Al vs. Nik

[NewWolvesOrder]

OK let's talk Jefferson vs Pekovic. I know some people on this board think that Pek can be that 3rd big next to Al and Kevin(our best player). But for me it's Al vs Nikola, there's only place for one of those 2 players, because there must be place for a defensive minded center on this team to be successful. Pekovic is too good of a player to be strictly Al's backup, and he will not agree to it plus he will be payed to much $$$ if he agrees to a contract with the wolves. Playing them togather on the court offensively is counter-productive, they share same strengthes and are used to be the main option on the low block, defensively the same weaknesses, both guys not known for their defense.

So what would you rather do? Keep rolling with Al, trade Pek for something(let's say non lottery pick), find defensive big somewhere.
Or bring over Pekovic, trade Big Al for a wing or good draft pick.

If we he can swap Al for a guy like Iggy and draft Aldrich or get a pick for Al and draft Turner and Aldrich I would choose Pekovic. For me he has some advantages over Al:
1) Pek doesn't have injury issues of Al, no major knee surgery yet.
2)Money. Al is signed to a pretty big contract, despite some people considering it to be a bargain it may not be such a bargain with nba contact potentially going down. Pekovic could be a much cheaper alternative to Al, I think it will take MLE or slightly over to bring him over.
3)Fit. Kevin Love is just a better baskekball player than Al Jefferson, plain and simple. When he plays good things happen. It will take a good contract to retain him past his rookie deal and he better be a starter for this team and he better have A GOOD DEFENSIVE CENTER playing by his side for the wolves to be a successful team. and that leaves Al as a good offensive spark big man of the bench, but he he's too good for this role, I don't think his ego will let him accept it and he makes too much money to justify it and has too much trade value. Nikola Pekovic on the other hand fit this role like a glove, he's used to it playing for his team in Greece and was very dominating in this role, and can be a rich man's Craig Smith for the wolves.

So, I'd like to hear some opinions of the posters who have some knowledge on this subject, complete analysis would be appreciated, please don't give one liners like: " Keep Al" or Pekovik sucks",

[Foye]

Without having read your entire post I can tell you I have a feeling that Pekovic will never come over. He makes much money in Greece, probably close to what he can get when he has proven himself in the nba.

As long as Al Jefferson is on this team Pekovic's rights will be traded or he won't come over. IF Al Jefferson is ever moved we might have a chance to sign Pekovic as a replacement for the MLE but I wouldn't bank on that because European owners can throw more money on him than we could due to the salary cap...

Having said all that I think it is very questionable if he ever becomes a Timberwolf.

[NewWolvesOrder]

Without having read your entire post I can tell you I have a feeling that Pekovic will never come over. He makes much money in Greece, probably close to what he can get when he has proven himself in the nba.

As long as Al Jefferson is on this team Pekovic's rights will be traded or he won't come over. IF Al Jefferson is ever moved we might have a chance to sign Pekovic as a replacement for the MLE but I wouldn't bank on that because European owners can throw more money on him than we could due to the salary cap...

Having said all that I think it is very questionable if he ever becomes a Timberwolf.

I think you're overestimating the resources of european owners, they're not really making money on their teams, they spend on their teams the money they make somewhere plus sponsors also throw in some money, but those sponsors and owners were hit heavily by economy going down( see Abramovitch and many others) and it's not a given they will continue to spend handsomely on their toys/teams.

[shrink]

Rev got a great description of Pekovic on a thread he started on the International board. Its very much worth a read.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=954228

A couple notes:

Reportedly [there are no official numbers in Europe but depending where a number shows up you could consider it as semi-official, some newspapers/sites have inside knowledge] 4 million € net in 3 years, expires 2011. Should be pretty reliable. NBA opt outs after 08/09 and 09/10, as you know.

That's about $5.7 mil. The MLE next year will be about $5.

I don't see him coming over for sure. It will be a difficult decision for him. We must aknowledge that both Serbian basketball and Panathinaikos have great tradition, and Pekovic is playing there for a coaching legend that everyone has huge respect for. At the same time, he already led a young Partizan side to the Euroleague quarter finals, and he won the Euroleague the following year. So he has already won everything.

He's definitely not a player who will tell everyone who's not on a tree on the count of three, that he wants to be an NBA player - as opposed to Rudy and Ricky for example, or Belinelli, or Enes Kanter, a star on the European youth level. As explained, considering his background and who he currently plays for, it's safe to say that it won't be that easy to bring him over next summer.

