Klomp wrote:Crunch 99 wrote:A potential downside to the trade that hasn't been mentioned is that adding Yoda's veteran leadership to the Wolves might outweigh losing D'Russ' scoring capability, especially when Towns comes back. Wolves might win more games this season than they would have without the trade, worsening the Jazz pick.
Another question I have regarding "Yoda's" (love that nickname from JC btw) impact is how much did he have to do with Kessler's offensive development? I feel like you've seen maximum impact from Kessler so far, and I wonder if there could be some regression as a result of the trade.
I am not sure how much Conley had to do with Kessler's development. Maybe someone else has some stats on who has been assisting Kessler. In Kessler's big game last night, the other big men, Olynyk and Markkanen, frequently assisted Kessler. And for much of the season, Kessler was coming off the bench to play with other bench players.
I think Conley had a lot to do with Markkanen's development as a legit Q4 scorer in this league. Earlier in the season, Markkanen was barely getting the ball in Q4s. When Conley came back from injury, Conley made a concerted effort to find Markkanen in Q4s and Markkanen responded with efficient Q4 scoring, even with other teams loading up their defense to try to stop him.
In the post game interview last night, Sexton said Conley was the best veteran teammate he ever played with. He said Conley voluntarily spent lots of time coaching him up in between games.
I see Conley had an inauspicious debut with the Wolves last night, with as many turnovers as assists. That isn't like Conley. He is second in the league for starting PGs for assist to turnover ratio. It might take some time for the old guy to get comfortable in his new surroundings and find a rhythm, but he will likely get there. At his age though, he isn't your starting PGOTF.