Will KAT be wasted like KG and Love

[mplsfonz23]

Unless Wiggins really improves, doesn't look like we can add enough talent around KAT to make a serious push.
Feeling a little down about our future.
Thoughts?

[Calinks]

Wiggins' contract makes things difficult, not impossible, to improve the team. With that said, KAT is currently heading down that path. Its really on Glen Taylor to get he right people in place to get this tam moving forward. They need to start doing everything in their power now to get players around KAT. You cant wait a few years or you will lose him.

[MN7725]

Been obvious for awhile

Wolves only chance is to get an impact player in next year (summer until deadline) is trading multiple 1sts with Teague’s expiring as the salary matching. Dieng and Wiggins can’t be part of trade since they negate the picks.

I’m guessing Wolves won’t explore anything like that and just blame injuries

So next year will be fairly boring

[Worm Guts]

KAT is under contract for 5 more years, so we have time, but obviously precedent doesn’t give us a lot of reason for optimism.

[Klomp]

It comes down to drafting. A major reason Garnett and Love were wasted was because we couldn't complement them with other cheap, young pieces. We were off to a decent start with KG by giving him Marbury, but that didn't last. The Marbury trade and the Smith saga happened within a year of each other. Not saying it would've solved everything, but we would've added around a #22, #17, #23, #29 picks to help team depth. I also think the lack of picks contributed to the Ebi selection because we felt we needed to swing for the fences due to our lack of picks. None of the guys we really missed on were stars, but there were a bunch of solid players who could've provided more depth. That we finished as the 1 seed and in the WCF in 2004 is a borderline miracle considering what we had to work with.

The Love thing was 100% bad management. The coaching hire, the draft blunders, all of it.

I don't think we're close to either of these situations right now.

[shrink]

MIN is not a free agent destination, and rarely receives any discounts in free agency to get talent to come here. This hasn’t changed since the KG days, when we had to add a year of questionable salary to outbid other teams, leading to 5-6 year deals on even mediocre talent like Troy Hudson, Ryan Gomes, Trenton Hassell. Guys like this swallow up payroll, and don’t even provide neutral value in trade, so it hurts the trade window for players other than highly risky plays (injury prone Marc Blount, Ricky Davis, etc). This hurt the Garnett years.

MIN has also had a hard time keeping it’s contributors healthy, particularly as we approach playoffs. It’s hard to know whether this is systemic or bad luck, but this was a major factor that hurt us during the Kevin Love era. And again, this snowballs. injuries hurt trade value, and missing the playoff hurts whether you are a free agent draw.

So how does a team like MIN improve? It’s by two things. First, we need to leverage our cap space, being willing to take on bad money to get young talent. We hurt our chances there with Wiggins and Dieng. Second, it comes from making smart choices through the draft. We have done poorly in this area too, and/or we have done a poor job developing players besides KG, Love and Towns.

Having said that, there is some reason for optimism. Even bad contracts like Wiggins get better as they get closer to expiring - but most optimism comes from KAT. Towns is signed for five years after this one, and that’s a very long time. Most teams do not have a guy who could be a Top 3 player, three years from now. His improvement, and getting the team to the playoffs, will likewise improve our ability to draw free agents.

We are not a bad team - we are a mediocre team. We have the talent to reach the playoffs, even now. But our front office needs to get better. Better at drafting, better at development, and better with their use of our payroll. If they can do that, and build around Towns, we have a better future than many teams.

[mplsfonz23]

KAT is under contract for 5 more years, so we have time, but obviously precedent doesn’t give us a lot of reason for optimism.

Yeah but we are hamstrung with Wiggins for 4 of those years. If he (like Butler) decides Wigs is soft, then it could be hard trying to convince him to stay longer. Maybe we can grab somebody in the last year of his contract since Wigs will be off the books, but it might be too late by then. I'll just say, unless we get someone better than KAT, when he's done, so am I. Sorry.

[Worm Guts]

KAT is under contract for 5 more years, so we have time, but obviously precedent doesn’t give us a lot of reason for optimism.

Yeah but we are hamstrung with Wiggins for 4 of those years. If he (like Butler) decides Wigs is soft, then it could be hard trying to convince him to stay longer. Maybe we can grab somebody in the last year of his contract since Wigs will be off the books, but it might be too late by then. I'll just say, unless we get someone better than KAT, when he's done, so am I. Sorry.

We have to make good draft picks, or at least one great one.

[mplsfonz23]

KAT is under contract for 5 more years, so we have time, but obviously precedent doesn’t give us a lot of reason for optimism.

Yeah but we are hamstrung with Wiggins for 4 of those years. If he (like Butler) decides Wigs is soft, then it could be hard trying to convince him to stay longer. Maybe we can grab somebody in the last year of his contract since Wigs will be off the books, but it might be too late by then. I'll just say, unless we get someone better than KAT, when he's done, so am I. Sorry.

