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BlacJacMac wrote:Neeva wrote:I wouldn’t be surprised if Connelly trades down? Nets currently have picks 20, 25 and 27.
How many young players do we need for Finch to not play?
Neeva wrote:BlacJacMac wrote:Neeva wrote:I wouldn’t be surprised if Connelly trades down? Nets currently have picks 20, 25 and 27.
How many young players do we need for Finch to not play?
I don’t expect Finch to be the head coach next season or at least not after next season’s all star break..
Also wouldn’t put it past Connelly to trade Dillingham, TJ and Minott.
Neeva wrote:BlacJacMac wrote:Neeva wrote:I wouldn’t be surprised if Connelly trades down? Nets currently have picks 20, 25 and 27.
How many young players do we need for Finch to not play?
I don’t expect Finch to be the head coach next season or at least not after next season’s all star break..
Also wouldn’t put it past Connelly to trade Dillingham, TJ and Minott.
guest81 wrote:Neeva wrote:BlacJacMac wrote:
How many young players do we need for Finch to not play?
I don’t expect Finch to be the head coach next season or at least not after next season’s all star break..
Also wouldn’t put it past Connelly to trade Dillingham, TJ and Minott.
You still have a solid 8 man rotation for next year in stone. Plus you need to find room for guys like Dilly and tsj before you want to bring in more young players
minimus wrote:BlacJacMac wrote:Neeva wrote:I wouldn’t be surprised if Connelly trades down? Nets currently have picks 20, 25 and 27.
How many young players do we need for Finch to not play?
I think this claim can be made against any coach. at least I've seen fans curse Kerr, Udoka, Stevens, Malone, Spoelstra for not putting a young player on the court in a particular game. Specifically on Finch, I'm pleased with the progress of Clark, Shannon and Dillingham. The development of Mynott and Miller is debatable, but it's hard for me to say I'd do anything differently if I were Finch, those guys are very raw.
winforlose wrote:minimus wrote:BlacJacMac wrote:How many young players do we need for Finch to not play?
I think this claim can be made against any coach. at least I've seen fans curse Kerr, Udoka, Stevens, Malone, Spoelstra for not putting a young player on the court in a particular game. Specifically on Finch, I'm pleased with the progress of Clark, Shannon and Dillingham. The development of Mynott and Miller is debatable, but it's hard for me to say I'd do anything differently if I were Finch, those guys are very raw.
You suprise me with the being pleased about the progression of Shannon and Dilly. Clark I get. Minott and Miller I think should not be grouped together. Finch gave Minott a shot and stuff happened. You can say Finch did Minott dirty or Minott failed in his chance (both are probably true to an extent,) but Miller is a very different story. Finch played favorites with Garza (someone who I don’t want/expect to have a future with the Wolves,) over Miller. Miller never had a meaningful minute all year. Thus he had no chance to develop.
Back to Dilly, he should have started in Iowa for large parts of the season. He could have got so much more experience as a facilitator and decision maker that he would have a head start for year) Or, they should have been worked in better early (fewer minutes for Mike and Randle early in the year,) and that would have allowed them to be more ready for the injuries and thus better able to stick around with the main team.
minimus wrote:winforlose wrote:minimus wrote:
I think this claim can be made against any coach. at least I've seen fans curse Kerr, Udoka, Stevens, Malone, Spoelstra for not putting a young player on the court in a particular game. Specifically on Finch, I'm pleased with the progress of Clark, Shannon and Dillingham. The development of Mynott and Miller is debatable, but it's hard for me to say I'd do anything differently if I were Finch, those guys are very raw.
You suprise me with the being pleased about the progression of Shannon and Dilly. Clark I get. Minott and Miller I think should not be grouped together. Finch gave Minott a shot and stuff happened. You can say Finch did Minott dirty or Minott failed in his chance (both are probably true to an extent,) but Miller is a very different story. Finch played favorites with Garza (someone who I don’t want/expect to have a future with the Wolves,) over Miller. Miller never had a meaningful minute all year. Thus he had no chance to develop.
Back to Dilly, he should have started in Iowa for large parts of the season. He could have got so much more experience as a facilitator and decision maker that he would have a head start for year [emoji[emoji[emoji6
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My two biggest concerns with Dilly are his defense and finishing at the rim. I don’t like to lean too much on stats due to the small sample size, but I’ve been encouraged by his improvement in both areas. He’s giving consistent effort on defense and is adjusting to the NBA game as a slasher.
