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Time for Saunders to go?

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Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#1 » by Chello1 » Tue Dec 15, 2020 4:18 pm

He is not a leader in my opinion... This team is way to comfortable around him. He is their little brother, I saw the end of practice clip where they are all bumping into each other and you can see the players laughing at him.... He is their little clown boy. He can't yell at them, he can't bench them and he surely doesn't have their respect. You can say how do you know that from a clip? I watch how they play for and interact with him. He is one of the crew not the leader of it. Time to go and get a respected veteran in here. The roster is what it is-a shambles to me with no clear road to improvement over the next few years. The pieces we could trade (Culver, Okogie and anyone else you can think of) have little to zero trade value as they have not gotten better yet????? I love this team but think we are hitched to two guys who are not good enough to lead us anywhere but a 10 seed. Can anyone honestly say they see a championship team with these two guys leading it? I say trade Towns and Dlo before their trade vlue goes down to nothing and re-start the franchise with players who will play some defense...... With next years draft you could really get a fast start by getting a couple good first round picks! We all vilified Jimmy Butler when he wanted out but you can plainly see he was correct. This group is soft and doesn't want to be pushed. They do not want to pay the price of being a champion. We should have kept the guy who works his ass off on both ends of the court and demands his teammates do the same instead of trading him because it made KAT and Wiggins nervous and scared of him. What were we thinking?
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#2 » by minimus » Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:11 pm

This fanbase is really depressing. After two preseasons games they lost any faith. I am about to retire from this forum.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#3 » by flyindutchman » Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:24 pm

minimus wrote:This fanbase is really depressing. After two preseasons games they lost any faith. I am about to retire from this forum.


Two preseason games? We've all seen more of the same for much longer than that. Come on now. It's like the main forum posters get hit with the neuralyzer from M.I.B. each and every offseason.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#4 » by Chello1 » Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:25 pm

minimus wrote:This fanbase is really depressing. After two preseasons games they lost any faith. I am about to retire from this forum.

That is what is so frustrating!!! This isn't only after two preseason games. This is after years of this garbage. I know Rosas has only been here a little over a year. But the product is not better.... Culver doesn't look better, Okogie doesn't look better, The rookie looks like he is what the people said he was-a high volume low percentage shooter who will not play defense. I am a huge fan of this franchise but Jimmy Butler was right.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#5 » by alabamawolf » Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:40 pm

Chello1 wrote:
minimus wrote:This fanbase is really depressing. After two preseasons games they lost any faith. I am about to retire from this forum.

That is what is so frustrating!!! This isn't only after two preseason games. This is after years of this garbage. I know Rosas has only been here a little over a year. But the product is not better.... Culver doesn't look better, Okogie doesn't look better, The rookie looks like he is what the people said he was-a high volume low percentage shooter who will not play defense. I am a huge fan of this franchise but Jimmy Butler was right.


So after 2 preseason games you’ve already concluded that Culver hasn’t improved and Edwards is basically Wiggins 2.0. Drawing any conclusions after 2 preseason games and a condensed training camp is premature. I don’t even disagree with your point on Saunders but they deserve time to work things out this season
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#6 » by Merc_Porto » Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:43 pm

Not about the coach.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#7 » by Worm Guts » Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:10 pm

Whether it is or isn't about the coach, once you start the season with him, you should probably let him at least coach to start of the season. These games don't mean anything.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#8 » by Klomp » Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:12 pm

Worm Guts wrote:Whether it is or isn't about the coach, once you start the season with him, you should probably let him at least coach to start of the season. These games don't mean anything.

:lol:
tsherkin wrote:The important thing to take away here is that Klomp is wrong.
Esohny wrote:Why are you asking Klomp? "He's" actually a bot that posts random blurbs from a database.

Klomp wrote:I'm putting the tired in retired mod at the moment
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#9 » by jpatrick » Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:14 pm

You give him at least 30 games. At that point, reevaluate. I don’t think Rosas will give him an entire season however. If we end up with a bottom 7-8 record, give up a high lotto pick, and the Towns/Russell combo looks like it’s going nowhere, Rosas knows he’ll be gone. This is especially true with a new owner probably coming in who may want to hire his own PBO anyway.

Rosas will give Saunders a little room but he has to do everything possible to make sure we’re at least competitive for a playoff spot.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#10 » by Domejandro » Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:32 pm

This is a classic situation where our team clearly lacked a ton going into the season, fans ignored the red flags, and now the coach is being blamed like those red flags never existed. Being brutally honest, there were a multitude of plays last night where players were missing cuts, clogging the paint, and clanking open shots. It sucks, but pinning that on the coach is insanely questionable, to me.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#11 » by urinesane » Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:58 pm

Chello1 wrote:
minimus wrote:This fanbase is really depressing. After two preseasons games they lost any faith. I am about to retire from this forum.

