Who do we get as a reserve PG?

[Klomp]

I love Ingles, but he's our new Kyle Anderson wing facilitator not a PG.

Well considering Kyle was our backup PG for most of last season....

[younggunsmn]

I love Ingles, but he's our new Kyle Anderson wing facilitator not a PG.

Well considering Kyle was our backup PG for most of last season....

Which was more out of necessity than anything else and led to a bottom 10 offense....
That was embarrassing to watch as a basketball fan.
Please tell me we can do better.

[Klomp]

I love Ingles, but he's our new Kyle Anderson wing facilitator not a PG.

Well considering Kyle was our backup PG for most of last season....

Which was more out of necessity than anything else and led to a bottom 10 offense....
That was embarrassing to watch as a basketball fan.
Please tell me we can do better.

We can and will, this time we have someone who is a 41% 3-point shooter.

Also interesting in the direct comparison between the two, Kyle's career high assist rate before coming here was 6.3 assists per 100 possessions, and he hit 8.1 and 9.2 under the Minnesota system. Joe has been over the 6.3 mark in 7 consecutive seasons, and was at a very solid 8.6 in Orlando.

[younggunsmn]

I think offensively we need to play much faster this year.
A lot of people blamed that on Rudy/ the 2 big thing, but I think most of it was on Kyle slowing down the offense and the huge lack of PG skill outside of Conley, who is more of a half court PG anyway. Rudy was actually great at running the floor.

We have a lot of guys who can run, but not many who can push the ball up the floor effectively, and Dillingham could help a lot with that, I just don't know that he's there yet. It would be great to add another guy who can do that too, and Smith Jr isn't a great shooter but he's a pretty good athlete.

It will really help unlock Naz and Jaden if we can get them more and more transition opportunities this year, those 2 guys probably have the most unrealized potential of anyone on the roster right now.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Nix sucks and I don't see a whole lot of either upside or ability to step in and contribute in a pinch from any of our 2 way players.

Skylar Mays is actually fairly serviceable with a little bit of upside, and if he makes it to Iowa and doesn't get picked off by another team I can easily see him with the club at some point this year.
He's a lot better player than Nix but unfortunately ineligible for a two way.

I am not a fan of PJ Dozier, especially as a PG option, and I think it was a mistake to give him a 1 mil guarantee with our tight cap situation. He's an exhibit-10 level player.

The question is what do you want from a 3rd PG? Do you want offense or defense? Do you want upside or experience and savvy?

I'm starting to warm up to the idea that Dennis Smith Jr would be a great add, as he plays good on ball defense which fits our culture and has been around the block a bit. He also offers an insurance policy as Dillingham's biggest hurdle in the league is going to be defense.

I know Dillingham has talent and was a high pick, but I think many are a little too optimistic on his growth curve both physically and mentally.
I was not a big fan of his summer league, and the one thing that surprised me was his poor balance which stems from his lower body still needing a lot of work.
Putting so much on Dillingham scares me a lot more than Conley's age.
But it's a classic GM power move to make a coach play a guy he drafted by not giving him a backup option.

I agree with the statement. We all speculate on how many min RD may have and some even consider he should get 15-20 min. Will definitely not happen this year as we are here to win. I'm pretty sure he will have 5-8 against good teams teams and 10-15 against bad one. May even have DNP on some games.
I don't have high expectations now on RD. He need to learn about NBA and will need 3 years before we know what we got. Have to be patient.
Joe can play PG and i think he will at some point. ANT will improve this part of his game too. And for the rest, finger cross for Mike staying healthy.

[Klomp]

I agree with the statement. We all speculate on how many min RD may have and some even consider he should get 15-20 min. Will definitely not happen this year as we are here to win. I'm pretty sure he will have 5-8 against good teams teams and 10-15 against bad one. May even have DNP on some games.

This definitely seems to be the sentiment, the closer we get to the season.

I know we have PG truthers and I absolutely understand the sentiment if speaking about roster building in general terms, but again I would remind people that Finch doesn't require a traditional PG to be on the court at all times.

Finch: Yeah. The more [NAW] tries to be a traditional point guard, the worse it gets. But that’s the great thing about our offense; we don’t need him to do that.

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2024/09/turning-turnovers-into-points-an-emphasis-for-the-minnesota-timberwolves/

[minimus]

You forgot one option.

