Team leadership

[FNG]

Many of us are wondering why we occasionally have games like yesterday when almost nobody on the roster shows up. I get that there are going to be nights when shots don't go in, but it's frustrating to lose games to inferior opponents because of a lack of effort...and it seems like it happens to us more often than to other teams. We post here often about this team needing a backup center or a true PG, but I think games like yesterday happen because of a lack of vocal veteran leadership on the team. Jace Frederick talked about this on Dane's recent podcast, and I agree. Ant may someday become a vocal leader, but he's only 24 and naturally defers to the older players on the roster. And unfortunately, none of our older players are vocal leaders. Mike, Rudy and Ju are all relatively silent guys, and Joe Ingles is a fun guy who just doesn't seem to be the type of guy to get on his teammates when they play like they did yesterday.

What this team needs I think is a guy like Patrick Beverley (as much as a pain in the ass as he sometimes was). I don't think our 2021-2 team was nearly as talented as this year's team...some may argue that point, but much of our roster was young (Ant, Jaden, Naz, KAT, etc.) and not nearly as good as they are now. And yet they played hard every night and, I would say, overachieved with a 46-36 record. And often you would see PatBev getting in the face of our young guys when they seemed unfocused, and like him or not, he was a veteran that our young guys respected...and they played hard every night.

Does anyone agree with Jace's theory (and mine) that this is the reason games like yesterday happen, and if so, is there a veteran player out there who might be able to fill the role Beverley did 4 seasons ago? You know, someone who might not contribute much on the court, but would be a strong presence to get our guys to play hard. Beverley is still playing, but he just signed with a Greek team last week. Who else might be out there who would kick our guys in the butt if they were mailing their performance in like yesterday?

[rapsuperstar31]

Chris Paul and Kyle Anderson are the easiest to obtain. We know Paul got kicked out of the Clippers, because he was criticizing effort levels and coaching. Anderson wasn't afraid to tell Ant and Kat when they weren't playing well, and got into a fight with Rudy over his effort in a big game.

[FNG]

Those are two I thought of also, Rap, and I actually think either of them could play an on-court role too. Both have been terrible this season in limited minutes, but Paul started all 82 games for the Spurs last season and averaged over 9 assists and only 2 turnovers per 36 with a 58TS% while not taking that many shots...isn't that what we need? I think the Clippers want to get something back for him, but there aren't going to be many attractive options in exchange for his $2.2 million contract. Would they take either Miller or Shannon for him? Paul has never won a championship, and he might see at least some chance of one if he joined the PG-less Wolves. Yes, he wore out his welcome in LA, but he did it by trying to do exactly what I think we need...exhorting the team to play hard every night. And I think young guys like Ant, Jaden and Naz would listen to him and respond, just like they did with Beverley. I would go after him.

Another side benefit? He could teach Ant how to foul bait!

[Q-is-here]

I think these guys need to just figure it out for themselves. Perhaps a jolt like a coaching change is needed (Nori as interim head coach as a trial is one idea), but I just don't buy that bringing in some vet so that he can yell at the other guys is going to be helpful.

Speaking of Chris Paul and a team figuring things out on their own, has anyone been tracking the Clippers lately? They are on a 5-game win streak and decimating opponents. They have wins against the Lakers, Houston, and Detroit in that 5-game span. This is a team that has chronically underachieved this season and somehow has begun to figure things out while kicking the guy supposedly holding them accountable off the team.

On Houston's most recent 6-game road trip, they lost 4 out of 6, including games against the Pelicans and Kings. They've since won three in a row in convincing fashion. The NBA season is a long melodramatic mini-series. We're in the sad and depressing part at the moment!

My point isn't to minimize this team's problems, but I just don't see the merit in bringing in washed up vets. Randle isn't going to respond to a guy like Kyle Anderson or Chris Paul. He'd just tune them out.

[rapsuperstar31]

I think these guys need to just figure it out for themselves. Perhaps a jolt like a coaching change is needed (Nori as interim head coach as a trial is one idea), but I just don't buy that bringing in some vet so that he can yell at the other guys is going to be helpful.

Speaking of Chris Paul and a team figuring things out on their own, has anyone been tracking the Clippers lately? They are on a 5-game win streak and decimating opponents. They have wins against the Lakers, Houston, and Detroit in that 5-game span. This is a team that has chronically underachieved this season and somehow has begun to figure things out while kicking the guy supposedly holding them accountable off the team.

On Houston's most recent 6-game road trip, they lost 4 out of 6, including games against the Pelicans and Kings. They've since won three in a row in convincing fashion. The NBA season is a long melodramatic mini-series. We're in the sad and depressing part at the moment!

My point isn't to minimize this team's problems, but I just don't see the merit in bringing in washed up vets. Randle isn't going to respond to a guy like Kyle Anderson or Chris Paul. He'd just tune them out.

I think that is fair as well. I don't know if Tim Connelly just lets this play out or tries to tinker. Maybe we need a vet leader, maybe we needs some dogs on defense like OKC and Detroit have that just give full effort every game, and maybe at least in Detroit instance get into a bit too many fights. I thought Clark might have some of that in him, but he's been on a bit of skid defensively the past few games as well. I think Finch is trying to get Clark to stop fouling so much, but that might be kind of holding that dog back. I'm not opposed to playing out the season, I personally would trade Mike and try to get back something if his expiring can net something. I'm not opposed to keeping Randle or Naz, nor am I opposed to trading one of them for a better fit. If we could turn either into either Suggs and another big, or Nembhard and another big I would explore it.

