with the Cleveland deal, there is some optimism that the Twolves could restructure the roster in a way to be competitive for the last playoff spot in 2014-15. I am not sure I buy that - but maybe they could. That optimism is a big deal - ticket sales/renewals are WAY behind (certainly the Love uncertainty plays a huge role in that) and the Twolves need to sell something more than a re-re-rebuild. Plus a marketing plan around the #1 draft pick is very enticing. This is the really the root cause of the "rebuild without bottoming out" strategy - the Twolves really need to hang on to current sponsors and ticket buyers. Hope for the future doesn't cut it anymore for the business side.
(By the way, expect Wiggins to have a couple of nice local endorsement deals with Fortune 500 type companies once he officially becomes a Twolve. Some nice work by the staff on exploring those.)
Both the Twolves and Cleveland have needs they would like to address by bring in a 3rd team to the trade.
Cleveland really wants to find a veteran 2 guard with excellent 3 point range to play 20 minutes per game. They are pretty frustrated that Ray Allen has not signed on (though in fairness - Cleveland really doesn't have much to offer Ray in $$$ so I can see why Ray isn't all that interested. At least yet)
The Twolves want someone to be able to play major minutes at the 4. Right now, post Love, they have no one they feel is capable of doing that.
So what will be in play is the Miami pick and a couple of Twolve expiring contracts (think redundant PG and Wings players). There are several teams in the bottoming out mode interested in that Miami pick and with cap space for the expiring contracts. (Not so much interest with the Grizzles pick that Cleveland also has)
There are lots of quiet talks going on toward a multi team trade. (Or concurrent trades). Seems there are more options than just the Philadelphia one that has received lots of press. (Sorry - no details).
Anyhow, that's it for my "off season" discussions. I don't expect paths to cross again until preseason starts. So I'll be watching for info just like everyone else.
Oh....our team sucked yesterday. But the weather was good.
by Just A Fan on Jul 29, 2014 | 11:06 AM
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? Yea but
No one - and I mean no one - will say 1 damn word. The possible fine/penalties are enormous.
by Just A Fan on Jul 29, 2014 | 11:09 AM
Another six hour round, another day shooting the breeze on NBA basketball. Again, nothing too earth shattering but here goes.
The Cleveland - Twolves trade has been agreed to in principle by both parties. Wiggins/Bennett for Love as the keys. So the rumor mill should be pretty quiet. There is always the chance that someone does something completely foolish and makes a "Godfather" offer that the Twolves can't refuse. But my friend says the odds on that are less that 0.1% Nearly every team with reasonable offers have already been talked to multiple times.
There was some internal debate on the Chicago inquiry. But contrary to several reports, Mirotic has not been in the discussions. That cooled the Twolves' interests. If Mirotic ever came into discussions it could change the Twolves interest level. But it's getting pretty late for that.
Internally, with the Cleveland deal, there is some optimism that the Twolves could restructure the roster in a way to be competitive for the last playoff spot in 2014-15. I am not sure I buy that - but maybe they could. That optimism is a big deal - ticket sales/renewals are WAY behind (certainly the Love uncertainty plays a huge role in that) and the Twolves need to sell something more than a re-re-rebuild. Plus a marketing plan around the #1 draft pick is very enticing. This is the really the root cause of the "rebuild without bottoming out" strategy - the Twolves really need to hang on to current sponsors and ticket buyers. Hope for the future doesn't cut it anymore for the business side.
(By the way, expect Wiggins to have a couple of nice local endorsement deals with Fortune 500 type companies once he officially becomes a Twolve. Some nice work by the staff on exploring those.)
Both the Twolves and Cleveland have needs they would like to address by bring in a 3rd team to the trade.
Cleveland really wants to find a veteran 2 guard with excellent 3 point range to play 20 minutes per game. They are pretty frustrated that Ray Allen has not signed on (though in fairness - Cleveland really doesn't have much to offer Ray in $$$ so I can see why Ray isn't all that interested. At least yet)
The Twolves want someone to be able to play major minutes at the 4. Right now, post Love, they have no one they feel is capable of doing that.
So what will be in play is the Miami pick and a couple of Twolve expiring contracts (think redundant PG and Wings players). There are several teams in the bottoming out mode interested in that Miami pick and with cap space for the expiring contracts. (Not so much interest with the Grizzles pick that Cleveland also has)
There are lots of quiet talks going on toward a multi team trade. (Or concurrent trades). Seems there are more options than just the Philadelphia one that has received lots of press. (Sorry - no details).
