Wolves Updates 6/6
by SG on Jun 6, 2010 2:19 AM CDT
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Rumors on Wolves targets, Love on Coach Wooden and more
From Ronald Tillery/Commercial Appeal:
One team that will make a strong run at Gay is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Team owner Glen Taylor and president of basketball operations David Kahn have already targeted Gay as an attainable player to uplift the struggling franchise.
Griz owner Michael Heisley continues to insist that Gay will be a Grizzly next season. Memphis (namely Heisley) has the right to match any offer sheet that is presented to Gay from another team.
From Charley Walters/Pioneer Press:
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, asked if his team, which has the No. 4 overall pick plus two others in the first round of the NBA draft on June 24, will try to trade up: "It's really difficult to move up. But it doesn't mean you don't try."
From Kevin Travis/Washington Daily News:
It’s time for Washington to return some love to Damien Wilkins.
Wilkins, a Washington native, is playing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Instead of Wilkins holding his annual basketball camp and Fun Day, the city can help thank Wilkins for all his hard work and dedication. A dinner will be held June 19 to honor Wilkins.
From Hoopsworld:
Minnesota Timberwolves general manager David Kahn was the subject of a lot of criticism after going point guard crazy in the first round of last year's draft. Minnesota had back-to-back picks and with Stephen Curry and Brandon Jennings on the board they went with two other lead guards in Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio. It was a tough decision and right now it looks like Kahn made the wrong choice. His job won't be any easier come draft night this year because they're in a position where they will have plenty of options.
If they want to go big they'll likely have their choice at DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe, Cole Aldrich and Patrick Patterson. There are two quality wings that should be available as well in Al Farouq Aminu and Wesley Johnson.
Then of course there's the option to bring in some talent that could contribute immediately via trade.
From Marcus Thompson II/Mercury News:
If Randolph is gone, a spot would open up for another small forward. Reports have surfaced about the Warriors talking to Minnesota about a trade involving Randolph, the Timberwolves' No. 4 pick and maybe one of Minnesota's big men, Al Jefferson or Kevin Love.
General manager Larry Riley would not confirm or deny trade rumors, per team policy.
"My position all along on Randolph is that we aren't trading him unless there is a really good player on the other end," Riley said. "Every time my phone starts ringing, people start asking about him. What does that tell you? I'm not rushing to make any rash decisions. But it's my job to listen."
From The Wages Of Wins Journal: Minnesota Discovers it Needs More than Love
From Marca.com (link and translation via HoopsHype):
Uros Tripkovic will travel to the United States to work out with the Knicks, Lakers, Timberwolves and Suns.
From David Wharton and Chris Foster/Los Angeles Times: John Wooden's words live on in the hearts of his admirers
Former player Kevin Love, now with the Minnesota Timberwolves, said Wooden had a way of attracting followers. Love recalled visiting Wooden's San Fernando Valley condominium and noticing a space cut out of the front steps to make room for the volume of letters that arrived.
"One thing that stuck with me was all the mail," Love said. "I remember thinking what a special person you have to be to get all that mail."
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Go for Gay
If you can sign him for anything less than ridiculous, I say do it. Then we can safely draft Cuzzo and avoid Wes Johnson at 4.
Gay
AR
Cousins
in the frontcourt. YES! Marv Albert
Not to be confused with Prince Albert
The Timberwolves: Where Stephen Curry doesn't happen :(
by BetterLaettnerThanRider on Jun 6, 2010 2:45 AM CDT up reply actions
That's a frontcourt
That will get lots of pub for a couple years but never win more than 35 games. They’re better at some things, but the overall flaw level stays about the same (in my opinion).
"Styx might be the mullet of bands."
by biggity2bit on Jun 6, 2010 9:29 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I hate to belabor the argument, but Kevin Love one of the best players in the league...?
Granted I am a bit biased, but some of these stat arguments for Love are out of control. I pity the team that tries to build it’s whole roster around Love
What team do you imagine might do that?
