ImageImageImage

Trade Talk (Part Eight)

Moderators: Domejandro, Calinks, Worm Guts

IceManBK1
Analyst
Posts: 3,232
And1: 330
Joined: Jul 14, 2017
   

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#221 » by IceManBK1 » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:11 pm

jpatrick wrote:
IceManBK1 wrote:
Read on Twitter
?s=20

Seriously Ben, just request a trade..that's easier.


I mean, he has. There was a meeting between his agents and Morey awhile back where it was agreed that Morey would try to trade him.


there wasn't a formal trade request. if i'm philly, i take beasley, mcdaniels and 3 1sts with one of them being top 3 protected; and run with it. Don't feel like waiting til sept to see whether beverly or prince will be added to the package.
User avatar
_AIJ_
RealGM
Posts: 14,168
And1: 4,644
Joined: Oct 15, 2008
     

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#222 » by _AIJ_ » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:11 pm

IceManBK1 wrote:
Read on Twitter
?s=20

Seriously Ben, just request a trade..that's easier.

what do you think hes doing? Lmao
LETS GO WOLVES!!! 8-)
IceManBK1
Analyst
Posts: 3,232
And1: 330
Joined: Jul 14, 2017
   

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#223 » by IceManBK1 » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:16 pm

_AIJ_ wrote:
IceManBK1 wrote:
Read on Twitter
?s=20

Seriously Ben, just request a trade..that's easier.

what do you think hes doing? Lmao


Sitting out training camp don't mean anything..he might still show up to play when the reg season begins. He needs to go to mgmt and tell them, "trade me, trade me now"
winforlose
RealGM
Posts: 13,580
And1: 6,063
Joined: Feb 27, 2020

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#224 » by winforlose » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:18 pm

IceManBK1 wrote:
jpatrick wrote:
IceManBK1 wrote:
Read on Twitter
?s=20

Seriously Ben, just request a trade..that's easier.


I mean, he has. There was a meeting between his agents and Morey awhile back where it was agreed that Morey would try to trade him.


there wasn't a formal trade request. if i'm philly, i take beasley, mcdaniels and 3 1sts with one of them being top 3 protected; and run with it. Don't feel like waiting til sept to see whether beverly or prince will be added to the package.


Lol, that is way more than Houston got for Harden and about 3x Simmons value. I would by screaming fire Rosas if they gave even one pick that wasn’t fully lottery protected as well as those 2.
KGdaBom
RealGM
Posts: 23,754
And1: 6,530
Joined: Jun 22, 2017
         

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#225 » by KGdaBom » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:27 pm

winforlose wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:
winforlose wrote::evil:

Do you think they other teams go for it?

Probably not. They'd probably want somebody useful along with that Lottery protected FRP. Depending on Nance's medicals i might trade Beasley straight up for him.


If anything they may not even want Vando. They are trying to cut down the roster from 17 or 18 players.

They might be trying to cut down the roster, but we have to send salary out in the deal.

EDIT: the more I think about this we wouldn't have to send much salary out right. Nance is making 11Million per year I believe. We got some cap space to work with.
KGdaBom
RealGM
Posts: 23,754
And1: 6,530
Joined: Jun 22, 2017
         

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#226 » by KGdaBom » Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:34 pm

Krapinsky wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:
Krapinsky wrote:
I think the Grizz are pretty high on Dillion Brooks, and rightfully so. I also think we'd be crazy to trade a draft pick for Nance.

I don't think we would be crazy to trade a lottery protected FRP for Nance. 9 times out of 10 Nance will be better than any pick outside of the lottery. If we could do that along with non productive salary it would be a no brainer IMO.


These are the types of trades treadmill teams make. Nance will soon be 29 and is heavily reliant on his athleticism. I suspect he'll be going downhill from here on out. Indeed, he's got worse every year the last three years so we have already seen his decline (though I suspect some of this comes at the expense of playing further away from the basket, which has hurt his rebound numbers at the expense of shooting more three pointers). He's also injury prone.

