Constructing the Timberwolves rotation

[minimus]

One thing to mention. Luka and KP are "highly compatible" with any type of third star DAL might add next. Beal, Giannis, Simmons, Oladipo. Any of them would work perfectly in DAL. Because both KP and Luka can shoot. Also KP can defend the rim and Luka can do anything in offense.

Rosas has created in MIN similar situation: We have two "highly compatible" stars in DLo and KAT. Both can shoot AND pass. KAT is not as good as rim defender as KP, but is far better 3pt shooter and overall scorer and passer. DLo is not at the same level as Luka as creator, but he is an elite shooter and passer as well.

[minimus]

The more I think about MIN situation the more I am sure that our next big addition will be a quality ballhandler who can score, pass and defend. Two PG lineup is something that we will see a lot next season. Unless we get Aaron Gordon, who is a good fit here in terms of ballhandling, defense, slashing and rim running, PF/SF starting slots will be filled with low profile/low cost players such as Okogie, Layman, Culver. Same with backup C position.

I can see getting Caris LeVert type of player and drafting comboforward Patrick Williams, or defensive minded prospects such as Tyler Bey or Paul Reed. Or drafting Tyrese Maxey.

Three quality ballhandlers is a must nowdays. DLo-McLaughlin-??? Culver needs to fix his jumper to enter in discussion as 3rd ballhandler, but he lacks that elite first step to create consistently shot opportunities. DLo can play off the ball and has size to play some SG, he can shoot over defender.

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[minimus]

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Jake seems to be a player who has benefited the most from playing in five-out system. Watching his highlights I noticed how many easy shots he was able to convert simply by using his motor, off ball activity and length. Thats why a low motor(and highly paid) guy like Wiggins struggle to play in our system. Thats why Beasley and Juancho have been so efficient in MIN. Because they stay connected to offensive motion. Jake is not a uber athlete, however playing in our system he can maximise his strength, versatility. His ability to hit open shots, slash, run in fast break etc. I think that idea of getting an exceptional athlete who can use his strengths as advantage is making most sense. However, our next core player MUST be dynamic playmaker AND slasher. Imagine this 3rd center of gravity that stretches defense either towards the rim or 3pt line. Lets make couple of examples:

- Aaron Gordon. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is quicker than 90% of PFs/SFs. 6'9 in shoes, 6'11.75 wingspan, and he recorded a 39-inch vertical at the combine. He had the best shuttle run time 2.76 seconds at combine. Gordon is just the second frontcourt player in 10 years to notch the best time in the event. He would be a terror in five-out system because of his versatility (especially passing and ballhandling ability) and athletic tools.
- Jaylen Brown. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is bigger, stronger than many SFs/SGs. 6-6, 223lb, 7' wingspan.
- Caris LeVert. 6’7" with a 6’10" wingspan, 38-inch vertical. Exceptional length for ballhandler
- Isaac Okoro. 6’6", 220 lbs, 6'9". A very strong, powerful, creative, ambidexter finisher at rim. Good passer.

We still can add not so dynamic guys like Jae Crowder, Glenn Robinson III, however a dynamic PF/SF is a must.

P.S. Jerami Grant must be in discussion as prototypical rim runner you want in five-out system. 6'8" with 7'2" wingspan, 215lbs. Quicker than most PFs, longer than most SFs. Should be combined with dynamic offensive player at SF position, because he is very limited offensively to straight line drives and open 3pt shots.

