Big Al off the bench?

[Dan's with the Wolves]

Imagine, if you will, a Minnesota Timberwolves team with two bigs good enough as starters to move Al jefferson to a role as a scoring big off the bench.

Also, if you will, imagine a starting lineup dominated by perimeter scoring lead by the likes of John Wall, Evan Turner and Ricky Rubio.

With a starting unit dominated by perimeter scoring, the starting froncourt, wouldn't need great offensive repetoires but would need to be athletic enough to finish passes from Wall, Turner or Rubio and play stellar defense.

My blueprint for the Wolves would be:

2 athletic starting bigs that play very well defensively and can finish plays strong when the guard get them the ball down low.

a scoring big off the bench to dominate the opposition's send unit (Think Al Jefferson)

2 two starting perimeter player capable of carrying the primary scoring load while being relatively good defenders (Think Wall, Turner)

1 starting perimeter defensive specialist that can knock it down from three (Think: Bruce Bowen in his prime or maybe Cory Brewer)

A change of pace scoring guard off the bench that can push the pace against the second unit and get to the rim or dump it off to big al to do his thing. (think Jonny Flynn)

The rest can be fill-ins.

That my blueprint for the Wolves top seven.

Keepers from current roster

Jefferson - Third big off the bench
Flynn - bench perimeter scoring point

Maybe (potential short term answer, but need improvement for ultimate answer)
Darko - starting center
Brewer - perimeter defender/three point shooter.
Pekovic -third scoring big off the bench (If he can play in the NBA, jefferson becomes expendable)

That my blueprint. Kahn go to work.

[southern wolf]

Al's too good to be a third big off the bench IMO. I think he's wasted there considering all our C/PF options. I'd still trade him for a legit SF to pair with Turner (hopefully) if the right deal comes along

[C.lupus]

Nice blueprint. Not sure if we can get all of it but I think major pieces are doable.

Favors fits the bill as an athletic big that plays defense and we may be able to trade up to get him.

I think Rubio could be the perimeter defender that can knock down the three. He's a good defender, just needs to get more consistent with his shot.

Not sure who the second perimeter scorer would be (assuming we get Turner and not Wall). Maybe Gay in a S&T?

Rubio/Flynn
Turner/Brewer/Ellington
Gay/Brewer
Favors/Jefferson (I'd still probably start Al but...)
Darko/Jefferson

That would be fairly close I think.

[Dewey]

Al really is a role player and I agree that him coming off the bench is an option that needs to be considered. Our other big men don't have his scoring ability yet, but I'd have no issue with this unless he improves other parts of his game.

[NewWolvesOrder]

Al is not a player off the bench, not at all, he doesn't bring enough energy, he's a skilled highly paid big that has flaws in his game, but who doesn't? If he doesn't fit you trade him, somebody else will have good use of him.

[SSUBluesman]

Al's not a role player. Guys that put up 20 and 10 aren't role players. They may be #2 guys, they may be guys that can't handle the pressure of being a #1/Franchise player, but they ARE NOT role players. Undersized bigs who get stuffed at the rim and are forced to sit outside and shoot/crash the glass and provide subpar defense are role players. Low post scorers that put up 20 and 10 are not.

Every player on the court doesn't have to be a strong defensive player, particularly if there is someone alongside them that masks that deficiency or guys on the wing that can do a half-way decent job of keeping their man out of the paint.

The biggest problem with Al is that he does not draw enough fouls or pass out enough to fully take advantage of what he can do to a defense.

There's no reason for him to come off the bench. He can score down low against NBA starters. He doesn't have issues with stamina. He doesn't have issues with foul trouble.

[Dewey]

Al is not a player off the bench, not at all, he doesn't bring enough energy, he's a skilled highly paid big that has flaws in his game, but who doesn't? If he doesn't fit you trade him, somebody else will have good use of him.

The energy thing is a gvery good point.

[Krapinsky]

I agree with Bluesman. Al isn't a role player. IMO he's quite the exact opposite -- he's a player that you can build your entire offense around. We had a team like that last year when we had shooters -- i.e. Miller and Foye, and we saw how effective that could be towards the middle of the year before Al got hurt.

IMO the only players in the draft that have the upside to be better than BIg Al are Favors, Cousins, and maybe Davis and Whiteside (unlikely). With the exception of Cousins, It would take two or three years for those players to reach their potential and by then you wouldn't move Al to the bench, you would trade him.

[jade_hippo]

When healthy and surrounded by players who fit, Al is a top 3 low post scorer and is a near elite rebounder. I don't think any team can afford to put someone like that on the bench, the 80s Celtics were a monster that we'll likely never see again.

For his salary to have him on the bench, a better option would be to make a trade for like Kaman and get Craigers back. You'd get a decent defensive player in Kaman and Cookie give you a pretty similar look offensively, I can score on just about anyone any time I want, off the bench that you're looking for by having Jefferson off the bench. You even get the same spotty defense (Cookie even tries hard, which is more than Jefferson and Love do most of the time.)

[BrooklynBulls]

I think people like Darko much too much. Much too much.

[C.lupus]

I think people like Darko much too much. Much too much.

You're probably right but he's the first legit 7 foot defensive post player that this team has seen in like forever.

[Calinks]

Yea, it would be better for everyone to trade Al then sit him on the bench. The guy is a starter and at worst a top 3 player on any team. 20+ points 10+ rebounds is proof of that. We forget how much he really does excel at basketball when he fits well with a team. Remember his first two seasons here, he was a beast and everybody would have slapped anybody for saying he was just a role player.