We Are the Washington Generals
by Eric in Madison on Jun 6, 2010 7:50 AM CDT up reply actions
Any that this Wages of Wins guy is building...
So Wins Produced suggests that Kevin Love is not only the best player in Minnesota, but possibly one of the best players in the NBA.
That is elite company, and would seem to provide the Wolves with an elite building block, similar to when they had Kevin Garnett.
Now, what these results show is that Wins Produced is a flawed measure, and I will stop writing about basketball from now on.
Okay, I made up the last one, unfortunately.
Well, since that wages of wins guy isn't actually running a team, I guess that answers
my question. No team is doing that.
As for your made up last point, I dunno Andy. The vast sea of ignorance in which you, I, and everyone else here swim in doesn’t stop us from writing about basketball. Why should his limitations stop him?
Besides, at the very least, he has a consistent approach, which allows critics to take fairly steady aim at him. That’s more than I can say for some of us.
We Are the Washington Generals
by Eric in Madison on Jun 6, 2010 9:48 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah, I know
I don’t read that blog much — mostly just when it’s linked to, and discussed here. I think this is the same guy whose calculator told him that Luol Deng is better than Kobe, and now it tells him that Kevin Love is a similar building block to KG. You can be far more ignorant than you or I and still know that those two conclusions are 100 percent wrong.
Yes, Love is not KG and Deng is not Bryant
I suppose I look at it this way: it’s possible to point out those conclusions and a dozen more and decide that there is nothing useful in his system.
Or, you could conclude that, while these extremes are almost certainly wrong, there still may be something in here that might help us. It might be true that Kevin Love and Luol Deng are somewhat underrated, even if not to the extent that WoW determines.
I don’t dismiss his system, because I do think he’s trying to objectively measure what leads to winning basketball games, and while it isn’t perfect, I think he’s focusing mostly on the right things.
We Are the Washington Generals
by Eric in Madison on Jun 6, 2010 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions
Agreed
I generally look at these stats as an indicator of quality, but not a definition of quality. If it says Kevin Love is one of the best players in the NBA, I take that with a grain of salt. I do, however, see it as an indicator that he is a very good player. Even though the metrics may skew things in his favor at times, the fact that there aren’t many players that have reached some of the advanced stat thresholds that Love has is a pretty solid endorsement of his play.
Also, these stats should never exist in a vacuum. They need to be put into context as well as be compared to observations. At the very least they can spur one to look deeper, to look for the things that might be bringing these scores to where they are.
Think of it more like an ingredient in a recipe
If you’re making a good chicken whatever, you’re going to need high quality spices even though chicken is the main ingredient and the star of the show. No one is going to build a recipe around cardamom pods but they still can be the thing that makes it all work. Likewise, no one is going to ever build around Love but he’s a high quality ingredient that will make your main dish all that much better. At the end of the day, Love ends possessions in a myriad of good ways and he does so on a team filled with lesser ingredients…and that includes Al Jefferson.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
You've thought about these cooking metaphors a bit.
Must be all the opportunities during the season.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
Iron Chef: Sports Version
Today’s special ingredient in Kitchen Stadium: Wings
This team obviously not only needs good ingredients but a creative chef with a vision to put together a dish in which various said ingredients complement each other and bring out the best natural flavor of each ingredient. Stay tuned.
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
Nice shot
Brings back some fond memories of Ryoori no tetsujin before it was dubbed with that silly inflection of mock East Asian accented English. Bobby Flay jumping up on his cutting board in a death match with Morimoto. The rematch. Good stuff.
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
Yep
He’s always been the highlight for me. His monomaniacal focus on food (to the point where it’s almost creepy), the dramatic yellow pepper bite, his over-the-top clothing, the absurd levels of pomp and circumstance surrounding such a silly idea, the story that he built a kitchen stadium in his “castle.”
