Why everyone has "lost it" due to free agency

[jmoy]

This rant kind of explains where I think most people are coming from but I know it is how I feel. People being upset with the signings and not any real BIG names and although I would have loved another true all star, I am ok with what Thibs has done, but here is where I see the anger coming from.

For yeas, we as fans have accepted the losing/rebuilding as it was going to pay off in time (The Process?). Rubio was special he just needed to learn to shoot, LaVine is an incredible athlete and hard worker, he just needs to add some muscle and learn the game better. Wiggins needs to develop a bit and play better D. Dunn takes time to adapt, we have another lottery pick. There is a ton of cap space. Everything is going to align and in a couple years we will contend with GS for the top dog status. And we bought all of that. I am not saying it was a lie, but we all bought into it and invested emotionally into the whole thing. Now, after all the time and emotion we put into this team (I watch about 70-75 games a year so over just 3 years that is near 500 hours of life spent investing in this team) it feels like it is gone and we were lied to. We had to give up good assets for Butler, lose Rubio to get Teague and Gibson, and got stiffed by every big name free agent the Wolves spoke to. Now that one chance with money is gone and no "star" wanted to come to Minnesota so we took the best we could. Is this what all the losing is for? Is this team able to compete for titles for the next 6-10 years? Would this team even have a chance to beat GS in a best of 7? Is all the losing we put up with as fans, over the last decade plus, worth THIS team? Everything we hoped for is now gone and there is a since of lost, even if what is here now is better.

For fans like me who have been around since we took Rick Mahorn first in the expansion draft (when we lost the coin flip so moved down in draft order and he refused to play here so we had to trade him to Philly. A very Timberwolf start) we have been waiting for a team to get behind. A team of great players and good guys. A team that was more "homegrown" then most NBA teams. The team last year looked to be such a team. Whether you liked their game, who didn't like LaVine, Rubio, Wiggins, Towns, Jones, Dunn, etc. as people. You wanted them to do well and now the chance is gone.

So understand where many fans are coming from and why they dislike what has happened the last couple weeks. Also realize, these are probably the fans that in 2 months will be so excited for the season to start and backing the Wolves 100%, as they have been doing for years now.

[_AIJ_]

I will do what Thibs had done this offseason(so far) 24/7 my whole life. He's brought a winning culture and we should all be excited about that. Losing our favorite players hurt, but it what it is.

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[D1SGRUNTL3D]

how anyone could feel somethings gone after acquiring a top 15 talent?

[Baseline81]

Curious how the OP felt after the Butler trade but before FA began.

[jmoy]

Same as I said. I have talked to a few people and it is a feeling of "lost/failed expectations". As I said, I agree with the moves, but after talking to a few people in real life, they have that same feeling I tried to express. Things change, often for the better. Still doesn't mean you can't feel like you "lost" something and I think that is what has gone into people getting so upset with the changes that were made, even though, IMO, they were probably for the best.

[SBM]

Rubio is Lonzo Ball without his dad. Pure hype, but never came close to living up to it. Now, all of a sudden he is the greatest thing to ever live.

[wildvikeswolves]

I'm pretty happy with what we have done so far.

[AirP.]

Rubio is Lonzo Ball without his dad. Pure hype, but never came close to living up to it. Now, all of a sudden he is the greatest thing to ever live.

Ball has a 3pt shot, that's a huge difference in the current era of NBA basketball.

[shrink]

Rubio is Lonzo Ball without his dad. Pure hype, but never came close to living up to it. Now, all of a sudden he is the greatest thing to ever live.

Trolling with extremist straw man takes is not okay for adult conversation.

[Loyal[]Wolf]

Wiggins and Towns were my favorites before we made any trades anyways. Zach and Rubio were right behind.

[shrink]

One thing that people often forget between winning and losing is that an NBA team is a product. People will buy tickets for teams, and players, that they want to see. It doesn't surprise me that Taylor was opposed to moving Rubio because he is a likable and entertaining player.

However, more wins is a nice salve for people that like Rubio. Whether you think the product is more appealing with Rubio or Teague is up to you, but bringing in Jimmy Butler first is good timing for anyone that wanted to move him.

[SBM]

Zach is the true loss, but you have to give something to get something they say. Dunn, they had to pick someone, it was a weak draft. Nothing there.

[D1SGRUNTL3D]

is zach really a true loss? he can make some brilliant plays look effortless due to his insane athleticism...but for every one of those, theres a 5 catch and shoot long 2 pt shots he bricks terminating a possession.

[Worm Guts]

I have mixed feelings about this offseason. We lost a lot of players I liked as people and had grown attached to, and I don't necessarily think every move was optimal, but it also should be the best team we've had in a long time, so it's exciting too.

