Blowing it Up! T-Wolves Style
Watching the NBA Playoffs has been illuminating. They have taught me that the Wolves are no where near competing at that level. The Wolves are lacking:
- A player you can trust at both ends of the court.
- Defense of any sort.
- A guy with the court vision and unselfishness to make others better.
The Wolves are all one-dimensional, selfish, and don't play D. The only legit big man (AlJeff) has acknowledged his poor defense, and outside of Jaric (who should never play), no one plays perimeter D. Brewer offers some hope since he was a tenacious NCAA defender, but his lack of minutes, disorientation, and awful shot kept him on the bench and unproven (does the kid lack the mental toughness to play or is this a case of awful coaching?).
Regarding court vision, this usually comes from the point guard or the best player. KG and Kobe are two such non-PG's who have the vision and ability to get their teammates easy shots. AlJeff is the best player, but dishing and creating for others are not part of his game. Sebastion Telfair was good enough to displace Marko Jaric, but Telfair is still widely considered one of the worst point guards in the league. Foye didn't get enough reps at the point due to injury, and in some cases I'd be willing to role with his development. However, I think he's a shoot first guy and evolving into a creator will be a very tall order.
So blow it up! Blow it all up!
#1 Announce to the world that you believe there are three quality players in this draft - Beasley, Mayo and Rose - and that you will be taking who ever is left at 3. This will stop Miami from monkeying around and increase the odds of landing Beasley. If Miami wants Mayo, they have to take him at 2.
#2 Offer a trade of Randy Foye and Antoine Walker to the Clippers for the 7th Pick, the Wolves top-10 protected pick, Cutino Mobley (bad contract) and Dan Dickau (needed $700k to make it work). The Clips make this trade to get a scoring 2 to replace Maggette (Thornton grabs the 3 spot), also Foye is a combo guard who can play the point backing up an ailing Shaun Livingston, and they dump their bad Mobley contract for Walker's expiring contract (who might actually provide Mobley like production at the 3 if they make a playoff push).
Potential Spoiler: Clips sign Gilbert Arenas or Knicks take Westbrook.
The Wolves do this to get back their at-risk draft pick and pair Mobley with Hudson and Madsen creating $18M of relief after the 09/10 season. The main reason they make this trade is to grab UCLA PG Russel Westbrook - a highly athletic, pass first, intense defender. Westbrook immediately upgrades the perimeter defense, give the Wolves the option to run, and has shown the ability to learn and grow into the position. Yes, he'll need time to develop, but that only helps the Wolves get good draft picks until the team is ready to compete in 2010.
#3 Trade the 1st and 4th second round picks to Phoenix for the 15th pick. Phoenix is already $12M above the salary cap before adding a mandatory 1st round contract. They could use the two early second rounders to get players overseas who won't need to be paid and can develop for the post Nash/Shaq era. Maybe Phoenix can get someone at 15 to help next year, but I doubt it. Brandon Rush would be the best bet, but how does he add depth to a team with Barbosa, Hill, Bell and Diaw at those positions?
How the Wolves use this pick depends on who they get at 3. If as expected they get Mayo, they take SF Bill Walker (unless Joe Alexander or Galinari fall this far) to be the offensive counterpart to Brewer at the 3. Walker becomes the scoring catalyst 6th man. If the Wolves get Beasley, they take Chris Douglas-Roberts. The sweet shooting, intense defending shooting guard (think Rip Hamilton) gives the Wolves the option of playing small with Beasley at the 4 or being the 6th man behind Brewer.
#4 Trade Ryan Gomes to San Antonio for the 26th pick. San Antonio does this because they get a quality guy to tag team with an aging Bowen to help right now.
#5 Trade Rashad McCants to New Orleans for the 27th pick. NO gets a SG that can actually score and is cheaper and better than Mo Pete or Pargo. Rashad is also ready to contribute now.
#6 Option A - trade both new picks to Washington for the 18th pick and take C Robin Lopez. Lopez is the defense first big man who matches nicely with Al. Robin is used to accommodating
the scoring big and allows AlJeff the easier defensive assignment.
Option B - Not everyone believes Lopez is a legit NBA defender, so instead keep #26 and #27 and use one on PF Joey Dorsey - the defensive and rebounding machine in the mold of Ben Wallace, and the other pick on a guy who has fallen too far (many possibilities, but CDR, Hibbert, Walker, Nic Batum, Brandon Rush or JJ Hickson could fall down to here.) Here the Wolves grab a gritty guy in Dorsey and some value while trusting in 2009 draft position to grab BJ Mullen or Hasheem Thabeet as true centers.