After looking up that picture, I’ve wasted about 5 minutes finding other fantastic Kaga-related captures:
http://takeshikaga.ytmnd.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzgbViujf8o
Not your grandfather's farmers market yellow pepper, to be sure
The first site nearly induced a seizure before I managed to click on the second link. Thanks for sharing.
Speaking of silly Japanese TV programing involving castles, ever see Takeshi’s Castle? Some pretty good physical humor. Way better than Wipe Out, which is a rip off of the Japanese original.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGuYojcmZpI&feature=related
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
Also known as
MXC.
Righty you are, Ken!
When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.
My suspicion is that the voice over translation
may not be too close to the original. I usually don’t like such programing but this is so over the top it cracks me up.
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
The deliberate whackiness
is pretty amusing. The physical comedy will transcend language, so why not make up your own amusing commentary?
When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.
Yep, very amusing.
I’m not knocking the translation, in which nothing is lost but is probably quite trailblazing. It’s pretty sexist (to quote Spinal Tap’s Nigel, “what’s wrong with sexy?”) but the bad puns and physical comedy make for some good laughs.
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
There’s a commentator on the WoW link who claims he has a friend who works in the Wolves FO, and he/she told him/her that the Wolves are going to try to move Love and that they’re hot for Rudy Gay. When the commentator challenged that idea, the person basically rolled his/her eyes. All this would be almost humorous if it didn’t make me want to weep.
Post lotto and everything, isn’t the easiest way to get better draft Cousins (who’s only a true center and the most productive prospect as a freshman in the NCAA), and move Al for a wing/pick? All this Love-for-Randolph, max-out Rudy Gay stuff seems like great effort for small returns. And to think Kevin F’N Pritchard is essentially a FA POBO right now…
That commentor wasn't just an anonymous jackaniny with no credability to lose either...
He’s the writer at Courtside Analyst, a pretty nice Bucks blog.
I get lost.
A commentator with Bucks connections is telling us what now?
We all love the insider connection stuff. Just a Fan, keep posting. But the more supposed insider information I get about the Wolves, the less I’m inclined to take any of it at face value – or, rather, the more I suspect that there are entire backwaters within the Wolves’ FO that don’t know jack about what’s going on or how decisions get made.
I mean, it is absolutely certain that the Wolves have scouted Rudy Gay. Whether or not they were inclined to want him at a given salary level, they’d be negligent not to scout available players. Heck, supposedly they’re up on Anthony Randolph’s workouts, and he’s under rights to another team.
But count me as deeply skeptical about the team being incredibly set in its targets at this point.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
Yeah... I don't mean to imply that people should be anything but sceptical
However, it is at least a comment from someone with a known internet face and some reason to retain credibility. That makes it a more interesting comment than one that comes from KoBesTAr1345 about his cuz that is a bigshot at the Wolves who said such and such.
Also, there does seem to be a consistent pattern behind the “insider” info that we get. Khan undervalues productive players like Love and Cousins and lusts after “athletes” like Randolph and Gay. This consistency of reports at least implies that there might be something to it. That said, there is a consistent pattern in eyewitness reports of what aliens look like so…. That is the offseason for you.
If Kahn drafts a tiny green-skinned man with a enormous cranial sutures visible on the outside of his bald scalp,
then we worry.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
I didn't mention the Gi-normous testicles.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
I can with about 95% certainty...
…tell you this:
Khan undervalues productive players like Love and Cousins and lusts after "athletes" like Randolph and Gay.
…is the case.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
But if we wants to put a running team around Rubio
can Kahn draft Cousins and keep both Al and Love? I’m not sure that Randolph for Love represents the best return on our assets, but to me it shows that he’s at least thinking about what the team should look like. (If the rumors are true.) At some point we need to move beyond just collecting assets.
by Madison Dan on Jun 6, 2010 9:49 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Love is perfect for a running team
And Cousins can run o.k. for a center. Al does basically nothing that fits with a running, passing team.
