Wolves Asset Rankings

[MNister89]

Who do y'all think are Kahn's most valuable assets, including picks and Euro-stash prospects etc. Mine...

1. Kevin Love - The best PF in the world and a unique talent who has improved every year. Only LeBron, Durant, Howard, Rose and maybe one or two more guys have more value long-term in the NBA.

1A. Ricky Rubio - I can't imagine the impact that having decent shot-makers on the perimeter would've had for Rubio statistically and with his confidence. Seems to mesh perfectly with Love and they should be able to push each other to improve for many years

3. Nikola Pekovic - Part of me worries he will regress or flat-line, but even that wouldn't be that bad. I still think he needs to develop an midrange jumper - its plausible given his touch at FT - to maximize his potential. Could be perennial 18-9 guy if he's healthy. Value hurt by redundancy b/w him and Love athletically.

4. Derrick Williams - I worry that Adelman genuinely isn't impressed with D-Will. Not saying R.A should coddle him, but I think Williams needs to be elsewhere to be at his best. That said, if he works on his body and quickness he could become a solid secondary scorer on the wing.

5. Utah Pick (No. 18) - Hoping we grab an elite shooting wing here. But, if we think we can address the wing issue via trades or free agency I would love to see us nab an athletic big who can block shots and run the floor.

6. Michael Beasley - Noticeable drop-off here. Beasley will always tantalize because the only thing preventing him from being a Melo-esque scorer is himself. He is close to entering that Ty.Thomas/A.Randolph zone of hopeless underachievers who just want to collect a check with least work possible.

7. JJ Barea - Slightly more valuable than Ridnour because he is a scorer on a team that lacks scorers. Also displayed an ability to distribute (albeit with healthy dose of TOs) when given heavy minutes. Ultimately though, you don't want to have to count on Barea.

8. Wes Johnson - If he ever gets sick of being a nice guy and focuses on defense and the little things he can be a rotation player. I think some people still value his athleticism and I think his shooting this year was a result of confidence. In other words, he is better than he played this year. Needs to toughen up though mentally.

9. Malcolm Lee - I think he can be a rotation player in the future. I love combo-guards who can lock-down on D. I think he can become what Avery Bradley has been to BOS. Needs to be mentored patiently and work on his handle and shot, but I think he might be Kahn's best draft pick besides RR. Wow, that is pathetic.

10. Luke Ridnour - Solid backup PG, but is a tad pricy considering we already have Barea and Rubio. We may have higher value to others than he does to us so perhaps this ranking is a little harsh for Ridnour, but generally I feel he is a dime-a-dozen NBA talent that is quite easy to replace.

11/11A/11B. Anthony Randolph/Martell Webster/Darko Milicic - On paper they represent two players the Wolves need : A.R - an athletic big who can run the floor and block shots from time to time ; M.W - experienced wing with accpetable shooting and defensive skills ; Darko - defensive body who can protect rim for spurts and collect cheap fouls. But you cannot count on these guys. It is crazy how many high-upside reclamation projects Kahn has taken on. Getting these guys off the team is paramount if we want to establish a winning culture here.

14. Tolliver/Ellington - End of bench players ideally. Both have some value, but neither possesses any outstanding skill that would merit anything of value on the trade market. Both seem decent enough as teammates and I have no problems with holding on to em as long as they don't play major minutes.

*Don't know much about any of our Euro prospects, so any feedback there would be cool

[AQuintus]

Luke Ridnour and Malcolm Lee should both be ahead of Johnson, and Webster and Miller should both be pretty high on the list because they're essentially instant expirings for a team needing to drop salary.

[MNister89]

Luke Ridnour and Malcolm Lee should both be ahead of Johnson, and Webster and Miller should both be pretty high on the list because they're essentially instant expirings for a team needing to drop salary.

I thought Miller was retiring? Anyways, I am glad that other people value Lee. As for Ridnour, I think he is slightly better than the average fan realizes but I still think that Wes is worth more on the open market if only because he has the potential to be a wing stopper.

[Krapinsky]

Ridnour > Barea for me. Wes might be a negative asset at this point a la Flynn or Thabeet.

