The Minnesota Timberwolves Offseason Thread - Kris Dunn at No. 5 in Most Recent DX Mock

Right!

We have to get a PG in return if they do. Zach just fits better at the 2 and Tyus is no where near ready.
 
If we've learned anything in the past, it's that when national writers claim a trade "could happen" it means 95% of the time it doesn't. The East Coast dorks especially like to swing and miss with Rubio and they have from the beginning. When he was drafted by the Wolves the narrative the entire week was "he is never coming to MN" and "why did they do this, our sources tell us Rubio says he will never come to the NBA now." Then after Rubio played a year in Spain the storyline was "The Wolves should trade him to the Knicks, he's only coming to the NBA if it's New York City." Then a couple years back they had Flip Saunders close to shopping him to a team I can't remember. Now Isola claims "the feeling is that Rubio could be moved prior to Thursday's NBA trade deadline." Right.

The Timberwolves are as dysfunctional of a franchise as there is in sports, so I put nothing past them with anything. And Rubio is far from a perfect player who has had his share of injuries. But let's review:

Since the day Rubio walked in here the Wolves are .408 when he plays, and .241 when he's not suiting up.
He's still 5th in the league in assists per game. Every season he is healthy he's minimum top-5.
He's among the leaders in steals per game. Every season he is healthy he's at or near the top.
Rubio is currently locked into a team-friendly 4-year, $56 million deal. He's in the first year of it.
The team has no viable long-term Plan B if they were to ship Rubio off. And yes that includes LaVine at the point.
 
Well said RY, although if they ship him off, they could receive his replacement. (The only way I justify trading him)

As far as the draft goes, we need to hit this draft, obviously our number 1 need is shooting, but playoffs or bust should absolutely be our motto next year, you just can't be a playoff team when 5 of your 12 actives are too old, or too bad to play. Prince, Miller, Pek, and Martin should be as far away from this roster as possible next year. I also feel it's time to make some decisions with direction as far as identity goes. Are we going to go through Towns? Will we be a guard oriented offense? I don't love any of the draft prospects for our team, but hey we shall see. Usually around tournament time someone crawls up the board to top 5 or 6 that nobody knew.
 
^ Good points. I've also heard the next-season is playoffs or bust talk a few times and personally right now I think that is way too much of a stretch. We gotta face the facts: Last season this team has the worst record in the NBA. This season they currently have the 5th-worst record. They are heading for another high-lottery. None of these young cats so far have shown they can win consistently yet. The West is a little down this year (so far) but this team just needs to get Adelman-level next year IMO.

Now, if Glen Taylor shocks me and fires the entire staff, which he should, and brings in a Thibideau or similar coach then I think all bets are off. But right now as it stands despite a few small rumors it is looking more and more like this franchise is going to give Mitchell and his boys another year and that scares me to death. Personally, I would be all for Thibs coming in here with a trade or two and boom let's go.

This franchise just cannot keep with the status quo. I don't care how much "improvement" the team shows down the stretch here or how many times Mitchell makes it sound like he's got things under control, "just have patience." I am so tired of this offense, this 90's-style basketball and players tuning him out and fitting square pegs into round holes.
 
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Let me just start with the fact that the Wolves 3-1 in their last four with wins over Clippers, Bulls, and Raptors (hey, not bad!) 8)

Ry, you said the Wolves are .408 when Ricky is on the court, which is better than him not on the court, of course. But don't you think another PG that could shoot/space the floor better, and get let's say 6-7 dimes a game could provide that winning percentage? Let's say Thibs is hired on, how do you guys think a guy like Rubio would fit in to his style as opposed to a guy like Teague?
 
I think Rubio needs to be turned loose to run, similar to how Adelman played him. Rubio still looks a step slower to me since his knee injury but he also is not allowed to be throwin alley-oops and fast breaking and all that fun stuff we used to see. Maybe it's me day-dreaming but Rubio just does not look right in this offense. Does that mean they should get rid of him? No IMO because they should be getting rid of this staff first. Could they get a PG back for him? Possibly. But are we honestly thinking some team is giving us a top-flight PG?

Some nuggets from Britt Robson:

The previous week, respected Associated Press beat writer Jon Krawczynski had published a story claiming that, “There is a battle of wills going on in Minnesota between an old-school coach and a roster built around new-school talent,” and revealing that “nearly half the roster of 15 players privately expressed concerns to the Associated Press about Mitchell.” The article also noted that Kevin Garnett, whom Mitchell had mentored when both played for the Wolves in the 1990s, had pointedly refused to comment about fan criticism of Mitchell’s methods this season.
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[T]he standings offer cold facts. The Wolves continue to sport a better won-lost record than only four teams. Three of those teams have experienced massive shakeups in either their coaching ranks or front office personnel, while the other team, the Lakers, is ostentatiously staging a farewell tour for future Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant as a way to mask reality: that if they don’t have one of the top three picks in next summer’s draft, they will lose it to Philadelphia under the terms of a previous trade. More than any other ballclub, the Lakers need to tank their season.

