A day away and options, options everywhere
Posted on June 24th, 2009 – 12:45 AMBy Jerry Zgoda
The Wolves and Wizards are expected to finalize that six-piece trade this morning.
What will the Wolves do with those fifth and sixth picks now?
It’ll be a long day answering David Kahn’s phone for the next two days.
If they keep those two picks, there’s a growing chance Ricky Rubio falls to them at No. 5.
I’m hearing David Kahn really wants Tyreke Evans, but Sacramento could pass on Rubio if he’s still there at 4 (and probably will be) and take Evans instead.
The Wolves also have Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn high on their guard list and wouldn’t whine if Arizona State’s James Harden lasted until the fifth pick, either.
Flynn also is a possibility for the Kings at No. 4, if they opt for a true point guard to put next to Kevin Martin rather than a combo guy like Evans.
Might Kahn use the 18th and/or 28th picks to swap with the Thunder at 3 and move up past the Kings to take Evans rather than Rubio (assuming Memphis grabs Thabeet second)?
Sacramento then takes Flynn or Rubio and OKC gets Harden anyway and the Wolves take Curry’s shooting to pair with Evans’ slashing and Al Jefferson’s low-post game.
Next summer, in a draft projected to be thick with big men, the Wolves then use one of their two first-round picks to find a low-post defender to supplement Jefferson and Kevin Love.
Anyway you look at, this first trade appears to commit Kahn to going even younger than the Wolves already had gone.
It appears he’s intent on doing all he can to ensure the team has two more good picks in the 2010 draft, when they keep their own pick owed the Clippers if it’s in the Top 10 and get Utah’s pick protected through the Top 16.
As for money, the Wolves deal Mike Miller’s expiring $9.75 million and Randy Foye’s $3.57 million (qualifying offer year due for 2010-11) contracts and take back Etan Thomas’ expiring $7.3 million contract.
There’s a team option on Oleksiy Pecherov deal for $2.38 million for 2010-11 and they’ll almost certainly have to pay Darius Songaila for the next season because he earns $4.52 million this year and has a player option for $4.8 million the following season.
The 76ers pursued Foye, hoping to bring the former Villanova star back to Philly, but, with the draft’s 17th pick, didn’t have enough to offer.
Love tweeted this late Tuesday night: “Personally I do not think I’m going to be traded…99% sure. But I will leave that 1% up in the air. I’ve heard the Memphis rumors, blahblah.”
Here’s the “Wolves Insider” I wrote three different times tonight for tomorrow’s paper as I received more and more information from sources around the league.
161 Responses to "A day away and options, options everywhere"
It would be a huge mistake to take Rubio.
He would hate Minnesota.
Spanish kids are very immature. They usually live with their parents until they get married–LATE.
Look at Rafael Nadal. Have you read about his home life. He still lives with his mom, for cryin’ out loud.
Pau Gasol is very mature for a Spaniard, and he was always moping about in Memphis.
Trust me, he would be a complete head case. Look at how he complained about being “lonely” during his two-day trip to Sacramento.
I am telling you, all Spanish kids are like this–about Rafael Nadal–”He still lives at home with his mother, father and sister at their flat in Manacor, still carries his own bags, looks after his own kit (his mother washes and irons his clothes), hangs out with his old friends, dates a local girl, 21-year-old Francisca “Xisca” Perello, goes fishing with friends in a boat out of Porto Cristo harbour–they are all complete homebodies. It’s radical if someone moves more than 10 blocks from their parents.
None of the Spanish players have ever been a problem…Pau and Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, Jorge Garbajosa, Juan Carlos Navarro….all consumate professions. I see no reason to think Rubio will be any different.
At any rate, I’d bet Kahn is angling for a Thabeet/Evans draft. Based on what he’s said and what our needs are, that makes the most sense.
But any combination of Thabeet/Evans/Harden/Holiday/Rubio/Jenning will look fantastic for us. So hey, deal away Mr Kahn.
Draft express did a new mock with the Wolves getting Rubio and Evans at 5 & 6. That would be amazing.
You don’t know the Spanish–it is a huge risk. Here’s a quote from Calderon, the first one I looked at.
“I had never gone out of my city,” Calderon said. “That first year was hard. My parents come to visit me all weekend. Big city, new school, too different for me. I was homesick. The first year was terrible.”
And yet he’s basically a 12-10 player and arguably the most efficient perimeter player in the league.
So what if Rubio gets homesick? He’ll get over it…all the others did.
Jerry,
Thanks for all the great reporting today, this has to make the job a bit more exciting.