Less than a year after trading a first for Nance I suspect we'd be asking ourselves how we go about upgrading the PF position for the long term. In that sense he's a place holder that would make us marginally better this year (though I think that much is even debatable as I am higher on Vanderbilt than most). How many more games would we win or lose with Nance getting PF minutes instead of developing the players we already have: Naz/McDaniels/Vanderbilt or plugging in Prince? And are those extra wins contributed to Nance worth the expense of our long term development of other players?


First off I'm a bigger fan of Nance than most. Nance is very talented. He would more than marginally improve our team IMO. Getting him does not mean we can't develop who we got. His play has declined a bit the last couple years due to injuries. 29 is far from being old. I expect him to be good for 4-6 years. So if his medicals check out and we can expect him to be healthy then I say bring him on. It's OK if you expect a non lottery pick to be more valuable to us. We just disagree.
winforlose
RealGM
Posts: 13,580
And1: 6,063
Joined: Feb 27, 2020

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#227 » by winforlose » Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:36 am

KGdaBom wrote:
winforlose wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:Probably not. They'd probably want somebody useful along with that Lottery protected FRP. Depending on Nance's medicals i might trade Beasley straight up for him.


If anything they may not even want Vando. They are trying to cut down the roster from 17 or 18 players.

They might be trying to cut down the roster, but we have to send salary out in the deal.

EDIT: the more I think about this we wouldn't have to send much salary out right. Nance is making 11Million per year I believe. We got some cap space to work with.


I know we are around 7 mil under the tax, we have the Trade exemption and the MLE. I think the math works but I am not sure. I know if we tossed in Layman it should be doable. Make this trade and don’t sign JMAC and you are in the tax but not terribly (maybe you dump layman mid season for a 2nd round pick and get back under) and you upgrade the 4. The question is how much.
Nick K
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,784
And1: 2,394
Joined: Nov 23, 2016
       

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#228 » by Nick K » Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:43 am

KGdaBom wrote:
jpatrick wrote:
MPLSwolves wrote:The more I think about it, the more I don’t like Simmons next to Ant. I know the idea of Simmons as a big next to KAT seems nice, but in reality I think Ben would essential usurp Ant’s role as a primary ball handler.

Ideally, we’d have Ant take over the offense at times with D’Lo off-ball as a shooting threat. With Ben Simmons in the lineup I’m not sure how that would work. Would Ben embrace a role where he’s just in the dunker’s spot the whole time? Is that even a good use of him?

I’m of the opinion we need a big who can be a rim protector. We go all in on Simmons and sure our defense would be better, but Simmons doesn’t exactly provide what we need on the defensive-end.. Hell, Vando and him are kind of similar players on that end of the floor.

Wrote all of this to say maybe Larry Nance Jr makes more sense for us because he (a) fits KAT’s timeline, (b) is a versatile defender who can defend Centers when called upon (c) is a low-usage big on the offensive end who won’t cannibalize the offense.

Im not all that concern about the two timelines narrative some in the media are droning on about. Im more concerned about basketball fit when it comes to Ant, and I can’t really think of a worse player to have on the court with him than Simmons. Either Ben has the ball in his hand or he’s near the rim. Both scenarios aren’t great for Ant because the last thing we need is a big clogging the lane.

We go all in on Ben and I am afraid we become pregnant with a Big 3 that’s great in a vacuum but not with the other pieces we value, pieces we may have to give up in a Simmons trade..

Could we somehow swing a Nance Jr trade around Okogie and Layman instead?


Nance moves the needle zero. If it was him or nothing, sure. Rosas is after big swings though. I don’t know how Finch would use Simmons, but I highly doubt it’d be as a primary ball handler in the half court. That’s just not Simmons’ strength. People sag off him too much. He’d be much better as a cutter, dunker spot, pick man in the pick in roll. The beautiful thing about Simmons is that with his BBIQ, he’ll find the open man (well except when he passed on that dunk in the playoffs).

This is critical as Finch has said he’s getting rid of the highly structure Wolves’ offense that was here under Saunders and wants a more free flowing system (I’m thinking Spurs type offense), which requires less ball pounding and more quick passing. Speaking of the Spurs, one of Simmons’ biggest fans is Pop, which makes sense with that system.

In fact, if I were betting where Simmons ends up,
My guess is Kings or Spurs.

I don't understand you saying Nance moves the needle zero. IMO he's an almost perfect complement to our existing team.