"Pinch-bunters don't have a ton of value, even with the Twins"
by Steven Ellingson on Jun 6, 2010 7:35 PM CDT up reply actions
I listened to that Barreiro interview with Kahn from workout week.
Generally speaking, I don’t they come more obnoxious than Barreiro (and consequently I avoid KFAN except for Wolves-related replays). But when Kahn mentioned that he thought fans wanted to see the “running team”, Barreiro responded that he thought fans wanted to see wins and would get behind any kind of winner.
When Dan Barreiro comes across as more level-headed than our PBO, then we have a problem.
I think Kahn knows
it’s easier to put together a running team than it is to put together a winning team.
That is almost...
..word-for-word from an IM I received about the guy.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
Yeah
It’s one of the few things that Kahn and I probably agree on: 40 wins running = 50 wins grinding it out, at least in terms of revenue.
I disagree
I doubt the Average Fan can tell the difference of 12 Possesions per 48 minute game. No team is in position to run a Grinnell style Offense in the NBA (I once saw it produce 127 points in a 40 Minute High School Game). Besides last season- the Wolves played at a faster pace than Phoenix and Denver
I'm not referring to
stathead stuff, but rather Phi Slamma Jamma behind-the-back passes on the fast break kind of play that can make each night’s local sports highlights, and eventually become a regular feature on ESPN’s daily dose.
This hits on some of my Fears for the Offseason
1. The Wolves get into a bidding war for Gay—and win.
2. They trade Love for a bag of beans, after relegating him to the bench last season
3. They can’t get anything of value for Jefferson, so they keep him
4. They’re afraid of picking Cousins, so they either reach for another 6th man, or trade down for one
5. They decide to prove they were right on Flynn, WEllington, and Hollins, and instead of replacing them with better players, they give those three even more minutes than last year.
6. Gordon Heyward has a firm handshake, looks Kahn in the eye and says, “Nice to meet you, Sir.”
by PoorDick on Jun 6, 2010 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Agreed
I think you provided a pretty comprehensive outline of my nightmare off-season.
what's sad about the cousins bit
is that with an athletic PF like a randolph (or whoever Kahn wants), he needs a solid rebounding Center to start the break. Personally, getting someone like AR only works if you have a C like Cousins (who will likely be a better rebounder than Al but worse than Love).
No one is getting Rubio's rights unless they pry them from our cold dead fingers.
by TheEvilProfessor on Jun 6, 2010 11:49 AM CDT up reply actions
Well, McHale did try to all skill team
And that flamed out pretty badly. But an all athletes team will only get so far too….think of how terrible a team would be with nothing but Ryan Hollins’ and Gerald Greens
Ideally you want skilled athletes, which Randolph and Gay are, so that’s why Kahn is targeting them.
Although from what I gather, the problem with Cousins is his background, not his athleticism. A Cousins/Randolph frontcourt has incredible potential, but DMC does have a lot of behavior issues to think about….
Don't you think
if you’ve got a skills guy with good enough athletic qualities like Rubio (and Love for that matter) that you are planning on running your offense through it makes a lot more sense to target guys who are above average athletes and scorers or defenders? What I’m getting at is if you surround Rubio with at best the Steph Curry’s of the world and at worst the Brian Cardinals of the world, at some point you are going to run smack into the middle of the Kevin Love effect – if your guys out-execute and out-effort the other guys, you’ll win a lot, but anything less and you’ll lose more than you win.
The closest I can think of is imagine if Rubio and Love were not only on the Atlanta Hawks, but the Hawks were ‘their’ team – they were the leaders on and off the floor. How deadly might they be? You’d have potentially the best creator for other players in the game in Rubio running around with no less than three other athletes who are either faster, longer, stronger, a better shooter or finisher than you (or some combination thereof). That’s a team that could put up some serious points and put serious pressure on just about any other team in the league on a consistent basis. I think that’s what Kahn (and Rambis, we must remember) are thinking.
