Epic Thread: Darko Pekovic Jefferson Love

[cpfsf]

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_14785555

3/30: Kevin Love interview

"Obviously, I'd like to start; I don't necessarily like coming off the bench. But that's what coach (Kurt Rambis) wanted, with Ryan Hollins, a 7-footer, and (7-0) Darko (Milicic) in there. It has to do with matchups. Coach wanted spark off the bench. Hopefully, that will work for us.

"At some points, (not starting) is frustrating. But at this point of the season, only having 14 wins, we've just got to get past that. And hopefully, by next season, I'll be starting."

http://www.canishoopus.com/2010/3/28/1394435/new-kahn-worth-a-quick-read

3:28: This is from someone who heard this on a radio from a guy who attended a Khan chat session.

1. He's not looking to blow up the team this summer, but will if necessary and opportunities present themselves.

2. Kahn admits either he evaluated Jefferson wrong last summer, or Jefferson has regressed. He now looks at Big Al as a #3, and feels he now needs to bring in a #1 and a #2. I find this interesting because as PD has frequently mentioned, Big Al is paid a lot, and if Kahn now sees him as a #3, then he is now more expendable.

3. Kahn on Corey Brewer...(paraphrasing) - Those people who think Corey is a great defender aren't seeing what I am seeing. He then gave a little more detail that I can't remember. Several posters have been asking this question lately, I think Kahn just validated your concerns.

4. Kahn still likes Jonny Flynn...however, he is wondering if this is the right system for Flynn. Kahn then said if he moves Flynn, it's not because he doesn't think he can play, but that he needs to be in a different system. SNP...I heard that cheer!

5. Kahn still likes Love. He has some real gifts on the floor, but Kahn did mention he needs to get better finishing around the rim.

http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/03/27/wolves-plan-to-re-sign-milicic-this-summer/

3/27: Article on Darko Milicic (already posted here)

"This is a good thing for me here right now. I think me and Al (Jefferson) can work well together next season,'' he told FanHouse Friday. "I've always just wanted the chance to play, and play the right way. It looks like I can get that here. They trust me. If they are going to play me this much, and have any kind of goals to be a winning team, then I would like to come back.''

"We've told him, 'Don't judge us on what happened in your NBA past.' Make your decision based on us,'' Rambis said. "Do you like the system? Which he does. Do you like playing with these guys? And he does. He has to make that decision (if he wants to play in the NBA). I think he fits well with us.''

http://www.downtownjournal.com/index.php?&section=94&blog=800

3/25: David Kahn interview (already posted here)

Either positively or negatively, has the team made decisions on any players currently on the roster?

“I don’t think we’ll start thinking hard about what to do until after the lottery order is set, which isn’t until late May and we spend some time in Europe this spring, spending time with both Rubio and Pekovic. All these things will have to be factored into whatever decisions we make and I just don’t believe you should do things or form an opinion until you have all the facts in hand.”

With Rubio, we have a pretty good sense that he won’t be here next season. At this point, do you have any idea on Pekovic?

“I know that he’d like to come over next year. My sense is that he does. I’ve visited with him in person and he knows the next step now is for me to come over with Kurt in May and we’re going to spend some time watching him together and then we’ll figure out how to proceed.”

[Klomp]

[eToasT]

Nice thread, PLEASE BRING OVER RUBIO!!! then finally get lucky in the lottery and draft TURNER!!!!!

Rubio
Turner
Free agent?/Brewer
Jefferson or Love
Darko

[SSUBluesman]

If he seriously sees Jefferson as a #3 than I seriously question his ability as an evaluator. A #3 will provide needed skills other than scoring, whether it's energy, creating for others, defense, etc. Jefferson, as a pure post scorer, would be horribly miscast in this role. I also find his comments about Flynn puzzling seeing as how he was responsible for the selection and the selection of the coach whose system appears to be at odds with Flynn's abilities as a player.

I can't help but get the feeling that Kahn is a "tear it all down" kind of guy, or is at least leaning that way at this point.

