Our biggest weakness that we need to fix to make playoffs

[Zeitgeister]

Hes the only other sf we have.... you want to get rid of beas and play wes the whole game?

Not the most palatable of choices, I realize. Wes isn't this bad, though, and you know it; he went all of last year and shot alright. Certainly better than he is shooting now, anyway (although he's still finishing at the rim well enough). I'd let him shoot himself into a rhythm, personally; Beasley is hurting the team with what he's doing right now anyway, so what difference does it make? Well, I suppose a lot, since the Wolves are scrapping it out for a possible playoff spot and the Beez is at least MAKING his 3-pointers. I'll give him that.

Looks like you forgot how good Beas was last year before his injuries piled up. So, both players are not reaching their potential right now, and only one of them deserves to keep playing. Did I get that right?

That wasn't the case. Beasley was given the green light to shoot as much as he wanted. He proved that he's not all that efficient of a scorer. Sure he can occasionally get hot and drop 30+ on a team but the way he gets his offense is not a recipe for success. On top of that his defense and passing have always been suspect.

[OJMayoMVP32]

We don't just need a SG that can shoot. If that was it then Ellington should fit that need. If we are moving forward with Wes at 3 and Rubio at 1, then we need a scoring guard. The SG doesn't need to be an all-star, but should be a scorer that can get around 20 points per game. Other descriptions: solid shooter (we miss way too many open shots), average defender (Wes will be top wing defender as is his current role), and smart/competitive. I see Rubio/Love as very comparable to Stockton/Malone. We just need to get a Jeff Hornacek type player and then just be patient in letting the team grow. The thing we have to be mindful of is to not end up with the SG version of Beasley.

We can keep Beasley and have him come off the bench. I like him, but he needs to just continue to change for the better (which he is doing).

I also don't see any trades happening this year unless a team gives us a good offer for Randolph (RFA in offseason), so the trade for a SG would likely happen in offseason.

Candidates off the top of my head: Kevin Martin, OJ Mayo, Marcus Thornton, Harden, Afflalo

You guys played as tough last night, even though both teams struggled offensively. The future is bright and i totally agree with your assessment. James Harden with the few years he has on his contract is almost untouchable. Marcus Thornton 5 year 40 million dollar contract is decent, but doesn't come off as a winner.

Kevin Martin and OJ Mayo seem to be the top candidate that fill your SG desire. Martin is a little better shooter, scorer, whereas OJ is a better defender and playmaker. both can score the ball though.

[KG_And1]

Webster or Wes at SG and trade for Batum at SF.

I have a thing for long, lanky wings...

[andyhop]

Webster or Wes at SG and trade for Batum at SF.

I have a thing for long, lanky wings...

How about trying for Wallace instead of Batum?

Adds a vet to the team ,he plays both ends of the court and could be acquired a lot more cheaply than Batum.

The downside is he has a player option at the end of the year that he may well exercise so he can sign a long term deal, so if he wants too long/large a deal he would be a rental.

Try a deal like Miller/Tolliver or Randolph + one of the Utah/Memphis picks for him

[Klomp]

and could be acquired a lot more cheaply than Batum.

No he couldn't. Batum has said he will negotiate deals with the 29 other teams before he deals with POR this offseason. Hes on the outs. POR likes Wallace quitea bit too.

[Piecake]

I really dont think Wallace is the answer - meaning i dont want to trade any worthwhile pieces for him. I mean, I like Wallace's game, but I see his game fading fast once he gets past 30, and he is pretty close to that right now.

I would love Batum on this team and Matthews would be fine too, but I wouldnt trade a whole lot for matthews (meaning no Pek or Williams). I feel like I might be overvaluing Pek, but I dont really think so. Dude be a beast

[lobishome]

Our biggest weakness that we need to fix to make playoff?

Beasley and a pure SG !!

[Piecake]

What do you think we would need to give up for Daequan cook? All he does is shoot 3s, but at least he makes them and he has SG size... How's his defense?

Ridnour for Cook? I think id do it

[Devilzsidewalk]

some type of half court scorer, probably @ the wing unless we're trading for Dirk or something. I've even been tempted by Bargnani in my weakness.

[Basti]

I really dont think Wallace is the answer - meaning i dont want to trade any worthwhile pieces for him. I mean, I like Wallace's game, but I see his game fading fast once he gets past 30, and he is pretty close to that right now.

I would love Batum on this team and Matthews would be fine too, but I wouldnt trade a whole lot for matthews (meaning no Pek or Williams). I feel like I might be overvaluing Pek, but I dont really think so. Dude be a beast

I really like Crash. He's one of my favorite players not on the Wolves team and I'd really like to see him in a Wolves uniform.

However, I have to agree with you that I wouldn't trade a whole lot for him, either. Or, if we had the chance, to sign him for the market value he has. I'm too much concerned about his style of play and how he might not keep it up as he gets older.

[davinci79]

Don't think about make playoffs this year, think about be a contender next years.

If you want to build a team around Love-Rubio then you will have to improve with Rubio and give him confidence. The boy needs the ball and a lot of minutes playing to play his best game and you will have a big problem if his backup is a ring owner player (look Badalona years vs Barcelona years).