He played more minutes when Conley was hurt in the first half of the season, but now that Conley’s shooting is back, he’s clearly our best option as a decision-maker. Plus, Dilly’s three-point shooting completely fell off a cliff after the All-Star break — might be the rookie wall.
As for Iowa, I used to believe every rookie could benefit from time there, but after watching a lot of games last season and this one, I don’t think that’s the case for guys like Rob and TJ. Unless a player is out of shape, I’d rather see him stay with the Wolves’ athletic and coaching staff.
Garza was the only available big when Gobert and Randle were dealing with injuries, and he knows his role. Miller, on the other hand, looks completely lost every time he steps on the floor — zero impact.
P.S. Reed Sheppard is considered a more NBA-ready rookie than Dillingham, but he hasn’t played much for the 2 seed in the West — HOU. Should Rockets fans be blaming Udoka?
winforlose wrote: Gonna call apples to tomatoes on Shepard to Dilly. Sheppard is a natural SG playing behind Green (the player they are trying to unlock into their primary offensive threat,) whereas Dilly is a natural PG (or is going to be converted to one)
winforlose wrote:DDV who clearly was not a PG (though he has handle he lacks BBIQ, patience, and fundamentals to play PG effectively.)
winforlose wrote:That said Reed did start in the rotation.
winforlose wrote: Amen Thompson is a 2nd year player, Tari Eason is essentially a 2nd year having been hurt most of last year, and both were mainstays in the rotation. That said the rosters are very different. We have more guys who need minutes and are 5+ seasons in. The balancing comes from playing vets fewer minutes and finding ways to win.
winforlose wrote:Miller never had a meaningful minute all year. Thus he had no chance to develop.
shrink wrote:winforlose wrote:Miller never had a meaningful minute all year. Thus he had no chance to develop.
I reject this premise.
Players can, and do, develop before they get meaningful minutes in NBA games. Coaches can develop young players here and in Iowa, and we saw it when TJ Shannon started his NBA games more developed than we expected, as did Jaylin Clark.
Moreover, this removes all responsibility from the young player to work hard and develop in practice, to EARN nba minutes.
minimus wrote:winforlose wrote: Gonna call apples to tomatoes on Shepard to Dilly. Sheppard is a natural SG playing behind Green (the player they are trying to unlock into their primary offensive threat,) whereas Dilly is a natural PG (or is going to be converted to one)
Both look like comboguards to me.winforlose wrote:DDV who clearly was not a PG (though he has handle he lacks BBIQ, patience, and fundamentals to play PG effectively.)
Yeah, but also DDV is our best weak side rim protecter among ALL players not named Rudy Gobert. Also he is our best three point shooter and high effort guy in defense. DDV by the way plays much more effective next to natural PG such as Conley. Dilly has improved as facilitator as well, but he is not at Conley level yet.winforlose wrote:That said Reed did start in the rotation.
Yes, Reed did start in the rotation three times. Two of them in last two meaningless games. Also all three games HOU lost. Dilly started once. So whats your point? Reed played 637 minutes, Dillingham played 516 minutes. As I said Reed considered much more NBA ready player.winforlose wrote: Amen Thompson is a 2nd year player, Tari Eason is essentially a 2nd year having been hurt most of last year, and both were mainstays in the rotation. That said the rosters are very different. We have more guys who need minutes and are 5+ seasons in. The balancing comes from playing vets fewer minutes and finding ways to win.
Also Thompson is 4th pick, 22yo, physically ready wing. Tari Eason is 23yo, also physically ready forward. Dilly is 20 yo, still developing his body.
MIN has McDaniels 24yo, Reid 25yo, NAW 26yo who all need playing time. At the same Finch plays Clark who is essentially a rookie, 53rd pick. Why? because Finch doesnt play young players?
winforlose wrote:
Gonna call apples to tomatoes on Shepard to Dilly. Sheppard is a natural SG playing behind Green (the player they are trying to unlock into their primary offensive threat,) whereas Dilly is a natural PG (or is going to be converted to one,) playing behind 37 year old Mike who started the season injured and out of shape, and DDV who clearly was not a PG (though he has handle he lacks BBIQ, patience, and fundamentals to play PG effectively.) That said Reed did start in the rotation. He played up and down minutes for the entire first half and into the second half of the season. Amen Thompson is a 2nd year player, Tari Eason is essentially a 2nd year having been hurt most of last year, and both were mainstays in the rotation. That said the rosters are very different. We have more guys who need minutes and are 5+ seasons in. The balancing comes from playing vets fewer minutes and finding ways to win. We managed to lose a lot of games against the kind of teams that other high end western conference teams rested players against.