OK, let's start with two assumptions that we don't know are true:

1. that we are 100% sure that he's coming over
2. he'll be on a contract starting around $5 mil
3. we feel we need to move either Pekovic or Al

Al Jefferson is a proven 23-11 guy, and with respect to Dwight Howard, arguably the best low post scorer in the game. Lots of players have potential, but Al's done it, and he's done it for three straight years. However, while Al disobeyed his agent and signed a contract under market value to play in MIN, its still an expensive contract.

If you recall, Hollinger said that if Pekovic would have started the NBA right after the draft, he had him as #3 on his 2008 Draft board. If he had Rose and Beasley as his top 2, that means Pekovic was ahead of Mayo, Love, Brook Lopez, Westbrook, Gordon, Gallinari, etc. Since going to Europe, I think Pekovic has done nothing but improve since then. The acquisition of the MIA 2nd may prove to be one of McHale's best trades. Either way, we'd add a defensive center/shot blocker, and have a very strong front court.

Anyway, I believe that Al Jefferson would have tremendous trade value -- far more than Pekovic. Going forward Al Jeff + "what we could get for Pek" >> Pekovic + "what we could get for Al" + another player with the cap space? Is it worth that risk, trading your reliable, #1 option? Tough call. I wouldn't make it until I was comfortable with all three assumptions, and I'm not there yet.

[lobishome]

Jefferson vs Pekovic? How you can compare Jefferson and Pekovic? Have you ever seen Pekovic play?

jefferson > Pekovic x 3

[Calinks]

I really doubt Pekovic can Bring what Big Al does on the offensive end. I don't even know if Kevin Love will ever reach Big Al level of offensive potency. When Al is 100% he is damn hard to stop and consistently scores big. I'd def stick with Al, I think his offensive game can help Love be an even better player because teams have to double Al, they can't get away with leaving him one on one ever.

Right now I see Love as more of a KG type player. He's awesome and he does nearly all of the little things that really help a team but I don't know if he will ever be that number one go to guy on the offensive end. Big Al is one of those guys who can score almost at will. If the wolves get another player who is a guard who can do that, their core is set.

On top of that Al is still only 24 or so years old. As long as he is healthy he will be at this level or better for a good 6-10 years. Unless some type of issue arises or a cant miss deal comes along, I think these two should stick together for the foreseeable future.

[NewWolvesOrder]

I really doubt Pekovic can Bring what Big Al does on the offensive end. I don't even know if Kevin Love will ever reach Big Al level of offensive potency. When Al is 100% he is damn hard to stop and consistently scores big. I'd def stick with Al, I think his offensive game can help Love be an even better player because teams have to double Al, they can't get away with leaving him one on one ever.

Right now I see Love as more of a KG type player. He's awesome and he does nearly all of the little things that really help a team but I don't know if he will ever be that number one go to guy on the offensive end. Big Al is one of those guys who can score almost at will. If the wolves get another player who is a guard who can do that, their core is set.

On top of that Al is still only 24 or so years old. As long as he is healthy he will be at this level or better for a good 6-10 years. Unless some type of issue arises or a cant miss deal comes along, I think these two should stick together for the foreseeable future.

I disagree on Love and Al account. Love just starting to turn his offensive game, he will be able to 18-20 pts per game along with unselfish play that makes his teammates better, he's not a #1 option but neither is Big Al, if you planning around him as your 1st option you will fail, this 1st option should play on the wing and we don't have this player yet.

[NewWolvesOrder]

Jefferson vs Pekovic? How you can compare Jefferson and Pekovic? Have you ever seen Pekovic play?

jefferson > Pekovic x 3

I've seen Pek play, and Jefferson is better but he's not 3 times the player that Pekovis is.

[Devilzsidewalk]

If Al and Love are both going to start I dont think it matters that much if the 3rd big man is a defensive player or not, he's not going to steal a lot of minutes unless he can do other things, so I don't think we have to choose. I like that all 3 of Al/Love/Pek should be able to play both frontcourt spots.

I don't think Kahn feels that way though, the Hollins contract would seem to indicate otherwise.

[dunkonu21]

Good post devilz. I think if we're gonna roll with Al and Love long-term (and there is no reason to think we aren't). It really doesn't matter who is the third big man either.

[NewWolvesOrder]

Good post devilz. I think if we're gonna roll with Al and Love long-term (and there is no reason to think we aren't). It really doesn't matter who is the third big man either.

I think that's a mistake, see Utah Jazz, good team, top notch pg, similar frontcourt situation: good on offense but never going to get it done defensively that's why they are bound to underarchieve. Same will happen here if Kahn will not take care of the defensive side of the game.

