Minnesota Sports Forum

Posted: **Sat Aug 05, 2023 9:44 am**

This deader-than-snot time really sucks. At least some intrigue is upcoming with a few Wolves playing in summer competition. In the meantime...

We didn't have much in the way of training camp battles last year. Not only was the starting lineup known - DLO, ANT, McD, KAT and Rudy - but the 5-man bench was set as well - JMac, Nowell, Prince, SloMo and Naz. The bottom 5 was not denting the rotation, except for injury - Rivers and Forbes were bench depth, Moore and Minot were rookies, and Nate was... well, Nate.

This year will be different. The starting lineup is set, as is the bench frontcourt with SloMo and Naz. But JMac, Shake, NAW and Brown will be in a Battle Royale for those final three rotation spots, with the loser joining Moore, Minot, Miller and the open roster spot for the bottom 5. But even there, Moore, Minot and Miller each have the potential to stake a claim for some minutes in the rotation.

As for the Battle Royale, Shake and NAW are the highest paid and seem most likely to garner a spot in the rotation. Which means JMac and Brown are vying for that final rotation spot. JMac's prospects will improve if Shake is less-than-effective playing the minutes behind Conley.

Anyway, a lot more intrigue heading into this training camp compared to last year. It suggests our team is deeper than last year. My expectations for this team are pretty lofty! We don't have the whole "Gobert adjustment" to re-live. We start the year with Conley instead of DLO. And our health last year was lower than average with KAT missing 53 games (not to mention his lost training camp/preseason), JMac missing 39 games, and Prince missing 28 games.

Thanks for listening. You can return to your summer activities...

Posted: **Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:50 pm**

This is probably a little early for this thread but I will bite.

With Anderson likely getting minutes at SF there may not be a lot of minutes available there but I think Brown probably has a shot at getting some of those. NAW will be getting some as well but Brown is a guy that’s more of a forward and plays bigger so he might get some of those minutes plus Anderson will miss likely some games so…but yeah Brown is a guy that will be fighting for some minutes.

Meanwhile at the risk of making this into a who gets the last spot on the roster thread I will say that there is a remaining roster spot and we don’t know who will be fighting to fill it. Garza and Elleby weren’t signed to their exhibit 10 contracts till about a month from training camp. With the 3rd 2-way contract it looks like teams can now have a total of 21 players in the offseason on their roster instead of 20. Until the Wolves or Matt Ryan says he isn’t on the roster I will assume he will occupy that spot. Still even with Ryan in 2-way limbo the Wolves have 4 open spots. You can only sign 3 exhibit 10 players and so anyone else would be coming for a non-guaranteed spot. Let’s remember Eric Paschall who signed his 2-way deal late July ended up losing his spot to Garza and to be honest that was unexpected when Paschall signed. This training came at this point there is at least 1 open roster spot and a player could beat out Matt Ryan for a 2-way spot if there are eligible. There is some legit opportunity to make a NBA roster with the Wolves.

So…let’s see what happens in the next few weeks. Maybe the wolves will sign a vet like Rivers to a non-guaranteed deal in addition to a could younger camp body types although I expect at least one to have a legit chance to make the roster. I would not be surprised if Brandon Williams is one of those guys.

Posted: **Sat Aug 05, 2023 6:09 pm**

I think having back up PG minutes up for grab will be good for JMac. Its do or die for him and his peaks were impressive before his dud of a year last year. Theres a smart ball player there and I hope him competing with real pros will bring out the best in him.

Posted: **Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:24 pm**

thedoper wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 6:09 pm I think having back up PG minutes up for grab will be good for JMac. Its do or die for him and his peaks were impressive before his dud of a year last year. Theres a smart ball player there and I hope him competing with real pros will bring out the best in him.

That’s a good insight, Doper.

Posted: **Sun Aug 06, 2023 10:24 am**

Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:24 pm
thedoper wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 6:09 pm I think having back up PG minutes up for grab will be good for JMac. Its do or die for him and his peaks were impressive before his dud of a year last year. Theres a smart ball player there and I hope him competing with real pros will bring out the best in him.
That’s a good insight, Doper.

Yeah, I agree that is a good take by Doper. Even an unabashed JMac bobo like me was disappointed with his non-existent contribution in the playoffs. But that doesn't diminish my belief that he has been a more than adequate backup PG in most games he has played, and having to fight for his minutes may incentivize him. We malign JMac's 2022-3 stats here, but my fondness for pass-first, ball-protecting, smart-defending PGs causes me to cherry pick some numbers from last season that reflect well on him:

1) Jim Pete always says "good things seem to happen when JMac is on the court", and his belief is supported by his stellar on/off numbers. Only Mike Conley's +8.2 was better than Jordan's +7.8 for the season. I want my backup PG to protect or extend the lead when he's in there.