[Calinks]

Well no **** Al has "regressed". I mean its quite obvious, that's not because he just randomly declined he's coming back from an injury. And I see a number three guy as more a supporting scorer and player that does the small things to help teams win. I think Al is more of a 2, an impact player that still needs that number one option to help maximize his strengths.

[GopherIt!]

If he seriously sees Jefferson as a #3 than I seriously question his ability as an evaluator. A #3 will provide needed skills other than scoring, whether it's energy, creating for others, defense, etc. Jefferson, as a pure post scorer, would be horribly miscast in this role. I also find his comments about Flynn puzzling seeing as how he was responsible for the selection and the selection of the coach whose system appears to be at odds with Flynn's abilities as a player.

I can't help but get the feeling that Kahn is a "tear it all down" kind of guy, or is at least leaning that way at this point.

If you know you want to have an uptempo team that uses some of the triangle offense, why do you pass on Curry and draft Flynn in the first place? Or trade Ty Lawson and sign Ramon Sessions?

My gut tells me if we resign Darko it will be a mistake. Let him go back to Siberia.

[Calinks]

I don't like how beholden we are to the triangle. It seems like a lot of work to go to that system and blow up the team again so we can find players. It's almost like we are pigeon held into it.

[GopherIt!]

[Klomp]

If you know you want to have an uptempo team that uses some of the triangle offense, why do you pass on Curry and draft Flynn in the first place? Or trade Ty Lawson and sign Ramon Sessions?

My gut tells me if we resign Darko it will be a mistake. Let him go back to Siberia.

1. We did not have Rambis at draft time, so the triangle talk is irrelevant.
2. Ty Lawson was not traded. We traded the #18 (or whatever it was). Denver picked Lawson. They called us and told us who they wanted in that slot.
3. We signed Sessions because we needed a backup with playing experience in case Flynn got injured.
4. Darko is from Serbia, not Siberia.

[GopherIt!]

1. We did not have Rambis at draft time, so the triangle talk is irrelevant.
2. Ty Lawson was not traded. We traded the #18 (or whatever it was). Denver picked Lawson. They called us and told us who they wanted in that slot.
3. We signed Sessions because we needed a backup with playing experience in case Flynn got injured.
4. Darko is from Serbia, not Siberia.

1. He is the GM, these are all his decisions. I would hope he had a fairly good idea about his vision for the team and the type of coach, players & system he wanted before the draft. Taylor wouldn't have given him the job if he didn't have some sense of a plan or vision. Especially since we just got rid of a guy notorious for shooting from the hip.
2/3. My point is that Lawson would have fit the system we seem to be going with. Plus, signing Sessions would not have been necessary if we kept Lawson.
4. I have insider knowledge from Citizen Bob and Lobishome that Darko once worked for the KGB and is in fact a Red.

[cpfsf]

Kahn has revealed that it is his intentions to sign Milicic and Pekovic. Everybody can't start or play 36 minutes per game, so somethings got to give. Hard to predict future offers, but I believe Kahn will trade Jefferson before he trades Love. That's something I would prefer myself. What makes it interesting is that Milicic said that he and Jefferson can play well together next season. I wonder if Jefferson's presence will have any influence on Milicic's decision this summer.

I've heard it from everyone here that you can't trade Love because he's so unique or 20/10 post players like Big Al don't grow on trees. You can spin it either way, but I think Pekovic would have a better chance of filling the void left by Jefferson than the void left by Love (range, offensive rebounding, passing). Furthermore, there's just something about Pekovic and Jefferson on the court together that scares me and I think one of the reasons is that neither of them are known for passing abilities and are considered by many to be black holes. I guess another reason is that both on the court just sounds redundant. Oh, and Kevin Love's still on his rookie contract. That's always helpful

[Worm Guts]

Kahn has never implied he intends to sign Pekovic. He said Pekovic intends to come over, which is different. He seems undecided as to whether Pekovic will play for the Wolves.

