RealGM

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor says he has no trades working, but added, "We have a lot of draft choices; we've put ourselves in some pretty good positions" for the future.

I'm a little disappointed to hear this. I would have hoped we were discussing Kaman, or maybe Diop, and of course, I think with a 2-9 start, Mike Miller is a luxury.

I understand several of our pieces won't be available until December 15th because they signed new contracts (Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes, Telfair), and we're very committed to our lottery picks, but when your record is 2-9, I think you have to explore all avenues for improvement .. short term and long, and trading is one way to make changes.

I assume that the comment on draft choices doesn't mean he's just going to draft them all, since they've been pretty active trading first and second rounders.

there is no point in forcing a trade now. wait until this group gets some chemistry...lets be patient.

the only deals should be a minor one. something to clear the logjam at wing. ala either carney or mccants. with some of the picks and collins for a legit big.

Why am i not surprised shrink is disappointed we arent working any deals.

4ho5ive wrote:Why am i not surprised shrink is disappointed we arent working any deals.

LOL! Too true.

revprodeji wrote:there is no point in forcing a trade now. wait until this group gets some chemistry...lets be patient.

the only deals should be a minor one. something to clear the logjam at wing. ala either carney or mccants. with some of the picks and collins for a legit big.

I'd agree for all but a big center to pair with Al. We need to look at every potential opportunity to fill that hole, or acquire assets to do so in the future. If Kaman is in play, I hope we made the appropriate phone calls.

It may also be a bad time for us to trade, since our guys haven't done particularly well so far (lowering their trade value) and we may still not know the true value of our own players.

Kaman is a rare case because he might actually be on the block. In most cases teams do not move a starting big. Which I am ok with, I am advocating for a stop-gap vet that can help now, but does not mind the bench when Love is ready to start. a diop type perhaps.

Kaman would be a waste of Kevin Love and Diop isn't playing any better than Collins is right now, except he's a way worse contract. Plus don't forget about Pekovic, he's allegedly assured the Wolves he's coming over, so we're probably not going to gun for any long contracts in the frontcourt in the mean-time.

I'm not too gung-ho on Pekovic yet. I know he has good upside, strength, etc. but this is what DX said were his weaknesses:

• Big enough to play center?
• Average athleticism
• Fundamentals
• Range on shot
• Lateral quickness
• Defensive potential
• Average basketball IQ
• Half-court player
• Ball-handling skills
• Passing ability
• Will he ever come over?

Don't we alrady have two of those?

Besides, he looks like the kid from Malcolm in the Middle.

I think it's very unlikely we're looking at doing anything this early.

However, I'm not really sure if we're going to be doing anything at the trading deadline either. I could see us saying that there's no deal out there that helps us as much as saving money on McCants and Collins expirings.

but all of those would apply to Kaman too except for size questions, the difference being probably 5 - 7 million dollars annual, and Diop is no better than Collins (who I'm surprisingly pleased with)

they way I see it, the frontcourt defense isn't much of a problem recently, the bigger problem is getting a scorer on the perimeter, that's what's really hurting. If I'm looking at trades, I'm gonna try to get a SG that can score in bunches.

Couple things.

He was the clear pick with that spot. Some scouts had him in the 8-12 range for prospects. Most people think of him as a starting prospect, we are asking if he could be the 3rd big man.

He is 22 yrs old now. Hardly an old man. He is 6'11 243--plenty big for the 4/5 role we need.

As DX notes, there was controversy that Pekovic did not win the rising star award over Gallinari.

best case=Al Jefferson
Worst case=Rasho. (I can handle that)

Also, focus on his strengths
Strengths:

• Productivity at highest level outside NBA
• Top center in the Euroleague
• Strength
• Frame
• Wingspan
• Hands
• Ability to establish position inside
• Back to the basket scoring
• Finishing with either hand
• Supreme toughness
• Throws body around in paint
• Offensive rebounding
• Defensive rebounding
• Setting screens
• Rarely misses from close range
• Extremely efficient
• Mid-range jumper
• Doesn’t make mistakes
• Late bloomer
• Very little downside

Those are great tools. Plus, remember he is a late bloomer so he still has a learning curve. Many of his weaknesses are coachable. I think he is a steal for us. If Devil is right and he said he will play (*could you cite please) we will be blessed. My understanding is we might need to wait 3 seasons.

From the TO board, but how would you guys feel about Kapono and Hump for Mike Miller.
You do need versatile big men, which you would get in Humpheries (who is 9th is PER), he can shoot a mid range jumper and can grab a lot of boards, he's a hustle player.
Timberwolves have have lot of fast guards who can move and create, ideal for a spot shooter in Kapono.

We need Miller for his ability to move off the ball, drive, rebound.

seraphim1982 wrote:From the TO board, but how would you guys feel about Kapono and Hump for Mike Miller.
You do need versatile big men, which you would get in Humpheries (who is 9th is PER), he can shoot a mid range jumper and can grab a lot of boards, he's a hustle player.
Timberwolves have have lot of fast guards who can move and create, ideal for a spot shooter in Kapono.

We need Miller for his ability to move off the ball, drive, rebound.

Definitely not, partially because of contracts and partially because of talent.

Why would we ever want that deal? We do not need a versatile big man, we need a legit center. Hump is too similar to Gomes for us to even give him minutes.

We need Miller for his ability to move off the ball, drive and rebound. if you want him please give a better deal.

Me and rev agree, Yay!

I wasn't implying that Pekovic had no strengths - he clearly does. And he was a good pickup in the second round. But, his weaknesses are basically the same as Jefferson and Love. I just don't know if we need three similarly-sized post players with good offense and rebounding but questionable athleticism and defense. I'm just saying I wouldn't hold up a trade for a legit 7 ft center because Pekovic is coming over.

Agree. Any trade for the Wolves right now should be for a legit starting center or a veteran point guard to back up/play alongside Foye. I'm not ready to move Miller... I think this team should get older, not younger. Targets for me would be:

Tony Battie
Andy Varejao
Jeff Foster
Antonio Daniels
Earl Watson

You get the idea - young veterans or slightly older mentor types, like Sam Mitchell and Terry Porter were to KG back in the day.

McHale (like most) does not like too many young players ... I firmly believe we will make a deal before the deadline to get a decent veteran in maybe a 2-for-1 type scenario. Once we have come to a general conclusion on who will help us long-term, the wheels will be set in motion.

The key: Lets hope Fred is involved in the evaluation.

I think Pekovic has gotten bigger.

I don't recall the exact # but on his Euro team's page Pekovic was listed in the 258-265 range now.

hey guys , i think now that every team has an eye on 2010 you guys can really take advantage, and use cardinal and collins contracts to get players to fit your team , i feel with a core of al ,love and miller the wolves just might make some noise, good luck guys.

the Wolves announcing they're not working on any trades makes me wonder about something

we're on pace to have several first rounders coming up, but as of today we have 10 players under contract for next season, 8 of them are rotation players

knowing the guaranteed nature of a 1st round contract, the current team, the current economy, and the bottom line of the Wolves finances, I can't help but believe that if we have some late first rounders come draft time and the same roster, that we'll hear about how they didn't like the talent in that part of the draft and they'll end up selling the picks for future considerations ie nothing that helps the team on the court

so basically what I'm saying is "please don't sell any draft picks"