[Narf]

1) Love
2) Rubio (I value Rubio slightly more than Love, but most value Love higher and he'd get more in return in a trade).
3) Pekovic
4) Williams
5) Ridnour
6) #18
7) Barea
8) Lee
9) Beasley (sorry, but his S+T rights are just not that valuable)
10) Johnson (I personally think he still has a 50/50 shot of getting his 3 point shot above 36%, and at that point he jumps up the list)
11) Randolph (still a 7 footer with talent and potential. Should be cheap on a S+T and some team with too many SG (Philly with Meeks for example) would be willing to swap S+Ts and keep their MLE.
12) Ellington Average defender with a 3 point shot. Always has value off the bench...especially for $2 mil on a 1 year contract.
13) Webster 1 year stopgap and young enough and talented enough to give him a trial run. You can sell fans on his potential while rebuilding for a year (New Orleans for cap space + a future 2nd seems about right for value...so he's the last player I think with positive value)

[AQuintus]

I thought Miller was retiring?

He is, but I'm pretty sure that we could still trade him to a team that wants to use his mostly ungaraunteed contract to cut salary.

Edit:

13) Webster 1 year stopgap and young enough and talented enough to give him a trial run. You can sell fans on his potential while rebuilding for a year (New Orleans for cap space + a future 2nd seems about right for value...so he's the last player I think with positive value)

I'd probably put Webster just in front of the 18th pick on your list. The ability to instantly remove at least 5 million dollars in salary has got to be more valuable to a lot of teams than whatever c-list prospects will be available at 18.

[Klomp]

How are you categorizing "most valuable"? Is it the pieces Kahn values the most, or the pieces other teams value the most? To other teams, Love > Rubio, but Kahn probably is thinking Rubio > Love.

[Devilzsidewalk]

Luke Ridnour and Malcolm Lee should both be ahead of Johnson, and Webster and Miller should both be pretty high on the list because they're essentially instant expirings for a team needing to drop salary.

yea, I'd have Luke and Lee after the Utah pick probably. Luke would be a nice fit for several teams and Lee, sadly enough, is our only non-bust after that.

[Grits n Gravy]

Ridnour > Barea for me. Wes might be a negative asset at this point a la Flynn or Thabeet.

definitely agree...luke was absolutely outstanding this year doing everything that could possibly be asked from playing shooting guard and battling small forwards in the post like world peace and parsons.

[Narf]

I rate anything worth less than raw cap space to be negative value.
So I rate the #18 pick as worth more than the cap space needed to sign that pick.
But Webster, if he's just used as an expiring, is worth less than the raw cap space.
The only time Webster has value is when we are taking back a bad salary. So his value is essentially us taking back bad salary...

[x-]

5) Ridnour
6) #18

As an outsider looking in, I don't see that at all.

I think the vast majority, if not all teams, would prefer the #18 pick in this year's draft to Luke Ridnour.

[Foye]

Ugh. Johnson at 8?

He's right ahead of Darko Milicic IMO.

[lobishome]

Pekovic 3rd Most Improved Player.

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/05/04/most-improved-player/?ls=iref:nbahpt1

[Dewey]

5) Ridnour
6) #18

As an outsider looking in, I don't see that at all.

I think the vast majority, if not all teams, would prefer the #18 pick in this year's draft to Luke Ridnour.

pretty doubtful ... but really, as an outsider, why would you care?

[SO_MONEY]

1.Love
2.Rubio
3.Pekovic
4.Williams
5.Ridnour
6.Utah #18
7a-b.Miller & Webster
8.Barea
9.Memphis Pick
10.Lee
11.Ellington
12.Johnson
13. Darko

FA S&T(who knows?):

I wouldn't risk offering the QO, so they are not tradeable assets in my mind.

Beasley
AR
Tolliver

[Golabki]

1. Love (Might be the best 4 in the game)
2. Rubio (at worst good starter, and looks likely to become a top 5 PG)
3. Williams (still probably the #2 if you re-drafted 2011)
4. Pekovic (solid young center on a good contract)
5. #18

I don't think anyone else has significant value. You could imagine trading Berera or Ridnour or S/T Beasley for something, but the best you could hope for is a late 1st.