2) JMac has been nothing short of spectacular throughout his career in assist to turnover ratio, always ranking among the league leaders. His superb 4.25 ratio last year was in line with his 4.375 career average. Getting baskets for your teammates while also not turning the ball over is key to an effective offense.

3) He had a positive net rating on basketballreference.com for the third year in his 4-year career.

4) While his VORP was unspectacular at .2, at least it was positive, and for comparative purposes, much-loved Jaden McDaniels was only .5 for the season.

5) His 3-point shooting has never been close to what he showed in college, and has been a source of frustration for many here. But in the "what have you done for us lately category", it's noteworthy that he made 40.5% of his threes in his 19 games after the all star break. He only averaged about 2 attempts per game, but isn't that what we want from him? Don't look to be a scorer, but hit the open shot when the defense gives it to you. If he can continue the success he had the final 19 games of the season, he will dramatically increase his value.

Much of JMac's futility the last week of the season and in the playoffs was due to his oddly falling in love with getting to the basket for attempted layups...almost all of which were blocked! JMac is neither big nor crafty around the basket, and that is not a prescription for success as an inside scorer. The coaching staff has to remind him of what he does well, and what he should avoid.

I predict JMac will have a bounce back season, and play 15-20 MPG effectively backing up Conley. But if Milton (or even Ant or NAW) proves to be more effective at backup PG than what I think JMac will be, that would be very good for this team.

Posted: **Sun Aug 06, 2023 12:08 pm**

FNG wrote: ↑Sun Aug 06, 2023 10:24 am
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 8:24 pm
thedoper wrote: ↑Sat Aug 05, 2023 6:09 pm I think having back up PG minutes up for grab will be good for JMac. Its do or die for him and his peaks were impressive before his dud of a year last year. Theres a smart ball player there and I hope him competing with real pros will bring out the best in him.
That’s a good insight, Doper.
Yeah, I agree that is a good take by Doper. Even an unabashed JMac bobo like me was disappointed with his non-existent contribution in the playoffs. But that doesn't diminish my belief that he has been a more than adequate backup PG in most games he has played, and having to fight for his minutes may incentivize him. We malign JMac's 2022-3 stats here, but my fondness for pass-first, ball-protecting, smart-defending PGs causes me to cherry pick some numbers from last season that reflect well on him:

1) Jim Pete always says "good things seem to happen when JMac is on the court", and his belief is supported by his stellar on/off numbers. Only Mike Conley's +8.2 was better than Jordan's +7.8 for the season. I want my backup PG to protect or extend the lead when he's in there.

2) JMac has been nothing short of spectacular throughout his career in assist to turnover ratio, always ranking among the league leaders. His superb 4.25 ratio last year was in line with his 4.375 career average. Getting baskets for your teammates while also not turning the ball over is key to an effective offense.

3) He had a positive net rating on basketballreference.com for the third year in his 4-year career.

4) While his VORP was unspectacular at .2, at least it was positive, and for comparative purposes, much-loved Jaden McDaniels was only .5 for the season.

5) His 3-point shooting has never been close to what he showed in college, and has been a source of frustration for many here. But in the "what have you done for us lately category", it's noteworthy that he made 40.5% of his threes in his 19 games after the all star break. He only averaged about 2 attempts per game, but isn't that what we want from him? Don't look to be a scorer, but hit the open shot when the defense gives it to you. If he can continue the success he had the final 19 games of the season, he will dramatically increase his value.

Much of JMac's futility the last week of the season and in the playoffs was due to his oddly falling in love with getting to the basket for attempted layups...almost all of which were blocked! JMac is neither big nor crafty around the basket, and that is not a prescription for success as an inside scorer. The coaching staff has to remind him of what he does well, and what he should avoid.

I predict JMac will have a bounce back season, and play 15-20 MPG effectively backing up Conley. But if Milton (or even Ant or NAW) proves to be more effective at backup PG than what I think JMac will be, that would be very good for this team.

I don’t think it was intended to sound like it but I just want to point out that nothing was handed to McLaughlin. Did he get opportunities? Like Naz has for years. Yes. For the most part he took advantage of them including at times beating out guys that in theory were more talented young players.

As FNG kinda points out McLaughlin brings something the other guards behind Conely don’t. He is a true PG that knows how to make teammates better. Sometimes you need a guy like that. It feels like there is a nice variety of guards the wolves can turn too in various games or situations. If McLaughlin is healthy he is probably gonna get a chance to play some minutes at times especially since Conley is likely to miss some games.

I remember watching Conley highlights for the Wolves and it was the game in Toronto where Conely and McLaughlin were on the floor and Conley hit McLaughlin cutting to the basket like we saw with Russell. McLaughlin is a smart player. He has chemistry with Naz. It wouldn’t hurt if he had some with Gobert even if I don’t expect McLaughlin to play with Gobert much this season. McLaughlin despite his flaws is a guy that has proven over more than a handful of months that he is an NBA basketball player. As a deep bench guard making basically the vet min…I think that’s a pretty good thing.

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