Is it time to bench Kyle?

[winforlose]

After a full month of not attempting a single 3, Slo-Mo shot 3 ugly misses in a row. He proceeded to miss 3 more, then hit one with a foot on the line. I definitely appreciate the things Kyle does on defense, and I know he is a high IQ player. But his lack of outside shooting, inconsistent free throw shooting, and struggles in the paint have begun to make him a liability. He kills floor spacing, allows doubles against our best scorers, and cannot be trusted with the ball late clock (turnover pass to Naz as an example.) Is it time to bench him?

[twolves31]

After a full month of not attempting a single 3, Slo-Mo shot 3 ugly misses in a row. He proceeded to miss 3 more, then hit one with a foot on the line. I definitely appreciate the things Kyle does on defense, and I know he is a high IQ player. But his lack of outside shooting, inconsistent free throw shooting, and struggles in the paint have begun to make him a liability. He kills floor spacing, allows doubles against our best scorers, and cannot be trusted with the ball late clock (turnover pass to Naz as an example.) Is it time to bench him?

Kyle was one of the biggest reason we made the playoffs last season, with his defense and high ast/reb rates. It's not looking great so far this season, but he just needs to get his confidence back. He's always been pretty inconsistent from 3, last season 45% in November, 27% in December, 51.7% in January, 27% in February, 42.3% in March. He will go on a decent streak at some point this season, we just need him to improve the areas that he is struggling at. I have more confidence in Kyle turning it around then I do Shake at this point

[minimus]

Worth to note: he still is an emergency defender from bench when we need to put some length on opponent wing (for instance, he slowed down red hot Rozier in clutch). Also he still shares backup PG duties with struggling Milton. He has obvious weaknesses, but I wouldn't judge him based on three point shooting. He is a system player, and right now MIN is a winning system, even without McDaniels, Edwards and McLaughlin. Anderson is trying to replace McDaniels and McLaughlin, and no wonder he is exposed badly.

[KGdaBom]

I would say no if you mean by benching not playing him at all. We already have kind of benched him by not starting him when Jaden and Ant are both out.

[TimberKat]

I say when JMcD comes back, he will go to the bench and TBJ takes his minutes. So the front 9 would be Gobert, Towns, JMcD, Ant, Conley, Naz, NAW, TBJ, Milton (because we have no choice)
JMcL and KA when Conley needs a break and we needed someone to initiate the offense. Give KA sometime to recover. With all the injuries, we have no choice but to play KA. I don't think Moore, Minott, Miller or Garza is better than the current version of KA.

[Slim Tubby]

Kyle's value is far greater than shooting but we all know that already. His defense, ball handling and distribution are a big part of the glue that molds this roster. With that said, teams like MEM are going to leave him wide open and that will make it harder on the other four (4) guys on the court to get their shots.

[shrink]

Last season, we would never have even made the playoffs without Kyle Anderson, the “Greatest Free Agent in Wolves History.”

I am not convinced that even with his poor shooting, that our success this year would be sustainable without him. He functions sometimes as our back up PG, our biggest need, and he knows how to get the ball to Rudy. He busts other teams zones with his smart passing. His slow play and leadership helps when our young team gets stray voltage minutes, and he’s likely #3 in team leadership off the court too. His length, added to all the other long players (5 of our top 8 players are 6-9 or taller), makes us a match up nightmare - no other team has enough quality bench bigs to match up.

Having said all that, last year’s three point shooting was likely unsustainable, and that’s needed for a team with Gobert. Tim Connelly believes in continuity, so I doubt he will be traded, but it wouldn’t shock me if it happened. I think he’s the most likely of our top 8 to be traded, and he provides matching salary we don’t have elsewhere. He’s also expiring and we can’t afford to bring him back, so a trade often makes sense in those situations. However, this year is important too, and until we are all convinced that the team can succeed without him, I think he will stay on the rotation… maybe Troy Brown Jr just gets off the bench in front of him for a while.

[winforlose]

I hear you guys, and I don’t disagree necessarily. But I do wonder if his offensive woes are more serious than you guys are acknowledging. When he and Gobert share the floor we have two non shooters. This is a big deal. Also, Kyle’s turnovers are up because he doesn’t want to shoot and the other team knows it. Hack a Kyle can also work if he won’t make 2 of 2 consistently. I think he could lead from the bench and I wonder if Miller might be able to replace his length and defense. The ball handling is the big issue, and I don’t have a great answer for that.

[Worm Guts]

I hear you guys, and I don’t disagree necessarily. But I do wonder if his offensive woes are more serious than you guys are acknowledging. When he and Gobert share the floor we have two non shooters. This is a big deal. Also, Kyle’s turnovers are up because he doesn’t want to shoot and the other team knows it. Hack a Kyle can also work if he won’t make 2 of 2 consistently. I think he could lead from the bench and I wonder if Miller might be able to replace his length and defense. The ball handling is the big issue, and I don’t have a great answer for that.

It’s not a big deal if we’re winning. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
It does become an option when McDaniels comes back because of how well Brown has been playing, but there’s no reason to force it.

[Neeva]

I am good with trading him, he wasn’t needed much in last years playoffs and won’t likely be needed this year either with his non existent shooting. Wolves should get something for him now that could be more useful in a few playoff games and maybe cheaper for next season.

[kidfozzy]

Not at all, he will be needed when it comes to 2nd half defensive leadership once the Wolves hit a deep playoff run.

[frankenwolf]

I wonder if he is still getting used to the adjustment with his eyes. Going from not wearing glasses to wearing glasses and getting used to the depth perception might still be bothering him

[TimberKat]

I wonder if he is still getting used to the adjustment with his eyes. Going from not wearing glasses to wearing glasses and getting used to the depth perception might still be bothering him

Besides the eye issue, it seems to me his shooting motion is a little more awkward, especially, on 3s and FT. Is he taking shooting lessons from Gobert?

[winforlose]

I wonder if he is still getting used to the adjustment with his eyes. Going from not wearing glasses to wearing glasses and getting used to the depth perception might still be bothering him

Besides the eye issue, it seems to me his shooting motion is a little more awkward, especially, on 3s and FT. Is he taking shooting lessons from Gobert?

HEY, Rudy has made two non paint jumpers . Give him a couple years and he might even hit a 3 D). As for Kyle, he is giving JO flashbacks, except JO would actually hit them once in a while.