[MNister89]

1. Love (Might be the best 4 in the game)
2. Rubio (at worst good starter, and looks likely to become a top 5 PG)
3. Williams (still probably the #2 if you re-drafted 2011)
4. Pekovic (solid young center on a good contract)
5. #18

I don't think anyone else has significant value. You could imagine trading Berera or Ridnour or S/T Beasley for something, but the best you could hope for is a late 1st.

I agree with you to some extent, but I think we could package Barea, Ridnour, Wes, Beasley etc. in a way that could bring us back some decent talent. We need a shooting wing that can D up and an athletic big off the bench who isn't a complete moron like AR. I think a team like Charlotte could use Beasley - though they have almost nothing to offer in return. Still, these guys all have some potential. Can't forget how Barea embarrassed the Heat and Lakers in consecutive series when Mavs won the title. He is better a late first in my opinion.

[Golabki]

1. Love (Might be the best 4 in the game)
2. Rubio (at worst good starter, and looks likely to become a top 5 PG)
3. Williams (still probably the #2 if you re-drafted 2011)
4. Pekovic (solid young center on a good contract)
5. #18

I don't think anyone else has significant value. You could imagine trading Berera or Ridnour or S/T Beasley for something, but the best you could hope for is a late 1st.

I agree with you to some extent, but I think we could package Barea, Ridnour, Wes, Beasley etc. in a way that could bring us back some decent talent. We need a shooting wing that can D up and an athletic big off the bench who isn't a complete moron like AR. I think a team like Charlotte could use Beasley - though they have almost nothing to offer in return. Still, these guys all have some potential. Can't forget how Barea embarrassed the Heat and Lakers in consecutive series when Mavs won the title. He is better a late first in my opinion.

I agree Barea is a good back-up PG. Few teams want to pay a back-up PG >4M per year. Fewer want to give up a pick for the privledged of having a very expensive back-up PG.

[MNister89]

Who do y'all think are Kahn's most valuable assets, including picks and Euro-stash prospects etc. Mine...

1. Kevin Love - The best PF in the world and a unique talent who has improved every year. Only LeBron, Durant, Howard, Rose and maybe one or two more guys have more value long-term in the NBA.

1A. Ricky Rubio - I can't imagine the impact that having decent shot-makers on the perimeter would've had for Rubio statistically and with his confidence. Seems to mesh perfectly with Love and they should be able to push each other to improve for many years

3. Nikola Pekovic - Part of me worries he will regress or flat-line, but even that wouldn't be that bad. I still think he needs to develop an midrange jumper - its plausible given his touch at FT - to maximize his potential. Could be perennial 18-9 guy if he's healthy. Value hurt by redundancy b/w him and Love athletically.

4. Derrick Williams - I worry that Adelman genuinely isn't impressed with D-Will. Not saying R.A should coddle him, but I think Williams needs to be elsewhere to be at his best. That said, if he works on his body and quickness he could become a solid secondary scorer on the wing.

5. Utah Pick (No. 18) - Hoping we grab an elite shooting wing here. But, if we think we can address the wing issue via trades or free agency I would love to see us nab an athletic big who can block shots and run the floor.

6. Michael Beasley - Noticeable drop-off here. Beasley will always tantalize because the only thing preventing him from being a Melo-esque scorer is himself. He is close to entering that Ty.Thomas/A.Randolph zone of hopeless underachievers who just want to collect a check with least work possible.

7. JJ Barea - Slightly more valuable than Ridnour because he is a scorer on a team that lacks scorers. Also displayed an ability to distribute (albeit with healthy dose of TOs) when given heavy minutes. Ultimately though, you don't want to have to count on Barea.

8. Wes Johnson - If he ever gets sick of being a nice guy and focuses on defense and the little things he can be a rotation player. I think some people still value his athleticism and I think his shooting this year was a result of confidence. In other words, he is better than he played this year. Needs to toughen up though mentally.