I agree on Nance. He's not the sexy choice but he's solid as hell and fits what we need to a "T". The guy does all the little things we need plus he can shoot. Nobody can play off of him like they can against Ben. He'd be a very good guy to get. I wonder if a superb shooter like Beasley and a future pick gets him. The money is right. He reminds me of PJ Tucker somewhat but better offensively.

Myles Turner might still be available. What about Derek Favors at OKC?

I'm hoping we sign Vando as well. He's getting better by the day.
SO_MONEY
Lead Assistant
Posts: 4,799
And1: 1,032
Joined: Sep 11, 2009
         

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#229 » by SO_MONEY » Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:06 am

Nick K wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:
jpatrick wrote:
Nance moves the needle zero. If it was him or nothing, sure. Rosas is after big swings though. I don’t know how Finch would use Simmons, but I highly doubt it’d be as a primary ball handler in the half court. That’s just not Simmons’ strength. People sag off him too much. He’d be much better as a cutter, dunker spot, pick man in the pick in roll. The beautiful thing about Simmons is that with his BBIQ, he’ll find the open man (well except when he passed on that dunk in the playoffs).

This is critical as Finch has said he’s getting rid of the highly structure Wolves’ offense that was here under Saunders and wants a more free flowing system (I’m thinking Spurs type offense), which requires less ball pounding and more quick passing. Speaking of the Spurs, one of Simmons’ biggest fans is Pop, which makes sense with that system.

In fact, if I were betting where Simmons ends up,
My guess is Kings or Spurs.

I don't understand you saying Nance moves the needle zero. IMO he's an almost perfect complement to our existing team.


I agree on Nance. He's not the sexy choice but he's solid as hell and fits what we need to a "T". The guy does all the little things we need plus he can shoot. Nobody can play off of him like they can against Ben. He'd be a very good guy to get. I wonder if a superb shooter like Beasley and a future pick gets him. The money is right. He reminds me of PJ Tucker somewhat but better offensively.

Myles Turner might still be available. What about Derek Favors at OKC?

I'm hoping we sign Vando as well. He's getting better by the day.


I would have a hard time trading Beasley for him let alone add a pick.
Nick K
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,784
And1: 2,394
Joined: Nov 23, 2016
       

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#230 » by Nick K » Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:08 am

VeritasTri wrote:
MPLSwolves wrote:The more I think about it, the more I don’t like Simmons next to Ant. I know the idea of Simmons as a big next to KAT seems nice, but in reality I think Ben would essential usurp Ant’s role as a primary ball handler.

Ideally, we’d have Ant take over the offense at times with D’Lo off-ball as a shooting threat. With Ben Simmons in the lineup I’m not sure how that would work. Would Ben embrace a role where he’s just in the dunker’s spot the whole time? Is that even a good use of him?

I’m of the opinion we need a big who can be a rim protector. We go all in on Simmons and sure our defense would be better, but Simmons doesn’t exactly provide what we need on the defensive-end.. Hell, Vando and him are kind of similar players on that end of the floor.

Wrote all of this to say maybe Larry Nance Jr makes more sense for us because he (a) fits KAT’s timeline, (b) is a versatile defender who can defend Centers when called upon (c) is a low-usage big on the offensive end who won’t cannibalize the offense.

Im not all that concern about the two timelines narrative some in the media are droning on about. Im more concerned about basketball fit when it comes to Ant, and I can’t really think of a worse player to have on the court with him than Simmons. Either Ben has the ball in his hand or he’s near the rim. Both scenarios aren’t great for Ant because the last thing we need is a big clogging the lane.

We go all in on Ben and I am afraid we become pregnant with a Big 3 that’s great in a vacuum but not with the other pieces we value, pieces we may have to give up in a Simmons trade..

Could we somehow swing a Nance Jr trade around Okogie and Layman instead?