[Murphs56]

Thibs acquiring a top 15 player on a good contract in his prime is the best move in franchise history. Even above the Love deal

[theGreatRC]

Getting Butler was amazing, that trade was awesome and Thibs killed it on draft night.

The problem I had was the next move he made. I honesty felt we could have been just as good with Ricky instead of Teague; I've been through ALL of the losing years this franchise went through, so don't quote me and call me a "Ricky fan". I felt like Ricky deserved to see the playoffs with this team just as much as we as fans deserved it. It's not a personal attachment to him as well, I really did think his play style could have worked with Butler, but we'll never know.

I like the the Taj signing, rock solid move.

Hopefully we can go after Barbosa & 1 shooter. Maybe trade the OKC pick & Aldrich for Jared Dudley?

What pisses me off the most are new Wolves trolls, but they're on ignore now

[PharmD]

is zach really a true loss? he can make some brilliant plays look effortless due to his insane athleticism...but for every one of those, theres a 5 catch and shoot long 2 pt shots he bricks terminating a possession.

?? Did you watch last season?

Zach cut the bad shots down considerably. He shot 18% of his shots as long 2s and had a .576 TS%. Wiggins shot 25% of his shots as long 2s and had a .534 TS. Jimmy Butler shot 23% of his shots as long 2s and had a .584 TS%. Zach's shot selection was fine.

[Oriole8159]

Getting Butler was amazing, that trade was awesome and Thibs killed it on draft night.

The problem I had was the next move he made. I honesty felt we could have been just as good with Ricky instead of Teague; I've been through ALL of the losing years this franchise went through, so don't quote me and call me a "Ricky fan". I felt like Ricky deserved to see the playoffs with this team just as much as we as fans deserved it. It's not a personal attachment to him as well, I really did think his play style could have worked with Butler, but we'll never know.

I like the the Taj signing, rock solid move.

Hopefully we can go after Barbosa & 1 shooter. Maybe trade the OKC pick & Aldrich for Jared Dudley?

What pisses me off the most are new Wolves trolls, but they're on ignore now

You're underestimating the OKC pick in your Rubio v Teague comparison; it's not just the 2 of them in vacuum. You say "they could have been just as good with Ricky instead of Teague," but don't factor in if Rubio on his own is better than Teague + the pick.

Let's use your example and say we can do the trade for Dudley; well that trade is off the table if we kept Rubio. So, how would you compare Teague/Dudley to Rubio/Aldrich? I think Dudley would be great for our team personally, so to get the ammo needed to get him has to be taken into affect when comparing Rubio to Teague.

Or say we just keep the pick and make the selection; we now get Teague plus another cost controlled young player for 4 years.

[Calinks]

Fans often fall in love with players and delude themselves into thinking their team is better than it is, especially when you see indivdal talent. At the end of the day the combination of talent we had did not work. Its also why I knew Thibs wouldn't come in here and sprinkle his Thibs dust and magically turn us into a great playoff team his first. All the fans were quick to thrown Mitchel under the bus but the fact was, that team was not ready. That is not a playoff team. Massive changes to this roster have been made and now now we are poised for some real success. It doesn't mean the players we had were trash, they just were not in the best situation. Rubio, Lavine, Dunn, even Shabazz could find some success on their new teams.

[nba_addict]

Just wanted to drop by and say hello.

Im a big Thibs fan back in Rose led Chicago era. Its so unfortunate Rose got injured and never gone back to at least 80% of his MVP form and GarPax needed a coach whom they can micromanage, get along with and put a blame on at some point. I stopped to follow the Bulls after they fired Thibs.

In retrospect I think Thibs did the right thing as follows:
1. Situation where he has control over player changes. Thibs knows what he wants, his ideal combination of players and demanding culture out of his players.
2. He spent a full season to know the inhereted team he had and knew whats the strength and lacking from each players and materials needed to build a playoff team / contender.
3. I think the starting and closing unit of Teague, Butler, Wiggins, Gibson and KAT is awesome. No real weaknesses defensively unless both Wiggins and KAT do not progress on that side. Might not be great 3 pt shooting line up but not as bad as people wanted to project. Just imagine how bad Bulls starting line up then when Thibs has to take out Boozer in crunch time and replace him with Taj so there is no compromise in defense and Ronnie Brewer and Deng are your 3 point shooters in clutch time.
3. He brought 3 starters of high character, from winning culture and good playoff experience. Teague and Gibson have been there when both the Bulls and ATL were 60 win team and more than their individual play their mentoring and experiences are crucial. You cannot become a 60 win team without great team offense and defense.
4. How Wolves will fill the bench is the intriguing item to see in the next few days. He needs at least 4 reliable players off the bench for the playoff and if Dieng stays then 3 players. My prediction is another defensive PG that can shoot, a 3 and D guy and a veteran combo guard.