[KGdaBom]

Watch on YouTube

Jake seems to be a player who has benefited the most from playing in five-out system. Watching his highlights I noticed how many easy shots he was able to convert simply by using his motor, off ball activity and length. Thats why a low motor(and highly paid) guy like Wiggins struggle to play in our system. Thats why Beasley and Juancho have been so efficient in MIN. Because they stay connected to offensive motion. Jake is not a uber athlete, however playing in our system he can maximise his strength, versatility. His ability to hit open shots, slash, run in fast break etc. I think that idea of getting an exceptional athlete who can use his strengths as advantage is making most sense. However, our next core player MUST be dynamic playmaker AND slasher. Imagine this 3rd center of gravity that stretches defense either towards the rim or 3pt line. Lets make couple of examples:

- Aaron Gordon. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is quicker than 90% of PFs/SFs. 6'9 in shoes, 6'11.75 wingspan, and he recorded a 39-inch vertical at the combine. He had the best shuttle run time 2.76 seconds at combine. Gordon is just the second frontcourt player in 10 years to notch the best time in the event. He would be a terror in five-out system because of his versatility (especially passing and ballhandling ability) and athletic tools.
- Jaylen Brown. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is bigger, stronger than many SFs/SGs. 6-6, 223lb, 7' wingspan.
- Caris LeVert. 6’7" with a 6’10" wingspan, 38-inch vertical. Exceptional length for ballhandler
- Isaac Okoro. 6’6", 220 lbs, 6'9". A very strong, powerful, creative, ambidexter finisher at rim. Good passer.

We still can add not so dynamic guys like Jae Crowder, Glenn Robinson III, however a dynamic PF/SF is a must.

P.S. Jerami Grant must be in discussion as prototypical rim runner you want in five-out system. 6'8" with 7'2" wingspan, 215lbs. Quicker than most PFs, longer than most SFs. Should be combined with dynamic offensive player at SF position, because he is very limited offensively to straight line drives and open 3pt shots.

I think you are extremely wrong about him not being an uber athlete.

[minimus]

Watch on YouTube

Jake seems to be a player who has benefited the most from playing in five-out system. Watching his highlights I noticed how many easy shots he was able to convert simply by using his motor, off ball activity and length. Thats why a low motor(and highly paid) guy like Wiggins struggle to play in our system. Thats why Beasley and Juancho have been so efficient in MIN. Because they stay connected to offensive motion. Jake is not a uber athlete, however playing in our system he can maximise his strength, versatility. His ability to hit open shots, slash, run in fast break etc. I think that idea of getting an exceptional athlete who can use his strengths as advantage is making most sense. However, our next core player MUST be dynamic playmaker AND slasher. Imagine this 3rd center of gravity that stretches defense either towards the rim or 3pt line. Lets make couple of examples:

- Aaron Gordon. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is quicker than 90% of PFs/SFs. 6'9 in shoes, 6'11.75 wingspan, and he recorded a 39-inch vertical at the combine. He had the best shuttle run time 2.76 seconds at combine. Gordon is just the second frontcourt player in 10 years to notch the best time in the event. He would be a terror in five-out system because of his versatility (especially passing and ballhandling ability) and athletic tools.
- Jaylen Brown. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is bigger, stronger than many SFs/SGs. 6-6, 223lb, 7' wingspan.
- Caris LeVert. 6’7" with a 6’10" wingspan, 38-inch vertical. Exceptional length for ballhandler
- Isaac Okoro. 6’6", 220 lbs, 6'9". A very strong, powerful, creative, ambidexter finisher at rim. Good passer.

We still can add not so dynamic guys like Jae Crowder, Glenn Robinson III, however a dynamic PF/SF is a must.

P.S. Jerami Grant must be in discussion as prototypical rim runner you want in five-out system. 6'8" with 7'2" wingspan, 215lbs. Quicker than most PFs, longer than most SFs. Should be combined with dynamic offensive player at SF position, because he is very limited offensively to straight line drives and open 3pt shots.

I think you are extremely wrong about him not being an uber athlete.

You are right, he is a great athlete as his 40 inch vertical suggests. Also he regularly takes opposite rim defenders by surprise and dunk on them. However, when we speak about top tier athletes Jake is not there. The level of competition is so high because these athletes have close to ideal combination of wingspan, agility, quickness, strength and vertical jump. Jake lacks ideal wingspan and strength, but he has been able to be a good role player because of his IQ, off ball movement and decision making, he has been able to impact the game.

