2022 NBA Draft Talk: Never too soon

[Klomp]

Apparently he has a head full of rocks and serious questions about his BBIQ. Don't think I take that at #19.

I’d go and look back at what the “experts” were saying during the 2020 draft. There were a ton of attitude concerns raised by them for Jaden, they didn’t even think Edwards liked basketball or could be a winner.

Ti put it shortly the main claim is across multiple teams that he couldn't explain simple concepts when watching tape and that he had very poor interviews. This did or did not happen compared to the more speculative you referenced above. Could be BS, but if it isn't there will be a reason teams may not have him very high.

It doesn't necessarily have to be BS. Someone could give identical answers in identical tones and have two teams come away feeling differently about the player. Doesn't mean one team's feelings are fabricated, wrong or BS. Just means each team is looking at prospects in their own unique way.

[shangrila]

I’d go and look back at what the “experts” were saying during the 2020 draft. There were a ton of attitude concerns raised by them for Jaden, they didn’t even think Edwards liked basketball or could be a winner.

Ti put it shortly the main claim is across multiple teams that he couldn't explain simple concepts when watching tape and that he had very poor interviews. This did or did not happen compared to the more speculative you referenced above. Could be BS, but if it isn't there will be a reason teams may not have him very high.

It doesn't necessarily have to be BS. Someone could give identical answers in identical tones and have two teams come away feeling differently about the player. Doesn't mean one team's feelings are fabricated, wrong or BS. Just means each team is looking at prospects in their own unique way.

While you're technically right, the vibe I get from these rumours is the teams asked him what a cut is and his answer was "that thing you need a bandaid for".

[SO_MONEY]

Ti put it shortly the main claim is across multiple teams that he couldn't explain simple concepts when watching tape and that he had very poor interviews. This did or did not happen compared to the more speculative you referenced above. Could be BS, but if it isn't there will be a reason teams may not have him very high.

It doesn't necessarily have to be BS. Someone could give identical answers in identical tones and have two teams come away feeling differently about the player. Doesn't mean one team's feelings are fabricated, wrong or BS. Just means each team is looking at prospects in their own unique way.

While you're technically right, the vibe I get from these rumours is the teams asked him what a cut is and his answer was "that thing you need a bandaid for".

The people pushing the rumors definitely were not flattering, granted the first place my mind wandered was that a team was trying to get him to drop, but then it was pretty widely covered so it seems more credible than a single source. Who knows? It is true or it isn't. If it is I don't want him and he was who I was hoping might drop to us. I just don't want us to be the definition of insanity and repeat mistakes. We need smart competitive players, our lack of them over the years has had an impact on our results.

[shangrila]

It doesn't necessarily have to be BS. Someone could give identical answers in identical tones and have two teams come away feeling differently about the player. Doesn't mean one team's feelings are fabricated, wrong or BS. Just means each team is looking at prospects in their own unique way.

While you're technically right, the vibe I get from these rumours is the teams asked him what a cut is and his answer was "that thing you need a bandaid for".

The people pushing the rumors definitely were not flattering, granted the first place my mind wandered was that a team was trying to get him to drop, but then it was pretty widely covered so it seems more credible than a single source. Who knows? It is true or it isn't. If it is I don't want him and he was who I was hoping might drop to us. I just don't want us to be the definition of insanity and repeat mistakes. We need smart competitive players, our lack of them over the years has had an impact on our results.

Agreed, although to me it comes down to Finch. If he were to sign off on it then I'd take him. If he has doubts then you pass.

Finch did wonders for guys like Reid, McDaniels and Ant after all.

[Klomp]

Interesting Eason isn't in the green room. Would be real happy if we could grab him.

He seems like a great fit for us. Tankathon has him going 15th.

Apparently he has a head full of rocks and serious questions about his BBIQ. Don't think I take that at #19.

Keep in mind, his skill set and athletic profile would normally land him in the Top 10 or possibly even the Top 5. Hesitating to take him 19th may prove to be foolish.

[Norseman79]

What seems stupid is very few PGs and very few PF/C seem to be worked out. And I am referring to ranked ones.

There are a couple of things I read into this.

First of all, Finch doesn't really use true traditional PGs. McLaughlin is about the only one and he barely got time on the court because we have Russell and Beverley in front of him.