Only if his parents want to move to Minneapolis. Pau Gasol made his parents move to Memphis with him. They had visa problems and didn’t show up for a month and a half and he almost died from a 100% chicken finger diet. btw, is Pau still in Memphis or did he complain so much about being in the sticks that they dumped him in LA for free?
Also, I posted this in a previous thread, but Evans is apparently the favorite prospect for Kings’ GM Geoff Petrie. But lately it’s been the Maloofs calling the shots for the Kings, so who knows if he’ll get overruled.
If Sacramento does take Evans, they’ll be heavily banking on him being a full time starting point guard, since they already have Kevin Martin. I’m not sure that’s a gamble I’d be willing to take…
I’m hoping for Harden/Evans. Put some men on the court, not a whiny spanish boy whose mother has to dress him in the morning.
Memphis traded Gasol on the orders of their owner. Pau never complained about being drafted to them and never asked to leave.
To make a selection based on what you think a players’ personal preferences are is just stupid. That’s how we lost OJ Mayo.
The draft is very simple if you let it be. Take the guy you want. The end.
Speaking of Mayo, does anyone else find it ironic that he fits, to a T, the description of the type of player that not only Kahn wants, but also that MCHALE started to complain about not having?
Mac said he wanted a wing player who could defend, shoot the three, and put the ball on the floor and make plays. HELLO???
You can’t just paint all Spaniards with a broad brush. While there are obvious cultural differences the problems you describe could be the case with almost any player.
It’s up to the Wolves to do their homework and ensure they’ll be a good fit for one another rather than just reject the prospect out of hand based on a couple isolated and largely irrelevant examples.
The nice thing about these moves is that it almost assures me of wanting to get a new jersey for one of these prospects rather than doing what I was going to do and get a customized Mayo Wolves jersey.
gg Kahn.
Bryan, are you perhaps from Barcelona or something? You have the blinders on for the Spanish. From Yahoo Sports–
“Gasol had demanded a trade out of Memphis, had been moping around, giving less than his best. Yes, he had to go…”
Yahoo Sports is a rumor mill. There’s a reason reporters like Jerry never quote them.
If you don’t like Rubio, then fine. But your not going to change my mind with disproven theories and certainly not with insults.
I’m hoping for a Thabeet/Evans/Holiday draft. Although, if we’re talking to the Grizz, perhaps we should inquire about Mike Conley…
Okay, how about a Memphis beatwriter–
“The perception is that Gasol’s lackadaisical defensive and rebounding performances coupled with inconsistent offense are by design to emphasize his desire for a trade.”
Not Barcelona, more like Denialville.
Find me a quote of Pau saying “I want out”, and….I probably still won’t care. You’re just wasting your time trying to hang me up on something I don’t care about. Rubio is one of many options, and somehow I doubt him potentially getting homesick is going to factor high into Kahn’s decision making.
Anyway, sick sick move by the Spurs. Give away spare parts and get Richard Jefferson in return. No way they shop Parker now. All they need to do is convince Sheed to play another year or two and they’re back in the finals.
“Last week, Gasol reiterated his midseason demand ‘to be traded to a winning team.’”
-NYPost. those little hashmarks means it was a quote.
Also, I want to say…
Kahn could not have orchestrated any better of a start to his tenure. He said he wouldn’t make moves just to get attention, and he’s not…he had a good reason for firing McHale, he has a good reason for trading for the #5 pick…and yet, by making good moves, smart moves, he creates incredible buzz. I’m looking over a couple of the forums I frequent and they’re just lit up with speculation about what we’re trying to do. For Kahn to come in and make these kinds of savvy basketball decisions as still be able to get people talking…you couldn’t ask for a better start to a new era for the Wolves.
Like him or not, you’ve got to applaud what the man is doing. He’s hit the ground running and then some.
I really do believe the best outcome for this draft is to trade th #6, #18 and a PF (Smith) to memphis for the #2. At number 2 we take Rubio, OKC would love to take Thabeet, SAC already has martin which would men Harden would fall to us at 5. We would then have a very young backcourt which could grow together. If somehow we managed this, I really would think the corner has been turned in the history of this franchise.
Agreed Bryan. I was as vocal as anyone about disliking the Kahn hire, but so far so good. It’s nice to see him recognize that this is an organization that needed to be blown up and rebuilt outside of a few select key pieces. I think the old crew was a little delusional both about the assets they hand and how little they thought it would take to return to relevancy.
Y’know, I was very unhappy with the Kahn hire too, but I went to that breakfast meeting with him, and that completely changed my outlook. I specifically drilled him about his time with the Pacers to gauge his basketball acumen and how much involvement he had with their roster during those contending years, and he really aced the questions in my book.
