The Official Jaden McDaniels Thread

[minimus]

I am listening last episode of Thinking Basketball podcast. They discuss “two-way” forwards in today's NBA:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1CRihMSBbJCAXqfKj3Lu59

The main thing for me is that while all eyes now on Rob/Shannon as replacement, I still believe that Jaden is our true X-factor. He has all tools to be an effective scorer and is already an elite defender.

[Klomp]

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[minimus]

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That's exactly what I have been expecting from McDaniels development: more pick-n-roll opportunities, more mid range opportunities going down hill, use his long arms and length to see passing lanes and pass over defense. He is almost seven footer with speed and agility of guard, he is a walking matchup.

Actually my biggest take is that new blood: TSJ and Rob will bring another dimension to our offense, at least within backup unit. Second unit finally can play fast, shoot and pass

[minimus]

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[Colbinii]

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I was expecting a leap for 2 years now, so I am becoming somewhat pessimistic that he will ever approach the offensive capabilities of a Paul George.

That said, Mikal Bridges sort of took a step as a 25/26 year old. I think that he has a lot of similarities to Jaden McDaniels, both physical profile, offensive skill-sets with their buttery strokes in the mid-range and from 3. I think we will continue to see little bumps and growth in offensive skill-set for Jaden [as we have the past 3 seasons] as he rounds out as a basketball player. I don't expect some big leap where everything clicks and he skyrockets up to an All-Star level offensive player in one off-season but rather he refines his skills and adds a bit here and a bit there.

[Klomp]

I was expecting a leap for 2 years now, so I am becoming somewhat pessimistic that he will ever approach the offensive capabilities of a Paul George.

That said, Mikal Bridges sort of took a step as a 25/26 year old. I think that he has a lot of similarities to Jaden McDaniels, both physical profile, offensive skill-sets with their buttery strokes in the mid-range and from 3. I think we will continue to see little bumps and growth in offensive skill-set for Jaden [as we have the past 3 seasons] as he rounds out as a basketball player. I don't expect some big leap where everything clicks and he skyrockets up to an All-Star level offensive player in one off-season but rather he refines his skills and adds a bit here and a bit there.

I think the lack of a leap so far has more to do with the starting lineup hierarchy, and also the pace last year's team played. I think a faster tempo should help Jaden more than maybe anyone on the team.

I think this is evidenced by the fact that if you go back and watch highlights from some of his biggest games, I'd guess that roughly 75% of his offensive highlights come with Naz Reid on the court in place of one of the starting bigs.

[KGdaBom]

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Nothing there.

[Colbinii]

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Nothing there.

It is my quote

[winforlose]

The next level of Jaden’s offense is being less streaky from the corners. He had a miserable month that tanked everyone’s opinion of him. Then he killed it in half of his playoff games (offensively.) Jaden being able to hit from the corners consistently changes everything for the Wolves with the starters on the floor. It makes driving lanes for Ant much cleaner and promotes Jaden to 2nd or 3rd option quite often.

From inside the arc Jaden needs to get better at finishing at the rim. His fade away is solid, but if he can finish better at the rim (especially developing a solid up and under and maybe a finger roll,) he could really punish switching and exploit his size and frame better.

Finally, Jaden needs to be more efficient with his dribble. He is able to attack off the dribble but his handle is not great and he cannot get to the rim as well as we would like. He often ends up in the mid range and relying on the fade away. Jaden being able to get to the rim and finish would change the way he is defended.

[minimus]

The next level of Jaden’s offense is being less streaky from the corners. He had a miserable month that tanked everyone’s opinion of him. Then he killed it in half of his playoff games (offensively.) Jaden being able to hit from the corners consistently changes everything for the Wolves with the starters on the floor. It makes driving lanes for Ant much cleaner and promotes Jaden to 2nd or 3rd option quite often.

From inside the arc Jaden needs to get better at finishing at the rim. His fade away is solid, but if he can finish better at the rim (especially developing a solid up and under and maybe a finger roll,) he could really punish switching and exploit his size and frame better.

Finally, Jaden needs to be more efficient with his dribble. He is able to attack off the dribble but his handle is not great and he cannot get to the rim as well as we would like. He often ends up in the mid range and relying on the fade away. Jaden being able to get to the rim and finish would change the way he is defended.

Sure, he needs to hit that open threes with league average accuracy. However, I think with his combination of size and skills he needs to cut more, to handle the ball more, get the ball more in DHO situations, in general touch the ball more. And more important, he needs to crash offensive board everytime opponent double Edwards or Towns on perimeter, i.e. when one of opponent big is pulled out of the paint.

I like Aaron Gordon transformation over the years: from athletic freak, blazing fast and powerful dunker, who showed some signs of playmaker, postup player, he truly developed into winning player next to Jokic: he brings the ball in DEN Elbow action:

Watch on YouTube

He finishes around rim

Watch on YouTube

He postups smaller opponents

Watch on YouTube

Can McDaniels become this third option in MIN next Towns and Edwards? I believe he has potential as facilitator, as postup player, and as versatile option to create offensive flow by using gravity of star players.