BlacJacMac wrote:winforlose wrote:
Gonna call apples to tomatoes on Shepard to Dilly. Sheppard is a natural SG playing behind Green (the player they are trying to unlock into their primary offensive threat,) whereas Dilly is a natural PG (or is going to be converted to one,) playing behind 37 year old Mike who started the season injured and out of shape, and DDV who clearly was not a PG (though he has handle he lacks BBIQ, patience, and fundamentals to play PG effectively.) That said Reed did start in the rotation. He played up and down minutes for the entire first half and into the second half of the season. Amen Thompson is a 2nd year player, Tari Eason is essentially a 2nd year having been hurt most of last year, and both were mainstays in the rotation. That said the rosters are very different. We have more guys who need minutes and are 5+ seasons in. The balancing comes from playing vets fewer minutes and finding ways to win. We managed to lose a lot of games against the kind of teams that other high end western conference teams rested players against.
Sheppard measured at just 6'1.75” without shoes on, weighed 181.6 pounds, and held a 6'3.25” wingspan.
He's mostly listed as a PG and that jives with his pre-draft profiles. He doesn't create for himself and he doesn't put pressure on the basket. He's going to have to be a knockdown 3pt shooter to be effective. His best path is probably as a combo guard.
minimus wrote:Neeva wrote:I wouldn’t be surprised if Connelly trades down? Nets currently have picks 20, 25 and 27.
As part of Randle sign-and-trade? It would be an ideal scenario for MIN: 17, 31 and Randle for 20, 25 and 27. Based on espn draft MIN could get following players:
Guards: Ben Saraf (23), Walter Clayton Jr (28)
Wings: Carter Bryant (20), Adou Thiero (26)
Bigs: Thomas Sorber (24), Yaxel Lendeborg (27), Rasheer Fleming (30), Asa Newell (21), Alex Condon (29)
Based on noceiling draft:
Guards: Nolan Traore (22), Jase Richardson (24)
Wings : Carter Bryant (23), Adou Thiero (30)
Bigs: Yaxel Lendeborg (34), Johni Broome (25) , Alex Condon (31)
In this case MIN would be able to address all three major needs: ballhandler, backup big wing and backup big. Let say TC drafts one of Saraf/Traore, one of Carter Bryant / Adou Thiero and one of Lendeborg / Broome
Traore draft and stash.
Gobert/Lendeborg/Miller
Reid/McDaniels/Minott
McDaniels/NAW/Thiero
Edwards/DDV/Clark
DDV/Dillingham/Conley
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/44569663/2025-nba-mock-draft-first-round-picks-predictions-march-madness-ncaa-mens-tournament-cooper-flagg
https://www.noceilingsnba.com/p/2025-nba-mock-draft-v5
winforlose wrote:guest81 wrote:Neeva wrote:
I don’t expect Finch to be the head coach next season or at least not after next season’s all star break..
Also wouldn’t put it past Connelly to trade Dillingham, TJ and Minott.
You still have a solid 8 man rotation for next year in stone. Plus you need to find room for guys like Dilly and tsj before you want to bring in more young players
Please elaborate on this. Who are the solid 8? What do you expect the roster changes to be?
Neeva wrote:I am starting to warm up to Essengue. He has some intriguing physical traits. I think Utah will draft another bust with the wolves pick. Wolves picks that belong to other teams are cursed.. Kuminga, Keyonte George.
tsherkin wrote:The important thing to take away here is that Klomp is wrong.
Esohny wrote:Why are you asking Klomp? "He's" actually a bot that posts random blurbs from a database.
Klomp wrote:I'm putting the tired in retired mod at the moment
tsherkin wrote:The important thing to take away here is that Klomp is wrong.
Esohny wrote:Why are you asking Klomp? "He's" actually a bot that posts random blurbs from a database.
Klomp wrote:I'm putting the tired in retired mod at the moment
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