The guy is smart. And not just basketball smart, but just flat out intelligent. And then when you DO look at him as a basketball guy…he knows what a winning team looks like. He knows what kind of players that kind of team needs and he’s got an aggressive mindset in going out to get those players. You can see by how well he documents and shares his thought process and the moves he’s making and the players he appears to be targeting…you can see the pieces falling into place. Not only does he have a plan, but he shares that plan, he explains how that plan will work and gives examples of where and how it’s been successful before. It’s almost surrealistic to have a guy that keeps you that in the loop.
I think we swap the 6th and 18th to at least get us EVANS! He will be a stud and after that I don’t care who they take. Evans might go before Rubio, wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
EVANS! EVANS! EVANS!
P.S. Just got back from Transformers 2 midnight opening and it blows, its a 2 hour US Army commercial, lol
I’m hearing some chatter that the Grizzlies are considering Evans at #2, and would push Mayo to point guard to take Tyreke. So if Kahn is really set on drafting Evans, that makes it all the more imperative to land that #2 pick somehow.
I think, in the end, the Thunder will take Harden, and although Petrie might love Evans, he’ll be very very hard pressed to sell him to a fanbase that has been pining for Rubio since mid-November.
But Sacramento’s the big threat to take Evans from us. Petrie showed last year when he drafted Jason Thompson, that “expert” predictions and draft stock and peer pressure mean nothing to him. He takes the guy he likes.
I am so excited about the No. 5 pick. For those who have any doubts about the cost and return of this trade, hopefully this John Hollinger quote makes you feel a little better:
“The cost here [for Washington] is the fifth overall pick, and it speaks to the undesirability of the contracts the Wizards unloaded that the Wolves could obtain such a coveted pick for two average players.”
So, in other words:
1. From a national perspective, Mike Miller and Randy Foye are nothing more than average - which I think we all knew already.
2. We did make a major commitment in taking on these three contracts, though two of them expire after this year and are further trade assets as expiring contracts always are. Songalia is the toughest one to swallow, but it’s not a debilitating contract.
3. This draft pick has a ton of value. Again, it means we’re either going to get Rubio, Thabeet, Harden or Evans. I’m a huge fan of all four of those players.
More perspective from Hollinger regarding the salary-cap ramifications of this deal on The Wolves:
“Minnesota also added more than $8 million to its salary-cap bottom line for the summer of 2010; they weren’t going to be a major player in the LeBron Sweepstakes anyway, and they still will be well under the cap, so this is of comparatively little significance.”
Not that Hollinger is the end-all, be-all, but that snipit makes me feel even better about this trade.
Having cap space for 2010 will be useful in obtaining a player in a fire sale from a team that wants to get into the LeBron et. al. bidding game. Last year, the Twolves got a Carney and a first round pick for very little to enable Philly to have enough cap space to sign Elton Brand.
Jerry, thanks for all your hard work in this period, your coverage and opinions are greatly appreciated.
Who do you think is the best combo the wolves could come out of this draft with. We all know everyone except Griffin is in play and you are very high on Thabeet. Which two players do you think is the best possible outcome for the wolves. I honestly believe Rubio and Harden.
alphatwolf is in the lead for wolves idiot poster of the year
I just went to ESPN and the T’Wolves were the first story on the whole page. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
alphatwolf= Marty McDumbass
Kahn stay put at 5 and 6 and let the chips fall to you. Memphis and Sactown are dysfunctional so might as well watch them screw up and pounce on whats coming.
I don’t need Hollinger to tell me it’s a good trade, getting the 5 and getting rid of Foye is all I need to know. Hollinger is as big of dumbass as Mcfly.
And Bryan the only chatter you are hearing is your mommy telling you not to stay up so late and asking you if you know what happened to her hand lotion.
I think the main reason that people might be hearing that Memphis is interested in Evans is to entice either us or Sactown to trade up to #2. I have to believe that OKC takes Thabeet if he’s available. They badly need a big guy. I also think Harden makes the most sense for them if Thabeet is gone. I still think that the Maloof’s will supersede any input by Petrie and take Rubio if he’s there. A true PG who can create for others would fit in a lot better for the Kings. All of the draft talk from “sources” regarding who a team is favoring will be pure smoke today and tomorrow morning. Just a play to try and get leverage in their favor.
Looks like a very good move by Kahn. Now, it won’t matter if we don’t pick the right player(s) Thursday night. Hopefully, Hoiberg has done a great job of scouting all year to add to the draft workout exposure that Kahn has been attending. If we draft the right player(s), I would think that Hoiberg would deserve some of the credit for sure.
I find it hard to believe we are going to end up with two players we didn’t have in for interviews. Harden and Curry.