[winforlose]

The next level of Jaden’s offense is being less streaky from the corners. He had a miserable month that tanked everyone’s opinion of him. Then he killed it in half of his playoff games (offensively.) Jaden being able to hit from the corners consistently changes everything for the Wolves with the starters on the floor. It makes driving lanes for Ant much cleaner and promotes Jaden to 2nd or 3rd option quite often.

From inside the arc Jaden needs to get better at finishing at the rim. His fade away is solid, but if he can finish better at the rim (especially developing a solid up and under and maybe a finger roll,) he could really punish switching and exploit his size and frame better.

Finally, Jaden needs to be more efficient with his dribble. He is able to attack off the dribble but his handle is not great and he cannot get to the rim as well as we would like. He often ends up in the mid range and relying on the fade away. Jaden being able to get to the rim and finish would change the way he is defended.

Sure, he needs to hit that open threes with league average accuracy. However, I think with his combination of size and skills he needs to cut more, to handle the ball more, get the ball more in DHO situations, in general touch the ball more. And more important, he needs to crash offensive board everytime opponent double Edwards or Towns on perimeter, i.e. when one of opponent big is pulled out of the paint.

I like Aaron Gordon transformation over the years: from athletic freak, blazing fast and powerful dunker, who showed some signs of playmaker, postup player, he truly developed into winning player next to Jokic: he brings the ball in DEN Elbow action:

Watch on YouTube

He finishes around rim

Watch on YouTube

He postups smaller opponents

Watch on YouTube

Can McDaniels become this third option in MIN next Towns and Edwards? I believe he has potential as facilitator, as postup player, and as versatile option to create offensive flow by using gravity of star players.

Not 3s overall, open corner 3s. The discussion last season was whether Jaden is a non shooter or not. You cannot play 2 non shooters together, and Rudy is a non shooter. If Jaden is 40+% consistently when wide open from the corners, everything changes in opposing defense. If he is 45%+ when wide open from the corners our offense is top 5 in the league. Consistency is the key.

[minimus]

The next level of Jaden’s offense is being less streaky from the corners. He had a miserable month that tanked everyone’s opinion of him. Then he killed it in half of his playoff games (offensively.) Jaden being able to hit from the corners consistently changes everything for the Wolves with the starters on the floor. It makes driving lanes for Ant much cleaner and promotes Jaden to 2nd or 3rd option quite often.

From inside the arc Jaden needs to get better at finishing at the rim. His fade away is solid, but if he can finish better at the rim (especially developing a solid up and under and maybe a finger roll,) he could really punish switching and exploit his size and frame better.

Finally, Jaden needs to be more efficient with his dribble. He is able to attack off the dribble but his handle is not great and he cannot get to the rim as well as we would like. He often ends up in the mid range and relying on the fade away. Jaden being able to get to the rim and finish would change the way he is defended.

Sure, he needs to hit that open threes with league average accuracy. However, I think with his combination of size and skills he needs to cut more, to handle the ball more, get the ball more in DHO situations, in general touch the ball more. And more important, he needs to crash offensive board everytime opponent double Edwards or Towns on perimeter, i.e. when one of opponent big is pulled out of the paint.

I like Aaron Gordon transformation over the years: from athletic freak, blazing fast and powerful dunker, who showed some signs of playmaker, postup player, he truly developed into winning player next to Jokic: he brings the ball in DEN Elbow action:

Watch on YouTube

He finishes around rim

Watch on YouTube

He postups smaller opponents

Watch on YouTube

Can McDaniels become this third option in MIN next Towns and Edwards? I believe he has potential as facilitator, as postup player, and as versatile option to create offensive flow by using gravity of star players.

Not 3s overall, open corner 3s. The discussion last season was whether Jaden is a non shooter or not. You cannot play 2 non shooters together, and Rudy is a non shooter. If Jaden is 40+% consistently when wide open from the corners, everything changes in opposing defense. If he is 45%+ when wide open from the corners our offense is top 5 in the league. Consistency is the key.

I agree about that open threes. However, I think it is kind of consequence of current roster construction. In Aaron Gordon case in ORL he was often judged by his ability to hit open threes but in DEN it has not been his main responsibility, because DEN has MPJ and Murray next to Jokic. Last season MIN often had in rotation Anderson, McLaughlin, Milton which made McDaniels strictly a corner three point shooter. I just hope that this season with Ingles, TSJ and Dillingham our offense will finally run smoothly. I have heard multiple times that McDaniels is a barometer of our offense.

[winforlose]

Sure, he needs to hit that open threes with league average accuracy. However, I think with his combination of size and skills he needs to cut more, to handle the ball more, get the ball more in DHO situations, in general touch the ball more. And more important, he needs to crash offensive board everytime opponent double Edwards or Towns on perimeter, i.e. when one of opponent big is pulled out of the paint.