[Calinks]

I really doubt Pekovic can Bring what Big Al does on the offensive end. I don't even know if Kevin Love will ever reach Big Al level of offensive potency. When Al is 100% he is damn hard to stop and consistently scores big. I'd def stick with Al, I think his offensive game can help Love be an even better player because teams have to double Al, they can't get away with leaving him one on one ever.

Right now I see Love as more of a KG type player. He's awesome and he does nearly all of the little things that really help a team but I don't know if he will ever be that number one go to guy on the offensive end. Big Al is one of those guys who can score almost at will. If the wolves get another player who is a guard who can do that, their core is set.

On top of that Al is still only 24 or so years old. As long as he is healthy he will be at this level or better for a good 6-10 years. Unless some type of issue arises or a cant miss deal comes along, I think these two should stick together for the foreseeable future.

I disagree on Love and Al account. Love just starting to turn his offensive game, he will be able to 18-20 pts per game along with unselfish play that makes his teammates better, he's not a #1 option but neither is Big Al, if you planning around him as your 1st option you will fail, this 1st option should play on the wing and we don't have this player yet.

I think Love will be a 20 PPG player but I don't think he will have many nights where he goes off for 35 or 40. I don't know if Love will ever be the kind of guy that can go out and say, I need to get 40 points for us tonight to win. I agree that that player should be wing but right now we don't have that. I think Al can be that guy from the bigman position. Love may be the guy who is the best player but I could see him being the third best scorer.

Number 1 has to be wing that can slash and get to the line, hit jumpers. The NBA is a guards game after all. Al can be that number two guy, when he is at his best his nearly unstoppable. Love has made huge strides offensively and he will be able to score at will and bring those garbage points. I see him as a number two or three option.

I don't know where Pekoviv would fit in in all of this. I do know where Al can fit in and I think its best to go forward with him and Love rather than trade him away and take a gamble on Pek.

[NewWolvesOrder]

I really doubt Pekovic can Bring what Big Al does on the offensive end. I don't even know if Kevin Love will ever reach Big Al level of offensive potency. When Al is 100% he is damn hard to stop and consistently scores big. I'd def stick with Al, I think his offensive game can help Love be an even better player because teams have to double Al, they can't get away with leaving him one on one ever.

Right now I see Love as more of a KG type player. He's awesome and he does nearly all of the little things that really help a team but I don't know if he will ever be that number one go to guy on the offensive end. Big Al is one of those guys who can score almost at will. If the wolves get another player who is a guard who can do that, their core is set.

On top of that Al is still only 24 or so years old. As long as he is healthy he will be at this level or better for a good 6-10 years. Unless some type of issue arises or a cant miss deal comes along, I think these two should stick together for the foreseeable future.

I disagree on Love and Al account. Love just starting to turn his offensive game, he will be able to 18-20 pts per game along with unselfish play that makes his teammates better, he's not a #1 option but neither is Big Al, if you planning around him as your 1st option you will fail, this 1st option should play on the wing and we don't have this player yet.

I think Love will be a 20 PPG player but I don't think he will have many nights where he goes off for 35 or 40. I don't know if Love will ever be the kind of guy that can go out and say, I need to get 40 points for us tonight to win. I agree that that player should be wing but right now we don't have that. I think Al can be that guy from the bigman position. Love may be the guy who is the best player but I could see him being the third best scorer.

Number 1 has to be wing that can slash and get to the line, hit jumpers. The NBA is a guards game after all. Al can be that number two guy, when he is at his best his nearly unstoppable. Love has made huge strides offensively and he will be able to score at will and bring those garbage points. I see him as a number two or three option.

I don't know where Pekoviv would fit in in all of this. I do know where Al can fit in and I think its best to go forward with him and Love rather than trade him away and take a gamble on Pek.

First of all, Al didn't record to many of those 40 pt nights in his careerm IIRC he had 1 or 2 only, so I don't really see where you're coning from, for Al to score 40 pts he needs to be on fire and really hog the ball, Love score his pts without hogging the ball, if player A is a better scorer that player B it doesn't mean that player A is better that player B ( even on offense, not just all around).

Second, I don't think Al will be just traded away, he can be traded for another good player, it's not like he's being waived and Pekovic signed instead of him.

[Calinks]

I'm not saying that Al is the better player. I am saying that I think that when its all said and done, Al may very well be the better scorer. There is a difference.

Also, Al has not had dozens of 40 point games but what he has done is show that he is capable of having those games. There will be fewer times where the team may need him to score 40 but there may be regular intervals where he will have to get 30 or 35.