New Look Wolves - #3 Pick is OJ Mayo - (Most likely scenario)
Depth Chart -
PG - Russel Westbrook (Sebastion Telfair)
SG - OJ Mayo (Cutino Mobley)
SF - Corey Brewer (Bill Walker)
OPTION A
PF - Al Jefferson (Craig Smith)
C - Robin Lopez (Chris Richard)
OPTION B
PF - Joey Dorsey (JJ Hickson?)
C - Al Jefferson (Chris Richard)
Scrubs: Jaric, Buckner, Madsen, Dickau, (Smith)
Look at the front court. This could be the meanest perimeter defense in the league - yes, even as good as Detroit's. Westbrook and Brewer already have defensive reps, but what people forget is that Mayo shut down Bayless (8pts, 3 asts, 6 turn overs/ 10 pts, 2 asts, 3 to's) and Rose (9pts, 4 asts, 5 to's) head to head. He can cover and stop anyone. The backcourt is also much better with AlJeff taking the easy assignment and Lopez or Dorsey covering the scoring threat.
Yes, only AlJeff and Mayo can really score - but with Walker off the bench, Brewer and Westbrook improving their shots, and early draft picks in 2009 and 2010 - I like the potential. Start with D, then work on the jump shots.
AlJeff makes this option difficult, but this team could run. You could do the SSOL (seven seconds or less) offense with lock down D. At least the team would be exciting while they play brutal defense and tire out their opponents.
New Look Wolves - #3 Pick is Beasley
You could go big or small
Big lineup:
PG - Russel Westbrook 6'4"
SG - Corey Brewer 6'8"
SF - Mike Beasley 6'8"
PF - Al Jefferson 6'10"
C - Robin Lopez 7'0"
6th man - CDR 6'6"
Small lineup:
PG - Russel Westbrook 6'4"
SG - Chris Douglas-Roberts 6'6"
SF - Corey Brewer 6'8"
PF - Mike Beasley 6'8"
C - Al Jefferson 6'10"
6th man - Lopez or Dorsey
The advantage here is you have three legitimate scores in AlJeff, Beasley and CDR, and they all have distinct scoring styles - in the low blocks, from anywhere, and a sweet shot. This team with Westbrook and Brewer developing and Beasley being convinced to be a solid defender, could be the starting lineup for years to come.
- A player you can trust at both ends of the court.
- Defense of any sort.
- A guy with the court vision and unselfishness to make others better.
The Wolves are all one-dimensional, selfish, and don't play D. The only legit big man (AlJeff) has acknowledged his poor defense, and outside of Jaric (who should never play), no one plays perimeter D. Brewer offers some hope since he was a tenacious NCAA defender, but his lack of minutes, disorientation, and awful shot kept him on the bench and unproven (does the kid lack the mental toughness to play or is this a case of awful coaching?).
Regarding court vision, this usually comes from the point guard or the best player. KG and Kobe are two such non-PG's who have the vision and ability to get their teammates easy shots. AlJeff is the best player, but dishing and creating for others are not part of his game. Sebastion Telfair was good enough to displace Marko Jaric, but Telfair is still widely considered one of the worst point guards in the league. Foye didn't get enough reps at the point due to injury, and in some cases I'd be willing to role with his development. However, I think he's a shoot first guy and evolving into a creator will be a very tall order.
So blow it up! Blow it all up!
#1 Announce to the world that you believe there are three quality players in this draft - Beasley, Mayo and Rose - and that you will be taking who ever is left at 3. This will stop Miami from monkeying around and increase the odds of landing Beasley. If Miami wants Mayo, they have to take him at 2.
#2 Offer a trade of Randy Foye and Antoine Walker to the Clippers for the 7th Pick, the Wolves top-10 protected pick, Cutino Mobley (bad contract) and Dan Dickau (needed $700k to make it work). The Clips make this trade to get a scoring 2 to replace Maggette (Thornton grabs the 3 spot), also Foye is a combo guard who can play the point backing up an ailing Shaun Livingston, and they dump their bad Mobley contract for Walker's expiring contract (who might actually provide Mobley like production at the 3 if they make a playoff push).
Potential Spoiler: Clips sign Gilbert Arenas or Knicks take Westbrook.
The Wolves do this to get back their at-risk draft pick and pair Mobley with Hudson and Madsen creating $18M of relief after the 09/10 season. The main reason they make this trade is to grab UCLA PG Russel Westbrook - a highly athletic, pass first, intense defender. Westbrook immediately upgrades the perimeter defense, give the Wolves the option to run, and has shown the ability to learn and grow into the position. Yes, he'll need time to develop, but that only helps the Wolves get good draft picks until the team is ready to compete in 2010.