Anyhow, that's it for my "off season" discussions. I don't expect paths to cross again until preseason starts. So I'll be watching for info just like everyone else.
Oh....our team sucked yesterday. But the weather was good.
by Just A Fan on Jul 29, 2014 | 11:06 AM
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? Yea but
No one - and I mean no one - will say 1 damn word. The possible fine/penalties are enormous.
by Just A Fan on Jul 29, 2014 | 11:09 AM
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
For those that don't know Just A Fan (JAF), he posts occasionally at Canis and has a connection or two that is as close as we'll ever get to inside information -- far more interesting stuff than our beat writers get a hold of...
Maybe you guys knew this already, but I did not know the asking price for Love was "But the top young player and lottery pick are the must haves in any preseason deal." And while the Wolves like Klay, they are not unanimous about him being a "top young player".
Mirotic has not been offered in a trade.
And it is Wiggins and Bennett for Love, although they do not believe Bennett is ready to start at the 4. Flip will balance the roster with other deals once the Love deal is out of the way (unless they are able to do it with a 3rd team as part of the Love deal).
It was interesting that he mentioned the Wolves' frustration with Rubio not working on his shot, but then a week later Rubio is in California working on his shot.
Maybe you guys knew this already, but I did not know the asking price for Love was "But the top young player and lottery pick are the must haves in any preseason deal." And while the Wolves like Klay, they are not unanimous about him being a "top young player".
Mirotic has not been offered in a trade.
And it is Wiggins and Bennett for Love, although they do not believe Bennett is ready to start at the 4. Flip will balance the roster with other deals once the Love deal is out of the way (unless they are able to do it with a 3rd team as part of the Love deal).
It was interesting that he mentioned the Wolves' frustration with Rubio not working on his shot, but then a week later Rubio is in California working on his shot.
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Woomanchu [enjin:10956828]
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Tue Jul 29, 2014 12:00 am
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
Thanks for posting. I have lost track of Just A Fan over the years.
I bet that Flip has said something like, "We would love to give you a max contract, but you are not working on your game over the summer like you should be doing. I will give you a max contract when your shot improves."
60WinTim wrote:It was interesting that he mentioned the Wolves' frustration with Rubio not working on his shot, but then a week later Rubio is in California working on his shot.
I bet that Flip has said something like, "We would love to give you a max contract, but you are not working on your game over the summer like you should be doing. I will give you a max contract when your shot improves."
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
Thanks for posting tim. This got me excited if the deal is already agreed upon. Getting wiggins will be the best possible outcome for the future and the fanbase. The sell of rubio-wiggins-lavine future with a fast paced attack certainly gets one excited. The 30 days wait cant get close enough.
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
Woomanchu wrote:Thanks for posting. I have lost track of Just A Fan over the years.
60WinTim wrote:It was interesting that he mentioned the Wolves' frustration with Rubio not working on his shot, but then a week later Rubio is in California working on his shot.
I bet that Flip has said something like, "We would love to give you a max contract, but you are not working on your game over the summer like you should be doing. I will give you a max contract when your shot improves."
I didn't connect the dots on that one, but it sure does fit: "if you want the $s, Ricky, this is what you better be doing!"
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longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]
- Posts: 9432
- Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2013 12:00 am
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
Good stuff, Tim, especially coming from a guy with some inside information.
I had heard a couple times that Ricky has been out here for several weeks working on his shot with a new teacher. Really happy about that, and hope he is seeing some results. I'm actually glad he's playing some high level basketball in the Worlds this late summer. I think that's a well-balanced offseason...several weeks working on his biggest weakness, and then some team action that will serve as an early training camp. A big step forward for Ricky would be so important to this club.
I had heard a couple times that Ricky has been out here for several weeks working on his shot with a new teacher. Really happy about that, and hope he is seeing some results. I'm actually glad he's playing some high level basketball in the Worlds this late summer. I think that's a well-balanced offseason...several weeks working on his biggest weakness, and then some team action that will serve as an early training camp. A big step forward for Ricky would be so important to this club.
Re: Inside info from Just A Fan
Thanks for posting, Tim. Interesting stuff. Rings true for the most part except for the part about a lottery pick as a minimum component of a deal for Love. If there really is a bilateral deal with Cleveland in place, it won't include a lottery pick since the Cavs don't have any likely future lottery picks. And I don't see a likely lottery team in rebuild mode like the Sixers giving up their future first round pick for anything they'd get from the Wolves or Cleveland in a three-way.
Otherwise, it sure seems like this guy is connected. Fun stuff.
Otherwise, it sure seems like this guy is connected. Fun stuff.