We have to make good draft picks, or at least one great one.

That's the problem. We are so far down the line in the lotto, that we have to get lucky. Another year of losing may get us a good player, but at the cost of KAT. I doubt we get rid of Wigs, so again, we need some luck big time. Hope Okogie and KBD turn into gems.

[Worm Guts]

Yeah but we are hamstrung with Wiggins for 4 of those years. If he (like Butler) decides Wigs is soft, then it could be hard trying to convince him to stay longer. Maybe we can grab somebody in the last year of his contract since Wigs will be off the books, but it might be too late by then. I'll just say, unless we get someone better than KAT, when he's done, so am I. Sorry.

We have to make good draft picks, or at least one great one.

That's the problem. We are so far down the line in the lotto, that we have to get lucky. Another year of losing may get us a good player, but at the cost of KAT. I doubt we get rid of Wigs, so again, we need some luck big time. Hope Okogie and KBD turn into gems.[/quote

As I've pointed before, teams don't seem to nearly as dependent on top picks as they have been. There are a lot of impact players drafted outside the top 5.

[Worm Guts]

Yeah but we are hamstrung with Wiggins for 4 of those years. If he (like Butler) decides Wigs is soft, then it could be hard trying to convince him to stay longer. Maybe we can grab somebody in the last year of his contract since Wigs will be off the books, but it might be too late by then. I'll just say, unless we get someone better than KAT, when he's done, so am I. Sorry.

We have to make good draft picks, or at least one great one.

That's the problem. We are so far down the line in the lotto, that we have to get lucky. Another year of losing may get us a good player, but at the cost of KAT. I doubt we get rid of Wigs, so again, we need some luck big time. Hope Okogie and KBD turn into gems.

As I've pointed before, teams don't seem to nearly as dependent on top picks as they have been. There are a lot of impact players drafted outside the top 5. Giannis, Kawhi, Jokic, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell. These players are available if you draft well.

[mplsfonz23]

We have to make good draft picks, or at least one great one.

That's the problem. We are so far down the line in the lotto, that we have to get lucky. Another year of losing may get us a good player, but at the cost of KAT. I doubt we get rid of Wigs, so again, we need some luck big time. Hope Okogie and KBD turn into gems.

As I've pointed before, teams don't seem to nearly as dependent on top picks as they have been. There are a lot of impact players drafted outside the top 5. Giannis, Kawhi, Jokic, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell. These players are available if you draft well.

Big if. I have hope, but very little faith.

[shrink]

As I've pointed before, teams don't seem to nearly as dependent on top picks as they have been. There are a lot of impact players drafted outside the top 5. Giannis, Kawhi, Jokic, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell. These players are available if you draft well.

Big if. I have hope, but very little faith.

I don’t blame you, but if you want some optimism, the system is built to reward teams with higher picks when they screw up. The draft is the NBA’s key to parity between teams, because in the nba moreso than in any sport, drafting one superstar can drastically affect your franchise’s fortunes. If you draft badly, you keep getting more high picks.

One other thing I should point out here is that nobody knows for certain which players will become stars, and which will be duds. Some of the responsibility for these guesses should fall on the front office, but also keep in mind that the players themselves have a responsibility to work hard and try to develop. A front office can’t always project the work within of an 18 year old who starts making millions.

This is why a shotgun approach, acquiring as many high picks as possible, is often the best way to find that talent. We all laud the Sixers for “the process” now, that gained him Embiid (#3) and Ben Simmons (#1), but remember, they also wasted valuable picks on Okafor (#3), Nerlens Noel (#6-trade), and Fultz (#1). If you get that many shots, you are bound to find talent somewhere, and the Sixers are certainly looking better than they did five years ago. I had been a fan of trading several Wolves earlier, even if all we could get was late picks, because more picks and a greater tank is probably more valuable than evaluating Saunders with a fuller team, including trade candidates Tyus, Rose, Teague, Taj.

[Calinks]

A great front office can turn this around. Wiggins is a major anchoring but that doesn't stop us dead in our tracks. We just need exceptional performance from the movers and shakers. We do have some good pieces now and Towns is a crown jewel. Its just vitally important that Glen gets the right people in place to navigate us.

If somehow this team next season can play like it did for the fist two weeks after the Butler trade, you are looking a 3-6th seed team.

[Jedzz]

Wiggins' contract makes things difficult, not impossible, to improve the team. With that said, KAT is currently heading down that path. Its really on Glen Taylor to get he right people in place to get this tam moving forward. They need to start doing everything in their power now to get players around KAT. You cant wait a few years or you will lose him.