I would say a few of options. From last QA with Finch:

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2024/09/this-could-be-the-breakout-year-for-minnesota-timberwolves-jaden-mcdaniels/

About Anderson and Ingles:

I mean, they are very similar in that they are high IQ, pass-first guys that play with great connectivity to their teammates, whether it be talking or playing. Kyle gave you more rebounding, more defensive versatility. Obviously Joe gives you the shooting. Both of them are de facto point guards in terms of mentality; both are used to playing with the ball in their hands. They both grew up pretty much playing point guard...

He’s a little nasty, yeah. Both of them are salty. So, yeah, we know his age, we know his experience. He also has an existing chemistry with Mike (Conley) and Rudy. That’s huge. And you’ve heard me talk about this this already but – we’ve taken a lot of steps forward with Rudy but maximizing Rudy is still something we can do more of; whether it be lobs or other types of things. Joe can do that, as Kyle could. I don’t think we lose that much there, and without that, we would be losing a bunch.

And finally, Joe is probably, there will probably be some natural opportunities for younger players to play if Joe is not going to be able every single night. And that’s actually a benefit to our team. Then we will have the Joshes and TJs ready to play in those winning moments...

I think Joe can help Anthony, I think Joe can help Naz (Reid), all these guys, just with his experience level and his IQ.

About NAW at PG:

Absolutely. He is a big part of it. But you know, with him at the point guard, less (creativity) is more – advance the ball, get us into a few comfortable sets and concepts for him, and then be yourself. The more he tries to do and the more he tries to be something else…

The more he tries to be a traditional point guard, the worse it gets. But that’s the great thing about our offense; we don’t need him to do that. And we also have Joe Ingles as a point guard option and Anthony as more of a primary ball-handler. So I feel really comfortable with all the different types of options we have. And there is PJ Dozier.

About Reid:

And the other part, we do need Naz, I think, to get back to more passing. I think he sees the floor very well – I think it’s elite. I think he’s been on this track to prove he can be this scorer; it is like he’s wired to score. But I think he can do more playmaking, whether it be quick decisions where it is just simple (passes to the) side stuff or with his passive passing unlocking simple shots. He needs to get back to doing more of that. He should now have comfort level that is a proven part of this team and every year he has found a way to get better, make an impact and excel in his role.

About McDaniels:

Well I think we can call his number in pick-and-roll with Rudy...

And it is another way to continue to maximize Rudy. It gives another look to the (opposing) defense. I think if you run him in some action with Rudy and have the other three spotted up next to them, I am intrigued to see what the spacing on the floor looks like then.

What I like about doing it is that I think Jaden is an underrated playmaker. I do think he has a good feel for making the late play, whether it be the lob…

This QA is a must read, because Finch kind of summarise whole last season. I get the backup PG concern, but it is becoming unbearable. The more I read this QA series from Britt, the more I understand the goal is to re-establish our identity and build on it, continue to build on it. Do you remember when McDaniels was hot against smaller opponents like Tray Young or kept punishing PHO on boards? You build on such things! Because it is our identity: stay big, and McDaniels often gets an advantage "just" because opponent has to match Rudy, Towns and Edwards.

Let look at BOS-DAL Finals. It is pretty clear how your build your team:

1) Do you have Doncic, Jokic type of top-3 star? Build around a heliocentric system by running pick-n-rolls. See DAL

2) Dont have top-3 star? Build a system with two elite slashers, who touch the paint, pressure the rim and have MULTIPLE shooters around. See BOS, they had 8(!!!) players in rotation who made more than 100 3pt, whole rotation (for instance, MIN had 5 such players) they had 5 players who attempted more than 100 pullup threes, for instance, MIN had 2 players). Thats is how BOS built "0.5 second offense"

So MIN identity problem on high level is NOT a problem of backup point guard. On one hand MIN have to maximise Rudy presence thats why Conley, Ingles is here. They are veterans who can help our young players. On another hand we have to maximise Towns and Edwards, and I dont see it with Anderson type of player having such a big role in offense. It is time for Towns, McDaniels, Reid to step up. It is obvious. I think Dillingham, TJ is step in right direction to build a modern offense. This is how it looked in UTA and BOS:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[younggunsmn]

I agree with the statement. We all speculate on how many min RD may have and some even consider he should get 15-20 min. Will definitely not happen this year as we are here to win. I'm pretty sure he will have 5-8 against good teams teams and 10-15 against bad one. May even have DNP on some games.

This definitely seems to be the sentiment, the closer we get to the season.

I know we have PG truthers and I absolutely understand the sentiment if speaking about roster building in general terms, but again I would remind people that Finch doesn't require a traditional PG to be on the court at all times.

