Game 78: Wolves vs. Land of no Lakes

[shrink]

I hope we don’t play with our food tomorrow night against the Wizards. They’ve gone 4-6 in their last ten, and even managed to beat the Bucks last week, and also managed to lose to TOR and POR in their last two games.

It would be very easy for the team to look past Tuesday’s game and be focused on the showdown in Denver on Wednesday. I’d like to see the team get a quick early lead, and then cruise. Maybe get Towns some minutes, if he’s ready.

[winforlose]

I hope we don’t play with our food tomorrow night against the Wizards. They’ve gone 4-6 in their last ten, and even managed to beat the Bucks last week, and also managed to lose to TOR and POR in their last two games.

It would be very easy for the team to look past Tuesday’s game and be focused on the showdown in Denver on Wednesday. I’d like to see the team get a quick early lead, and then cruise. Maybe get Towns some minutes, if he’s ready.

I read an online star tribune article that says KAT is out. ESPN is less clear on the injury report. Other news suggests Karl might be ready to play. I honestly don’t know what his situation is at this point.

[Klomp]

I hope we don’t play with our food tomorrow night against the Wizards. They’ve gone 4-6 in their last ten, and even managed to beat the Bucks last week, and also managed to lose to TOR and POR in their last two games.

It would be very easy for the team to look past Tuesday’s game and be focused on the showdown in Denver on Wednesday. I’d like to see the team get a quick early lead, and then cruise. Maybe get Towns some minutes, if he’s ready.

I read an online star tribune article that says KAT is out. ESPN is less clear on the injury report. Other news suggests Karl might be ready to play. I honestly don’t know what his situation is at this point.

Read on Twitter

[winforlose]

I hope we don’t play with our food tomorrow night against the Wizards. They’ve gone 4-6 in their last ten, and even managed to beat the Bucks last week, and also managed to lose to TOR and POR in their last two games.

It would be very easy for the team to look past Tuesday’s game and be focused on the showdown in Denver on Wednesday. I’d like to see the team get a quick early lead, and then cruise. Maybe get Towns some minutes, if he’s ready.

I read an online star tribune article that says KAT is out. ESPN is less clear on the injury report. Other news suggests Karl might be ready to play. I honestly don’t know what his situation is at this point.

Read on Twitter

Okay, but can he play anyway? I mean he is being reevaluated tomorrow. If they say green light, what is the rule with that?

[Klomp]

As of right now, he is out. That is the report.

[Folklore]

Did anyone else get annoyed by the team not giving Naz the ball once he gave us a nice lead? His job was reduced to rebounding and standing around watching the team shoot bricks and turn it over.

[winforlose]

Did anyone else get annoyed by the team not giving Naz the ball once he gave us a nice lead? His job was reduced to rebounding and standing around watching the team shoot bricks and turn it over.

It seemed like they were trying to work out the kinks in their own game, because they took the Lakers for granted. That said I was screaming at the TV after a while “Give the ****** ball to Naz already.” You definitely were not alone

[minimus]

What you don't say is next year Jaden will make 22+ million with escalators ending 2028-2029 at 29.8 million!

Yes Jaden is being overpaid. We had better hope he develops an offensive game because solid defenders that can't score are a dime a dozen and make spit.

I saw this movie many times. Fortunately, our coaching staff keep playing players through adversity. Anderson was awful in first half of the season, McLaughlin was bad after all injuries. Now they both form a solid bench. Am I supposed to worry about Jaden?

Well, he does hurt our offense when he misses wide open threes, like in the game against CHI, but he is young, he is a key piece of this franchise AND he has been dealing with wrist injury this season. I believe in Jaden, development is not linear. And once again, there is a LOT of time and opportunities before we can call him overpaid. It is called playoffs.

I like Jaden and am willing to go through the tough times but he spends too much time on the bench because he's a foul a minute player. He has major weaknesses that you don't see. I'm being realistic right now. That doesn't mean he can't get a lot better but he has to start showing me a lot more. You see things through rose colored glasses. I'm just saying he has a long way to go to live up to his coming contract. You want to bet on the come. There is no guarantee he will be that guy. However, I'm rooting for him.