"Styx might be the mullet of bands."
SnP
I can with about 95% certainty..…tell you this:
Khan undervalues productive players like Love and Cousins and lusts after “athletes” like Randolph and Gay.
…is the case.
In that case, we have found the perfect “anti McHale”
I really wish we had someone in the middle.
I'm waiting to see how much his voice is listened to
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
How would we ever know
Besides whispers out of the FO that Hoiberg and how Ronzone disagreed with a pick but Kahn overruled him?
I’m not disagreeing, just skeptical that we’ll ever know for sure one way or another.
Stuff like that...
…has a way of filtering out.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
they've been hot to trot..
…on gay for a while now.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
why is that so funny to me?
I hope we all know the announcers are just going to call him Rudy, right? They might let Gay slip out once or twice, but when they hear it in playback will quickly change strategies.
No one is getting Rubio's rights unless they pry them from our cold dead fingers.
by TheEvilProfessor on Jun 6, 2010 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions
I remember the early days...
….of Wolves announcing and there were mountains of innuendo in the broadcast. It’s tamed down quite a bit over the years but I know Hanny has it in him.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
I think at the very least
the Wolves pursue Gay to make sure Memphis has to pay to keep him, which will limit what they can do down the road with guys like Mayo and Gasol. My guess is the Wolves go in with a realistic offer to set the table, if they get him great, if someone else offers more, it will be the other teams (or Memphis) issue to deal with for six years.
Si...
…I really hope they get him. I want them to cash everything but Rubio out for Turner, Gay, and Cousins or Favors. Adding Turner, subbing Gay for Brewer’s minutes and adding a young big to take over Ryan Hollins/Cardinal’s time could make this a very exciting team….and still very, very young.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 6, 2010 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
2nd that
No one is getting Rubio's rights unless they pry them from our cold dead fingers.
by TheEvilProfessor on Jun 6, 2010 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Me too
no love for Love though? I guess we’d have to give him up in order to get the afore mentioned players. Our rebounding would suffer, but whatevs. We’d have a very exciting team to watch!
"Styx might be the mullet of bands."
I think (hope)
The Love trade talk is posturing. A smokescreen to mask our full intent to dump Al Jefferson. Same with the Rudy Gay signing…it causes NJ/Philly to question our desire to draft Turner.
The ONLY thing I take from Kahn is that every word is measured and that he is always talking his book. Everything he discloses is part of his agenda.
He does seem pretty crafty
It will be very interesting to review this offseason and his rhetoric after all is said and done.
When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.
And without Turner, all the teen girls weep...
Rubio, Favors, Gay, Love
by Cedarpenguin on Jun 7, 2010 2:07 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Would you care to share with the rest of the class what you find so funny about a potential Gay/Love/Favors frontline?
BTW, although I’m not fully onboard the idea of 5/$60 for Gay (or whatever it ends up being), if they did that, walked out of the draft with Favors, and then moved up for one of the few long shooter/defenders in this draft (George or Henry), well, that’s about as Rubio-ready a team as you can get in one offseason.
Whomever the source, I do think it’s clear T-Wolves will go after Gay. Whether or not they’re successful isn’t as interesting to me at the moment as how it will effect the draft. There is no way you draft Wes Johnson if you’re planning on making an aggressive run at Rudy. The potential redundancy is nearly 100%. Not something I’ve seen discussed at CH.
I wonder if all the non-Cousins signals coming from FO are similar to the very positive things Kahn said about Thabeet last year…simple misdirection.
Taking Rudy G perspective into account I’d think the pick is DMC or unloading assets for ET.
by TWolvesFanInLA on Jun 6, 2010 10:59 AM CDT up reply actions
The thing Rudy Gay has over Johnson is...
