QUIT WHINING!

[jfnike09]

I'm by no means a die-hard Wolves fan, but they have always been my favorite Western Conference franchise despite their failures. But seriously, people need to shut the **** up about this draft being a disaster. McHale did a great job and you simply need to look at what experts have to say to show that McHale made a hell of a deal.

I get it, OJ Mayo would have been a great player. But seriously, the guy just didn't fit on this roster. He's not a true point and this team already has Foye, McCants, and Brewer at the 2 slot. I know that people think he can play the point, but I just don't see it happening. This guy is too much of a scorer to be expected to run the offense unselfishly. I look at Rose and think that I'd rather have a player who is about the team and Love fits that role far more than Mayo. Sure there are still question marks about Foye/McCants/Brewer, but I think you have to be willing to be a little patient with this team. Foye can still be a very good player in my opinion, there is no denying that McCants impressed at times last season, and while Brewer had a rough year, its too early to label him a best (and at worst, Boston showed that you can always use a long defensive presence off the bench).

Now, to the trade. Love fits a glaring need and I think he will be legitimately happy to be on this roster. Did you see Mayo when he was drafted??? This guy has had the spotlight on him his whole life, did you really think he'd be happy spending his whole career in Minnesota? I have a hard time picturing that for a second. I'm also more confident with Foye running the point than Mayo any day of the week. Love will take a TON of the pressure off of Jefferson next year and we may see ever greater production on the offensive end from Al. There was no way that the Wolves were going to be able to go out and get another big man on this market this year, no matter what you think. Outside of there being little out there in terms of bigs, there are far too many other teams out there trying to find one. Would another team rather trade for Ben Gordon or Corey Brewer/Rashad McCants? This team now has a legit starting frontline and doesn't have to fear starting Ryan Gomes at the 4 spot next year. We would have gotten owned down low next year.

And outside of the draftees, how are people downplaying the acquisition of Miller? This guy was one of the best shooters in the NBA last season on an AWFUL team. How a guy like him is able to shoot over 50% from the field and 43% from three when there is absolutely no threat in the paint and when he was the only player who could consistently shoot from beyond the arc is just beyond me. Imagine how well he could do on this team when you have a dominant lowpost player, another big man who can play downlow and from three, and some decent shooters in McCants and Foye. I'm drooling over the possibilities of a Foye/McCants/Miller/Love/Jefferson lineup. Maybe it takes a year for it to truly come to fruition and for these guys to mature, but it really does have potential. This team wasn't gonna compete in the West this year regardless and now they've set themselves up to do something in the future. Not to mention that I like the possibilities with Brewer and Gomes as the first guys off the bench.

If it doesn't pan out this season, this team can wait a year or two...especially when you look at the playoff contenders from last year and their ages. Phoenix (Nash-34, Bell-31, Shaq-36, Hill-35), San Antonio (Duncan-32, Barry-36, Bowen-37, Finley-35, Ginobili-30), Dallas (Josh Howard was the only player under 30 to play more than 20mins), even Denver is getting old outside of Melo and they can't do better than the 8th seed. My point being that this lineup in now very balanced and very young in an aging Western conference. And even if the team doesn't work out as planned, this deal gives the team tremendous cap space in 2010 (no Lebron illusions here), when Cardinal, Hudson's contract, Madsen, and Miller all come off the books. No more crappy Jaric to worry about making $8mill and killing the space. This trade is really great for the team and anybody who thinks it doesn't help overall is foolish to me. You won't hear it too often, but to me it seems like McHale might actually have an idea of what he's doing for the first time in his life (emphasis on might, though).

[Ojmayo]

I'm by no means a die-hard Wolves fan, but they have always been my favorite Western Conference franchise despite their failures. But seriously, people need to shut the **** up about this draft being a disaster. McHale did a great job and you simply need to look at what experts have to say to show that McHale made a hell of a deal.

