I really appreciate Ant

[kekgeek]

Probably doesn’t deserve a full thread but just want to say I really appreciate Ant

Embiid quoted today after the loss “me and James can’t win by ourselves”

Morant is a complete idiot

Ant is apparently staying in Minnesota this summer to work out with Mcdaniels, Moore, Minott and possibly Naz and then is going to France for a couple of weeks to work out with Rudy. Just seems to be a great leader in general

[Q-is-here]

No doubt, he's checking all the boxes to be a franchise player. He needs to keep improving his game, the front office needs to do their part, and the injury gods need to smile upon us. For all of Morant and Embiid's flaws, both have had much more NBA success than Ant (or KAT for that matter).

[FNG]

Probably doesn’t deserve a full thread but just want to say I really appreciate Ant

Embiid quoted today after the loss “me and James can’t win by ourselves”

Morant is a complete idiot

Ant is apparently staying in Minnesota this summer to work out with Mcdaniels, Moore, Minott and possibly Naz and then is going to France for a couple of weeks to work out with Rudy. Just seems to be a great leader in general

When asked, he said Rudy is picking up all the costs of his visit to France because "he has all the money!".

[Lipoli390]

Probably doesn’t deserve a full thread but just want to say I really appreciate Ant

Embiid quoted today after the loss “me and James can’t win by ourselves”

Morant is a complete idiot

Ant is apparently staying in Minnesota this summer to work out with Mcdaniels, Moore, Minott and possibly Naz and then is going to France for a couple of weeks to work out with Rudy. Just seems to be a great leader in general

Nice post, Kek. I actually think this does deserve a full thread. I like what we’re seeing from Ant and it’s a pleasant contrast to what we often see from other incredibly talented NBA players. We’re really lucky to have Ant on our Wolves team. Actually, we should thank Mr. Rosas for that.

We’re also fortunate to have KAT here. He has his flaws, but he’s always (1) given maximum effort; (2) provided consistently high-level production; (3) remained steadfastly loyal to the state, franchise and his teammates; and (4) been a solid citizen on and off the court.

I‘ll add that, although I hated the Gobert trade, by all accounts he’s been a terrific teammate and consummate pro since he’s been here and in his many years with the Jazz before the trade.

I know your post was about appreciating Ant and I’m totally on board with that. But I also think your post raises a broader point about appreciating the players we have. Now if only they could take this team to a top 4 seed in the West and advance in the playoffs. .

[AbeVigodaLive]

Edwards is fun. And good. And offers so much hope. (nearly all of our hope, honestly)

I dig that he calls out other players for load management and tries to play every night. I dig that he is currently doing all the right things. I dig that he competes and battles. I dig that he's doing all that stuff in the OP. I dig that he sticks around celebrating Towns during a post-game interview. I dig that he says most of the right things, even if saying them in the wrong ways. I even dig that he has a twitter account for his dog.

There are so many reasons to like Anthony Edwards.

But I've followed sports for a long time, like many of you. We've seen things, especially in the NBA. As long as we all realize many of the same things were written and said about Ja Morant as recently as 4 months ago. Or, Terrell Owens back in the day. Ben Simmons? Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Paul George in Indiana. Antonio Brown for chrissakes in Pittsburgh.

None of us can imagine what it's like to be an NBA player. And few (if any) of us can imagine what it's like to be a black man growing up poor who suddenly is famous and insanely rich. And not just insanely rich. BILLION dollar wealthy. That's what Edwards is looking at in his future if things go right.

Some guys can take it in stride (relatively) and strive for more and more and more. But there are others who get corrupted by all the stuff off the court that is most definitely very important to players. Right now, Edwards seems on the right track. And I hope that continues.

But I'd never make any claims that there's no way any super young NBA player won't start following another path. There are just too many examples throughout history.



[Note: But that doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate what Wolves fans have right now. The NBA is an increasingly fickle business, with so much player movement, shorter contracts, et al... that nothing is given beyond a couple years or so. Enjoy the ride!]

[Q-is-here]

Edwards is fun. And good. And offers so much hope. (nearly all of our hope, honestly)

I dig that he calls out other players for load management and tries to play every night. I dig that he is currently doing all the right things. I dig that he competes and battles. I dig that he's doing all that stuff in the OP. I dig that he sticks around celebrating Towns during a post-game interview. I dig that he says most of the right things, even if saying them in the wrong ways. I even dig that he has a twitter account for his dog.

There are so many reasons to like Anthony Edwards.

But I've followed sports for a long time, like many of you. We've seen things, especially in the NBA. As long as we all realize many of the same things were written and said about Ja Morant as recently as 4 months ago. Or, Terrell Owens back in the day. Ben Simmons? Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Paul George in Indiana. Antonio Brown for chrissakes in Pittsburgh.

None of us can imagine what it's like to be an NBA player. And few (if any) of us can imagine what it's like to be a black man growing up poor who suddenly is famous and insanely rich. And not just insanely rich. BILLION dollar wealthy. That's what Edwards is looking at in his future if things go right.

Some guys can take it in stride (relatively) and strive for more and more and more. But there are others who get corrupted by all the stuff off the court that is most definitely very important to players. Right now, Edwards seems on the right track. And I hope that continues.