That is what is so frustrating!!! This isn't only after two preseason games. This is after years of this garbage. I know Rosas has only been here a little over a year. But the product is not better.... Culver doesn't look better, Okogie doesn't look better, The rookie looks like he is what the people said he was-a high volume low percentage shooter who will not play defense. I am a huge fan of this franchise but Jimmy Butler was right.


Culver definitely has looked better.
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Re: Time foge ger Saunders to go? 

Post#12 » by UnFadeable21 » Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:31 pm

He gets half the season to show what he has. If he sucks then fire him and elevate Vanterpool.

Saunders needs to go take over the Gopher Job from Pitino and gain more experience running a team of young man.

This is Ryan’s 3rd season coaching and there hasn’t been any improvement at all.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#13 » by KGdaBom » Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:34 pm

minimus wrote:This fanbase is really depressing. After two preseasons games they lost any faith. I am about to retire from this forum.

Minimus Chello is a negative Nellie bordering on troll, but I have to agree with him on Saunders and you know it has nothing to do with this preseason.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#14 » by KGdaBom » Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:36 pm

Chello1 wrote:
minimus wrote:This fanbase is really depressing. After two preseasons games they lost any faith. I am about to retire from this forum.

That is what is so frustrating!!! This isn't only after two preseason games. This is after years of this garbage. I know Rosas has only been here a little over a year. But the product is not better.... Culver doesn't look better, Okogie doesn't look better, The rookie looks like he is what the people said he was-a high volume low percentage shooter who will not play defense. I am a huge fan of this franchise but Jimmy Butler was right.

Jimmy wasn't right about anything. If he had stuck around we'd have a very nice team right now. Instead he was an a$$ clown.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#15 » by Calinks » Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:56 pm

I sincerely hope that in two months from now we can bump this thread and all of us can have a laugh, including Chello1, at how prematurely alarming these pre-season games were.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#16 » by Domejandro » Tue Dec 15, 2020 10:30 pm

Calinks wrote:I sincerely hope that in two months from now we can bump this thread and all of us can have a laugh, including Chello1, at how prematurely alarming these pre-season games were.

Keeping it real, there is a good chance we are mediocre (35% win rate) and people are furious, even though Minnesota's schedule is brutal and the team is pretty imbalanced. Hoping you are right, but I am a bit concerned about this season being a mess.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#17 » by Merc_Porto » Tue Dec 15, 2020 10:32 pm

Domejandro wrote:
Calinks wrote:I sincerely hope that in two months from now we can bump this thread and all of us can have a laugh, including Chello1, at how prematurely alarming these pre-season games were.

Keeping it real, there is a good chance we are mediocre (35% win rate) and people are furious, even though Minnesota's schedule is brutal and the team is pretty imbalanced. Hoping you are right, but I am a bit concerned about this season being a mess.


Obviously people are going to be furious. A 35% win rate is guaranteed a top-10 pick going to GSW.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#18 » by Dewey » Tue Dec 15, 2020 10:35 pm

I would like for someone (more efficient than I) to summarize the key noted concerns such as the KAT/DLo duo ... Ryan Saunders ... AntMan ... Power Forward ... and even Rubio. Then initiate a new thread after game 10, another at game 20 and so on. Then we can all revisit the good, bad, and the ugly trends on one thread. I think it would be interesting...
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#19 » by Sugarless » Tue Dec 15, 2020 11:45 pm

The Timberwolves have a systemic problem and the coach is part of it, but replacing him alone won't be a solution, because the roots are much deeper and they will remain untouched.

The Wolves have been operating like a franchise with absolutely no direction for most of the past decade (even longer, actually), and certainly since the beginning of the Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and later Karl-Anthony Towns era. This is a franchise that does not know what it wants the team to become, or how to get there. And above all it is a franchise that through different FOs and several coaches continues to promote self-entitlement and a profound lack of accountability. They were never willing to keep Zach accountable during the 3 years he spent here, they didn't do it with Wiggins in 5 and a half seasons, and they haven't done so with KAT at any point either. What's worse, while getting rid of Wiggins' contract, they brought Towns' best buddy to the team giving him even more power and tying their future to a pair of players that are not willing / not able to do what it takes to win.

The FO and the coach need to take a long look in the mirror and decide what the hell they want to do. If they want to take the easy way out for however long they have a job here and keep Towns and Russell happy above all things, then by all means keep coddling them on offense and letting them play no defense with absolutely no repercussions. If they want to turn this franchise into something semi-respectable at the very least, then make the hard choices and...