I get it, OJ Mayo would have been a great player. But seriously, the guy just didn't fit on this roster. He's not a true point and this team already has Foye, McCants, and Brewer at the 2 slot. I know that people think he can play the point, but I just don't see it happening. This guy is too much of a scorer to be expected to run the offense unselfishly. I look at Rose and think that I'd rather have a player who is about the team and Love fits that role far more than Mayo. Sure there are still question marks about Foye/McCants/Brewer, but I think you have to be willing to be a little patient with this team. Foye can still be a very good player in my opinion, there is no denying that McCants impressed at times last season, and while Brewer had a rough year, its too early to label him a best (and at worst, Boston showed that you can always use a long defensive presence off the bench).

Now, to the trade. Love fits a glaring need and I think he will be legitimately happy to be on this roster. Did you see Mayo when he was drafted??? This guy has had the spotlight on him his whole life, did you really think he'd be happy spending his whole career in Minnesota? I have a hard time picturing that for a second. I'm also more confident with Foye running the point than Mayo any day of the week. Love will take a TON of the pressure off of Jefferson next year and we may see ever greater production on the offensive end from Al. There was no way that the Wolves were going to be able to go out and get another big man on this market this year, no matter what you think. Outside of there being little out there in terms of bigs, there are far too many other teams out there trying to find one. Would another team rather trade for Ben Gordon or Corey Brewer/Rashad McCants? This team now has a legit starting frontline and doesn't have to fear starting Ryan Gomes at the 4 spot next year. We would have gotten owned down low next year.

And outside of the draftees, how are people downplaying the acquisition of Miller? This guy was one of the best shooters in the NBA last season on an AWFUL team. How a guy like him is able to shoot over 50% from the field and 43% from three when there is absolutely no threat in the paint and when he was the only player who could consistently shoot from beyond the arc is just beyond me. Imagine how well he could do on this team when you have a dominant lowpost player, another big man who can play downlow and from three, and some decent shooters in McCants and Foye. I'm drooling over the possibilities of a Foye/McCants/Miller/Love/Jefferson lineup. Maybe it takes a year for it to truly come to fruition and for these guys to mature, but it really does have potential. This team wasn't gonna compete in the West this year regardless and now they've set themselves up to do something in the future. Not to mention that I like the possibilities with Brewer and Gomes as the first guys off the bench.

If it doesn't pan out this season, this team can wait a year or two...especially when you look at the playoff contenders from last year and their ages. Phoenix (Nash-34, Bell-31, Shaq-36, Hill-35), San Antonio (Duncan-32, Barry-36, Bowen-37, Finley-35, Ginobili-30), Dallas (Josh Howard was the only player under 30 to play more than 20mins), even Denver is getting old outside of Melo and they can't do better than the 8th seed. My point being that this lineup in now very balanced and very young in an aging Western conference. And even if the team doesn't work out as planned, this deal gives the team tremendous cap space in 2010 (no Lebron illusions here), when Cardinal, Hudson's contract, Madsen, and Miller all come off the books. No more crappy Jaric to worry about making $8mill and killing the space. This trade is really great for the team and anybody who thinks it doesn't help overall is foolish to me. You won't hear it too often, but to me it seems like McHale might actually have an idea of what he's doing for the first time in his life (emphasis on might, though).

Lets see what you said.....

Foye is a 2 he cant play a 1 aswell.....
McChants a 2 his good and all but I think Mayo would have done a better job
Brewer is a 3 and nowhere near a 2 the guy cant creat his own shot......
Love a 4 I think he fits the 4 but do you think he fits it better then al? And plus do you think he will be able to survive against Kg, Dirk, Duncan, Stoudmire, Gasol, Josh smith, Brand, etc.....)Not in my watch..... big AL who we are trying to keep this franchise on wnats to be the pf and not the c and they will keep on refusing him......When your trying to rebuild you dont need a player replacing the position your best player does now do we? Miller is a great shooter and all but am sure we wont keep him and plus what makes you think that a 28 year old is rebuilding the team? Not so.......Dont compare Miller and Love to the All Stars because their nowhere near them...