….he can dribble more than 5 feet at a time. That’s what makes him appealing given our current problems….Gay is a player you can iso on the wings and expect him to get a quality shot for himself (or someone else, if you can teach him to pass more willingly)
Also:
Rudy Gay
Born: August 17, 1986 in Baltimore, Maryland
Wes Johnson
Born: July 11, 1987 in Corsicana, Texas
1 year apart and one guy will be heading into his 5th professional season while the other will be learning the ropes 1 year after sitting out a transfer in college. Yes, one is going to cost a pretty penny, but you’re paying for a guy that fits both the offense and the (hopefully) future point guard. They’re not getting a guy like this anywhere else and he will cost them.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
by Stop-n-Pop on Jun 6, 2010 3:06 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Geez
I never even thought of that. It makes sense since Wes did transfer and sit out a year, but still…that’s really shocking
Many established veteran NBA players are *younger* than Wes Johnson.
Andrew Bynum was drafted in 2005, and he was born a few months later than Johnson. Kevin Durant, Greg Oden, and Thaddeus Young were all born in ’88.
There are pros to being older too.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
I'm starting to find it weirder and weirder
The more I criticize prospects for being too old, when they’re my own age.
Wait till you hit Sammy Bough territory
you little whippersnappers!
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
Of course
Samuel, Sid, and I were sitting around one day when he uttered it. Sid and Samuel are, you know, good friends.
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
LQTM
Has that caught on yet? Demetri Martin has a bit I like where he says he types LQTM (laugh quietly to myself) instead of LOL — because it seems more honest.
I want this mental image
photo shopped.
Buckeyes are red, Wildcats are blue,
I wanted Evan Turner, But DeMarcus Cousins will do.
The lack of age difference is amazing.
While there is no guarantee we’ll land Rudy, if Kahn is targeting him as his #1 FA priority he has to think he’s got a shot of signing him. If that’s the case, I just can’t imagine we draft Wes. You can’t use the 4th pick on a guy that could soon back-up your expensive new FA.
If Love gets traded for Randolph, I assume we’ll still try and get ET. If that fails, I’m guessing we draft DMC and try to get Henry.
by TWolvesFanInLA on Jun 6, 2010 3:23 PM CDT up reply actions
I also think the reason Love is getting discussed over Al is either Al’s trade value is really low and/or Kahn needs him for a potential SAT this summer.
by TWolvesFanInLA on Jun 6, 2010 3:26 PM CDT up reply actions
Love's deal
makes him much more tradeable. I wonder if Kahn actually plans to move eventually both, starting with Love due to his imminent tradeability with plans to move Al a little down the line after he restores his trade value by showing he’s back to his old form. It wouldn’t surprise me if he plans to blow up the whole front court and establish a new order along the lines of Adolph/DMC
When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.
that's kind of what I am thinking
It just fits with the prototypical length guess I have in regards to Rambis.
No one is getting Rubio's rights unless they pry them from our cold dead fingers.
by TheEvilProfessor on Jun 7, 2010 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions
If we're willing to take on Brand
for Turner… how much are we willing to pay Rudy for Wes’s same skillset?
Buckeyes are red, Wildcats are blue,
I wanted Evan Turner, But DeMarcus Cousins will do.
Also:
Rudy Gay
Born: August 17, 1986 in Baltimore, Maryland
Wes Johnson
Born: July 11, 1987 in Corsicana, Texas
1 year apart and one guy will be heading into his 5th professional season while the other will be learning the ropes 1 year after sitting out a transfer in college. Yes, one is going to cost a pretty penny, but you’re paying for a guy that fits both the offense and the (hopefully) future point guard. They’re not getting a guy like this anywhere else and he will cost them.
Forever splitting the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs
www.canishoopus.com
Hmmm...
…absent-mindedly trying to read some tea leaves….
…if the Wolves sign Rudy, they won’t have much for cap space suggesting that Gomes won’t be dealt (but cut instead), and that we use all three picks (trading one or more away for other stuff), right?
