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Magic fan here, last year I was a big fan of Wes coming out of Syracuse but it seems like he had a pretty forgettable rookie season. I frequent your board as I am also a huge Rubio fan and have been watching that situation and I never see much about Wes other than trade ideas involving him. I'm curious as to your opinions on him? Is he going to be a good NBA player? What do you see from him in the future? Thanks guys!

MoGrAdY wrote:Magic fan here, last year I was a big fan of Wes coming out of Syracuse but it seems like he had a pretty forgettable rookie season. I frequent your board as I am also a huge Rubio fan and have been watching that situation and I never see much about Wes other than trade ideas involving him. I'm curious as to your opinions on him? Is he going to be a good NBA player? What do you see from him in the future? Thanks guys!

I think many believe that he was misused and would like to see if he can turn it around next year.

He showed flashes of excellent play at times, but also nights where he was ice-cold, or forcing up bad shots.

I think he will be a solid player in a few years, but fans are growing impatient, and if we can move him for a solid vet, I think many would do it.

Wes is like a lot players on the wolves in that im not sure how much of their issues are due to them, or due to a bad offensive scheme which doesn't fit their style of play. Further, on the wolves he is forced to play at SG (which I believe his size is ideal for), but until he develops a good handle, he should be SF. I keep seeing trades for Iggy with him involved and I would really like to keep him and package Beasley and see how Wes does with Rubio.

Our perimeter defense would be greatly improved with Rubio/Iggy/Wes

Thanks for the replies guys. I really think Wes would excel next to Rubio. Rubio needs athletes running with him, Wes on the other end of Rubio alley oops should be a common sight in Minny next year!

Part of me has already given up on him because I have never seen such a skilled player having so little impact on the court. I don't know if it's because of learning the offense, not being comfortable or just a lack of aggressiveness.
He has definitely been a big disappointment although you can see at times that he's a very good player. I wouldn't say no if we could ship him among other assets out for a vet like Iggy but I'm not necessary looking to move him.

MoGrAdY wrote:Thanks for the replies guys. I really think Wes would excel next to Rubio. Rubio needs athletes running with him, Wes on the other end of Rubio alley oops should be a common sight in Minny next year!

Most plays that end in alley oops start with a turnover caused by good defense on the other end. Sadly we'll be seeing many more "oops" than "alley oops".

Wes' game against Golden State and his game against the Lakers show to me that he has the potential to be a great two-way player, but he is so inconsistent like many rookies are.

I had really high hopes for Wes and was one of the few who wanted him over Cousins, but I (along with just about everyone) was underwelmed with his rookie year. With that said, he showed enough potential that I do not want to give up on him yet. In general, there seem to be 2 major concerns... one of which can be addressed, the other not so much:

1.) Many believe he is a natural SF who is playing out of position at SG. Although this may be the case right now, he has the physical ability to be a very good SG defensively because of his length and quickness and he's got a nice outside shot, but he really needs to develop better handles so he can do more than catch-and-shoot. I trust that this will improve this coming year, but as mentioned above, how much of this had to do with Rambis' system?

2.) He often disappeared and it seemed that he lacked any type of killer instinct. Whereas you can work on your skills to improve as a SG, one can't necessarily work on your drive to beat somebody's a$$. Hopefully working out with Kobe this offseason and being more confident in his second year will help him in this area, but if not, he's a back-up role player.

Showed flashes of being very, very good. Inconsistent, needs confidence. Very athletic and has a very pretty shot despite low %'s. I am very much in favor of getting someone like Iguodala to play in front of him so he can become a 6th man and learn.

He is going to be a good baller on the NBA level there is no question. What makes me happy is his quick feet on defense so he recovers fast, but the team defense doesn't make many ppl see that.

I believe he's being misused Just like Beasley (He is not a SF, hes a PF, him on the perimeter is hurting the team, but that's the coach's problem and Love is the star PF....) I hope to see whoever the coach is next season to put Wes into situations where he can take advantage of his insane athleticism (THIS TEAM MUST BE A RUN N' GUN TEAM!!)