Second of all, if you are looking at those as the biggest positional needs, I think it speaks to the philosophy of not drafting to fill needs. Use free agency and trades to fill your needs, especially when situated later in the round.

I mean, they've worked out Montero, Davison and Hardy (if you think he's a scoring PG), not to mention they interviewed Chandler (not sure if there's a workout planned). So they've looked into most of the PGs in the draft so far, the only glaring omission would be Washington and maybe Terry.

In regards to how Finch uses PGs, he basically laid out what he wants when he was discussing the JMac/DLo thing; he wants a PG that gets the ball up the floor quickly, gets the team into their sets, then moves off ball and can make plays as a secondary playmaker when/if the ball comes back to him. I think this is why DLo chafes a bit there because he's more of a hold it, hunt for a "good" shot kind of guy.

And I don't get the PF/C comment. Cs, sure, but I doubt many if any of the top guys are trying to get drafted here due to lack of opportunity. PFs, we've worked out Liddell, Eason and Jovic, who are all the guys ranked around #19. If people are upset we haven't worked out guys like Williams or Sochan...uh, it takes 2 to tango there. You can't force someone to come in for a workout and we're far enough removed from the lottery that it makes little sense for those guys to bother coming here.

Said we needed to get bigger, aside from Jovic no other big PFs we're worked out. C, did we work out anyone 7'+ 250+? More of the same next year

As for PG, if we need a pass first type of PG, the kid from Gonzaga and a few others should have been brought in, I like Montero, Hardy and Williams, but would have thought they wanted a plug and play facilitator not projects

[SO_MONEY]

He seems like a great fit for us. Tankathon has him going 15th.

Apparently he has a head full of rocks and serious questions about his BBIQ. Don't think I take that at #19.

Keep in mind, his skill set and athletic profile would normally land him in the Top 10 or possibly even the Top 5. Hesitating to take him 19th may prove to be foolish.

Unless the rumors are true. I take Jalen Williams.

We can't take low BBIQ players.

[Norseman79]

Eason is also only 6'8 217. I wouldn't call that adding size per Finch's words.

[Klomp]

Eason is also only 6'8 217. I wouldn't call that adding size per Finch's words.

The draft isn't the only way to add size.

[shangrila]

There are a couple of things I read into this.

First of all, Finch doesn't really use true traditional PGs. McLaughlin is about the only one and he barely got time on the court because we have Russell and Beverley in front of him.

Second of all, if you are looking at those as the biggest positional needs, I think it speaks to the philosophy of not drafting to fill needs. Use free agency and trades to fill your needs, especially when situated later in the round.

I mean, they've worked out Montero, Davison and Hardy (if you think he's a scoring PG), not to mention they interviewed Chandler (not sure if there's a workout planned). So they've looked into most of the PGs in the draft so far, the only glaring omission would be Washington and maybe Terry.

In regards to how Finch uses PGs, he basically laid out what he wants when he was discussing the JMac/DLo thing; he wants a PG that gets the ball up the floor quickly, gets the team into their sets, then moves off ball and can make plays as a secondary playmaker when/if the ball comes back to him. I think this is why DLo chafes a bit there because he's more of a hold it, hunt for a "good" shot kind of guy.

And I don't get the PF/C comment. Cs, sure, but I doubt many if any of the top guys are trying to get drafted here due to lack of opportunity. PFs, we've worked out Liddell, Eason and Jovic, who are all the guys ranked around #19. If people are upset we haven't worked out guys like Williams or Sochan...uh, it takes 2 to tango there. You can't force someone to come in for a workout and we're far enough removed from the lottery that it makes little sense for those guys to bother coming here.

Said we needed to get bigger, aside from Jovic no other big PFs we're worked out. C, did we work out anyone 7'+ 250+? More of the same next year

As for PG, if we need a pass first type of PG, the kid from Gonzaga and a few others should have been brought in, I like Montero, Hardy and Williams, but would have thought they wanted a plug and play facilitator not projects

No, you said "very few PF/C seem to be worked out. And I am referring to ranked ones"...it was literally in the post you quoted. And who are the "bigger" PFs they should have brought in? Liddell and Jovic are probably the only ones that qualify that are ranked near 19.