P.S. Glenn Robinson III is 6'6 with a 6'10 wingspan, 211 lbs, 41.5-inch running vertical jump. This season hу is shooting 38.7% from 3PT (only 28,6% in PHI though). I wonder how much he will get this summer. Not sure if PHI are going to retain him.

[minimus]

Watch on YouTube

Nurkic did excellent job passing the ball from high post to cutters, for instance Layman. I hope we will see KAT doing the same.

[KGdaBom]

Watch on YouTube

Jake seems to be a player who has benefited the most from playing in five-out system. Watching his highlights I noticed how many easy shots he was able to convert simply by using his motor, off ball activity and length. Thats why a low motor(and highly paid) guy like Wiggins struggle to play in our system. Thats why Beasley and Juancho have been so efficient in MIN. Because they stay connected to offensive motion. Jake is not a uber athlete, however playing in our system he can maximise his strength, versatility. His ability to hit open shots, slash, run in fast break etc. I think that idea of getting an exceptional athlete who can use his strengths as advantage is making most sense. However, our next core player MUST be dynamic playmaker AND slasher. Imagine this 3rd center of gravity that stretches defense either towards the rim or 3pt line. Lets make couple of examples:

- Aaron Gordon. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is quicker than 90% of PFs/SFs. 6'9 in shoes, 6'11.75 wingspan, and he recorded a 39-inch vertical at the combine. He had the best shuttle run time 2.76 seconds at combine. Gordon is just the second frontcourt player in 10 years to notch the best time in the event. He would be a terror in five-out system because of his versatility (especially passing and ballhandling ability) and athletic tools.
- Jaylen Brown. An elite run-and-jump athlete, who is bigger, stronger than many SFs/SGs. 6-6, 223lb, 7' wingspan.
- Caris LeVert. 6’7" with a 6’10" wingspan, 38-inch vertical. Exceptional length for ballhandler
- Isaac Okoro. 6’6", 220 lbs, 6'9". A very strong, powerful, creative, ambidexter finisher at rim. Good passer.

We still can add not so dynamic guys like Jae Crowder, Glenn Robinson III, however a dynamic PF/SF is a must.

P.S. Jerami Grant must be in discussion as prototypical rim runner you want in five-out system. 6'8" with 7'2" wingspan, 215lbs. Quicker than most PFs, longer than most SFs. Should be combined with dynamic offensive player at SF position, because he is very limited offensively to straight line drives and open 3pt shots.

I think you are extremely wrong about him not being an uber athlete.

You are right, he is a great athlete as his 40 inch vertical suggests. Also he regularly takes opposite rim defenders by surprise and dunk on them. However, when we speak about top tier athletes Jake is not there. The level of competition is so high because these athletes have close to ideal combination of wingspan, agility, quickness, strength and vertical jump. Jake lacks ideal wingspan and strength, but he has been able to be a good role player because of his IQ, off ball movement and decision making, he has been able to impact the game.

P.S. Glenn Robinson III is 6'6 with a 6'10 wingspan, 211 lbs, 41.5-inch running vertical jump. This season hу is shooting 38.7% from 3PT (only 28,6% in PHI though). I wonder how much he will get this summer. Not sure if PHI are going to retain him.

Still seems like he is an uber athlete to me.

[minimus]

Good article:
https://www.canishoopus.com/2020/6/17/21293627/timberwolves-offseason-targets-part-i-jerami-grant-nba

Reading first comment:

For the Nuggets, Grant’s theoretical value remained more theoretical than real. In prospect, he is an athletic, mobile 4 who can provide a better counter to opponents going small than can Millsap, while also providing some weakside rim protection and just enough shooting to allow the Nuggets to maintain spacing on offense.