[collin_k41]

I get it, OJ Mayo would have been a great player. But seriously, the guy just didn't fit on this roster. He's not a true point and this team already has Foye, McCants, and Brewer at the 2 slot. I know that people think he can play the point, but I just don't see it happening.

Mayo would've been a good combo guard to pair with foye playing mostly SG. Foye is the PG, we gave up on Mccants besides being a 6th man, and brewer is more of a SF.

Love fits a glaring need

Last time I checked we were set at PF


Good points on the Miller and cap space.

[DubaLakers]

Whomever is saying that was a bad trade for MIN is straight wrong. If it's a bad trade for anyone it's a bad trade for MEM. Mike Miller is one of the most underrated players in the NBA and a top 5 shooter at 6-8. Love and Mayo I had both in the top 5. MIN wins. Enjoy MIN Love is an incredible player, and you get Mike Miller LOL. This is a steal, unless Mayo, becomes Wade like.

[revprodeji]

knowledgable people who are 3rd party love this deal. MN posters that have sipped too much Orange Juice are in near-suicide mode right now.

[TrentTuckerForever]

I really think the "whining" is two issues for Wolves fans:

1) Position. Everyone see's Love's measurements and Jefferson's and think that leaves Jefferson playing out of position.

Love will be the Wolves' center next year (and unless he's a colossal bust, for the next few years.)

He doesn't have ideal size for the 5, but neither do Antonio McDyess, Kurt Thomas, Al Horford or Chris Bosh. Those guys are all starting 5 men for 2008 playoff teams.

2) Size. Here's a question we Wolves fans should all ask ourselves: if Love was 6'10" (same size as the listed heights of Alonzo Mourning, Theo Ratliff and Emeka Okefor), would you feel differently about the pick? Probably, right?

Love is 6'9 1/2" in shoes. Is that extra 1/2 inch really that big a deal, especially for someone as strong as Love?

[Worm Guts]

Bosh is 6'11, Horford is more explosive and playing next to the hugely explosive Josh Smith, Kurt Thomas plays next to the 7 foot Duncan, McDyess plays with the 6'11 Rasheed Wallace and Detroit and awesome perimeter defenders to protect them. The point is, other undersized centers have guys to protect them and cover their weaknesses. Neither Love or Jefferson will have that at center.
And Love is 6'9 even if he's not wearing clogs.

[sheefo13]

Right now the Wolves needed to be really building for the future. When you look at teams in the west right now they are either contenders now (Spurs, Suns, Rockets), Contenders and young (Lakers, Hornets, Jazz somewhat), or really building for the future (Blazers, Sonics, Kings). This trade made us a better team next season, but it makes no difference since we were not going to be a playoff team regardless. The wolves needed to compete with teams like the Blazers and Sonics in their youth movements. When a team is rebuilding like they are now, you NEED to take the player that has the most star potential IMO. Brewer, Foye, McCants ALL were drafted while Garnett was on the roster AKA they were looked at as role players, not players to build a franchise around. Now they are good assests, but they are ROLE players. Same thing with Love.

Jefferson is not a role player. He is a cornerstone to a young franchise. If anyone else is following the trend of today's league, it requires more than one cornerstone to make a team good. Now OJ Mayo could as well been a bust, but he had the assets in a player to be a star in this league. A Mayo and Jefferson combo would be lethal in the future. Even if Mayo did not want to be here, you have to take that chance that he may want to be here in the future. I am confident he would rather be in Minnesota more than Memphis right now.

This trade makes us a 40 game winner max... That not even close to the playoffs. And yet that puts us at the low end of the lottery so we can add more role players. I am sure Miller might want to be here just as bad as Walker did. Miller is a good player don't get me wrong, but he is pointless to have here. Once this team starts competing, he will be about 31 or 32, a point where I doubt he resigns here.