I explained the Cs so I won't repeat myself.

Why do they need a plug and play facilitator? They've already got that in McLaughlin, not to mention DLo, Beverley, maybe Nowell, let alone what their plans are in FA. And just because they don't bring someone in doesn't mean they won't draft them.

Your comment was just bizarre given the circumstances.

[KGdaBom]

Ti put it shortly the main claim is across multiple teams that he couldn't explain simple concepts when watching tape and that he had very poor interviews. This did or did not happen compared to the more speculative you referenced above. Could be BS, but if it isn't there will be a reason teams may not have him very high.

It doesn't necessarily have to be BS. Someone could give identical answers in identical tones and have two teams come away feeling differently about the player. Doesn't mean one team's feelings are fabricated, wrong or BS. Just means each team is looking at prospects in their own unique way.

While you're technically right, the vibe I get from these rumours is the teams asked him what a cut is and his answer was "that thing you need a bandaid for".

If that's true I love that answer. Reminds me of JR Rider being pulled over by the police. They ask him who's he gonna call. "Ghostbusters"

[KGdaBom]

Eason is also only 6'8 217. I wouldn't call that adding size per Finch's words.

Being really strong and super athletic that 6'8" 217 is going to prove large in the NBA. He's going to get a lot of those rebounds we should have been getting in this years playoffs.

[GopherIt!]

The big sleeper in this draft is Jaylin Williams from PF/C Arkansas. The kid can play and has big upside.

This draft is probably the easiest draft for the Wolves ever. Jalen Williams at #19, hopefully, Jaylin Williams at #40 or 48 if he is there. I agree his defense would be a help and he has room to grow.

That would be an amazing draft for us.

[shangrila]

I worry that Jaylin, like Treveon, is just not what we need as a backup 5. With Towns we could really use a thicc and/or bouncy roll man. That's neither of those guys, even though I do think they'll be decent NBA players.

And also there's way too many Williams in this draft.

[Norseman79]

I mean, they've worked out Montero, Davison and Hardy (if you think he's a scoring PG), not to mention they interviewed Chandler (not sure if there's a workout planned). So they've looked into most of the PGs in the draft so far, the only glaring omission would be Washington and maybe Terry.

In regards to how Finch uses PGs, he basically laid out what he wants when he was discussing the JMac/DLo thing; he wants a PG that gets the ball up the floor quickly, gets the team into their sets, then moves off ball and can make plays as a secondary playmaker when/if the ball comes back to him. I think this is why DLo chafes a bit there because he's more of a hold it, hunt for a "good" shot kind of guy.

And I don't get the PF/C comment. Cs, sure, but I doubt many if any of the top guys are trying to get drafted here due to lack of opportunity. PFs, we've worked out Liddell, Eason and Jovic, who are all the guys ranked around #19. If people are upset we haven't worked out guys like Williams or Sochan...uh, it takes 2 to tango there. You can't force someone to come in for a workout and we're far enough removed from the lottery that it makes little sense for those guys to bother coming here.

Said we needed to get bigger, aside from Jovic no other big PFs we're worked out. C, did we work out anyone 7'+ 250+? More of the same next year

As for PG, if we need a pass first type of PG, the kid from Gonzaga and a few others should have been brought in, I like Montero, Hardy and Williams, but would have thought they wanted a plug and play facilitator not projects

No, you said "very few PF/C seem to be worked out. And I am referring to ranked ones"...it was literally in the post you quoted. And who are the "bigger" PFs they should have brought in? Liddell and Jovic are probably the only ones that qualify that are ranked near 19.

I explained the Cs so I won't repeat myself.

Why do they need a plug and play facilitator? They've already got that in McLaughlin, not to mention DLo, Beverley, maybe Nowell, let alone what their plans are in FA. And just because they don't bring someone in doesn't mean they won't draft them.

Your comment was just bizarre given the circumstances.