I like Aaron Gordon transformation over the years: from athletic freak, blazing fast and powerful dunker, who showed some signs of playmaker, postup player, he truly developed into winning player next to Jokic: he brings the ball in DEN Elbow action:

Watch on YouTube

He finishes around rim

Watch on YouTube

He postups smaller opponents

Watch on YouTube

Can McDaniels become this third option in MIN next Towns and Edwards? I believe he has potential as facilitator, as postup player, and as versatile option to create offensive flow by using gravity of star players.

Not 3s overall, open corner 3s. The discussion last season was whether Jaden is a non shooter or not. You cannot play 2 non shooters together, and Rudy is a non shooter. If Jaden is 40+% consistently when wide open from the corners, everything changes in opposing defense. If he is 45%+ when wide open from the corners our offense is top 5 in the league. Consistency is the key.

I agree about that open threes. However, I think it is kind of consequence of current roster construction. In Aaron Gordon case in ORL he was often judged by his ability to hit open threes but in DEN it has not been his main responsibility, because DEN has MPJ and Murray next to Jokic. Last season MIN often had in rotation Anderson, McLaughlin, Milton which made McDaniels strictly a corner three point shooter. I just hope that this season with Ingles, TSJ and Dillingham our offense will finally run smoothly. I have heard multiple times that McDaniels is a barometer of our offense.

When the starters are on the floor Jaden is left alone in the corners. When Jaden learns to punish this consistently, the way Ant and the paint are defended will change. Jaden is the key, but he needs to consistently hit the open corner 3 to unlock the offense for everyone else.

[minimus]

Not 3s overall, open corner 3s. The discussion last season was whether Jaden is a non shooter or not. You cannot play 2 non shooters together, and Rudy is a non shooter. If Jaden is 40+% consistently when wide open from the corners, everything changes in opposing defense. If he is 45%+ when wide open from the corners our offense is top 5 in the league. Consistency is the key.

I agree about that open threes. However, I think it is kind of consequence of current roster construction. In Aaron Gordon case in ORL he was often judged by his ability to hit open threes but in DEN it has not been his main responsibility, because DEN has MPJ and Murray next to Jokic. Last season MIN often had in rotation Anderson, McLaughlin, Milton which made McDaniels strictly a corner three point shooter. I just hope that this season with Ingles, TSJ and Dillingham our offense will finally run smoothly. I have heard multiple times that McDaniels is a barometer of our offense.

When the starters are on the floor Jaden is left alone in the corners. When Jaden learns to punish this consistently, the way Ant and the paint are defended will change. Jaden is the key, but he needs to consistently hit the open corner 3 to unlock the offense for everyone else.

In playoffs McDaniels was impactful even without consistent three point shot. Three point shot is important to his role, but not his only skill.

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[winforlose]

I agree about that open threes. However, I think it is kind of consequence of current roster construction. In Aaron Gordon case in ORL he was often judged by his ability to hit open threes but in DEN it has not been his main responsibility, because DEN has MPJ and Murray next to Jokic. Last season MIN often had in rotation Anderson, McLaughlin, Milton which made McDaniels strictly a corner three point shooter. I just hope that this season with Ingles, TSJ and Dillingham our offense will finally run smoothly. I have heard multiple times that McDaniels is a barometer of our offense.

When the starters are on the floor Jaden is left alone in the corners. When Jaden learns to punish this consistently, the way Ant and the paint are defended will change. Jaden is the key, but he needs to consistently hit the open corner 3 to unlock the offense for everyone else.

In playoffs McDaniels was impactful even without consistent three point shot. Three point shot is important to his role, but not his only skill.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

I agree, which is why in my original post I included 3 keys. But the most immediately helpful step is getting to 40-45% on wide open corner 3s. I know that sounds like a lot, but wide open has a specific meaning and that is all I am talking about.

[shrink]

Jaden’s older brother, Jalen, is about to bought out of his $4.7 mil contract. He was truly awful last year, FG 34%, 3P 17%.

It’s a bad time to think about it with 16 on the roster right now, but I always wondered if brothers on the same team would make each other better. A 10% better Jalen isn’t worth much, but a 10% better Jaden is worth a lot more than giving Jalen the 15th spot on a vet min contract.

[winforlose]

Jaden’s older brother, Jalen, is about to bought out of his $4.7 mil contract. He was truly awful last year, FG 34%, 3P 17%.

It’s a bad time to think about it with 16 on the roster right now, but I always wondered if brothers on the same team would make each other better. A 10% better Jalen isn’t worth much, but a 10% better Jaden is worth a lot more than giving Jalen the 15th spot on a vet min contract.

You would need to send out KBD and Dozier just to sign him. Then you would still have no backup C outside of Garza. Jalen might one day be a wolf, but I doubt that day is anytime soon.