But I'd never make any claims that there's no way any super young NBA player won't start following another path. There are just too many examples throughout history.



[Note: But that doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate what Wolves fans have right now. The NBA is an increasingly fickle business, with so much player movement, shorter contracts, et al... that nothing is given beyond a couple years or so. Enjoy the ride!]

No doubt we should appreciate Ant, but to add to your point, we've had other damn-near unicorns come into the franchise and simply haven't been able to capitalize. So even if he continues doing everything right off the court and continues to improve on the court, we know that Wolves front offices (regardless of who is in charge) fritter away these opportunities with bad trades, bad draft picks, poor development, etc., etc.

[Monster]

I was watching a show the other day and there was a young man that was a good HS basketball player had hopes of being in the NBA (no idea how good he was but sounded like he was a likely D1 college scholarship player). He was in a car accident was life flighted to the hospital had surgery and was left paralyzed from the chest down. Then he was told his mom and his aunt died in the car crash too. At one point in the show he said something like “What’s the worst that could happen now? I’m paralyzed and my mom and my aunt are gone.” Basically he was like why not do things it can’t be any worse. Still he was struggling with anxiety. This reminded me a bit of Edwards except Edwards has seemed to have found his way to move on. It seems like Edwards always kinda playing with house money and he is taking advantage of the opportunities. Like Abe said there is a chance everything that comes with being a famous young man could send him a different way. He has been a fun player to follow so far. He hasn’t been perfect but nobody has.

[thedoper]

Ant makes this team so much more compelling. And hes 22, crazy. If he can continue to improve next year its hard not to see a real significant jump for this team. Him going to France is really cool news as well.

[Lipoli390]

Edwards is fun. And good. And offers so much hope. (nearly all of our hope, honestly)

I dig that he calls out other players for load management and tries to play every night. I dig that he is currently doing all the right things. I dig that he competes and battles. I dig that he's doing all that stuff in the OP. I dig that he sticks around celebrating Towns during a post-game interview. I dig that he says most of the right things, even if saying them in the wrong ways. I even dig that he has a twitter account for his dog.

There are so many reasons to like Anthony Edwards.

But I've followed sports for a long time, like many of you. We've seen things, especially in the NBA. As long as we all realize many of the same things were written and said about Ja Morant as recently as 4 months ago. Or, Terrell Owens back in the day. Ben Simmons? Anthony Davis in New Orleans. Paul George in Indiana. Antonio Brown for chrissakes in Pittsburgh.

None of us can imagine what it's like to be an NBA player. And few (if any) of us can imagine what it's like to be a black man growing up poor who suddenly is famous and insanely rich. And not just insanely rich. BILLION dollar wealthy. That's what Edwards is looking at in his future if things go right.

Some guys can take it in stride (relatively) and strive for more and more and more. But there are others who get corrupted by all the stuff off the court that is most definitely very important to players. Right now, Edwards seems on the right track. And I hope that continues.

But I'd never make any claims that there's no way any super young NBA player won't start following another path. There are just too many examples throughout history.



[Note: But that doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate what Wolves fans have right now. The NBA is an increasingly fickle business, with so much player movement, shorter contracts, et al... that nothing is given beyond a couple years or so. Enjoy the ride!]

No doubt we should appreciate Ant, but to add to your point, we've had other damn-near unicorns come into the franchise and simply haven't been able to capitalize. So even if he continues doing everything right off the court and continues to improve on the court, we know that Wolves front offices (regardless of who is in charge) fritter away these opportunities with bad trades, bad draft picks, poor development, etc., etc.

Abe raised the specter of Ant eventually going down a dark path as other NBA players have done after being initially celebrated. It could happen with Ant, but I don’t expect it. Most young NBA players who appear to be good guys remain good guys throughout their careers. Ja Morant is one of the exceptions. Most players turn out to be who and what we thought they were. No doubt, Ant’s imperfections will be exposed and magnified as he gets deeper into his career. MJ’s spotless image was “tarnished” by his affinity for legal gambling and also how hard he could be on his teammates. But he didn’t fundamentally change as a person or eventually show himself to be a bad person. Kevin Durant was beloved when he came into the League and lost a lot of the initial affection over the years when we all saw how thin-skinned he is and by his tendency to follow the easy, expedient path. But he’s still a great player and fundamentally good guy and good teammate. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Doctor J, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Kareem, Allen Iverson, and many others began and ended their careers as beloved figures.

So I don’t see a significant risk that Ant will end up as someone different from who he currently appears to be. Q nailed it. The real risk with Ant is that our front office screws up and squanders this opportunity to build a championship caliber team around him. That’s what I worry about. We’re all familiar with past examples - McHale/Flip screwing up the opportunity with KG by going with Brandon instead of Billups, entering into a WRITTEN illegal deal that cost multiple first round picks, selecting Ebi instead of Josh Howard near the end of the 1st round. I won’t bother with other examples from the Khan and Thibs tenures. There are already signs that TC is going to squander this opportunity with Ant but it’s still too early to tell.

[Monster]

Durant certainly went Dark. Is he a bad guy? No but the dude was easily one of the most likable dudes in the league and then something switched. It’s still crazy that Durant, Westbrook and Harden were all drafted to one team.