GameThread 13: @ Portland
Minnesota Timberwolves at Portland Trail Blazers, Nov 21, 2009 9:00 PM CST
Oddly, tonight is already the 3rd meeting between the Wolves and Blazers this season. Both previous engagements ended in 23-point losses for the Wolves. Now, they're 1-11. One and eleven. 1 win. Eleven losses. The Blazers, on the other hand, are 9-5. They are, though, a few years ahead of the Wolves in rebuilding (at least for this latest round of Wolves rebuilding).
Kevin Love will get no homecoming yet. The examination earlier this week indicated his fractured hand will need another 2-3 weeks to heal.
Unfortunately we won't get a look at Travis Outlaw, the type of slashing 3 Kahn has expressed interest in. Outlaw has a stress fracture in his foot and there's no timetable for his return. Nicolas Batum is out as well with a shoulder injury.
Blazers Edge is our friend.
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Why couldn't the blazer announcers
have been the ones to mock Iranians so we didn’t have to listen to them.
can someone please explain how
with Rambis and Wohl on the coaching staff, our perimeter defense is so awful? i have never seen so many wide open 3s as our opponents have been getting lately.
They aren't on the same page
All 3 TOs were passes that the guy being passed to wasn’t expecting.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
I'd hate if they played Sessions & Flynn together. Or played Ellington more
because then things might go poorly. Like Captain Joseph Hazelwood said years ago: “Stay the Course”
by Son of Gerald Green on Nov 21, 2009 9:36 PM CST reply actions
True
the assumption at the break was that 9 points was too slim and that the Blazers should have already put them away.
We can trade them
It is paramount to find the best player we can obtain at each position. Sort it out later.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
but if we have a glut at one position
then good players play too few minutes and other teams know that they have some small amount of leverage because we need to get something in return rather than have a good player ride the pine
Good players ride the pine on championship teams
Talent rules. When you suck you draft whomever you believe is the best player. The biggest mistakes in the draft are overvaluing size (Kandi, Thabeet, Bogut, etc) and drafting for positional need at the top (Darko, Drexler, etc). In the top 10 bad teams have to draft who they believe is the best player. Whatever trade value Flynn, Ramon, Rubio have if we have Wall is not much different than if we don’t.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
i agree in principle
but i don’t think there’s been a team in nba history that had three quality players at one position and then drafted a fourth player that plays the exact same position. the examples that you note happened when the better pick got passed over because of what was thought of at the time as an option at a different position because that team already had one (and only one) quality player at the position in question (i.e., ’Melo passed over for Darko because the Pistons already had Rip/Tayshaun.
Obviously, there would be trades
I am not advocating a roster with Flynn, Rubio, Sessions, and Wall. But if Wall is the best player available when we draft, we draft him. Simple as that. Trade the extras, if they have value more than one team will want them so they will retain that value. And my examples still hold. How good would Portland have been with Drexler and Jordan instead of Bowie, or having traded Drexler for something? How good would Detroit have been with Billups, Rip, Prince, Melo, Ben? Talent wins. yes, Detroit won a championship (really only because Shaq and Kobe couldn’t play nice) but they didn’t win because they didn’t draft Melo. And if they had Melo on their roster they would still be relevant.
I’ll say it again – when you suck you accumulate talent.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
Right, except for the fact that...
…the best player available is often not the best player available. He is only thought to be the best player available. So there is some wiggle room.
If the next best player available contributes to fill a hole, and no one really knows which player is the best player available, it becomes a judgement call.
But nevermind…
Of course
That is why I said
“When you suck you draft whomever you believe is the best player.”
Believe. What else is there? If you really can’t decide between two guys, yeah, draft for position. But otherwise, it is never a good idea to not draft a guy because you already got a guy.
Of course nobody knows who truly is the best guy at each slot. But, when you suck, not drafting who you believe is the best guy is wrong, unless the difference is very small. I guess I am assuming that Wall is a full notch better.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
Blake Griffin?
With Zach Randolph, Chris Kaman, and Marcus Camby?
Agreed
Draft Wall, assuming he is deemed the #1 player. Then trade Flynn and maybe a little something more for the 3rd or 4th pick and get Aldrich.
Assuming Flynn holds his value.....
but more realistically Rubio’s rights may be on the block if we have access to Wall.
Judd: "...I've since watched some Steven Seagal movies and I realise that pressure points are no laughing matter.".
That's what I was thinking.
Rubio becomes essentially a lottery pick next year, Sessions goes for some wing help or a later pick, and Flynn stays on and backs up Wall.
In essence
with drafting Wall you’d have 4 guards for two roster positions.
If Rubio was reluctant to come due to Flynn, well Wall is going to enormous incentive to stay in Spain.
I’d think you’d keep Wall, move Flynn or Sessions with Rubio still in Spain. When Rubio is able to take his ETO and interest in him increases again, then his rights are traded at the 2010-11 trade deadline or in the summer of 2011.
Judd: "...I've since watched some Steven Seagal movies and I realise that pressure points are no laughing matter.".
I suppose if New Jersey keeps playing poorly
Rubio could get traded there if it brings back a pick high enough to draft Aldrich.
Wall and Aldrich is the prize we should all be rooting for this season. I worry about Utah though because they get the Knicks pick and Aldrich may be a Sloan type of player.
or trade for more picks
which might be Kahn’s MO.
No way
Unless they are top 5 or 6. Depth is easy to get, stars are rare and lucky. It is always worse to trade a star (or potential star) for depth.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
Only if
you think Mayo is a star and Love is average. And that was pre-Kahn, of course.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
That would be funny … Rubio, Wall, Flynn and Sessions … one more and we can a lineup entirely made up out of point guards
Official Kahn/Rambis band-wagon rider since 2009
by Wim (Belgium) on Nov 22, 2009 7:25 AM CST up reply actions
You forgot Jason Hart
Your 2010 Minnesota Timberwolves ladies and gentlemen!!!
