Smith, Telfair Updates

[Klomp]

http://ww3.startribune.com/blogs/wolves ... h-telfair/

Craig Smith’s agent says he is still talking with the Wolves, but says his guy has “several offers” from other teams and hopes to have a deal in place one way or the other by Monday. If Smith accepts an offer from another team, the Wolves would have seven days from July 9, the first day players can officially sign with teams, to match the offer and let Smith go.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes on the New York Knicks and Sebastian Telfair. The Knicks have targeted Chicago point guard Chris Duhon, but could get serious about bringing Telfair, the Coney Island schoolboy star, back home to the big city. Miami also reportedly has some interest in Telfair, who is free to sign with any team since the Wolves did not make him a $3.5 million qualifying offer.

[4ho5ive]

Lets see just how much Telfair really wants to stay

[JPZx]

I really would like to keep Craig Smith because I think he has potential to be a pretty good off-the-bench player when his game develops a bit more. I don't understand why the Wolves would rather have Chris Richard over Smith, but whatever.

I really could care less about Telfair potentially going to a different team because I really dislike tihs guy. He can't shoot worth a damn and everyone knows it. If he wants to go to New York, all the power to him. It'd be funny to see him melt in the spotlight and finish off his basketball career where he started it. Good riddance.

[deeney0]

Why is NY looking for another PG?

[4ho5ive]

Looking for a D'antonio guy? Telfair would be a pretty good fit I think, until the city corrupts him back to his ways.

[deeney0]

Nah, D'Antoni needs a PG who can shoot threes. Duhon is a much better fit for that kind of system.

[4ho5ive]

Im not saying Telfair is the answer, but i think he is a better penetrator than Duhon, though I didnt watch much of Duhon last year. Id think if you surrounded Telfair with 3P shooters, they would be better off with the drive and kick.

[sabonis11]

I am not as big of a fan of Telfair as others on this board, but without a backup PG we are really put in a tough position. I know this sounds like beating a dead horse, but that Mario Chalmers trade ended up hurting us big time. Telfair has never really impressed me. Yes, he can occasionally get some penetration going, but he is such a poor finisher at the basket, he often doesn't draw that much attention because they practically dare him to finish it at the rim. His other obvious flaw is the lack of a consistent jumpshot. He has taken some heat from this in his first few years, but it has been slowly improving. With that said, I am not going to be furious if the knicks or heat give him 3/4 mil for 3/4 years, because frankly he is not worth that much yet.

I also do agree that Duhon fits that system much better, but Duhon is a hot commodity right now

[shrink]

Duhon's heading to NYK, meaning our chances of getting Telfair cheaply just increased.

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wireta ... th_knicks/

[Dewey]

Agree ... Telfair is likely going to return as a T'Wolf. I'm neutral on him as a player, but he does have familiarity with the system. If he'd get his act together, he'd find that he can garnish some valuable minutes at PG here compared to othe teams. He had tons of opportunity to mature last year, and though he has shown some improvement, it's still not enough to show other teams that he's a valid performer.

Telfair as is: will see limited minutes if Foye stays healthy. A Telfair that drives and does the dishes: will see increased minutes and Foye would play some SG. Sure it would be nice to see him shoot better from the floor, but really, we have shooters and need him to focus on finishing his drives to help set up more assists. Defensively, he's not a bad defender.

Smith: I don't see him getting a big raise anywhere, and that's mostly due to the fact his capability as a defender is really limited versus the current NBA style of play. He's proven he can score, however, so he's becoming a pretty one-dimensional player. Some team may need that, if not, he'll be back as well.

Snyder will find a home somewhere, but may not get the minutes he had here. Even so, Miller, Gomes, Brewer, and McCants are his direct competition if he was to return. We could us the energy off the bench, but since we're not a contender, I doubt he's satisified to accept that role here.

Gomes will likely be back once the markets sets his value. He likes Big Al and was really starting to come around put up some nice games the second half of the season.

[prefuse73]

I agree with Dewey on this one.

Telfair would be nice to get back simply for his familarity of Whitman "system" If foye is healthy however, would he be happy with only 12-18 minutes a game? He could play with Foye, but with Brewer, Gomes, Miller and McCants, I don't see any time there.

Likewise with Smith, the only minutes he would get are backing up Jefferson (a jefferson/smith combo should be avoided at all costs) while Collins backs up Love. In fact it makes more sense for us to have Collins play most of the minutes behind Love and Jefferson. I think Smith is prime candidate for a sign and trade.

Snyder...there is not time for him.

With Gomes, it is debatable that we have enough time for him as well. I see him as our insurance policy for brewer. He can play with Jefferson for stretches.

C Jefferson (28) - Collins (20)
PF Love (30) - Jefferson (7) - Gomes (11)
SF Miller (32) - Brewer (10) - Gomes (6)
SG Brewer (18) - McCants (30)
PG Foye (35) - Telfair (13)

[deeney0]

Damn, Duhon didn't deserve that kind of money. idk what the Knicks were thinking. Stop-gap to make it look like they're semi-trying for two years before making a run at LBJ/Wade? Maybe they hope he can become enough of an asset to move one of the larger contracts.

[NewWulf]

Damn, Duhon didn't deserve that kind of money. idk what the Knicks were thinking. Stop-gap to make it look like they're semi-trying for two years before making a run at LBJ/Wade? Maybe they hope he can become enough of an asset to move one of the larger contracts.

Don't expect much of the Knicks. They're idiots.

[Klomp]

Former Chicago Bulls point guard Chris Duhon has agreed to a sizable two-year deal with New York, which means you can cross the Knicks off the list of teams that might woo Wolves unrestricted free agent Sebastian Telfair. Expect negotiations for this next tier of free agents that includes Telfair, Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, etc., to bubble coming out of the holiday weekend into early next week now that some of the most desired free agents have struck deals.

http://ww3.startribune.com/blogs/wolves/

[the_bruce]

C Jefferson (28) - Collins (20)
PF Love (30) - Jefferson (7) - Gomes (11)
SF Miller (32) - Brewer (10) - Gomes (6)
SG Brewer (18) - McCants (30)
PG Foye (35) - Telfair (13)

[/quote]


I'd like to see the wolves retain Smith and Bassy as they seem to fit in better with the current lineup. If the FO wants a guy they should target a 2/3 or a 1/2 and/or a true 5 besides Collins. Maybe trade gomes for a guy who fell into the 2nd this year? CDR? Chalmers?

[Ojmayo]

C Jefferson (28) - Collins (20)
PF Love (30) - Jefferson (7) - Gomes (11)
SF Miller (32) - Brewer (10) - Gomes (6)
SG Brewer (18) - McCants (30)
PG Foye (35) - Telfair (13)

Very well put but I hope Jefferson gets some more time at the foward.

[dunkonu21]

D'Antonni signed another PG to a huge contract before out of no where and his name rhymes with brash.

[4ho5ive]

Swin Cash??

[shrink]

Is it Flash? I thought that was Riley.

[big3_8_19_21]

Fat Lever?