#3 Trade the 1st and 4th second round picks to Phoenix for the 15th pick. Phoenix is already $12M above the salary cap before adding a mandatory 1st round contract. They could use the two early second rounders to get players overseas who won't need to be paid and can develop for the post Nash/Shaq era. Maybe Phoenix can get someone at 15 to help next year, but I doubt it. Brandon Rush would be the best bet, but how does he add depth to a team with Barbosa, Hill, Bell and Diaw at those positions?
How the Wolves use this pick depends on who they get at 3. If as expected they get Mayo, they take SF Bill Walker (unless Joe Alexander or Galinari fall this far) to be the offensive counterpart to Brewer at the 3. Walker becomes the scoring catalyst 6th man. If the Wolves get Beasley, they take Chris Douglas-Roberts. The sweet shooting, intense defending shooting guard (think Rip Hamilton) gives the Wolves the option of playing small with Beasley at the 4 or being the 6th man behind Brewer.
#4 Trade Ryan Gomes to San Antonio for the 26th pick. San Antonio does this because they get a quality guy to tag team with an aging Bowen to help right now.
#5 Trade Rashad McCants to New Orleans for the 27th pick. NO gets a SG that can actually score and is cheaper and better than Mo Pete or Pargo. Rashad is also ready to contribute now.
#6 Option A - trade both new picks to Washington for the 18th pick and take C Robin Lopez. Lopez is the defense first big man who matches nicely with Al. Robin is used to accommodating
the scoring big and allows AlJeff the easier defensive assignment.
Option B - Not everyone believes Lopez is a legit NBA defender, so instead keep #26 and #27 and use one on PF Joey Dorsey - the defensive and rebounding machine in the mold of Ben Wallace, and the other pick on a guy who has fallen too far (many possibilities, but CDR, Hibbert, Walker, Nic Batum, Brandon Rush or JJ Hickson could fall down to here.) Here the Wolves grab a gritty guy in Dorsey and some value while trusting in 2009 draft position to grab BJ Mullen or Hasheem Thabeet as true centers.
New Look Wolves - #3 Pick is OJ Mayo - (Most likely scenario)
Depth Chart -
PG - Russel Westbrook (Sebastion Telfair)
SG - OJ Mayo (Cutino Mobley)
SF - Corey Brewer (Bill Walker)
OPTION A
PF - Al Jefferson (Craig Smith)
C - Robin Lopez (Chris Richard)
OPTION B
PF - Joey Dorsey (JJ Hickson?)
C - Al Jefferson (Chris Richard)
Scrubs: Jaric, Buckner, Madsen, Dickau, (Smith)
Look at the front court. This could be the meanest perimeter defense in the league - yes, even as good as Detroit's. Westbrook and Brewer already have defensive reps, but what people forget is that Mayo shut down Bayless (8pts, 3 asts, 6 turn overs/ 10 pts, 2 asts, 3 to's) and Rose (9pts, 4 asts, 5 to's) head to head. He can cover and stop anyone. The backcourt is also much better with AlJeff taking the easy assignment and Lopez or Dorsey covering the scoring threat.
Yes, only AlJeff and Mayo can really score - but with Walker off the bench, Brewer and Westbrook improving their shots, and early draft picks in 2009 and 2010 - I like the potential. Start with D, then work on the jump shots.
AlJeff makes this option difficult, but this team could run. You could do the SSOL (seven seconds or less) offense with lock down D. At least the team would be exciting while they play brutal defense and tire out their opponents.
New Look Wolves - #3 Pick is Beasley
You could go big or small
Big lineup:
PG - Russel Westbrook 6'4"
SG - Corey Brewer 6'8"
SF - Mike Beasley 6'8"
PF - Al Jefferson 6'10"
C - Robin Lopez 7'0"
6th man - CDR 6'6"
Small lineup:
PG - Russel Westbrook 6'4"
SG - Chris Douglas-Roberts 6'6"
SF - Corey Brewer 6'8"
PF - Mike Beasley 6'8"
C - Al Jefferson 6'10"
6th man - Lopez or Dorsey
The advantage here is you have three legitimate scores in AlJeff, Beasley and CDR, and they all have distinct scoring styles - in the low blocks, from anywhere, and a sweet shot. This team with Westbrook and Brewer developing and Beasley being convinced to be a solid defender, could be the starting lineup for years to come.
posted by Bill Gilles | 6:55 PM
1 Comments:
Too many trades--let's be realistic.
I like the idea of trading down a couple of spots--I think they'll do that and then take Love, which I'm fine with.
Trading McCants is a good idea--couldn't we get a bit more than a 27? Maybe not. I don't think Beasley will make it by Miami. OJ Mayo is too much of a risk due his problems--"our name is Legion".
Post a Comment
<< Home