Can we please do what I did on my NBA 2k10 Franchise..
Trade Cardinal and Jason Hart to the Hornets for CP3 :)
Well, kind of
He actually signed right before we traded Garnett, so technically our frontcourt depth was fine at the time
Howard signed solely because of Garnett .. then he wanted to get traded out when Garnett got trade right after he signed … No reason to keep grumpy ppl on your team :)
Official Kahn/Rambis band-wagon rider since 2009
by Wim (Belgium) on Nov 22, 2009 7:27 AM CST up reply actions
That's not funny
Pavlovic is hitting his shots
?
don’t tease me like that, I can’t see the game, going by this thread. Next your going to tell me that Brewer is shooting 50%
by Son of Gerald Green on Nov 21, 2009 10:09 PM CST reply actions
I can't wait until Flynn gets through this learning curve
He’s a tremendous talent…I feel bad really that he gets ripped on because he isn’t matching Jennings or Lawson so far. It’s not like it’s his fault.
It isn’t a learning curve so much as Jennings and Lawson have complete freedom to make plays and Jonny doesn’t.
Maybe
Those guys are just more talented. True that he doesn’t have the freedom to control the game, which limits his statistical output. But, on individual plays he does operate with freedom. How many times has he driven to the hoop this game. In fact, on individual plays, when he’s playing his game, he doesn’t look that sharp. He’ll get better, but he’s got some development before he plays more in control. What I don’t understand is how none of this is his fault.
actually he seems to behind
maynor
collison
as well now
hopefully he does turn it around he just need more time
by KahningPups on Nov 21, 2009 10:26 PM CST up reply actions
Pech<<<Any Center in the League
Pech hasn’t been able to get off the bench in the NBA until he got to our mighty wolves. Barely an NBA player
by Son of Gerald Green on Nov 21, 2009 10:20 PM CST reply actions
Hopefully Hollins works on keeping the fouls down
Because he’s incredibly valuable when he’s on the floor
even more astonishing
corey brewer shooting 3 for 5. Best shooting night of his life.
Epic Fail by the Arizona Wild Cat Fans...
Up 3 with 5 seconds left..they left their seats to storm the field..Oregon hits a Field goal to tie the game
Maybe we can throw him under the Blazers bus.
That should slow the team down.
True
Stick with Sessions. He is 1 of 4 with 2 assists.
My point exactly
There are no saviors sitting on the bench.
Double True
I was also just being sarcastic. It helps ease the pain.
Once again
we get blasted by a huge run. Leading 51-49 and nine minutes later trailing 63-81. Outscored 32-12 n 9 damn minutes.
Because there are no fours.
Toine
It's time for 4th Quarter Brewer
enough of the 3 for 6 50% from the field Corey. I’m ready for Bombs Away Brewer! C’mon Corey, take that round object and throw it in the vicinity of the rim!
by Son of Gerald Green on Nov 21, 2009 11:00 PM CST reply actions
Wolves will tie their losing streak
Big match up with the Grizzlies. Question: How long before Rambis loses his patience?
not even really a team
I watched the stream first half and the Portland announcers were commenting on the lack of talent on this squad.
Give ya Przy and Outlaw
That would help.
All we need in return is Mr. Rubio : P. Would even take mar Blounts crappy contract off your hands if you throw in Jawai….
No? Oh
"What happened to Bayless anyway? Did he turn into a pumpkin? Most teams don’t just let #11 picks rot." - Xiane
Only if you the Blazers agree to play Blounts contract.
Not the actually guy, just have the signed document on the court with the other 4 guys.
Remember Kahn Backers
He’s doing a brilliant job so far. Rubio might come over in 3 years. Outside of Jefferson most of us have never heard of our big men until this year (Pech/Jawai/Hollins). Took a 5 10 poor shooting PG who sadly might be our 2nd best player. We’re setting records for losses and the coach has said multiple times that the team either quit or was out-hustled. Our team has averaged 27 wins the last 4 years and team management tells us not to expect wins this year or next.
Solid GM candidates Lindsey, Pfund, and Penn all removed themselves from consideration after talking to Glen Taylor. So Ol Glen went with a CBA Cast off turned a great trade with Miller and Foye into mass confusion and derision on draft day. Let’s all be honest with ourselves and admit that so far 2009/2010 is a mess
by Son of Gerald Green on Nov 21, 2009 11:17 PM CST reply actions
Of course this season is a mess
Would you prefer to be 3-10 with Foye, Miller, less cap space, no Rubio, no Sessions, and McHale?
Because there are no fours.
Toine
No surprise that we're losing bad to Portland and looking terrible
What are the “brilliant” moves that Kahn should have made? Holding on to Miller and Foye so that we could overpay them when their contracts come up?
I think most people would argue that Love is the second best player.
Also, Jonny is 5 foot 11.25 inches without shoes; don’t bring the hate.
Boy, we suck out there tonight.
Just outmanned. Brutal.
by Princely Frank on Nov 21, 2009 11:20 PM CST reply actions
Never thought they’d go from a plus-rebounding team to having it be such a liability. It’s brutal to watch player development against good teams if the shots aren’t falling and they can’t get out on the break.
by pagingstanleyroberts on Nov 22, 2009 1:30 AM CST reply actions
No three point shooters.
There is not a single three point threat on the roster. Sasha doesn’t count as he can’t do anything else well; dribble, play defense, breathe, etc.

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