And this is a fair concern! This season in 2023 year he fouled out 4 times, while in 2024 he fouled only once, against BOS. Part of me is thinking that his high fouls number is kind of problem by design, when our team wants to play aggressive drop coverage: he is 6'10" guy running and fighting through screens, defending NBA best perimeter scorers. And now he is part of the best NBA defense. To be honest I dont have much concerns about his defense. Regarding his offense, he is the barometer of our team offense: if there is no rhythm he is going to struggle mightily, because as many here noted he is not an advanced scorer yet. We all hope that he develops an advanced dribbling, hesi etc, but in my opinion, his next biggest improvement area might be passing. Let say that with improved dribbling and shooting his comparison would be PG13, but what I want to see from him is more Joe Ingles type of player: good shooter, high level PnR passer + tough defender. You can say that I see things through rose colored glasses, but so might do people want him to become PG13. I also think that based on his physical tools he should be more focused on footwork and midrange game where he can shoot over opponent.

[Note30]

I saw this movie many times. Fortunately, our coaching staff keep playing players through adversity. Anderson was awful in first half of the season, McLaughlin was bad after all injuries. Now they both form a solid bench. Am I supposed to worry about Jaden?

Well, he does hurt our offense when he misses wide open threes, like in the game against CHI, but he is young, he is a key piece of this franchise AND he has been dealing with wrist injury this season. I believe in Jaden, development is not linear. And once again, there is a LOT of time and opportunities before we can call him overpaid. It is called playoffs.

So if he's a liability in the playoffs on the offensive end will be considered overpaid or will you find a new excuse?

He is not making his next contract now. There is no way to say that the Jaden of 24-25 is not better than the Jaden of 23-24 until you see him play. So to say that a bad 23-24 precludes an improvement (especially in a 23 year old player,) is not logical. Moreover, losing Jaden for nothing, or trading him for a theoretical return (we don’t expect a sell high value after a down shooting year from deep,) isn’t ideal either. Plus Jaden is Ant’s best friend on the team. You are trying to paint a picture but you are only using red and blue. The problem is the picture you are trying to paint is a rainbow.

Problem is we're up against the luxury tax next year. A lot of people are talking about trading players to avoid it. You can't trade Jaden right now because his value is **** compared to the contract he signed. That's how you define overpaid. If teams were breaking down the door with picks and blue chip players for him then we wouldn't be having this discussion. The problem is you're not seeing the **** heap we're in now. Yes the contract won't be bad in 28-29 but that hardly matters because the issue is next year.

[winforlose]

So if he's a liability in the playoffs on the offensive end will be considered overpaid or will you find a new excuse?

He is not making his next contract now. There is no way to say that the Jaden of 24-25 is not better than the Jaden of 23-24 until you see him play. So to say that a bad 23-24 precludes an improvement (especially in a 23 year old player,) is not logical. Moreover, losing Jaden for nothing, or trading him for a theoretical return (we don’t expect a sell high value after a down shooting year from deep,) isn’t ideal either. Plus Jaden is Ant’s best friend on the team. You are trying to paint a picture but you are only using red and blue. The problem is the picture you are trying to paint is a rainbow.

Problem is we're up against the luxury tax next year. A lot of people are talking about trading players to avoid it. You can't trade Jaden right now because his value is **** compared to the contract he signed. That's how you define overpaid. If teams were breaking down the door with picks and blue chip players for him then we wouldn't be having this discussion. The problem is you're not seeing the **** heap we're in now. Yes the contract won't be bad in 28-29 but that hardly matters because the issue is next year.

That part of the conversation should wait till after the playoffs. If we win a chip or lose in the finals we will run it back. If we lose in the WCF then we probably run it back, but maybe look to improve at the margins. If we lose before the WCF, now we are in big changes mode.