I guess it is Up to Kat to decide who that will be. The team already put Butler, Rose, Taj, Teague around him and he forced Butler away. Might as well get his approval for anyone else they can afford on league minimum deals so he doesn't complain and play soft with players he doesn't like. His fault if we can't afford any good FAs.

[Jedzz]

A great front office can turn this around. Wiggins is a major anchoring but that doesn't stop us dead in our tracks. We just need exceptional performance from the movers and shakers. We do have some good pieces now and Towns is a crown jewel. Its just vitally important that Glen gets the right people in place to navigate us.

If somehow this team next season can play like it did for the fist two weeks after the Butler trade, you are looking a 3-6th seed team.

How can we get exceptional performances from anyone else when they are showing the current plan is to have everyone hand Kat the ball in the post for 40 pts a game? Instead of that happening organically we are forcing it because it looks like it works. But It just turns all other positions into someone feeding that 40 pts. Hard to then expect much of anyone else to have the shots to reach in to the 20s to support him. Especially with how these guys shoot. We'll continue to have 4 players in the low teens and Kat getting 40 on great nights and 22 on off shooting games. Barely reaching over 100 that way. Better increase the defensive effort again if this is the scheme on offense.

[Calinks]

A great front office can turn this around. Wiggins is a major anchoring but that doesn't stop us dead in our tracks. We just need exceptional performance from the movers and shakers. We do have some good pieces now and Towns is a crown jewel. Its just vitally important that Glen gets the right people in place to navigate us.

If somehow this team next season can play like it did for the fist two weeks after the Butler trade, you are looking a 3-6th seed team.

How can we get exceptional performances from anyone else when they are showing the current plan is to have everyone hand Kat the ball in the post for 40 pts a game? Instead of that happening organically we are forcing it because it looks like it works. But It just turns all other positions into someone feeding that 40 pts. Hard to then expect much of anyone else to have the shots to reach in to the 20s to support him. Especially with how these guys shoot. We'll continue to have 4 players in the low teens and Kat getting 40 on great nights and 22 on off shooting games. Barely reaching over 100 that way. Better increase the defensive effort again if this is the scheme on offense.

Have you seen the rosters we have been fielding? Team is feeding KAT out of necessity as much as anything else. The team doesn't have many reliable scorers. Will be a little different if Covington, Rose, and Teague were playing,

[Jedzz]

A great front office can turn this around. Wiggins is a major anchoring but that doesn't stop us dead in our tracks. We just need exceptional performance from the movers and shakers. We do have some good pieces now and Towns is a crown jewel. Its just vitally important that Glen gets the right people in place to navigate us.

If somehow this team next season can play like it did for the fist two weeks after the Butler trade, you are looking a 3-6th seed team.

How can we get exceptional performances from anyone else when they are showing the current plan is to have everyone hand Kat the ball in the post for 40 pts a game? Instead of that happening organically we are forcing it because it looks like it works. But It just turns all other positions into someone feeding that 40 pts. Hard to then expect much of anyone else to have the shots to reach in to the 20s to support him. Especially with how these guys shoot. We'll continue to have 4 players in the low teens and Kat getting 40 on great nights and 22 on off shooting games. Barely reaching over 100 that way. Better increase the defensive effort again if this is the scheme on offense.

Have you seen the rosters we have been fielding? Team is feeding KAT out of necessity as much as anything else. The team doesn't have many reliable scorers. Will be a little different if Covington, Rose, and Teague were playing,

When will that be exactly? Sure looks like Ryan is sitting Rose on purpose while he tanks allowing Towns to chase stats and get the young guys minutes. Didn't think he would blow all these games this way but it sure looks like it now. Teague and Covington have to be getting held out as well. It is what it is. Call it all what you want.

Teams can play good basketball even without multiple stars. They just can't play fools ball. Towns took a lot less shots tonight and the other players were able to get more involved tonight. Towns was much more efficient this way and others perform better.

[Worm Guts]

I don’t know, if a guy is shooting 60% from the field and 50% from the 3 point line, math would seem to dictate him getting too many shots isn’t the problem.

[Jedzz]

I don’t know, if a guy is shooting 60% from the field and 50% from the 3 point line, math would seem to dictate him getting too many shots isn’t the problem.

So in the Rockets game when he was shooting 36% FGs. We are suppose to forget about games like that? He played much more efficiently in this Warriors game, but he was much less involved. When he is shooting 3s and shooting them well, I really think they should ask him to shoot more of those. Take advantage when you can. But we're teaching everyone else to just force it in to him at the post and then just stand around and watch in case he kicks it out. That's been 3 of the last 4 games in nutshell. It's not exactly going to bring out the best in others, unless you have a real 3pt shooter that would thrive in that moment. We don't have any. Everyone Wolves have needs to be in the game more and warmed up before they hit any.