As for Love, I am unsure if he is going to be able to compete on this level. He is going to get torn up on the defensive end, I doubt he even averages over 12 points in this league. He could be useful if we are put in a situation where we need someone to make a full court shot, since that happens every game.

[DorfonCeltics]

Celtics fans chiming in. I love what McHale did last night. I'm not saying that Mayo isn't going to be stud but pairing Love and Al together is going to create a dominant front court for years to come. I consider Miller to be one of the purest shooters in the league right along with Ray Ray and Redd. He can straight fill it up. Team him with Foye and either Gomes or Brewer on the wing and you have a very competitive starting five. I also think many of you underestimate the leadership that Mike will bring to the table. This new Minny team should be right up there with the lakers in terms of offense. It would be great if you guys could get a bruiser like Diop with the MLE but a lot of teams are vying for his services and it seems likely he returns to Dallas. However, I wouldn't be disappointed if I were a Wolves fan right now (I kind of am one by association) I would be optimistic. This is going to be a very exciting team to watch.

[deeney0]

knowledgable people who are 3rd party love this deal. MN posters that have sipped too much Orange Juice are in near-suicide mode right now.

I really think it's the anti-Mayo thoughts that make people judge this trade as a win. Sure, they win next year - they get the vet Miller. But they're not trying to win for next year. They lose in 2009 cap space but win in 2010 cap space. The talent can't be judged for a few years, minimum.

If Jefferson and Love can be an effective defensive frontcourt, this is a good trade unless Mayo becomes JordanKobe. But they've got an uphill battle imo.

[jfnike09]

The one thing I understand SOMEWHAT are the complaints that Love is undersized. However, drafting Love was the best possible decision because my question to Minnesota fans is what the hell else they were expecting to do with their frontcourt??? Love is probably the best answer they were going to find for a few years. While Al is a great player, besides him there was absolutely nobody at all...simple fact, period. Who was their next best big man...Ryan Gomes? Craig Smith? They DESPERATELY needed size and they got a good big man here. Sure some guys may have an inch or two on him, but that's not the end of the world. Was Minnesota about to sign a great big man free agent over the next two years? Oh right, there aren't any and oh right, they don't have the money. Were they going to trade for one? Oh right, no team was interested in a McCants/Brewer package for a young big man...nobody was giving up somebody good big for small if that big was under 30. If the fans want a youth movement, they need to take their heads out of their asses and realize that they weren't going to get anybody to fill that gap for YEARS and this was the best (and possibly only) way to accomplish that. Otherwise you would have fallen in love with Ryan Gomes and some MLE scrub opposite Al, letting him get double-teamed every single night. This trade gives the team at least somebody skilled to work opposite Al and possibly make a disgusting frontline with a pretty good shooting backcourt. And if Love doesn't pan out, then you'll have a ton of cap space in 2010 or 2011 when good bigs do actually start becoming free agents, so you can try to lure them to Minny for the max...or better yet, Love pans out and you can try to sign a superstar guard. I just don't understand how Minnesota fans are missing this fact...

[Kurosawa]

See? It's only Minnesota fans, beaten down as they are by years of McHale, who are pissing and moaning about this trade. Everybody else loves it.

[Dewey]

No kidding, lets move on and build a team. I look at the ability of the new roster of plays and beleive we will pass the ball with efficiency. The size thing is what it is. I've seen alot of 7' players perform inadequately, plus, many are much slower than Love getting up and down the floor. You have to know how to play the game.

Mayo is a good athlete, but not well known for being a good passer or getting to the basket and/or drawing fouls. He may shoot well, but what happens when the Bowen/Prince defenders around the NBA start to man him up. I'm not sure Mayo had to create against too many 6'7" - 6'9" defenders in college. Actually his stats were pretty average compared to many other players at his level of competition. Love knows how to play versus bigger centers and averaged 17 & 10 against them in his freshmen season.

Time will tell.