Also, Al Jefferson is still growing. He's still considered a young player. At 24 years old he probably 3 years away from his prime. With added offensive support from players like Kevin Love and great scoring wing, Al's load will be far lessened. You take away all the double and triple teams, you add better position and a craftier player and its not a stretch to say that scoring can become much easier for Al Jefferson.

The big advantage Al Jefferson has over so many other players in the league is his post game. Simply put, very few players in this current era have it on his level. A great post player is extremely hard to stop. Any player that is hard to stop makes life a lot more difficult for other teams and having a player like that, especially in the post, is rare and valuable.

I don't know if Pekovic is capable of bringing that to the table. I don't know what kind of chemistry he will have with Kevin Love. I don't know how well they will play off of each other. Right now I have an indication of how life may be with Big Al and Love playing together and I like it, I think its solid. Each guy brings things the other doesn't They compliment each other offensively. Unless you are bringing back a superstar in place of Big Al, I don't feel the need to actively shop him right now and opt for Pekovic.

[Slum_Dillinger]

I don't know if Pekovic is capable of bringing that to the table. I don't know what kind of chemistry he will have with Kevin Love. I don't know how well they will play off of each other. Right now I have an indication of how life may be with Big Al and Love playing together and I like it, I think its solid. Each guy brings things the other doesn't They compliment each other offensively. Unless you are bringing back a superstar in place of Big Al, I don't feel the need to actively shop him right now and opt for Pekovic.

This is how i see it. We have a young, really good, potential all star caliber big man that can score and grab boards with the best of them, who is still getting better and fits with Love and with what Kahn seems to be building. In Pek we have a virtual unknown. We know what he might do, and what he has done overseas is impressive but we wont know if he is gonna translate his game, if he and Love will fit together. Why sell what you already have for something you might not?

I say keep all 3 unless Pek can be thrown in a package to get us that "star". Once he's here we will know if he fits in or if we want him to up his value to deal him.

[deeney0]

Just forget about Pekovic. If he comes over, it will be a pleasant surprise. If he doesn't - well, you forgot about him, who cares?

[the_bruce]

The dilema here is that Khan has stated he wants to add length and athleticism to the front court to compliment Al & Love. This is why they picked up Hollins as a FA, Hollins is a test run at adding this type of player and I assume they'll go after that type of player with the CHA pick assuming they get turner or wall with the MN first. Otherwise it's Aldrich or Favors.

I'm fairly confident the wolves could get a good lotto pick for him if he was coming over "for sure". The problem is in this draft I don't see a player I'd want on this team after turner or wall.

For me there's no reason to trade Al ever. All the trades I would say yes to would never happen.

[revprodeji]

I have been one of the bigger supporters of Pek on this board. Let me highlight a couple things that Pek does better

1.) Pek is a far, far better position defender and pick/roll defender than Al. He has been better coached in this area. He has had the advantages of learning behind one of the best coaches in the world.

2.) His offense is often within the flow of the offense. He does not go one on one as Al does. If we want the offense in Al and Rubio's hands then Pek might be the better fit.

3.) He will get to the foul line more often then Al does. It is a style of play thing.

4.) He is bigger than Al.

Where is Al better?

1.) Much better post player going one on one. This is a gift and I think we take it for granted

2.) Pek is a good/avg rebounder--Al is an incredible rebounder.

3.) Al is more athletic and his shot blocking reflects this.

4.) Al likes Minnesota and is here now. Freddy is convinced pek is coming over this year, but why would he leave a great team, great coach in europe?


I would need a verbal commitment from Pek that he is coming over. Then I would look at what you can get for Al or Pek. Al is the better talent, but Pek fits with what we want to do and his defensive IQ would help a ton. He will not be the 3rd wheel. He needs to start.

[Worm Guts]

Freddy is convinced pek is coming over this year, but why would he leave a great team, great coach in europe?

To play in the best league in the world.

I would need a verbal commitment from Pek that he is coming over. Then I would look at what you can get for Al or Pek. Al is the better talent, but Pek fits with what we want to do and his defensive IQ would help a ton. He will not be the 3rd wheel. He needs to start.

If he's going to make that kind of demand, he'll never come over. He'll have a chance to play 20+ minutes a game if he comes over. That seems fair to me. Unless he's already specifically said he won't come over unless he starts, I think it's doubtful he would make that type of demand.

[Worm Guts]

Just to clarify a little bit. Either Pekovic wants to play in the NBA or he doesn't, if he does he's not going to make stupid demands about starting or getting 7 million a year. No team is going to give him those things. Getting 20 minutes of playing time and 2-3 million is plenty fair.