[C.lupus]

First thought: I'm not at all surprised Love isn't happy coming off the bench. I never thought that was a good idea long-term. Love needs to either start or get traded soon while his value is high.

Second thought: This is going to be a very interesting offseason. Honestly, I don't really see the fit with any of these four guys on an uptempo running team. Love and Darko have good passing skills but I don't see a Love/Darko frontcourt working together, either. IDK, I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see 3 of these four gone next year just because of fit, not for lack of talent.

(I got interrupted in mid-post so I think I had more that I was going to say but can't remember now. I'm sure it was going to be epic, too)

[jpatrick]

When I watch us play I want to cry. We have somehow become both a team that has limited length and is unathletic, not a good combo. Our wings have no ability to create their own shot and are very limited athletically, our bigs are unathletic and our PG play has been horrendous.

I don't know how to fix it. We do have quite a few assets but Kahn has to pick which to keep and which to move and honestly I'm a bit leery at this point. His background seems much more money man and less talent evaluator. We shall see.

And can someone/anyone please explain why we took Flynn over Curry if we were going triangle. I know Curry didn't come workout here and there were questions about his athletic ability and capabilities to play point, but doesn't he seem like the perfect triangle PG? Sigh.

Despite his injury problems I'd love to move Jefferson in some way for Bynum. Rambis has a connection with Bynum and he would be a nice fit with Jefferson...if he can stay healthy.

Sorry for the rant. At least this season we're so far behind the teams in front of us no one on this board is openly rooting for us to lose.

[Worm Guts]

And can someone/anyone please explain why we took Flynn over Curry if we were going triangle. I know Curry didn't come workout here and there were questions about his athletic ability and capabilities to play point, but doesn't he seem like the perfect triangle PG? Sigh.

The obvious answer would be we didn't know we were going triangle at the draft. That doesn't mean Kahn isn't accountable for making the wrong pick, but you can't draft for a system you don't have.

[cpfsf]

I could have sworn I read something in an earlier article about Pekovic, but maybe I just pretended I did. All I could find was more of the same, "we are exploring Pekovic's fit on the team and how he would fit with Rubio," fun fun fun.

Still, the possibility of signing Pekovic arguably makes Jefferson more expendable. You never can rule anything out, but I'm sticking with the guy who's still on his rookie contract,

[C.lupus]

And can someone/anyone please explain why we took Flynn over Curry if we were going triangle. I know Curry didn't come workout here and there were questions about his athletic ability and capabilities to play point, but doesn't he seem like the perfect triangle PG? Sigh.

The obvious answer would be we didn't know we were going triangle at the draft. That doesn't mean Kahn isn't accountable for making the wrong pick, but you can't draft for a system you don't have.

The other answer is that there were rumors of a trade involving Flynn that fell through.

[cpfsf]

And can someone/anyone please explain why we took Flynn over Curry if we were going triangle. I know Curry didn't come workout here and there were questions about his athletic ability and capabilities to play point, but doesn't he seem like the perfect triangle PG? Sigh.

The obvious answer would be we didn't know we were going triangle at the draft. That doesn't mean Kahn isn't accountable for making the wrong pick, but you can't draft for a system you don't have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJgC9LEBTuQ

Here is a summary of Kahn and the Rubio Pekovic situation described by College Humor.

[jpatrick]

And can someone/anyone please explain why we took Flynn over Curry if we were going triangle. I know Curry didn't come workout here and there were questions about his athletic ability and capabilities to play point, but doesn't he seem like the perfect triangle PG? Sigh.

The obvious answer would be we didn't know we were going triangle at the draft. That doesn't mean Kahn isn't accountable for making the wrong pick, but you can't draft for a system you don't have.

You are correct. For some reason I was thinking Rambis was hired pre-draft but that wasn't the case. Heck, Kahn wasn't hired that long before the draft if I remember correctly.

[john2jer]

Kahn was hired in mid-May. Draft was June 24th. Rambis was hired in early August.