He can put an offense on his back but I still think that we need another player who can do that even better. A number 1 go to guy that's a wing who teams can't stop. A guy who gets to the line and moves the balls. Get that guy next to an Al Jefferson and there will be a lot of hurt going around the NBA. Imagine a prime Big Al on a team like the Thunder or Trailblazers.

They would smash people. Durrant can score whenever he wants and teams would be too scared to throw to much at Al for fear of KD. We all know that Al going one on one with somebody is a terrible match up. Al would probably score 23 PPG in the playoffs. Hell they may have been able to upset the Lakers this year, they almost did it without him.

[Worm Guts]

Al needs to be the focus of the offense if you want him to be productive. He doesn't do any of the things you want from a role player. He's either a 1 or 2 guy, or he's dramatically overpaid.

[AQuintus]

Al needs to be the focus of the offense if you want him to be productive. He doesn't do any of the things you want from a role player. He's either a 1 or 2 guy, or he's dramatically overpaid.

This right here is the probably the biggest reason why I think that Al should be traded. In order for him to be at his most effective, the whole offense needs to be built around him with 3 point shooters at every position (like what Orlando is doing with Dwight). Unfortunately, Al probably isn't a good enough player to build a team like that, and if Kahn and Rambis can be believed, that's not the direction the team is going.

[horaceworthy]

I disagree that everything has to be built around him in order for Al to be effective. He certainly needs opportunities to do his thing in the post, but I think he'd really benefit from having guys around him that could take some of the pressure to create something out of nothing off of him. Put him next to a slasher that can play off some of the attention Al draws in the post and dump it to Al when the slasher draws extra attention and I think Al would start to look a lot better. If Al's on the market at a reasonable price, the team that signs Wade or LeBron should look to bring Jefferson into the fold.

Does he need to be a focus? Yes. Does he need to be the focus? No.

[Dan's with the Wolves]

Many of you are setting your sights too low. For a team to go deep into the playoff they need to be a very good defensive team, that can still score.

Al does get paid alot, but can you honestly say his defense is good enough to be a starter on an NBA championship team? I don't think so. His best championship role, (Yes, I said role) is as a inside scorer off the bench . What is wrong with scoring 20 points off the bench. Why waste his energy attempting to guard the other teams starters. Focus on what he is best at. Al could score 20 points in 20 minutes against the second unit.

Also I don't think you can build a champioship team around Al. What do you think Boston or Orlando would look like if you swapped Al with KG or Dwight Howard? However, add Al off the bench for either of those team and look out! If Jefferson is going to get a ring, that is the role he will be in.

I'm not interested in watching the Wolves make the first or second round of the playoffs

[revprodeji]

Al would be a nice #2 player next to a scoring wing. Off the bench is disrespectful.

[Worm Guts]

I think that's where Al's potential lies, as a #2.

[Worm Guts]

Many of you are setting your sights too low. For a team to go deep into the playoff they need to be a very good defensive team, that can still score.

Al does get paid alot, but can you honestly say his defense is good enough to be a starter on an NBA championship team? I don't think so. His best championship role, (Yes, I said role) is as a inside scorer off the bench . What is wrong with scoring 20 points off the bench. Why waste his energy attempting to guard the other teams starters. Focus on what he is best at. Al could score 20 points in 20 minutes against the second unit.

Also I don't think you can build a champioship team around Al. What do you think Boston or Orlando would look like if you swapped Al with KG or Dwight Howard? However, add Al off the bench for either of those team and look out! If Jefferson is going to get a ring, that is the role he will be in.

I'm not interested in watching the Wolves make the first or second round of the playoffs

I think Love would be a better PF off the bench than Al. He's better at role player stuff and he's cheaper. Whether you keep Al or Love, I think you want to have two other good defensive players in the frontcourt.
If you have Jefferson as the #2 guy, you at least need a good defensive center behind and hopefully with another threat on the perimeter it would take the pressure off him and he'd be more efficient. I wouldn't compare his role to Howard or KG. You obviously couldn't just have him switch situations with those guys.

[revprodeji]

Many of you are setting your sights too low. For a team to go deep into the playoff they need to be a very good defensive team, that can still score.

Al does get paid alot, but can you honestly say his defense is good enough to be a starter on an NBA championship team? I don't think so.

I'm not interested in watching the Wolves make the first or second round of the playoffs

Al would need to play with better team defenders, but I do not think he hurts us that much on his own.

Look at the final 4 teams remaining.

-Celtics have good defenders in Perkins and Kg, but Rondo is a gambler not a lock down defender. Pierce and Allen have never been considered strong defenders, but they have a good defensive system and it allows those other players to not hurt.

-Orlando has the defensive presence of Howard, but it stops there. They defend as a team decent enough to win, but Carter, Anderson, Nelson, lewis, Ridick or williams would never be confused as quality defenders.

-LAL, Fisher is being burned a ton, Odom is not a strong defender also. Brown, farmar, etc are not strong defenders. They have crazy good length inside (Bynum/Gasol) and some lockdown wings, but not everyone is a lock down defender. They do have more defensive players then the other teams in the final four.

-Phx Amare is a worse defender than Al. What they have done is put a defensive focused big (lopez) next to him. They have 1 decent wing defender in hill, but there is nobody on that team that would be confused with being a defensive stopper.

Our problem is when we think Al needs to be the key defender, the defensive anchor. Truly he cannot do this and that is why love/Al does not work well. Al needs strong defenders around him. Then I believe he can be a decent man defender. His issues have always been help defense, not necessarily his own man.