RealGM

Rockets fan here. Wolves have been my second favourite, but after a series of questionable moves I'm a little bit distraught about my primary team. Now that Minnesota has two of my favourite players in Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger, I can't help but consider jumping on board. What's the rotation going to be like over here?

(here's how I would do it)

PG - Rubio (34) Ridnour (14)
SG - Roy (24) Barea (12) Budinger (12)
SF - Batum (30) D.Williams (8) Budinger (10)
PF - Love (28) D.Williams (20)
C - Pekovic (36) Love (12)

Webster, W.Johnson, Ellington, and Darko are scrubs and shouldn't be in the rotation anymore IMO. However, I get the sneaking suspicion that one of two of those guys will get minutes, even though I feel like there are better players in the rotation.

With so many guys on the roster, and lots of young players, how is Adelman gonna keep everyone happy?

82 games is alot. We'll need everyone.

Batum likely won't be on the team.

..and Hummel will

Ah okay, I guess that means more time for Budinger, W. Johnson, and Derrick Williams. Chase is my favourite player but I will say that he should NOT be starting. Reason is because he isn't long/strong enough to guard most starting calibre SF's, but also isn't quick enough to guard a lot of opposing SG's. However, he can definitely guard 2nd-tier players just fine (guys like Matt Barnes, Jared Dudley, Courtney Lee etc.) so he's great to have as a scoring punch on the second unit.

Im loving the moves the Wolves have made this week - they gonna be in the Playoffs for sure!

Roy is a low risk move and Batum is just a great signing, even Budinger helps.

Remember though, Rubio will be out to start the season, I would go initially with:

PG - Ridnour - 28, Barea - 20
SG - Roy - 24, Budinger - 24
SF - Batum - 32, Williams - 16
PF - Love - 36, Williams - 12
C - Pekovic - 28, Darko - 20

Wes, Webster and Ellington as scrubs.

Then once Rubio is healthy, have:

PG - Rubio - 28, Barea - 20
SG - Roy - 24, Ridnour - 24
SF - Batum - 28, Budinger - 20
PF - Love - 20, Williams - 28
C - Pekovic - 28, Love - 16, Darko - 4

I think Portland is probably going to match Batum (or at least that's what most of the reports currently indicate). It looks like it's pretty likely we will get Steissma (or another backup big at a similar price), so I'm including Steissma. It's possible we sign somebody else or make another significant move before the start of the season, but the specifics for that sort of thing are basically impossible to predict, so here's my guess for the rotation with our current squad + Steissma (obv this is assuming everybody is healthy):

PG: Rubio (35) Ridnour backs up PG for 12-14 min (about 22 min total for Ridnour)
SG: Roy (28) Budinger backs up SG/SF (28-30 min total)... Ridnour also gets 8-10 min @ SG
SF: Williams (34) Mostly Budinger as backup, but Wes probably gets a few minutes
PF: Love (36) Williams plays a few of his minutes backing up PF
C: Pekovic (34) Steissma backs up C (+ rarely plays w Pek, depending on matchup) for 14-16 min total.

I see that as a basic, 8-9 man rotation... obv foul trouble, injuries, matchups, etc. will result in minutes here and there for other players. I'm pretty much guessing we unload Barea... however, if Barea is still on the team, he'll almost surely be part of the rotation (prob cutting into minutes for Ridnour and Budinger). Of course, if Roy gets injured or can't play more than spot minutes, Budinger/Barea/Ridnour may see much bigger roles.

Really excited about next season... if Roy can just average something like 14-4-3-1 and play solid d that would really help our team.

Kahn better be able to add another good wing player after Batum's offer is matched.

Ice32 wrote:Remember though, Rubio will be out to start the season

When can we expect him to be game ready?

It's too early to lock down a rotation, as I doubt we're done making moves, but if it's anything like last year you can assume:
*keep in mind that Rubio probably will ease back into the rotation because of the ACL...making my prediction not being accurate until after the all-star break....just give Ridnour and JJ the PG minutes when Rubio is gone. I think we're trying to get a SF, but if not Williams will probably slide into that SF of the future spot.

Rubio (35) - JJ (15) - Lee (0)
Roy (20) - Ridnour (20) - Ellington (8)
SF of the future (25) - Budinger (18) - Wes Johnson (5) Hummell (0)
Love (35) - Williams (10) - FA
Pek (25) - FA

Esohny wrote:Kahn better be able to add another good wing player after Batum's offer is matched.

I think he's obligated to offer Spanish goggles next. I'm pretty sure he's the only remaining wing with Portland ties. The good news is that after he balks at the opportunity to get stuck behind Roy againthe Wolves should be able to move on to actual solutions.

I expect Kahn will sign Shved, especially if the Batum deal falls through. He will be in town early next week to meet Kahn/Adelman, they can start signing guys at 11pm our time on Tuesday. Also, considering what Boston is doing, I expect Stiemsma will be here as well.

Assuming no Batum, and an Iggy - minus Wes, JJ and Derrick;
PG - Rubio (32) Ridnour (16) - Lee
SG - Roy (20) - Shved (28) - Wayne
SF - Iggy (32) - Budinger (16) - Hummel
PF - Love (36) - Tolliver (12) - Hill???
C - Pekovic (32) - Stiemsma (16)

If Rubio comes back quickly, and everyone stays healthy, this team will rock

All else equal would you guys do a Barea for J-Rich and then decline Webster?

Hope Budinger gets a lot of playing time in Minnesota! He's a huge upgrade over Webster, Ellington, Johnson etc. Looking forward to see him play. He does two things very well, dunking and 3-point shooting. Enjoy guys.

Very impressed by Kahn and the rest of the T'Wolves FO, if Portland doesn't match Batum you guys are gonna be scary!

Jajwanda wrote:All else equal would you guys do a Barea for J-Rich and then decline Webster?

I wouldn't. I'd try to trade for Redick if I was dealing with Orlando.

Can we quit playing PGs at SG?!

Rubio / Ridnour / Barea
Roy / Shved / Lee
Batum / Budinger / Johnson
Love / Tolliver / Hummel
Pekovic / Stiemsma

Rubio / Barea / Ridnour
Roy / Shved / Ridnour
Batum / Budinger / Shved / Bjelica
Love / Tolliver / Hummel
Pekovic / Stiemsma

I think Bjelica is coming over next season, not this season. At least that's what he told his waiter at dinner when he was in town last.