Why would we want Ant to "take over the offense" as the primary ball handler/decision maker when hes not very good at it? Hell, even Dlo isnt always very good at it and instead hunts his own shots or ball pounds. Thats why we mixed Rubio in with those guys and allowed them to focus on being more scoring oriented. I dont see Simmons being the PG here, I just see him taking some of the ball handling duties out of the hands of Dlo and creating looks for guys. Ant still gets his touches off the creation of Dlo/Simmons, in ISO/PnR, or as the late shot clock guy who can generate a shot when the offense failed to. Due to Simmons playstyle of getting others involved and having a lower usage I dont think there will be any issue getting Ant touches, and he and the team would likely get much better looks allowing Simmons to handle.

It would be nice to add more rim protection, but adding perimeter defense so guys arent just going downhill at the rim all day would be equally as effective. I would love to replace Reid with a legit athletic backup defensive center/lob threat to help with rim protection. But overall improvements to our defense is more important than one particular aspect. I mean you talk about Simmons not being a rim protector and then suggest Larry Nance, a guy who is no better at blocking shots than Simmons.


You can't be serious. Have you seen Ant with the ball in his hands when we need a basket? Ant operates like Harden or Wade. He creates his own shot at will. He doesn't need Simmons to set him up. Neither does Dlo. We need Ben to play down low and rebound like hell. We need him to drive and score from the spaced perimeter. Ben can be a great passer to cutters for easy baskets. We need Ben to play a very different role here than he has played before. He's not really a PG. He's a point forward. Big difference. The days of having a PG playing tic tac toe and running the show are mostly in the past. Can Ben succeed in the role he has to play here? I think he can. I'm just not willing to trade away our future to get him. For the right price...yes.
KGdaBom
RealGM
Posts: 23,754
And1: 6,530
Joined: Jun 22, 2017
         

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#231 » by KGdaBom » Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:17 am

Nick K wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:
jpatrick wrote:
Nance moves the needle zero. If it was him or nothing, sure. Rosas is after big swings though. I don’t know how Finch would use Simmons, but I highly doubt it’d be as a primary ball handler in the half court. That’s just not Simmons’ strength. People sag off him too much. He’d be much better as a cutter, dunker spot, pick man in the pick in roll. The beautiful thing about Simmons is that with his BBIQ, he’ll find the open man (well except when he passed on that dunk in the playoffs).

This is critical as Finch has said he’s getting rid of the highly structure Wolves’ offense that was here under Saunders and wants a more free flowing system (I’m thinking Spurs type offense), which requires less ball pounding and more quick passing. Speaking of the Spurs, one of Simmons’ biggest fans is Pop, which makes sense with that system.

In fact, if I were betting where Simmons ends up,
My guess is Kings or Spurs.

I don't understand you saying Nance moves the needle zero. IMO he's an almost perfect complement to our existing team.


I agree on Nance. He's not the sexy choice but he's solid as hell and fits what we need to a "T". The guy does all the little things we need plus he can shoot. Nobody can play off of him like they can against Ben. He'd be a very good guy to get. I wonder if a superb shooter like Beasley and a future pick gets him. The money is right. He reminds me of PJ Tucker somewhat but better offensively.

Myles Turner might still be available. What about Derek Favors at OKC?

I'm hoping we sign Vando as well. He's getting better by the day.

I think Beasley by himself would get him. They're looking for wings.
shangrila
RealGM
Posts: 13,598
And1: 6,688
Joined: Dec 21, 2009
Location: Land of Aus
 

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#232 » by shangrila » Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:37 am

Wait, Beasley for Nance?

Come on guys. I just got through the Simmons crap, let’s not start a new rabbit hole that digs straight into the sewer line.
Nick K
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,784
And1: 2,394
Joined: Nov 23, 2016
       

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#233 » by Nick K » Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:39 am

SO_MONEY wrote:
Nick K wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:I don't understand you saying Nance moves the needle zero. IMO he's an almost perfect complement to our existing team.


I agree on Nance. He's not the sexy choice but he's solid as hell and fits what we need to a "T". The guy does all the little things we need plus he can shoot. Nobody can play off of him like they can against Ben. He'd be a very good guy to get. I wonder if a superb shooter like Beasley and a future pick gets him. The money is right. He reminds me of PJ Tucker somewhat but better offensively.

Myles Turner might still be available. What about Derek Favors at OKC?

I'm hoping we sign Vando as well. He's getting better by the day.


I would have a hard time trading Beasley for him let alone add a pick.