[Q-is-here]

I think these guys need to just figure it out for themselves. Perhaps a jolt like a coaching change is needed (Nori as interim head coach as a trial is one idea), but I just don't buy that bringing in some vet so that he can yell at the other guys is going to be helpful.

Speaking of Chris Paul and a team figuring things out on their own, has anyone been tracking the Clippers lately? They are on a 5-game win streak and decimating opponents. They have wins against the Lakers, Houston, and Detroit in that 5-game span. This is a team that has chronically underachieved this season and somehow has begun to figure things out while kicking the guy supposedly holding them accountable off the team.

On Houston's most recent 6-game road trip, they lost 4 out of 6, including games against the Pelicans and Kings. They've since won three in a row in convincing fashion. The NBA season is a long melodramatic mini-series. We're in the sad and depressing part at the moment!

My point isn't to minimize this team's problems, but I just don't see the merit in bringing in washed up vets. Randle isn't going to respond to a guy like Kyle Anderson or Chris Paul. He'd just tune them out.

I think that is fair as well. I don't know if Tim Connelly just lets this play out or tries to tinker. Maybe we need a vet leader, maybe we needs some dogs on defense like OKC and Detroit have that just give full effort every game, and maybe at least in Detroit instance get into a bit too many fights. I thought Clark might have some of that in him, but he's been on a bit of skid defensively the past few games as well. I think Finch is trying to get Clark to stop fouling so much, but that might be kind of holding that dog back. I'm not opposed to playing out the season, I personally would trade Mike and try to get back something if his expiring can net something. I'm not opposed to keeping Randle or Naz, nor am I opposed to trading one of them for a better fit. If we could turn either into either Suggs and another big, or Nembhard and another big I would explore it.

Yeah, I'm not opposed to trades or trying to improve the roster, but it has to be based on upskilling the roster or finding better fits for our gaps in terms of non-Rudy defense and potentially finding another play maker. But when it comes to the inconsistent effort thing, I don't see that being solved by bringing in a past-his-prime vet that can't contribute much while on the floor.

[60WinTim]

There is something definitely wrong with this team. Has Finch lost the club house? Or is there that much friction between players? Either way, bringing in a vet for "leadership" is not going to fix either of those problems. TC has got to take action to address the problem.

[BloopOracle]

I don't think a bench veteran voice is going to work anymore with the success this core has had unless it's a starter level player. Back to back conference finals, what the hell are you going to tell them? How to not reach heights they've already scaled?

[60WinTim]

Assuming we have a player friction problem, who are the primary culprit(s)?

Could it simply be Rudy? Are we going to see a break up like Utah had when Rudy and Donovan Mitchell rubbed each other the wrong way? Rudy has been around quite awhile, so is it a Rudy-ANT problem? Or a Rudy-Randle problem?

Or is it Randle? He has worn out his welcome in the past with other teams. And are we talking a Randle-ANT problem? Or a Randle-Rudy problem?

Regardless, the one assumption we can make: ANT is the fixture. He's only 24, has the skills and tools to be our super-star, and is signed for 3 more years after this year.

Cool has argued that Randle is holding back Jaden's development, and he certainly has a point. The counter was "are we more interested in winning or developing Jaden?" But this recent string of bad losses makes you question whether we are really winning more with Randle than we would if we focused on developing Jaden.

I keep winding up with the same conclusion: Randle needs to go. But he's signed for 2 more years, including a player option. Finding a team that would want to add Randle seems like a challenge. Any thoughts on who that might be?

[Q-is-here]

Assuming we have a player friction problem, who are the primary culprit(s)?

Could it simply be Rudy? Are we going to see a break up like Utah had when Rudy and Donovan Mitchell rubbed each other the wrong way? Rudy has been around quite awhile, so is it a Rudy-ANT problem? Or a Rudy-Randle problem?

Or is it Randle? He has worn out his welcome in the past with other teams. And are we talking a Randle-ANT problem? Or a Randle-Rudy problem?

Regardless, the one assumption we can make: ANT is the fixture. He's only 24, has the skills and tools to be our super-star, and is signed for 3 more years after this year.

Cool has argued that Randle is holding back Jaden's development, and he certainly has a point. The counter was "are we more interested in winning or developing Jaden?" But this recent string of bad losses makes you question whether we are really winning more with Randle than we would if we focused on developing Jaden.

I keep winding up with the same conclusion: Randle needs to go. But he's signed for 2 more years, including a player option. Finding a team that would want to add Randle seems like a challenge. Any thoughts on who that might be?

I don't know who to blame either. Impossible to know without inside knowledge. And it may not be a "who", but just an overall team dynamic with no clear person to blame. That usually means a change in coach, since that's the easiest lever to pull.

As for Randle, I always go back to Miami. They already have such a stable culture and ethos that they can probably assimilate Julius's brand of moodiness without it infecting the rest of the team (if indeed he's the problem with the Wolves).
They could really use another scorer on that team that can create offense for himelf and others. He would work well with Herro and Powell, their two main perimeter threats. And Bam just isn't ideally suited as a 2nd/3rd option type. He could focus more of his energy on defense with Julius eating some innings as a scorer. The trick is who would we want in return that makes sense in terms of roster balance and salary matching?