[Note30]

He is not making his next contract now. There is no way to say that the Jaden of 24-25 is not better than the Jaden of 23-24 until you see him play. So to say that a bad 23-24 precludes an improvement (especially in a 23 year old player,) is not logical. Moreover, losing Jaden for nothing, or trading him for a theoretical return (we don’t expect a sell high value after a down shooting year from deep,) isn’t ideal either. Plus Jaden is Ant’s best friend on the team. You are trying to paint a picture but you are only using red and blue. The problem is the picture you are trying to paint is a rainbow.

Problem is we're up against the luxury tax next year. A lot of people are talking about trading players to avoid it. You can't trade Jaden right now because his value is **** compared to the contract he signed. That's how you define overpaid. If teams were breaking down the door with picks and blue chip players for him then we wouldn't be having this discussion. The problem is you're not seeing the **** heap we're in now. Yes the contract won't be bad in 28-29 but that hardly matters because the issue is next year.

That part of the conversation should wait till after the playoffs. If we win a chip or lose in the finals we will run it back. If we lose in the WCF then we probably run it back, but maybe look to improve at the margins. If we lose before the WCF, now we are in big changes mode.

I mean... I guess? The conversation doesn't change a lot with that context though.

If we're a first or second round bounce we **** up big time, but we can't do a whole lot. If we lose in the Finals we still can't do a whole lot.

[winforlose]

Problem is we're up against the luxury tax next year. A lot of people are talking about trading players to avoid it. You can't trade Jaden right now because his value is **** compared to the contract he signed. That's how you define overpaid. If teams were breaking down the door with picks and blue chip players for him then we wouldn't be having this discussion. The problem is you're not seeing the **** heap we're in now. Yes the contract won't be bad in 28-29 but that hardly matters because the issue is next year.

That part of the conversation should wait till after the playoffs. If we win a chip or lose in the finals we will run it back. If we lose in the WCF then we probably run it back, but maybe look to improve at the margins. If we lose before the WCF, now we are in big changes mode.

I mean... I guess? The conversation doesn't change a lot with that context though.

If we're a first or second round bounce we **** up big time, but we can't do a whole lot. If we lose in the Finals we still can't do a whole lot.

My point is that I wouldn’t expect a major trade next year. I personally believe we can and will win it all this year. I think Karl will be back this week, and what we get from him in round 1 will be close to 80% of Karl. I think as we go deeper he will improve and maybe get to 90%+, especially if he plays limited minutes in round 1. The variable will be health. If we stay healthy, we are better than every other team in the west. As for the East, we beat Boston at home, and almost beat them on the road without Mike and Rudy. Our defense will give them fits.

If we win it all, there is no way we move Karl or Jaden. If we make the finals and lose, I seriously doubt we move Karl or Jaden. If we make the WCF and lose in 6 or more, it is possible but unlikely. From there, the worse we do, the more likely a major move is. Make no mistake, Jaden is part of our young core. Any move involving him is more than a salary dump, it is a massive course correction.

[Note30]

That part of the conversation should wait till after the playoffs. If we win a chip or lose in the finals we will run it back. If we lose in the WCF then we probably run it back, but maybe look to improve at the margins. If we lose before the WCF, now we are in big changes mode.

I mean... I guess? The conversation doesn't change a lot with that context though.

If we're a first or second round bounce we **** up big time, but we can't do a whole lot. If we lose in the Finals we still can't do a whole lot.

My point is that I wouldn’t expect a major trade next year. I personally believe we can and will win it all this year. I think Karl will be back this week, and what we get from him in round 1 will be close to 80% of Karl. I think as we go deeper he will improve and maybe get to 90%+, especially if he plays limited minutes in round 1. The variable will be health. If we stay healthy, we are better than every other team in the west. As for the East, we beat Boston at home, and almost beat them on the road without Mike and Rudy. Our defense will give them fits.

If we win it all, there is no way we move Karl or Jaden. If we make the finals and lose, I seriously doubt we move Karl or Jaden. If we make the WCF and lose in 6 or more, it is possible but unlikely. From there, the worse we do, the more likely a major move is. Make no mistake, Jaden is part of our young core. Any move involving him is more than a salary dump, it is a massive course correction.

I wouldn't either. There is no moving any of the main core at all. That's my point.