Mitch Creek signed to 10-day deal

[southern wolf]

Haha this is an interesting one for me. He's the first signing of the South East Melbourne team for the NBL next season (a team I'll be supporting), his contract has an NBA get out clause though, so I'm a bit torn!

Good to see another Aussie connection in Minnesota though, surely we're near the top of that list? Longley, Heal, Jawai and now Creek.

What a star studded list. We've probably had the most Aussies tied with the Spurs (Heal, Gaze, Mills, Baynes). Bucks have had three Aussies off the top of my head.

[minimus]

I'm actually surprised that Creek is only 6'6". He plays big, physical game. Also he is shooting form looks good, but he can't hit NBA 3s yet. I would be okay if we use him as 3rd string player next season.

[Rookie-Mistake]

I'm actually surprised that Creek is only 6'6". He plays big, physical game. Also he is shooting form looks good, but he can't hit NBA 3s yet. I would be okay if we use him as 3rd string player next season.

When Saunders was asked what CREEK brought to the team.. he said CULTURE.. if that's the case, give him a minimum deal for the season. We need more players that will give it their all and be a positive in the locker room.

[King Malta]

I'm actually surprised that Creek is only 6'6". He plays big, physical game. Also he is shooting form looks good, but he can't hit NBA 3s yet. I would be okay if we use him as 3rd string player next season.

When Saunders was asked what CREEK brought to the team.. he said CULTURE.. if that's the case, give him a minimum deal for the season. We need more players that will give it their all and be a positive in the locker room.

Nothing would sum up my fandom of the Timberwolves more than them stealing my local team's marquee player to sit him on the end of an NBA bench for cultural reasons.

[Klomp]

He'd be nothing more than a 3rd stringer at best, I think. Maybe he even gets one of the two-way deals next year. I'd bump Williams up to a vet minimum deal.

[GimmeDat]

I would encourage all you guys to have a listen to Mitch Creek on this show. He is a great athlete to listen to talk, he goes beyond the company line and really talks passionately/earnestly. He discusses his NBA journey to the Wolves, the discussions he had during his exit interview, etc.

I was so damn impressed with how he talked in this. The man is laser-focused, you could not design a player with better work ethic, attitude and leadership. As far as I'm concerned, he's a single-handed culture changer for any locker-room, as he's proved to be in all his prior professional teams, as well as in the Australian National Team.

I get it, on paper, he's probably a fringe NBA guy at best - undersized for his play-style/position, doesn't shoot the 3 effectively yet, no standout physical tools (leap, wingspan, etc.).. and honestly, I thought him going to the G-League to give the league a crack was a stretch for his capabilities, but over the last 12 months I'm honestly pretty confident he will carve out an NBA niche for himself, and I would not be surprised if he will turn out to be productive enough to make himself a legitimate NBA rotation player going forward.

Australian's in the NBA have a bit of a reputation for playing hard and playing smart, and I think Creek has this in even more spades than any of his Aussie counterparts in the league. I feel like he's one of those guys that, in spite of his age, he's going to continue to improve as a basketball player, and you'll just notice that he will give 110% hustle out on the court at all times.

I hope that doesn't make it sound like he's just a tryhard player either - the guy is talented. He was probably the best local player in the NBL before he moved to the Long Island Nets, and the NBL has been churning out NBA pieces lately like Torrey Craig and James Ennis. He's not going to score a load, but he's a swiss army knife type guy, and a 'winning' player. A bit like Ryan Arcidiacono is for us (Bulls) at the moment - Dunn has more 'potential' and can put up bigger lines, but all our best lineups included Arci because he plays the right way, fits in, super efficient, makes winning plays/plays hard on both ends, etc.

Anyway, give it a look, sounds like he really made an impression on the org. and they're going to have him back next season as a culture setter. I hope he can get an opportunity to play, he may not be anything at the NBA level, but all I would say is don't be surprised if he outdoes your expectations.

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[minimus]

I get it, on paper, he's probably a fringe NBA guy at best - undersized for his play-style/position, doesn't shoot the 3 effectively yet, no standout physical tools (leap, wingspan, etc.).. and honestly, I thought him going to the G-League to give the league a crack was a stretch for his capabilities, but over the last 12 months I'm honestly pretty confident he will carve out an NBA niche for himself, and I would not be surprised if he will turn out to be productive enough to make himself a legitimate NBA rotation player going forward.

Australian's in the NBA have a bit of a reputation for playing hard and playing smart, and I think Creek has this in even more spades than any of his Aussie counterparts in the league. I feel like he's one of those guys that, in spite of his age (26), he's going to continue to improve as a basketball player, and you'll just notice that he will give 110% hustle out on the court at all times.

Anyway, give it a look, sounds like he really made an impression on the org. and they're going to have him back next season as a culture setter. I hope he can get an opportunity to play, he may not be anything at the NBA level, but all I would say is don't be surprised if he outdoes your expectations.

Maybe he will work this summer and improve his shot, so he can hit that corner 3s at decent %? He could be our version of PJ Tucker.

[GimmeDat]

I get it, on paper, he's probably a fringe NBA guy at best - undersized for his play-style/position, doesn't shoot the 3 effectively yet, no standout physical tools (leap, wingspan, etc.).. and honestly, I thought him going to the G-League to give the league a crack was a stretch for his capabilities, but over the last 12 months I'm honestly pretty confident he will carve out an NBA niche for himself, and I would not be surprised if he will turn out to be productive enough to make himself a legitimate NBA rotation player going forward.

Australian's in the NBA have a bit of a reputation for playing hard and playing smart, and I think Creek has this in even more spades than any of his Aussie counterparts in the league. I feel like he's one of those guys that, in spite of his age (26), he's going to continue to improve as a basketball player, and you'll just notice that he will give 110% hustle out on the court at all times.

Anyway, give it a look, sounds like he really made an impression on the org. and they're going to have him back next season as a culture setter. I hope he can get an opportunity to play, he may not be anything at the NBA level, but all I would say is don't be surprised if he outdoes your expectations.

Maybe he will work this summer and improve his shot, so he can hit that corner 3s at decent %? He could be our version of PJ Tucker.

Idk what to make of his shot - the form is serviceable, just has never really figured it out. He's a 34% career 3 point shooter in the NBL. It says he shot 56% from 3 in 15-16, 46% in 16-17, then 32% in 17-18. Approximately 25 game sample for each season, doesn't say the volume of 3's though.

I think it's a shot he will be able to knock down if confident, when given, but I don't think he's going to get on a Tucker level, let's say, because that guy's quietly been able to turn himself in to a damn good corner shooter the last few years. Though it's worth noting that we're seeing more and more guys develop a reliable corner 3 later in there careers these days. I know for a fact that Creek will get the reps up on that shot as well, if he can't knock it down it won't be for a lack of trying.

What I would say though is that Creek's less of a 3/D guy, and more of a guy that will be an active cutter/driver on and off the ball, he's going to look to take it to the hoop, he's got a decent handle for driving to the rim, and he makes strong decisions with the ball in his hands. So I think his role will look a bit different than your standard role player. Maybe like an Igoudala-type archetype? *obviously not trying to draw a comparison, just stylistically).

[Jedzz]

PJ Tucker comparison? We'd be real lucky to find someone that plays at that level here often.