PMOTT3 and Chuck Texas Early Off-Season Review: Minnesota Timberwolves

[Texas Chuck]

PMOTT3's Review

Key Losses:

N/A

Losses:

Gary Neal?

Draft:

Karl Anthony-Towns
Tyus Jones

I loved the decision to go with Towns. I felt he was a better prospect than Russell and Okafor. He's been really impressive in SL as well. I also liked the trade up to take minnesota-native Tyus Jones. Its always cool getting a hometown kid through the draft. Jones hasn't looked great in SL but i still liked the trade and like him as a prospect as well.

Trades:

#31, #34, and 2019 2nd for Tyus Jones (#24)

Chase Budinger for Rudez

I liked the decision to trade up for Tyus Jones. They have so many young guys on their roster already that adding #31 & #34 would have been overkill in my opinion. I'm not sure if Jones will ever be a starter in this league but i can see him developing into a pretty good back up.

I'm pretty meh on the Budinger/Rudez swap. I don't see any of them doing anything for their teams this season. At least they saved some cash in doing so?

Free Agency:

Kevin Garnett
Nemanja Bjelica?

I don't love the cash that they gave to KG but its not like they are going to be big players in FA anytime soon. At least they were able to retain him and keep him from ring chasing. It was a good deal though and they needed KG around to mentor these young guys.

To be honest I'm not the best at identifying Euro guys but from what I've heard Bjelica is a good prospect. They also got him to come over for cheap so I like that.

Current Depth Chart: (really rough)

PG: Ricky Rubio/Tyus Jones
SG: K-Mart/Zach Levine/Lorenzo Brown
SF: Andrew Wiggins/Shabazz Muhammed/Damjan Rudez
PF: Karl Towns/Adriean Payne/Nemanja Bjelica/Anthony Bennet
C: Gorgui Deng/Pekovic/KG

Needs:

I'd like to see Flip step down as head coach. They need a coach thats going to grow with all these young guys and develop them properly. A coach who they can invest in long term. I also think they need one more veteran on the roster. Perhaps a secondary vet ball handler. As it stands, there's just way too many young guys on the roster and having a secondary vet to help KG in the mentorship role would be smart.

Added Thoughts:

There wasn't really a lot for the Wolves to do in the off-season. They weren't going to be big players in FA. They are in a position where they just need to develop their young guys right now. I'd like to see them lower K-Mart's minutes this year and maybe even make him the 6th man. I think Lavine is ready to take over as the full time SG. The wolves aren't going to impress anyone this year but they will be a lot of fun to watch on league pass. I'd like to see them consolidate their big man depth for a veteran guard or wing. Overall, this team has some serious potential and Wiggins/Towns can become perhaps the best 1-2 punch in the league in the next three to four years.

Win/Loss Prediction: 29-53

Overall Grade: B-


Chuck Texas Review:

Losses:

Gary Neal

Draft:

Karl-Anthony Towns I like that they just did the smart thing and stayed and took the best player available. I'm sure they got offered some enticing trades, but they need top-end talent more than anything and Towns and Wiggins give them 2 chances at a true star to build around.

Trades:

2 high 2nds for the rights to Tyus Jones
Budinger for Rudez

I'll start with the Bud deal which I loved. This is an expensive roster for a team this far out of contention. So saving money on a lateral move like this is smart. Plus it removes a mistake from the organization. And if Rudez pans out they have a cheap option for next year. Also really loved the move for a PG. It's been a glaring need since Ridnour left and so to move up so cheaply to get a young PG with a different game from Rubio was nice.

Free Agency:

They brought back KG which was expected. I'm still not crazy about this but I understand it. I think the idea of KG as mentor works a lot better than the reality of KG as mentor. I can't see him handling the losing and young mistakes well and he has been known to be very hard on young players. I hope this works but maybe he should be a FO guy who also works with Towns on the side?


Current Depth Chart: (guessing)

PG: Ricky Rubio/Tyus Jones
SG: Zach Levine/Kevin Martin/Lorenzo Brown
SF: Andrew Wiggins/Shabazz Muhammed/Damjan Rudez
PF:Karl Towns/Adriean Payne/Anthony Bennett
C: Kevin Garnett /Gorgui Dieng/Pekovic

Needs:

Time. But also they need to find out which young players they want to move forward with and which players they want to use as trade assets. First and foremost is Ricky Rubio. I know the fans love him, but at some point he's got to prove he can stay healthy and prove his impact is Jason Kidd-like enough to make up for his inability to shoot/score. If they don't think he is the guy its time to move him and not spend any more time. If he is the guy then its probably time to find a SG who fits better between he and Wiggins. But also find out what you have in Lavine, Shabazz, Payne, Bennett.

Added Thoughts:

At this point I want to see Flip remain the head coach. I'd be watching Dallas very closely this year and if they struggle I'd hope that Rick Carlisle doesn't want to start over from nothing. By next year the Wolves should be close to competitive for a playoff spot and Minnesota could be a very attractive spot for him. If not him then see who else might be available, but until then just ride with Flip because seeing the kids every day in practice should help Flip the GM.