Option 1 (obviously, my favourite)
Keep: Love, Rubio, Pekovic, Williams, Johnson, Ellington, Miller, Randolph
Trade: Barea, Milicic, Ridnour, Beasley, Webster, Lee, Tolliver
Get: Shooting guard, physical center and a cheap experienced point guard to backup Rubio

Option 2
Keep: Love, Ridnour, Barea, Pekovic, Williams, Johnson, Ellington, Miller, Randolph
Trade: Rubio, Milicic, Beasley, Webster, Lee, Tolliver
Get: Shooting guard and physical center

I'm a Rubio fan since he was 14 years old and I'm sure that it is incompatible with Ridnour or Barea. This is my humble opinion.

[southern wolf]

Option 2 better be getting us a superstar calibre point guard in return as well lol. But I agree, a quality SG and C are our biggest needs.

[Saltine]

Option 2
Keep: Love, Ridnour, Barea, Pekovic, Williams, Johnson, Ellington, Miller, Randolph
Trade: Rubio, Milicic, Beasley, Webster, Lee, Tolliver
Get: Shooting guard and physical center

Trading Rubio and Lee really won't help the team. Trust me on that.

Randolph, Beasley, Webster, Miller and Tolliver are all gone after this season, unless Kahn gives them new deals. So none of them have a lot of value unless we take a large contract back from a team trying to clear salary space that needs expiring deals.
Also, Darko isn't much of a trade piece on his own, and we have no other centers once Miller retires. Luke has some value, however, unless you add Williams into a deal, we won't get much back...

Rubio/Barea/(Ridnour)
??/Ellington/Lee
??/Johnson
Love/Williams
Pek/(Darko)

It will be interesting to see what Kahn does come March.

[old rem]

The Wolves do need a wing (or wings), but I think there's still a lot of opportunity for internal growth offensively with recent emergence of Pekovic and Williams not getting much playing time yet or performing to his draft position.

As backup PG's...Ridenour and Barea are about as good as you'd expect to find, though perhaps it's a rather different style from Rubio,meaning tactics shift.

The rather green Wolves have yet to get full impact from Williams,Pekovic and Randolph. Johnson? He may be a SF with promise but has not adapted well to SG. I don't see enough Wolves to know why,but,when a draft prospect I felt he was a borderline top 10 talent,not a top 5. Your best hope is Wesley has some good outings in some role and you can trade him to a team where he better fits in...getting a real SG. Beasley gets some flak for being a bit of an immature airhead when he came into the league but he's matured somewhat,and certainly has natural talent. the trick really is to inspire him to be a more complete,consistant player. The Wolves seem to have a lot of "tweeners" who CAN fit into the right situation,but,as a lot almost seem to get in each others way. Love is a cornerstone player for Minny but his presence limits how Minny can deploy Randolph,Beasley,Williams. Each of those 3 can play other spots but at least some of their skillset is PF.

As a GSW guy, I'd pondered some deals between us, and have not come upon something ideal, but,GSW has talent at SG and the Wolves have talent in the frontcourt. With both competing in the West, each team will be wary about getting the short end on any deal. The trick is to find a deal that lifts both and yet isn't conceding an advantage to the other within the West. That's the tricky part.

Meanwhile...the whole is less than the sum of the parts. That can evolve with time. Pretty tricky.

[C.lupus]

Don't think about make playoffs this year, think about be a contender next years.

If you want to build a team around Love-Rubio then you will have to improve with Rubio and give him confidence. The boy needs the ball and a lot of minutes playing to play his best game and you will have a big problem if his backup is a ring owner player (look Badalona years vs Barcelona years).

Option 1 (obviously, my favourite)
Keep: Love, Rubio, Pekovic, Williams, Johnson, Ellington, Miller, Randolph
Trade: Barea, Milicic, Ridnour, Beasley, Webster, Lee, Tolliver
Get: Shooting guard, physical center and a cheap experienced point guard to backup Rubio

Option 2
Keep: Love, Ridnour, Barea, Pekovic, Williams, Johnson, Ellington, Miller, Randolph
Trade: Rubio, Milicic, Beasley, Webster, Lee, Tolliver
Get: Shooting guard and physical center

I'm a Rubio fan since he was 14 years old and I'm sure that it is incompatible with Ridnour or Barea. This is my humble opinion.

Option 2 is not an option. Rubio isn't going anywhere.

Option 1 - Not sure why they have to trade Ridnour and Barea. Keep one of them as the backup PG, deal the other one. Also, we already have a physical center in Pekovic. I think what we need is an athletic defensive center to backup Pek and give a different option when paired with Love.

[weasel]

I don't think our biggest weakness is a position or player. It's consistency. Sure, every player in the game is going to have good and bad games. But outside of Love and Rubio, we have abslutely no idea what any player is going to bring each game. Pek is getting there. Beas can be our best offensive player one game, and our biggest black hole the next. Williams looks like a lost rookie one game, then looks like he's worty of that #2 pick. Ridnour is a godsend when he hits his shots, and the most hated person on the planet when he doesn't. Darko! should be Darko?. Last year the only thing Wes could do was hit shots. This year is't the only thing he can't do. AR can make us drool one game and give us a migrane the next. It just goes on and on with this team.

One of the keys to consistancy is comfort. So I'm hoping as they team gets more comfortable with each other, and with playing the way Adelman wants, the consistancy will improve. And as the consistancy improves, I'm sure we will start seeing a more routine rotation from Adelman. I know a lot of peeps bust Adelmans chops on his rotation, but up until now, with all of the injuries, and all of the lack of consistant play, and with very few players jumping up and saying "this job is mine, damnit!" (Rubio and Pek are the only two that have done that), I don't really blame Adelman for that.

If we fix our consistancy, even if it's a player (Tolliver) playing his way out of the rotation, I think we become dangerous with the players we currently have.