We have heard Mitchell’s justifications for the disappointing record, and some of them have merit. The roster is exceedingly young and unschooled. The top priority is the development of the cornerstones, Towns and Wiggins. Lessons are being taught at the first fundamentals, the most basic levels of instruction.

But at the end of this season, there needs to be a reckoning. The Timberwolves are on the way to having back-to-back rookies of the year. The reason why that has never happened before in the NBA is because the prevailing talent of the first rookie should be sufficient to ensure you don’t get a chance to acquire another rookie stud.

Obviously, last season’s brilliant stealth tanking overrode that obstacle. But boasting two premiere young players and still looking at a scenario where you lose twice as often as you win? That’s not a good bargaining position for Mitchell and general manager Milt Newton to be in at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
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The one constant in this TWELVE YEAR lottery streak is Glen Taylor. It is official: He has no clue what he is doing and as stated I am fully expecting him to bring back Mitchell yet again and we continue with the Wolves Country Club. I hope to be surprised this summer.
 
Glen Taylor's ownership is maddening. I'm frustrated in thinking about the possible future if Glen doesn't end up doing what's right for this franchise in firing Sam Mitchell and replacing with a bonafide HC.
 
I think Rubio lost hope in his shot and it's affecting his attack overall. All I hear is endless RR sucks off of NT. Who's the best wing shooter he's ever played with? Wing that can shoot?

Anyone who can give me a good answer wins it.
 
JPZx said:
I think Rubio lost hope in his shot and it's affecting his attack overall. All I hear is endless RR sucks off of NT. Who's the best wing shooter he's ever played with? Wing that can shoot?

Anyone who can give me a good answer wins it.
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651akathePaul said:
NT don't know what they're talking about.
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Yeah, only people that don't see him play say that stuff. So basically just twolves fans know his value :lol:

I know the league has changed a lot.. But Rubio is so valuable to our team and would instantly make a lot of teams better. People look at box stores and see he shot 3-10 and yadda yadda. He also has a stupid team friendly deal that will only get better as the cap keeps rising.

Like I said in the NBA thread he needs to be surrounded by shooters. I hope wherever he ends up it's the right fit for him. I'll always be a fan of Ricky :pimp:
 
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At this point, I'm good with either Ben Simmons or Kris Dunn. I think if we fall a bit further, Jamal Murray could potentially be interesting in the late 7-10 range, and that would mean we turned it around somewhat, becoming a .500 team in March/April - which you could see as feasible if they weren't giving up damn near 110 points every game.
 
A reminder, again, about how we're so lucky to be in the position we're in.


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The pics just kept coming :lol:

I think we need to sever ties with him just for wearing that Off-White hoody jacket :lol: :lol:

The future is BRIGHT - let's retain at all costs :pimp: :pimp: :pimp:
 
A few Wolves updates:

Andre Miller bought out and signed with San Antonio
Kevin Martin bought out and word is he is looking to sign with S.A. as well
Wolves have signed 25-yr old D-League Center Greg Smith to a 10-day contract
Potential minority owner (30%) Steve Kaplan and another investor are in town this week meeting with Glen Taylor
Sam Mitchell told SiriusXM radio there is no guarantee Kevin Garnett plays again the rest of the season
Karl Anthony Towns last 18 games:

34.3 MPG, 21.7 PPG, 12.1 REB, 2.5 AST, 1.9 BLK, .565 FG, .778 FT
 
The Kaplan-Taylor updates are really important, thanks for bringing them here whenever you got something. This will affect the coaching search if something happens soon, and that's just the beginning of what it would affect.

Greg Smith... has more experience in the NBA than Onauku or Kilpatrick, the out-of-college guys we were grasping for last season, but probably nothing there - we'll see.