Make a decision on Kevin Martin. I don't mind keeping him to start the season. He's a dependable offensive player on what looks like a hard-scoring team. But if he's healthy and productive I'd think long and hard about moving him by the deadline.

Record Prediction: 33-49

I think if Rubio and Martin are healthy this team is going to win more games this year. And I think at least one of the young players will take a major step forward.

Off-Season Grade: A-

Smart moves on draft day with Towns and Jones. Didn't bring in any stop gap FA's. Dumped Bud and saved money. Stuck to their plan with KG--I don't like it but I understand it. In some cases doing very little is the right thing and I believe this to be one of those.

[Laimbeer]

C+

It's hard to give a lot of credit for taking the consensus best player when you're at #1. The other moves were minor to the point of not being worthy of consideration. They didn't really do a lot trade or free agent wise to improve themselves.

[bondom34]

Went B+.

I don't think KAT was a consensus 1, even though he was the guy they clearly wanted for the last weekish. There were other rumors floating around and they took the right guy IMO. Liked the Jones trade, they gave KG a farewell and brought over Bjelica, nothing to dislike, nothing blow me away good to get an A. But a very good offseason.

[MoneyTalks41890]

They didn't make any bad moves, and while I'm not the biggest Tyus fan, that's a solid trade for them. Loved the Bud deal for them. The KG deal is about making up for the past and showing good will. A lot of good will. Towns was the consensus pick, but they didn't screw it up.

I love the roster for the future. They will probably end up in the lotto again with how many teams improved in the offseason, but they won't be a bad team, and they have a lot to look forward to.

B+

[Golabki]

Solid offseason but low degree of difficulty.

All they had to do was not draft Okafor and not offer a max deal to a youngish role-player.

Mission accomplished.

[damecurry]

C+

It's hard to give a lot of credit for taking the consensus best player when you're at #1. The other moves were minor to the point of not being worthy of consideration. They didn't really do a lot trade or free agent wise to improve themselves.

So they made the obviously correct choice, didn't make any screw-ups, but it was a mediocre off-season cause they didn't improve now? They don't have any interest in winning now and had basically no flexibility with rubio/pek taking up all of their cap. I really don't know how they could have possibly had a better offseason, it's an obvious A to me.

[jazzfan1971]

Time. Seems like that's been the need for Minny for as long as I can remember.

I'd love for them to say, 'screw that, we are winning now.'

I would expect nothing less as a Minny fan. The talent is there, I think the only thing holding them back is leadership/talent. Playoffs or bust should be the mindset there.

[Texas Chuck]

Time. Seems like that's been the need for Minny for as long as I can remember.

I'd love for them to say, 'screw that, we are winning now.'

I would expect nothing less as a Minny fan. The talent is there, I think the only thing holding them back is leadership/talent. Playoffs or bust should be the mindset there.

I think the last 2 years prior to last year you could argue health was the need more than time.

And they have tried saying "screw that, we are winning now" with moves like Thad Young and Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer and hanging on to Love so long etc... but that core of Love, Rubio, Pek never really got much of a chance to all be healthy together.

this team still needs one more year. I know that sucks for fans who have been waiting over a decade, but what can you do? I thinking having a playoff or bust mentality would potentially be negative considering best case scenario this team probably can't finish top 8 in this conference. Too many good teams.

[NinjaSheppard]

I was wondering where Scott Brooks would end up and this seems like the likely destination to me.

Wiggins/Towns + likely another top end prospect next year is similar to the OKC model. Seems like the perfect coach to develop young talent.

[Worm122]

I really see a good future for the Wolves they drafted really well and they have a young core in all positions they should trade Martin soon as possible cuz he is a veteran and he will not be part of the future of the Wolves and has good contract for any contender

[Laimbeer]

C+

It's hard to give a lot of credit for taking the consensus best player when you're at #1. The other moves were minor to the point of not being worthy of consideration. They didn't really do a lot trade or free agent wise to improve themselves.

So they made the obviously correct choice, didn't make any screw-ups, but it was a mediocre off-season cause they didn't improve now? They don't have any interest in winning now and had basically no flexibility with rubio/pek taking up all of their cap. I really don't know how they could have possibly had a better offseason, it's an obvious A to me.

Seriously? They didn't make one trade of note, but there's no way they could have done better?

Let's keep in mind C+ is, in reality, slightly above average. Not sure why we don't just have a more traditional A-B-C-D-F scale.

[nykballa2k4]

Kept KG and drafted a workaholic pf. Towns might do what his Kevin and Kevin couldn't. Gave them an A for using resources well. Really they have some balance and a plan. I think KG will be more than 3rd string, maybe starts and finishes games kind of role.

[damecurry]

C+

It's hard to give a lot of credit for taking the consensus best player when you're at #1. The other moves were minor to the point of not being worthy of consideration. They didn't really do a lot trade or free agent wise to improve themselves.