His individual numbers have been passable, and for a second straight season, he has shot 3-pointers well, albeit on low volume. But Denver was massively worse with Grant on the floor than off, to the tune of 12.8 points/100 non-garbage time possessions per Cleaning the Glass. That mark is bottom 5 percent of the league. While it’s never wise to judge a player solely by raw plus/minus, holistic measures such as RAPM provide additional support for Grant being ineffective, particularly defensively.

Notably, opponents tended to dominate the paint with Grant on the floor, with 2.8 percentage points more shots coming from the restricted area, while also grabbing significantly more offensive rebounds and going to the foul line more often. Grant himself had an extremely low individual rebound rate as well. One, shortened, season isn’t enough to say Grant can’t prosper in the role in which Denver envisioned him, but the returns on the one season were extremely worrisome.

Thats something that concerned me about Grant as well. Especially considering our problems with defensive rebounding.

[minimus]

Another variation of: ideal defense meets ideal offense.

1) JJ, #16, Nowell for Gordon
Why for ORL: get a talented wing prospect and pick.

2) Culver, MIN FRP, Spellman, Evans for Dejonte Murray
Why for SAS: they get multiple assests to develop and rebuild. They could use top3 pick and their #11 to make strong foundation.

3) Juancho S&T for UTA #24 pick 15mil/3yrs deal
Why for UTA: get stretch four next to Gobert.

4) Re-sign Beasley to 52mil/4yrs deal

Then draft Tyler Bey and Paul Reed. Resign Martin, McLaughlin.

KAT/Reid/Reed
Gordon/Bey/Vanderbilt
Layman/Martin/Okogie
Okogie/Beasley/Murray
DLo/Murray/McLaughlin

Okogie is a false starter, Murray defending PG/SG/SF depending on matchups and Gordon and JMac are third option as ballhandlers.

[Jedzz]

KAT/Reid/Reed
Gordon/Bey/Vanderbilt
Layman/Martin/Okogie
Okogie/Beasley/Murray
DLo/Murray/McLaughlin

Okogie is a false starter, .

Could you add more about this false starter thing.

[minimus]

KAT/Reid/Reed
Gordon/Bey/Vanderbilt
Layman/Martin/Okogie
Okogie/Beasley/Murray
DLo/Murray/McLaughlin

Okogie is a false starter, .

Could you add more about this false starter thing.

I mean, Okogie starts the game, which gives starting unit two above average mobile and versatile defenders in Gordon and Okogie, while Layman is versatile enough to play 3rd option in offense and defense. It is definitely a smallball lineup for pace and space game. It might be enough to make opponent adjust in defense, without giving them too much room in offense. Beasley should play around 30 mpg, coming from the bench as designated 6th man, while Okogie gets some minutes at SF and DLo gets minutes at SG. Ryan can use depth at PG/SG as an advantage playing wide rotation, with many two PGs lineups, also keeping Murray's minutes under 25-30. Which might be a good thing because Murray had injuries.

[Klomp]

Thats something that concerned me about Grant as well. Especially considering our problems with defensive rebounding.

If he can develop, Vanderbilt really would be a pretty great system fit.

[minimus]

Thats something that concerned me about Grant as well. Especially considering our problems with defensive rebounding.

If he can develop, Vanderbilt really would be a pretty great system fit.

I like him as prospect a lot. I think if he could consistently defend PF/SF position in current NBA he could already earn playing time in MIN. From what I see he still relies too much on his physical tools and motor, rather then fundamentals and awareness. Which is not surprising because he missed a lot of time with injuries. I don't know much about his work ethic, but he seems to be exactly this type of high motor, constant effort type of players who can thrive in our system with more experience.

[Dewey]

Thats something that concerned me about Grant as well. Especially considering our problems with defensive rebounding.

If he can develop, Vanderbilt really would be a pretty great system fit.

We can only hope he is taking advantage of this down time to be working on his game ... I assume he is

[shrink]

I like the idea of Caris LeVert.