"He can give you a little bit of everything" is the description you'll hear pre-draft for a guy whose not a pure scorer, but has credibility as a passer, defender, etc. MKG-like players. Well with Towns, it's A LOT of everything and it's not a slight with undertones like those who use it to describe MKG/others outlook. People that didn't watch CBB last year that asked about Towns' immediate contributions when the Timberwolves selected him didn't know how to be excited when told, 'He can do whatever you want if your his coach. He can extend and roam if you need him to, he can play down low as Calipari was molding him this year... etc. etc. etc.' and the response was like, 'Oh! Cool!' Because those descriptions have only ever been associated with players that lacked something but were decent at everything else. In the case of Towns, we have the archetype - someone whose a literal 'do everything' guy where it's actually true and not an backhanded compliment. Again, we're just fortunate man. We stress out over Rubio, Lavine, Dieng, etc.'s flaws and everything's going to be okay outside of injuries, because Towns is the sun and the rest of the cast will be orbiting him. Everything will work out, and he'll attract players we previously couldn't have imagined would come here in FA. Good times ahead, just wanted to highlight that a little bit as I like to do.

I think The Professor and [if K.Martin signs - which I have doubts about because of that agent] are Parker/Ginobili insurance. Miller at least since Martin doesn't have a team yet but he's been rumored there, again Dan Fegan's a troll.

Insurance as in they're third string when guard/wing positions are healthy and fully stocked but they'll move from third options at their positions to immediate backups if Parker continues to be hampered by the same assortment of injuries in the next couple months and/or Ginobili's slow coming back from his surgery/gets hurt again. I mean aside from that the Spurs already have Patty Mills, but Andre Miller can provide a lot of intangible stuff you don't normally get from your emergency, "third" PG. Again, we'll see if Martin goes there, but Bonner/Ginobili are close to returning so it's not like they need him as a filler for three-point shooting as they're about to get two three-point shooters back, but would Martin be a better option than Rasual Butler? I mean, probably right now at both point's in the two player's careers, yeah.
 
^ Good points man.

The Wolves need to put Garnett in some sort of management or ownership position after this season and make him the face of the team. The media will eat it up like they always do (see: Drake/Toronto, JayZ/New Jersey) and it will only help MN attract players here. KG is a legend and the current players idolize him. Combine that with Towns hopefully becoming a superstar and this team hopefully is on the right path and the franchise will no longer be looked at as a joke or black hole.

Another loss last night, outscored 64-18 on the bench. It's going to be interesting to see how this season plays out as the positives are the young guys are getting burn now (Dieng and LaVine's numbers especially have made a massive jump), and the team is going to have another high draft pick although it's a weak draft. That doesn't mean you can't hit on something.

For me personally I am going to continue to follow this Mitchell situation and see what happens here. This team keeps the status quo constantly and the one person supposed to making personal decision (Newton) we still really don't know much about. Glen Taylor hates firing people. This Kaplan guy's name keeps getting brought up in the local media for things Mitchell might need to worry about -- I need to see it before i believe it.

One other positive note about this season if we are searching for some:

Karl Towns has played in 61 of 61 games.
Andrew Wiggins has played in 60 of 61 games.
Gorgui Dieng has played in 61 of 61 games.
Zach LaVine has played in 61 of 61 games.
Shabazz Muhammad has played in 61 of 61 games.
And most importantly, Ricky Rubio has played in 55 of 61 games.
 
Ladies and gentlemen your Timberwolves management!


A group of Timberwolves ticket buyers has filed a class action lawsuit against the team, claiming not only that the T-Wolves’ new method for distributing tickets is “draconian” and “unlawful,” but was implemented without warning.

This season, the T-Wolves eliminated paper tickets entirely, and began requiring all ticket purchasers to claim their tickets digitally via an app called Flash Seats. The problem is that fans who want to re-sell tickets on the secondary market must do so through Flash Seats, which not only charges fees to both the buyer and seller—the suit claims the team gets a 15-percent cut of these fees—but also institutes artificial price floors on a game-to-game basis. According to the lawsuit, this floor is usually 75 percent or more of the ticket’s face value.

This kind of market manipulation is b---s--- when the Yankees do it, but it’s especially appalling when a 19-42 team tries to tell its fans that the free market doesn’t apply to them. According to the suit, this policy is especially harmful to season ticket holders, who purchased their tickets before paper tickets were done away with and use of Flash Seats became a requirement.

This has all had a tangible effect on the in-arena atmosphere, too. The T-Wolves currently rank dead last in home attendance, and have an average home crowd that’s the smallest it’s been since the 2003-04 season. All this despite the fact that the team has a pair of young dynamos in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. I’m sure there are plenty of fans in Minnesota who would gladly pay money to watch them play in person, but the team is actively keeping those people out of the arena with these price floors.

The worst part is that the front office probably doesn’t even care that the team has to play in a mausoleum. So what if the season ticket holders dropped thousands of dollars on tickets they can’t re-sell? All those empty seats are paid for, and the few that are filled were purchased far above market price.
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:smh: okay that makes sense. I was thinking why are those games so empty. People back home should be more excited to watch this. Glad they did this after I left. I would be pissed.
 
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