I get you. It's not an easy choice but you have to give to get. I didn't mean a 1st rd pick.
KGdaBom
RealGM
Posts: 23,754
And1: 6,530
Joined: Jun 22, 2017
         

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#234 » by KGdaBom » Tue Aug 24, 2021 1:40 am

shangrila wrote:Wait, Beasley for Nance?

Come on guys. I just got through the Simmons crap, let’s not start a new rabbit hole that digs straight into the sewer line.

I get that Beasley is a good shooter and Valuable to us. I think what Nance would bring would be more valuable. What's your issue with this idea?
User avatar
King Malta
Starter
Posts: 2,328
And1: 1,554
Joined: Jun 24, 2013
Location: The Lottery
         

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#235 » by King Malta » Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:05 am

KGdaBom wrote:
shangrila wrote:Wait, Beasley for Nance?

Come on guys. I just got through the Simmons crap, let’s not start a new rabbit hole that digs straight into the sewer line.

I get that Beasley is a good shooter and Valuable to us. I think what Nance would bring would be more valuable. What's your issue with this idea?


To me it's a mixture of durability, age, Cavs willingness to deal, and value as a trade asset that would prevent me from pulling the trigger on that.

I also like Nance, a lot, and think he'd be a great fit next to KAT. But he does have injury problems (Beasley is admittedly not the most durable guy either) and he's also got 6 years on Beasley who is currently experiencing a pretty steep improvement in production. Not only that but I feel like Beasley has more value as a trade piece when it comes to exploring other additions to the team (Simmons, for example). The Cavs seem to be in selling mode at the moment too, I don't think it would take giving up an asset of Beasley's quality to make a trade happen.
SmokeyPaw
Starter
Posts: 2,207
And1: 1,163
Joined: May 14, 2016
 

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#236 » by SmokeyPaw » Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:17 am

I dont think Cavs would be that interested in beasley. Supposedly cavs want to move okoro to sg because they dont think he's long enough for sf. So they're looking for a bigger wing than okoro - thats not Beasley.
User avatar
Krapinsky
RealGM
Posts: 20,712
And1: 1,952
Joined: May 13, 2007
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#237 » by Krapinsky » Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:26 am

KGdaBom wrote:
Krapinsky wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:I don't think we would be crazy to trade a lottery protected FRP for Nance. 9 times out of 10 Nance will be better than any pick outside of the lottery. If we could do that along with non productive salary it would be a no brainer IMO.


These are the types of trades treadmill teams make. Nance will soon be 29 and is heavily reliant on his athleticism. I suspect he'll be going downhill from here on out. Indeed, he's got worse every year the last three years so we have already seen his decline (though I suspect some of this comes at the expense of playing further away from the basket, which has hurt his rebound numbers at the expense of shooting more three pointers). He's also injury prone.

Less than a year after trading a first for Nance I suspect we'd be asking ourselves how we go about upgrading the PF position for the long term. In that sense he's a place holder that would make us marginally better this year (though I think that much is even debatable as I am higher on Vanderbilt than most). How many more games would we win or lose with Nance getting PF minutes instead of developing the players we already have: Naz/McDaniels/Vanderbilt or plugging in Prince? And are those extra wins contributed to Nance worth the expense of our long term development of other players?


First off I'm a bigger fan of Nance than most. Nance is very talented. He would more than marginally improve our team IMO. Getting him does not mean we can't develop who we got. His play has declined a bit the last couple years due to injuries. 29 is far from being old. I expect him to be good for 4-6 years. So if his medicals check out and we can expect him to be healthy then I say bring him on. It's OK if you expect a non lottery pick to be more valuable to us. We just disagree.


I don't put much value in a the protected pick but don't like giving up the flexibility to trade the pick for a better player/opportunity that may arise. Let's say for just sake of example that Devin Booker demands a trade. We would not be able to offer an unprotected pick for 2022 and 2023 simply because we traded a protective first for Nance. It hamstrings what we can do to improve the team.
FinnTheHuman wrote: Your post is just garbage.

