Lunch with Ronzone

[Mattya]

Hello guys, just wanted to share some things to take away from my Lunch with Tony Ronzone. About 20 people who are season ticket holders were at Hubert's for lunch on the Wolves bill. He stressed when asked what's up with Rubio, that he is definitely going to play with the Wolves. He also said he thinks Rubio is bored in Spain right now, and that's why he hasn't been playing as well. He said he thinks Rubio is Steve Nash/Kidd mix. He said that at the olympics a Kidd, Paul, and those guys were really impressed with Rubio and they were really trying to get himto turn the ball over. He even said he would text Rubio right there and then. Ronzone is VERY HIGH on Wes. He says that Wes was working out with Kobe this summer. He is really high on Beasley as well. There were lots of questions on Rubio, and the line ups last night. He is a very good talker. He also mentioned that the Wolves have inquired about Melo, but he wants to be in NY. He says Kobe is the hardest worker in the league. Melo is so talented that he doesn't work out as hard as some of the other upper echelon players. He called Chris Bosh a really good guy but soft. He is either really up front or a great salesman, but I might have been a bit of a pushover since they paid for my grilled chicken club which was really really good. He also thought we really missed Flynn and Martell last night and that the fouls against us last night were questionable. He knows the #33 red from last night and he is a good guy though. I might have missed something, and sorry if the spelling is bad, I'm doing this from my IPhone. Any questions just ask.

[Krapinsky]

Did he have anything to say about the Love-minutes controversy from last night?

Darko?

Pek?

[Mattya]

He brushed the Love minutes thing off a little, he said he really liked how Tolliver played. I mentioned how he was having some difficulties guarding Landry, and he thought some of the guys were really nervous about the home opener. He really only mention Pekovic as a real bruiser, but he thinks our greatest need is an athletic center. He thought Beasley needed to work on his shot selection, and stressed how young Beasley is. He mentioned how he truely thinks Wes is just gonna be a better player then Cousins. They thought with his history that he could have some problems in the league, mentioned how he has had weight problems as well.

[Devilzsidewalk]

he thinks our greatest need is an athletic center

roflwtf for several reasons

[Klomp]

he thinks our greatest need is an athletic center

roflwtf for several reasons

This has Greg Oden written all over it.

[laker]

he prob saw blake griffin play, and was like OH ****... i want one

[Mattya]

he thinks our greatest need is an athletic center

roflwtf for several reasons

Well he thinks Wes is going to be our go to guy at some point. So I understand his point if that's how highly he views Wes and Rubio, Beas and Love as our core group of guys.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I suppose, but I wonder if has the same opinions on Darko and Cousins as Kahn does

[Mattya]

Yea idk he could have been repeating the status qui, but he really emphasized how they did a lot of research on Cousins, and they really feel Wes is better. He even said he feels Wes has similar athleticism to Kobe, but I definatelty took that with a grain of salt as he was probably trying to hype us a little.

[Devilzsidewalk]

from a run jump standpoint probably more than Kobe, but Kobe has agility we'll never see from Wes

[Mattya]

I agree, flatout speed and jumping, but the lateral quickness is not there in comparison to Kobe.

[shrink]

he thinks our greatest need is an athletic center

roflwtf for several reasons

This has Greg Oden written all over it.

Seven points for Klomp!

I'm sure POR is already shredding all their medical files!

[Calinks]

Like I said before. I really think Kahn is going to make a huge push for Oden between 4-12 months from now.Kahn will get him at a pretty cheap price because Oden is a gigantic risk but if he can stay healthy, he would be a wonderful fit for our squad.

[Klomp]

Like I said before. I really think Kahn is going to make a huge push for Oden between 4-12 months from now.Kahn will get him at a pretty cheap price because Oden is a gigantic risk but if he can stay healthy, he would be a wonderful fit for our squad.

Exactly why I brought it up. What would it take to get him? Koufus/Brewer?