I feel like he was on his way to stardom until he had that gruesome injury - he Nets clearly liked him better than “all star” Russell. It’s hard to find teams willing to trade young players with star potential, but the Nets and Kyrie/Durant are “win now or bust!”, and Dinwiddie is tight with Irving and unlikely to be traded, so LeVert is their best trade asset to improve that team. His injuries and bad luck keep him in our price range for trade assets.

Levert’s also locked up for three years on a salary I can accept ($16,203,704 $17,500,000 $18,796,296). He shot over 38% on three pointers, and has the athleticism and length to be a good defender. It might mean Beasley gets pushed to sixth man, or we lose him entirely because someone else wants to pay him to be a starter, but I think the higher ceiling is worth it.

At age 25, I think he fits with us, but may appeal less to a team trading an older star for a chance to rebuild. For example, I could see a trade where WAS decides they need to finally rebuild, and make a three way where Nets add Beal, MIN gets LeVert, WAS gets some of our youth/picks.

[Jedzz]

KAT/Reid/Reed
Gordon/Bey/Vanderbilt
Layman/Martin/Okogie
Okogie/Beasley/Murray
DLo/Murray/McLaughlin

Okogie is a false starter, .

Could you add more about this false starter thing.

I mean, Okogie starts the game, which gives starting unit two above average mobile and versatile defenders in Gordon and Okogie, while Layman is versatile enough to play 3rd option in offense and defense. It is definitely a smallball lineup for pace and space game. It might be enough to make opponent adjust in defense, without giving them too much room in offense. Beasley should play around 30 mpg, coming from the bench as designated 6th man, while Okogie gets some minutes at SF and DLo gets minutes at SG. Ryan can use depth at PG/SG as an advantage playing wide rotation, with many two PGs lineups, also keeping Murray's minutes under 25-30. Which might be a good thing because Murray had injuries.

I don't buy the need for Okogie as a starter over Beasley. I want Beasley playing with Kat and Dlo and I want it happening against other teams starters. Okogie hasn't stopped anyone good from scoring huge on this team. What he can do is occasionally come off the bench and get a defensive stop or two in a defensive stand on a good player. But he gets taken advantage of the longer he's out there and the team scores much less because he can't shoot consistent enough. (his driving the net has been getting better and that helps). I think Okogie should be the 6th or 7th man, especially because I know this robotic team will use the same 5 starters to not only start, but to come back together before the 2nd Q ends and to start the third. These are crucial moments. That's a nice place for a player like him to be, the 6th or 7th player. He'll get enough minutes and can be used in a versitile way while not forcing the team to run him into a wall in a matchup that doesn't work for him.

If adding Gordon, he's the difference maker on defense they need for the starting group. That allows Okogie to fall to 6th or 7th and maybe he and Layman play more or less based on the matchup.

[Jedzz]

I like the idea of Caris LeVert.

I feel like he was on his way to stardom until he had that gruesome injury - he Nets clearly liked him better than “all star” Russell. It’s hard to find teams willing to trade young players with star potential, but the Nets and Kyrie/Durant are “win now or bust!”, and Dinwiddie is tight with Irving and unlikely to be traded, so LeVert is their best trade asset to improve that team. His injuries and bad luck keep him in our price range for trade assets.

Levert’s also locked up for three years on a salary I can accept ($16,203,704 $17,500,000 $18,796,296). He shot over 38% on three pointers, and has the athleticism and length to be a good defender. It might mean Beasley gets pushed to sixth man, or we lose him entirely because someone else wants to pay him to be a starter, but I think the higher ceiling is worth it.

At age 25, I think he fits with us, but may appeal less to a team trading an older star for a chance to rebuild. For example, I could see a trade where WAS decides they need to finally rebuild, and make a three way where Nets add Beal, MIN gets LeVert, WAS gets some of our youth/picks.