9. Malcolm Lee - I think he can be a rotation player in the future. I love combo-guards who can lock-down on D. I think he can become what Avery Bradley has been to BOS. Needs to be mentored patiently and work on his handle and shot, but I think he might be Kahn's best draft pick besides RR. Wow, that is pathetic.

10. Luke Ridnour - Solid backup PG, but is a tad pricy considering we already have Barea and Rubio. We may have higher value to others than he does to us so perhaps this ranking is a little harsh for Ridnour, but generally I feel he is a dime-a-dozen NBA talent that is quite easy to replace.

11/11A/11B. Anthony Randolph/Martell Webster/Darko Milicic - On paper they represent two players the Wolves need : A.R - an athletic big who can run the floor and block shots from time to time ; M.W - experienced wing with accpetable shooting and defensive skills ; Darko - defensive body who can protect rim for spurts and collect cheap fouls. But you cannot count on these guys. It is crazy how many high-upside reclamation projects Kahn has taken on. Getting these guys off the team is paramount if we want to establish a winning culture here.

14. Tolliver/Ellington - End of bench players ideally. Both have some value, but neither possesses any outstanding skill that would merit anything of value on the trade market. Both seem decent enough as teammates and I have no problems with holding on to em as long as they don't play major minutes.

*Don't know much about any of our Euro prospects, so any feedback there would be cool

I started this thread back in May. Think this shows how impressive our offseason has been. In hindsight, having Ridnour at 10, behind both Barea and Lee (!) was stupid. Nonetheless, I am curious how people would rank new additions Ak47, Shved, Cunningham, Stiemsma, Roy and Budinger. Here is my quick take
1. Love - Showed he's 1 of worlds best players at Olympics. What will he add to his repertoire this year?

1a. Rubio - He is a younger PG version of Kirilenko in that he does everything, with possible exception of outside shooting, well. The rare star whose impact truly does transcend statistical measure.

3. Pekovic - If he doesn't regress, I think their will be a ton of teams vying for his services this summer. Really hope Kahn locks him up or at least moves him for a more ideal fit next to Love. Could see borderline 20/10 season if he stays healthy and gets touches.

4. Kirilenko - Still think he holds more value than DWill on open market. Making a lot of $, but his showing at the Olympics, minus second Spain game, proved he still can be a game-changer on both ends of the court.

5. Williams - The true dark Horse this season. If he improves at all, and can accept a minimal role he could be a lethal bench scorer. Still feel he is gone by this time next year.

5b. Shved - Thinking a lot of teams are regretting not pursuing Shved harder after his solid performance at Olympics. Very excited to see this young man play. Could be totally outmathced or R.O.Y contender.

7. Budinger - Outside of Love, Bud is the really the only sure thing on this roster. We know he will hit 3s and run in transition. Better than anything else we've had on wing since Sprewell left. That's pathetic.

8. Roy - Keep telling myself not to even expect anything. I think his poise and experience will add a lot to the team culture at the very least.

9. Ridnour - embarrassed I had Luke at 10 last spring. He is solid. No excuse for disrespecting him in favor of Barea and Malcolm Lee. He is a rotation player on almost every NBA team.

10. Cunningham - Love his intensity & versatility. Also plays physical and with an edge. If he can hit open 3s, he could be a force. At least glad we took him from Griz. Always liked Cunningham since his Villanova days.

11. Stiemsma - Skeptical about whether he can bring it in anything other than scrap duty. Still, on paper he is an ideal backup to Pek and systematic fit who is genuinely thrilled to be in Minnesota. That is rare

12. Barea - Might be higher if he didn't have unmoveable contract and prove to everyone last season after Ridnour went down, or at least the few who didn't already know, that he simply cannot run an offense.

13. M. Lee - Still high on Lee's future. Love the idea of having a hellacious defender for backcourt depth. He will have to play well to crack this rotation. Reminds me a lot of Avery Bradley who broke out last year for Boston.

14. Hummel?

[[RCG]]

1. Love
2. Rubio
3. Pekovic
4. Kirilenko
5. Williams
6. Shved
7. Budinger
8. Roy
9. Ridnour
10. Stiemsma
11. Cunningham
12. Barea
13. Lee
14. ?