You are right, I meant to say Finch said we need to get bigger. I will respond more later

[minimus]

Said we needed to get bigger, aside from Jovic no other big PFs we're worked out. C, did we work out anyone 7'+ 250+? More of the same next year

As for PG, if we need a pass first type of PG, the kid from Gonzaga and a few others should have been brought in, I like Montero, Hardy and Williams, but would have thought they wanted a plug and play facilitator not projects

No, you said "very few PF/C seem to be worked out. And I am referring to ranked ones"...it was literally in the post you quoted. And who are the "bigger" PFs they should have brought in? Liddell and Jovic are probably the only ones that qualify that are ranked near 19.

I explained the Cs so I won't repeat myself.

Why do they need a plug and play facilitator? They've already got that in McLaughlin, not to mention DLo, Beverley, maybe Nowell, let alone what their plans are in FA. And just because they don't bring someone in doesn't mean they won't draft them.

Your comment was just bizarre given the circumstances.

You are right, I meant to say Finch said we need to get bigger. I will respond more later

I would like MIN to get bigger at ALL positions, not only PF/C. Beverley-DLo-Beasley-McLaughlin-Nowell is an extremely small backcourt. With our high wall scheme our rebounding issue are often lies on inability of perimeter players to tag rolling opponents and boxout. One solution is obviously moving MCD to full time SF and Ant to fulltime SG. So adding even and undersized Liddell as PF might cause a domino effect because it would allow MCD and Ant to play their natural positions.

I am also all-in for idea of adding a long ballhandler such as Danel Terry. This in theory might help us to keep guys such as Beasley or Nowell, without being awfull defensive team when bench unit is playing.

So Liddell, Terry and defensive FA bigman would be a good off-season to me.

[Norseman79]

No, you said "very few PF/C seem to be worked out. And I am referring to ranked ones"...it was literally in the post you quoted. And who are the "bigger" PFs they should have brought in? Liddell and Jovic are probably the only ones that qualify that are ranked near 19.

I explained the Cs so I won't repeat myself.

Why do they need a plug and play facilitator? They've already got that in McLaughlin, not to mention DLo, Beverley, maybe Nowell, let alone what their plans are in FA. And just because they don't bring someone in doesn't mean they won't draft them.

Your comment was just bizarre given the circumstances.

You are right, I meant to say Finch said we need to get bigger. I will respond more later

I would like MIN to get bigger at ALL positions, not only PF/C. Beverley-DLo-Beasley-McLaughlin-Nowell is an extremely small backcourt. With our high wall scheme our rebounding issue are often lies on inability of perimeter players to tag rolling opponents and boxout. One solution is obviously moving MCD to full time SF and Ant to fulltime SG. So adding even and undersized Liddell as PF might cause a domino effect because it would allow MCD and Ant to play their natural positions.

I am also all-in for idea of adding a long ballhandler such as Danel Terry. This in theory might help us to keep guys such as Beasley or Nowell, without being awfull defensive team when bench unit is playing.

So Liddell, Terry and defensive FA bigman would be a good off-season to me.

Ant should be playing the two, McDaniels the three. People will argue that that's not the system we run. That's fine. If we are going to run with a point guard three wings and a post, I would say that Ant and McDaniels should be our smallest wings. If that means Karl goes to a wing and a larger post is brought in, awesome. If that means Karl stays in the post, and someone bigger than McDaniels is brought in to be the other wing, fine.

[jpatrick]

Eason is also only 6'8 217. I wouldn't call that adding size per Finch's words.

Being really strong and super athletic that 6'8" 217 is going to prove large in the NBA. He's going to get a lot of those rebounds we should have been getting in this years playoffs.

I’m not the biggest fan, but I was shocked he weighed in at only 217. He looks and plays bigger.

And as far as height, he’s incredibly long for that height (think Draymond Green) with gigantic hands.

[Norseman79]

Eason is also only 6'8 217. I wouldn't call that adding size per Finch's words.

Being really strong and super athletic that 6'8" 217 is going to prove large in the NBA. He's going to get a lot of those rebounds we should have been getting in this years playoffs.

I’m not the biggest fan, but I was shocked he weighed in at only 217. He looks and plays bigger.

And as far as height, he’s incredibly long for that height (think Draymond Green) with gigantic hands.

Believe me, I've read the scouting reports, I've watched videos, I've seen all the measurements. I'm looking for a jaron Jackson type not a grant Williams type

[Norseman79]

Can Jalen Williams be a PG? If yes, I could like him at 19