And if we sign Rudy there won’t be a need for Wes, suggesting either a trade with 4 or a best case scenario draft of either Turner or Favors (hinging on Philly becoming enamored with DMC, as has been rumored but not substantiated).
I gotta admit, this team looks like it could be hella fun – long, tall, can run, lots of guys to finish and take shots, solid defensive presence outside and in, and still young enough to grow significantly and hit their primes (Darko being the oldest at, what, 26?):
Rubio
Brewer/(Turner in our dreams)
Gay
Favors
Darko (with Pek off the bench).
"Styx might be the mullet of bands."
This is one of the few areas where I have
a lot of confidence in Kahn: in S&Ts this offseason. I think he will be there at least trying to take advantage of them. Hopefully every team won’t be trying to do that as well…
Buckeyes are red, Wildcats are blue,
I wanted Evan Turner, But DeMarcus Cousins will do.
while I agree with this
it is also true that the overall quality of your meal is limited by the cut of meat you are building it around. Hence the “you need a star” concept to team building. And now I’m hungry…damn.
No one is getting Rubio's rights unless they pry them from our cold dead fingers.
by TheEvilProfessor on Jun 6, 2010 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions
The article frames its own point of view equite thoroughly.
Of course, the writers and fans of this site are big proponents of using advanced statistics such as Wins Produced to evaluate players. With that in mind, let’s take a look how the Minnesota Timberwolves players performed according to Wins Produced in 2009-2010:
and;
As we can see, although Al Jefferson is often referred to as the "franchise" player in Minnesota, the Timberwolves best player (according to Wins Produced) was far and away Kevin Love.
So Wins Produced suggests that Kevin Love is not only the best player in Minnesota, but possibly one of the best players in the NBA.
It doesn’t claim to be saying anything more than it’s saying.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
This really puts the AR off the table; I’m not interested anymore. Let’m keep him; we’re not overpaying.
Official Kahn/Rambis band-wagon rider since 2009
Kevin Love and Al Jefferson both qualify as really good in their opinion, it seems
They’re not asking for LeBron James. We’ll see…if we can’t move up to #2, Randolph is better for us than Cousins, and we won’t miss anything special moving down to #6 in the process
Nothings committed at this point. But it’s best to keep all options open
I respectfully disagree
but I think we can agree that there is some merit to both arguements. I think a AR-Cousins frontcourt (production wise…probably not early consistency) has great defensive and offensive potential. But it does come with quite a bit of risk.
No one is getting Rubio's rights unless they pry them from our cold dead fingers.
by TheEvilProfessor on Jun 6, 2010 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions
Heh heh
Every time my phone starts ringing, people start asking about him. What does that tell you?"
Uhhh . . . that you have a reputation as a GM who can be hoodwinked?
LoL
Official Kahn/Rambis band-wagon rider since 2009
by Wim (Belgium) on Jun 6, 2010 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions
That people only
hang out with him because he has cool friends?
Buckeyes are red, Wildcats are blue,
I wanted Evan Turner, But DeMarcus Cousins will do.
Please no Rudy Gay...
He is basically the same player as Al just at a position of need and he’s athletic so he looks better than he actually is. He’s a blackhole, who doesn’t play defense, and isn’t a that a great rebounder for his position, I’d much rather trade for Deng, Igoudala, or Azubuike who are all better players, than waste money on Rudy Gay.
I'd rather...
trade basically nothing for Luol Deng instead of signing Gay to a huge offer sheet.
Really? Deng is scheduled to make $11.3, $12.3, $13.3 and $14.3 the next four years.
I have to believe Gay’s value/cost ratio is going to be better than that.
by TWolvesFanInLA on Jun 6, 2010 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions
Let's do the math
Deng is owed $51 million over four years.