NewWolvesOrder wrote:Garbage post, indeed.
Nick K
Lead Assistant
Posts: 5,784
And1: 2,394
Joined: Nov 23, 2016
       

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#238 » by Nick K » Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:26 am

King Malta wrote:
KGdaBom wrote:
shangrila wrote:Wait, Beasley for Nance?

Come on guys. I just got through the Simmons crap, let’s not start a new rabbit hole that digs straight into the sewer line.

I get that Beasley is a good shooter and Valuable to us. I think what Nance would bring would be more valuable. What's your issue with this idea?


To me it's a mixture of durability, age, Cavs willingness to deal, and value as a trade asset that would prevent me from pulling the trigger on that.

I also like Nance, a lot, and think he'd be a great fit next to KAT. But he does have injury problems (Beasley is admittedly not the most durable guy either) and he's also got 6 years on Beasley who is currently experiencing a pretty steep improvement in production. Not only that but I feel like Beasley has more value as a trade piece when it comes to exploring other additions to the team (Simmons, for example). The Cavs seem to be in selling mode at the moment too, I don't think it would take giving up an asset of Beasley's quality to make a trade happen.


The downside on Nance is he has missed many games due to Crohns disease a digestive disorder. It's stubborn, nasty and unpredictable. I don't know enough about it beyond that.
Klomp
Retired Mod
Retired Mod
Posts: 69,872
And1: 23,166
Joined: Jul 08, 2005
Contact:
   

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#239 » by Klomp » Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:12 am

winforlose wrote:As I said, when played with a PF and a center there is usually a size mismatch because of Simmons. When played as PF you negate the size mismatch. Bigs can probably guard him in the low post. My understanding of Simmons game is that it is often downhill. Also, having him in the low post clogs the lane. Better to have him facilitate then simply try and find new value with him.

You play him with the best players. Matchups are rarely determined solely by position, this isn't 2k. Just because he's the PG in the lineup doesn't mean he'd be guarded by the opponent's PG.

PG: Simmons / Russell / Edwards / Prince / Towns

The opposing PG would likely defend Russell. Edwards gets the top defensive wing assignment, followed by Simmons and Prince. The big defends Towns.

PF: Russell / Edwards / Prince / Simmons / Towns

Same story. The opposing PG would likely defend Russell. Edwards gets the top defensive wing assignment, followed by Simmons and Prince. The big defends Towns.
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
winforlose
RealGM
Posts: 13,580
And1: 6,063
Joined: Feb 27, 2020

Re: Trade Talk (Part Eight) 

Post#240 » by winforlose » Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:29 am

Klomp wrote:
winforlose wrote:As I said, when played with a PF and a center there is usually a size mismatch because of Simmons. When played as PF you negate the size mismatch. Bigs can probably guard him in the low post. My understanding of Simmons game is that it is often downhill. Also, having him in the low post clogs the lane. Better to have him facilitate then simply try and find new value with him.

You play him with the best players. Matchups are rarely determined solely by position, this isn't 2k. Just because he's the PG in the lineup doesn't mean he'd be guarded by the opponent's PG.

PG: Simmons / Russell / Edwards / Prince / Towns

The opposing PG would likely defend Russell. Edwards gets the top defensive wing assignment, followed by Simmons and Prince. The big defends Towns.

PF: Russell / Edwards / Prince / Simmons / Towns

Same story. The opposing PG would likely defend Russell. Edwards gets the top defensive wing assignment, followed by Simmons and Prince. The big defends Towns.


I think you misunderstood my statement. What I was referring to is the average size by position. Naz Reid is 6’9 and plays center, JMAC, is 5’11 and plays PG. These are both examples of guys smaller than the averages by position. There are other guys who are huge for their position like Simmons. My point was Simmons main advantage is he allows another big to be on the floor at the same time without compromising offense or defense. It makes it harder for the other team to match up. You typically want your players within 2-3 inches of the opponent or you get serious trouble. Take JO at the PF last season. Giving up 4+ inches and god knows how many pounds and you get back him down and lay it in over and over again. By the same token, if you play Simmons at the PF and use an extra wing now instead of 3 bigs you are back to 2. This makes it easier to defend and wastes the size advantage. Position never has determined matchup as KAT is sometimes guarded by PF and sometimes guarded by C (not the only example but an easy one.)

Return to Minnesota Timberwolves