[Klomp]

Oceanary from over at Canis Hoopus had a very in-depth writeup on the lunch.
http://www.canishoopus.com/2010/10/29/1 ... ny-ronzone

It was immediately apparent that work ethic is huge for Ronzone...maybe even more so than for Rambis. I got the feeling that this was his major sticking point over Cousins. He feels Wes is a guy who will put in more than enough hard work and practice to get to the top, whereas he seemed to feel Cousins was a guy who would just put in the minimum necessary and try to make up the rest with sheer talent.

As an assistant with Team USA, Ronzone was very candid about the differences in how certain players approached the game. He noted...as most people have....that Kobe Bryant is a workout freak, and that Wade and LeBron are both hard workers as well. He noted the difference between those three, who would spend hours of extra time on the practice courts, versus others (I won't name names, since you never know what will happen in the future) who immediately started lounging after practice was over.

It seemed that that experience really helped to define his pre-draft process, and that he feels Wes falls into the Kobe category (although not at Kobe's level....I don't know if anyone is at Kobe's level), while Cousins is in...the other one. He noted that Wes, in fact, spent a good part of the summer working out with Kobe (I'm guessing that was at the ATTACK Athletic Center)

Obviously no one on the staff can get into specific names, but Ronzone was very enthusiastic about the fact that the Wolves are getting a lot of calls on our players this year. That's always a good sign. Someone did ask about Brewer, and he said Corey's market value is pretty good right now, which reinforces my belief that system defensive teams like the Celtics, Spurs and Magic are very much interested in Brewer.

He also spoke briefly about Jefferson, but didn't say anything we didn't already know: incompatible with the system. Most of the attendees seemed to understand that already though, so he didn't ever need to defend the team on that trade.

I then asked....since the highlights of the Heat/Sixers game was on TV....if the team was closely monitoring possible trades for players being "firesaled" from their teams. I noted in particular how Evan Turner was coming off the bench for the Sixers because his skillset isn't compatible with Andre Iguodala's. Ronzone said the team is keeping a very close watch for those kinds of opportunities. He feels that we stole Beasley from the Heat (which we really kind of did...), and that the team is looking to do the same again.

I'm not a believer in Andre Iguodala as a franchise guy, but a duo of him and Wes on the wings would be pretty damn spectacular.

Ronzone also said that Ager is staying on the roster for the forseeable future as insurance with Webster and Flynn both out. He also said we're in the hunt for an athletic center, which was somewhat of a relief to me and my concerns about Pekovic's fouling and Koufos' averageness.

[Krapinsky]

Like I said before. I really think Kahn is going to make a huge push for Oden between 4-12 months from now.Kahn will get him at a pretty cheap price because Oden is a gigantic risk but if he can stay healthy, he would be a wonderful fit for our squad.

Exactly why I brought it up. What would it take to get him? Koufus/Brewer?

You should definately try that one on the Blazers board

Oden will be a RFA next year. We can just pay him a lot.

[Esohny]

Like I said before. I really think Kahn is going to make a huge push for Oden between 4-12 months from now.Kahn will get him at a pretty cheap price because Oden is a gigantic risk but if he can stay healthy, he would be a wonderful fit for our squad.

Exactly why I brought it up. What would it take to get him? Koufus/Brewer?

You should definately try that one on the Blazers board

Oden will be a RFA next year. We can just pay him a lot.

Talk about risky. I think that somebody will end up paying Oden a hell of a lot of money due to the shortage of talented centers. That's certainly an opportunity for the front office to take a big chance.

[C.lupus]

I can already hear the "Kahn is an moron", "Kaaaaahhhnnn!", "LOL at Wolves medical staff", "Wolves don't deserve to be in the league" jokes if we sign Oden.

[Krapinsky]

Oden's new deal will be under the new CBA. One thing that will likely change is guaranteed money, so Oden likely won't be as big of a risk.

[revprodeji]

The Oceanary write up is very good.