1. Send those two (and anyone else) to the bench when they don't even try to help the team win in any way they can.

2. Move Russell to the SG spot, which is his natural position regardless of what he prefers to play, and let Rubio run the offense and direct on defense (otherwise why the **** did you trade for him?).

3. Assume that if you want to win, and with the roster as currently constructed, you need to bring Edwards and Beasley off the bench. Edwards may have been your #1 pick, but he's not a true #1 project. He's too raw, he doesn't fit the starting 5 for the time being and you can't focus on giving him 30 to 35 mpg and try to win each night at the same time. And the same goes for Beasley, you can't start him at SG alongside Russell with their lack of defense, and he's too small to play SF. You wanted to re-sign him so you wouldn't lose him for nothing, now you have to bring him off the bench and deal with him if he doesn't like it.

4. Shake up the roster, get some balance and depth where you need it the most. You're going nowhere with a hole the size of the freaking Vredefort crater at both forward spots. RHJ is a solid defensive option but as long as he's not even willing to take 3's he's going to have a low ceiling and end up on the bench when you need to space the floor. Juancho and Layman will do a few things on limited roles, but they're not starters in this league and likely won't be in the future. Keeping Culver and Okogie together makes no sense, even less now that you have Edwards and that you've signed another non-shooter in Hollis-Jefferson. Trade Beasley if you're serious about building the right culture. And understand that absolutely no one should be untouchable.

Keep doing the same we've been seeing for years, keep repeating the same mistakes, and this franchise will continue to struggle to become even mediocre.
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Re: Time for Saunders to go? 

Post#20 » by Merc_Porto » Wed Dec 16, 2020 12:10 am

Sugarless wrote:The Timberwolves have a systemic problem and the coach is part of it, but replacing him alone won't be a solution, because the roots are much deeper and they will remain untouched.

The Wolves have been operating like a franchise with absolutely no direction for most of the past decade (even longer, actually), and certainly since the beginning of the Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and later Karl-Anthony Towns era. This is a franchise that does not know what it wants the team to become, or how to get there. And above all it is a franchise that through different FOs and several coaches continues to promote self-entitlement and a profound lack of accountability. They were never willing to keep Zach accountable during the 3 years he spent here, they didn't do it with Wiggins in 5 and a half seasons, and they haven't done so with KAT at any point either. What's worse, while getting rid of Wiggins' contract, they brought Towns' best buddy to the team giving him even more power and tying their future to a pair of players that are not willing / not able to do what it takes to win.

The FO and the coach need to take a long look in the mirror and decide what the hell they want to do. If they want to take the easy way out for however long they have a job here and keep Towns and Russell happy above all things, then by all means keep coddling them on offense and letting them play no defense with absolutely no repercussions. If they want to turn this franchise into something semi-respectable at the very least, then make the hard choices and...

1. Send those two (and anyone else) to the bench when they don't even try to help the team win in any way they can.

2. Move Russell to the SG spot, which is his natural position regardless of what he prefers to play, and let Rubio run the offense and direct on defense (othewise why the **** did you trade for him?).

3. Assume that if you want to win, and with the roster as currently constructed, you need to bring Edwards and Beasley off the bench. Edwards may have been your #1 pick, but he's not a true #1 project. He's too raw, he doesn't fit the starting 5 for the time being and you can't focus on giving him 30 to 35 mpg and try to win each night at the same time. And the same goes for Beasley, you can't start him at SG alongside Russell with their lack of defense, and he's too small to play SF. You wanted to re-sign him so you wouldn't lose him for nothing, now you have to bring him off the bench and deal with him if he doesn't like it.

4. Shake up the roster, get some balance and depth where you need it the most. You're going nowhere with a hole the size of the freaking Vredefort crater at both forward spots. RHJ is a solid defensive option but as long as he's not even willing to take 3's he's going to have a low ceiling and end up on the bench when you need to space the floor. Juancho and Layman will do a few things on limited roles, but they're not starters in this league and likely won't be in the future. Keeping Culver and Okogie together makes no sense, even less now that you have Edwards and that you've signed another non-shooter in Hollis-Jefferson. Trade Beasley if you're serious about building the right culture. And understand that absolutely no one should be untouchable.

Keep doing the same we've been seeing for years, keep repeating the same mistakes, and this franchise will continue to struggle to become even mediocre.


Unfortunely this not going to get enough and1 as it should. The true hurts and this franchise became such a loser that people can't even see the simple things like this.

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