And if he continues the injury bug he will be the next Dieng here, getting paid in the 16/17/18 range and not playing much.

[Neeva]

I like the idea of Caris LeVert.

I feel like he was on his way to stardom until he had that gruesome injury - he Nets clearly liked him better than “all star” Russell. It’s hard to find teams willing to trade young players with star potential, but the Nets and Kyrie/Durant are “win now or bust!”, and Dinwiddie is tight with Irving and unlikely to be traded, so LeVert is their best trade asset to improve that team. His injuries and bad luck keep him in our price range for trade assets.

Levert’s also locked up for three years on a salary I can accept ($16,203,704 $17,500,000 $18,796,296). He shot over 38% on three pointers, and has the athleticism and length to be a good defender. It might mean Beasley gets pushed to sixth man, or we lose him entirely because someone else wants to pay him to be a starter, but I think the higher ceiling is worth it.

At age 25, I think he fits with us, but may appeal less to a team trading an older star for a chance to rebuild. For example, I could see a trade where WAS decides they need to finally rebuild, and make a three way where Nets add Beal, MIN gets LeVert, WAS gets some of our youth/picks.

And if he continues the injury bug he will be the next Dieng here, getting paid in the 16/17/18 range and not playing much.

I don’t think he’s worth a top five pick either.

[minimus]

I like the idea of Caris LeVert.

I feel like he was on his way to stardom until he had that gruesome injury - he Nets clearly liked him better than “all star” Russell. It’s hard to find teams willing to trade young players with star potential, but the Nets and Kyrie/Durant are “win now or bust!”, and Dinwiddie is tight with Irving and unlikely to be traded, so LeVert is their best trade asset to improve that team. His injuries and bad luck keep him in our price range for trade assets.

Levert’s also locked up for three years on a salary I can accept ($16,203,704 $17,500,000 $18,796,296). He shot over 38% on three pointers, and has the athleticism and length to be a good defender. It might mean Beasley gets pushed to sixth man, or we lose him entirely because someone else wants to pay him to be a starter, but I think the higher ceiling is worth it.

At age 25, I think he fits with us, but may appeal less to a team trading an older star for a chance to rebuild. For example, I could see a trade where WAS decides they need to finally rebuild, and make a three way where Nets add Beal, MIN gets LeVert, WAS gets some of our youth/picks.

And if he continues the injury bug he will be the next Dieng here, getting paid in the 16/17/18 range and not playing much.

Thats certainly is a concern about Dejonte Murray and Caris LeVert. In both cases we would need strong medical staff support. In the best case scenario we get a future star, who is underpaid. In worst case we get a bad contract. I remember that before Steph Curry signed his first contract he struggled to stay healthy, but GSW did excellent job of supporting him, developing dedicated training for him during recovery period.

Thats why I like the idea of keeping players minutes under 30mpg, playing wide rotation. Especially during next season, where schedule seems to be very busy. To implement this we need multiple ballhandlers and multiple shooters. Even if we sign JMac to new contract, we need another dynamic ballhandler. It has been frustrating experience for years in MIN. Barea, JC, Rose, Napier, Teague, Ramon Sessions, Tyus Jones, LaVine, Dunn, Andre Miller, Mo Williams, Alexey Shved, Luke Ridnour, Flynn... It seems like for ages we have not had a two ballhandlers who complement each other well. It drove me crazy that we had to keep on the floor Teague simply because he was our only experienced ballhandler.

Thats why I like Dejonte Murray and Caris LeVert idea. Both can slash, shoot, defend, pass. Both fit well next to DLo, JMac. Is it worth our FRP? Well, to make it simple I think it is more about opportunity and fit than raw potential (rookie) so would trade our FRP and JJ for Murray in a heartbeat.

[shrink]

For the record, I did not say LeVert was worth our 2020 pick. I was pointing out the type of young assets that a rebuilding team might prefer to the 25 year old LeVert.