So they made the obviously correct choice, didn't make any screw-ups, but it was a mediocre off-season cause they didn't improve now? They don't have any interest in winning now and had basically no flexibility with rubio/pek taking up all of their cap. I really don't know how they could have possibly had a better offseason, it's an obvious A to me.

Seriously? They didn't make one trade of note, but there's no way they could have done better?

What do you want them to do? What blockbuster trade or FA signing actually makes sense for this team? They got their 2nd superstar who is a freaking fantastic, natural fit with wiggins, they added their 2nd franchise piece.
Just suggest one realistic trade that really actually improves this team during this off-season. I just don't think the frills matter for them right now, they added their 2nd franchise guy and are pretty well-placed to build around both of them in 2-5 years when they start peaking and are ready to contend. Until then the rest doesn't matter, keep the tank on and try to grab ben simmons to slide between wiggins/towns and you've just done the rebuild philly was dreaming of in half the time.

[Hawk Eye]

Well i would vote my B- but i see it isn't up there. Anyways, i think an A or A- is very reasonable. The only reason i didnt give them an A is because i felt like they should have gone head coach searching but I never heard any word that they even tried. I also think they need more veterans on the roster to mentor the plethora of young guys that they have. If they are smart they will decide which ones to keep and which ones to use as traid bait this season. KAT was the consensus #1 in my eyes so i felt like their wasn't any real struggle on who to take at #1.

[Domejandro]

Ricky Rubio/Lorenzo Brown/Tyus Jones
Kevin Martin/Zach LaVine
Andrew Wiggins/Shabazz Muhammad/Damjam Rudez (hopefully Robbie Hummel instead)
Kevin Garnett/Nemanja Bjelica/Adreian Payne (I dread he may actually get more minutes than Bjelica)/Anthony Bennett
Karl Anthony-Towns/Gorgui Dieng/Nikola Pekovic

That is my projected depth chart going into the season. Kevin Garnett will absolutely start. The plan is to play him for a stretch in the first quarter, play him a couple spot minutes of the second quarter, play him a small block in the third, and the final five minutes of close games. I believe Flip Saunders said he expects to play him around 22-24 minutes in close games.

[Domejandro]

In any case, I am very pleased with this off-season. We had no additional cap-space to pursue anyone with, so we pretty much just gave the rest of the money to Kevin Garnett, and I really had no problem with that. We also kept Nemanja Bjelica which was the difference from a generous "A" to a solid "C". I would have been quite displeased had we traded him.

[cammac]

They got the best player in the draft.
Not big on signing KG for the price he has been a great player but don't think he has ever been a mentor.
Think Martin should be moved to give more playing time to the young guns plus will help them lose more games.
Should be last year of the tank after this start winning.
B+

[Austincys21]

I like the at Wolves and IMO if Rubio and the crew stay healthy I can see the 8th spot... They remind me of the up n coming Thunder team a few years back

[Klomp]

Not big on signing KG for the price he has been a great player but don't think he has ever been a mentor.

Just one example of many

Kevin Garnett is a physically imposing figure. When he yells, you should probably listen, take notes, and maybe check your underwear to make sure the coast is clear.

Avery Bradley realized this early on in his career. The 21-year-old recently discussed how much leadership Garnett brings to the table, even admitting he was once a little terrified of The Big Ticket during practice. "I didn't want to get in, because I was so scared of KG yelling at me if I messed up," Bradley said at the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation's Summer Soiree, according to WEEI.com. "I would sit on the sideline. I might not even get in the whole practice, because I didn't want KG to yell at me."

Bradley would eventually overcome his fear, but it may have been due in large part to Garnett's encouragement during Bradley's rookie year. KG took the youngster under his wing and guided him down the promising path he's now on. "One day, KG saw me on the bus," Bradley said. "I had my hoodie on. I was a little down. I wasn't playing. He could tell I wasn't the same Avery, always smiling but shy, and he told me, 'You know what? I was sitting back in my room last night watching tapes of you in high school. If you continue to work how hard you work every day and never give up, the way you played in high school, you'll play in the NBA.' "

Those words obviously triggered something inside Bradley, who took over a starting role last spring after performing admirably in place of a banged-up Ray Allen. Bradley averaged 7.6 points in 21.4 minutes per game in 64 contests (28 starts). Expectations have now been raised. "Then, one day I'm on the bus after a game, and all KG said was, 'I told you,' " Bradley added. "At first I had no clue what he was talking about. He always sits in the back of the bus and tells his stories, and he's like, 'I told you that. If you continue to work … hard work always pays off.' Coming from KG, that made me feel good and made me want to keep working, so I can be like him."

http://nesn.com/2012/08/avery-bradley-praises-kevin-garnetts-leadership-admits-once-being-afraid-of-kg-yelling-at-him/

[Note30]

We need to clean the gutter next offseason. Too much fat on this team, and we need Flip to hire Joerger already.