FanPost

The case for getting even younger...


The NBA will be seeing a changing of the guard in 4-5 years. The wolves have a chance to be perfectly positioned to take advantage of the aging perennial playoff teams. I believe that an arguement can be made that the wolves should keep all 3 1st round picks to take young talent. Let's look at some of the teams/players who will be either out of the league in a few years or on the decline:

I'll focus on the West:

1. Lakers - Kobe. He's GOT to slow down at some point. They have Gasol and Bynum. But without Kobe that team is a borderline playoff team in a few years.

2. Dallas - Dirk. He has the style of game that could actually hold up another 4-5 years but Kidd will slow down and overall that team will be on the slide.

3. Phoenix - Nash. I have a feeling he'll retire in a couple years. Stoudamire may or may not be with the team.

4. San Antonio - Duncan. He's already on the downslide. He'll either be done or hanging on in Shaq like fashion. They'll have Parker, but he's not enough to overcome the loss of Duncan. Ginobili will be on the downslide and completely bald in 3-4 years.

Good teams in the West who will still be at their peak and not aging: Denver (although Chauncey will be getting up there, but they have their replacement on the roster), Utah (Williams will still be a stud in 3-4 years, they always seem to bring in young guys when needed), Portland, OK City, Memphis will all be in their primes if they can keep their young talent and add another key piece or 2. I can see them in the top portion of the west, with the bottom half giving room to teams who will have started the youth movement THIS year. Several teams in the East are OBVIOUSLY going to have some major issues in a few years with aging/retiring players.

Anyways, I know that many think we won't have 3 rooks on the squad next year, but I guess I'm saying I wouldn't mind it. Not saying it's my preference, but I can see the logic if that's the direction we go. If Rubio turns out to fulfill his promise, we nab an all-star with one of our picks from this year, and another of the picks from this year turns out to be a good starter, then we'll have looked like geniuses. My question is, would this work for you AND would the fans be able to live with another 2 years of non-playoff appearances (a goal would be to make it in 3 years)?