Rudy turned down a 5 year, $10 million offer last year, right? And he’s primed to be a great ‘default’ signing if one team gets two max players to sign with them, or they all just resign with their original teams.
I think Rudy’s looking for a 5 year, $12-13 million a year deal just to sit at the table, personally.
"Styx might be the mullet of bands."
Basically the same $$$ as Deng and I’d much rather have Rudy for the same cost.
by TWolvesFanInLA on Jun 6, 2010 6:51 PM CDT up reply actions
Me, for sure.
Deng is a two-way player. But hey, it’s not like we need perimeter defense.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
Rudy's deal would probably be about 10mil more than Deng...
Not to mention that Deng is already the better player, if you trade or sign Gay then your basically going to have the same issues with him as everyone sees with Al. I would hope that Kahn wouldn’t invest 12-15mil in a player that is a blackhole and refuses to play defense.
Wow, never seen it laid out so succinctly before
With #6 as a quick punch to the stomach. If Heyward comes into the meeting with Kahn with extensive knowledge of the Reno Bighorns and said his favorite show growing up was “NBA Showtime” I think he’s a shoe-in to be on the Wolves
This hits on some of my Fears for the Offseason
1. The Wolves get into a bidding war for Gay—and win.
2. They trade Love for a bag of beans, after relegating him to the bench last season
3. They can’t get anything of value for Jefferson, so they keep him
4. They’re afraid of picking Cousins, so they either reach for another 6th man, or trade down for one
5. They decide to prove they were right on Flynn, WEllington, and Hollins, and instead of replacing them with better players, they give those three even more minutes than last year.
6. Gordon Heyward has a firm handshake, looks Kahn in the eye and says, "Nice to meet you, Sir."
In three years we may be as good as Memphis
by Son of Gerald Green on Jun 6, 2010 12:53 PM CDT reply actions
Sorry, Meant to Quote PoorDick on the 1-6
In three years we may be as good as Memphis
by Son of Gerald Green on Jun 6, 2010 12:53 PM CDT reply actions
Few Thoughts
I haven’t really weighed in on the Whole Anthony Randolph kerfufel.
In trying to imagine what the Wolves do here’s what we seem to see as potential goals
A. Resign Darko (Not My Preference but they’re heading in this direction)
B. Sign Rudy Gay (Hard to see how they sign both Rudy and Darko)
C. Unload Al Jefferson or Kevin Love (For Cap Flexibilty Or a passable 2 Guard/Shooter)
D. Avoid DMC at all costs.
E. Acquire Anthony Randolph to move down to Number 6 in the draft. (I doubt Kahn really unloads Love in such a deal)
F. Draft either Al-Faroq Aminu or Wes Johnson at 6. Or unload the 6th pick for a 2 guard.
G. Probably unload 16 or 23 in the process of all these moves.
I ask “Where’s the Shooting and Shot-Creation?” I’m not quite sure who is being targeted to fill such roles. Should be interesting.
You know...
There is probably a good chance that some other more desirable destination decides to outbid us. We cannot be that high on Gay’s wish list can we?
I just hope Kahn hasn’t pinned his entire makeover on Rudy Gay being the answer at the 3.
On the radio he said he had
“dozen and dozens” of different approaches in mind at this point.
For this reason I am rather skeptical of rumors that he’s locked in on one player.
"Sarchasm": The gap in understanding which occurs when one attempts to be self-deprecating on behalf of others.
Point guards aside, of course
Because we all know how much he loves those! How many is he gonna draft this year? We have 5 picks!
All That Mail
I agree, Kevin Love, that John Wooden was special,
but did you ever see the William Holden/Gloria Swanson
movie, “Sunset Boulevard”?
"It's not too far; it just seems like it is."
by WillistonCoyote on Jun 6, 2010 5:45 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
"Oh Joe"
Great film. Strange remark (though in the age of Twitter and social networking sites, perhaps old fashioned mail struck KLove in a peculiar way).
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
Mark Twain
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