Finch: Yeah. The more [NAW] tries to be a traditional point guard, the worse it gets. But that’s the great thing about our offense; we don’t need him to do that.

https://www.minnpost.com/sports/2024/09/turning-turnovers-into-points-an-emphasis-for-the-minnesota-timberwolves/

This is IMHO a key Achilles heel for Finch, his low expectations and low regard for the point guard position.
Ballhandling matters.
Being able to use your dribble to put pressure on a defense matters.
I don't care what system you run.

NAW is not just "not a traditional PG", he is not a PG in any way shape or form.
How many times to you need to see him get his pocket picked just bringing the ball up the court in the playoffs to understand that?
Monte Morris was "not a traditional PG" in that he was a low turnovers guy who could shoot and could bring the ball up the court and defer to Jokic. And that was not good enough for our "system" to the point FInch was playing Kyle Anderson over him in the playoffs.

We destroyed Phoenix in large part because their lack of PG play allowed us to force their big 3 into playing isolation basketball.
If you don't have a PG to push the pace and breakdown defenses you are going to end up playing halfcourt offense the whole game and all other things being even if you are forced to do that you are likely going to lose unless you have a generational talent like Embiid and Jokic who are unstoppable one man offenses.
Boston breezed to a title in large part because they had not one, not two, but three ballhandlers on the court at all times who could put pressure on the defense. We all saw what adding Kyrie to Luka did for Dallas against us.

Teams can load up on and stop Ant in the halfcourt. We need to play faster so he can take advantage of the fast break and early offense where he can be unstoppable.

I think TC recognized that weakness and that's a big reason he targeted Dillingham.
He's a guy who if he reaches his potential should be able to both push the pace and break down the defense from the weakside when they load up on Ant.
If we end up with a whole lot of both NAW and Rudy on the floor together this year, it isn't going to be any mystery why our offense still stinks.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

2 crucial points for me this year :

- Keep our defense at the last year level. Not easy to do, others teams know us more, Rudy really slow down at PO and during Olympics. Hope he is back to 100%.
- Improve our offense, specially when game tight and when Mike sit. I think ANT will improve in this part and Joe will do his part. But overall this is also a team effort. Hope KAT reduce his number of TO ( not granted..), Jaden and Naz improve as well and Rob learn well .

This is our year, Go Wolves ! Exciting to see pre-season games.

[winforlose]

Now Big Ragu is a defacto PG on the floor. NAW probably getting moved this year at the deadline. Only so many minutes.

[minimus]

Anyone who knows me... I'M A BIG FAN OF DDV!!!

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[minimus]

Right now our PG rotation should be Conley, DDV and Nix. Add Rob for garbage time.

[wolves_89]

Coming out of Summer league and the preseason I've come to think that Nix could be a borderline rotation player and is a great option as an emergency PG. His path to playing time is going to be based on defense, which has been surprisingly good. He's started to use his strength as a weapon and at 220 lbs he can bully a lot of guards. His athleticism has also been a pleasant surprise as a couple of times in the last preseason game his vertical was way higher than I had seen from him before and his ability to stay in front of his man has looked really good. I could see him getting spot minutes in games where Mike is out and Dillingham is getting overwhelmed on defense.

[minimus]

Coming out of Summer league and the preseason I've come to think that Nix could be a borderline rotation player and is a great option as an emergency PG. His path to playing time is going to be based on defense, which has been surprisingly good. He's started to use his strength as a weapon and at 220 lbs he can bully a lot of guards. His athleticism has also been a pleasant surprise as a couple of times in the last preseason game his vertical was way higher than I had seen from him before and his ability to stay in front of his man has looked really good. I could see him getting spot minutes in games where Mike is out and Dillingham is getting overwhelmed on defense.

Yes, I agree. He fits our mentality, because he is an aggressive both in offense and defense. He is not a natural pass-first PG, but he mostly plays within pace and under control. After NAW erratic plays at PG, Nix looks as much better fit as backup PG.

[Norseman79]

After watching the preseason, honestly the best thing that can happen for Dillingham is to start the year in Iowa and work on adjusting to the physicality of the game. He absolutely has the chops to play some off the bench right now, but to maximize what he could become I think he should start in Iowa. Let Nix and DD backup Conley to start.

[minimus]

Actually last season backup rotation was disaster. McLaughlin was injured, Milton failed to play backup PG, Monte was injured. I wonder if playing DDV, Nix will help us to defend such action as double drag, where two layers of defense are exposed: PoA and gap/tag help. You put DDV who is 6'4 200 lbs or Nix who is 6'5, 224 lbs, instead of 6'0", 175lb Conley and can switch 1 and 3 defender in double drag.

Read on Twitter