Good point about the smoke screens, nothing any team says now can be taken seriously.
alphatwolf = Pat Buchanan.
Are you really comparing Memphis to Minneapolis, alphatwolf? Minneapolis is one of the most cultured and worldly cities in the U.S. Rubio doesn’t need to live with you in the redneck exurbs next to the stock car race track if we get him.
Matty..what flavor the Kool-Aid???
Do some of you guys really want to go with two combo guards (Evans and Curry)? I think Kahn is too smart to go with a two combo guard backcourt.
I’d love to be wrong if we end up with either Evans or Curry, but they both scare me for opposite reasons. Now if both of their skill sets were in the same player that would be different. I would take “Tyreke Curry” if that player existed.
The Wolves need a point guard. I like Rubio, Flynn and Jennings in that role more than Evans or Curry. If you believe Evans can develop a consistent J (big if) than Evans can be a great combo guard. I see Curry being limited in the NBA.
pauly-I’m drinking some Guatemalan light roast Kool-Aid. . .
I agree that one of the first two picks have to be a true point guard. They can’t take two combo gaurds, a team must have a real pg. From what we are reading it sounds like Flynn could be that guy. I could see how Kahn would like a guy who isn’t afraid to take charge.
I don’t think Flynn is a real upgrade over Lawson who might be available at 18. I really don’t like Jennings or Curry. Curry will feel all he needs to do is shoot and not address the defensive end of the court. That is the real problem. Letting Foye go has addressed a lot of the defensive problems in the backcourt.
I don’t see why Memphis would take Evans - they already have Conley and Mayo, so they’d move Mayo to point and play Evans at 2 - where does that leave Conley (another former 1st rounder)?
The Wolves need to trade up to three to ensure they get Evans. I don’t want Harden, and if they get Evans, then Flynn, Rubio, or Curry would be available at five/six and I would be happy to have any one of them paired with Evans (come on Flynn!!!)
A bit off topic but…
Lawson and Meynor are goign to make some teams look stupid for passing up on them.
I wouldn’t mind Lawson but for some reason people never talk about him. After every work out the GMs always came out talking how Flynn was the guy who took charge right away. I like Curry too but I don’t think we can put Evens and Curry together in the same back court.
If backcourt defense is what the Wolves need, drafting Flynn does nothing for that.
I think if we trade up it will be for Evans. I just can not see taking Curry when you just got rid of Foye. Curry is not a defensive player at all.
Don’t Evans and Curry complement each other perfectly? One shoots and one penetrates. Both are above average passers and Evans should be able to guard every #2 in the league. That seems like a good combination to me. What is the downfall of that combo?
Wow, essentially, we traded Foye for the 5th pick and Miller for three scrubs. I think we got ripped off. Foye is better than these rookie guards who will take 2-3 years to develop (if they do). We better get Thabeet and Curry or a pure PG.
All I know is that I will enjoy watching more games this year. We just got rid of my most disliked players.
This trade makes the wizards really good, and makes the wolves really shallow at people who can shoot.
This trade makes the wizards really good, and makes the wolves really shallow at people who can shoot.
Mpls? One of the most cultured cities in the world? LOL. Someone hasn’t traveled much. Most cultured in the Upper Midwest maybe. Or Central MN.
Believe me, Rubio would be bawling for Soto Grande one week into a MN winter. It’s like expecting one of the Jonas Brothers to ski with Will Steger to the North Pole.
Jama, if looking at backcourt defense, what does Curry bring? Flynn at least has some body to him, and seems very quick (like Lawson)
althought Flynn, unlike Lawson, can jump out of the gym.
I agree that Curry is not a defensive stopper. I was just pointing out that people were stating they wanted a defensive backcourt while also clamoring for Flynn. Those two things are counterintuitive.
Personally I think a backcourt of Curry and Evans or Harden and Curry would be a good combination down the road. If the Wolves don’t move up I’d take more of a “pure” PG with the #18 pick to back up Curry as insurance, i.e. Lawson or Maynor.
It will be really interesting to see what happens with picks 2-4 I think there are 5 players that could be picked in those 3 spots.
How about Love, #5 and #18 to Clippers for #1 and rights to draft Blake Griffin?
I agree with Jama, I would like to see that combination of Curry (we need a guy who can shoot the lights out with Foye adn Miller gone) and Evans (can drive to the basket and play solid defense on the perimeter). Wouldn’t be disappointing in Harden either. To me Flynn isnt much different than Lawson or Maynor who could be had later in the draft.
Love isn’t going anywhere.
alpha-I stated that MPLS is one of the most cultured cities in the U.S. not the world. The U.S. is vastly devoid of culture. We are on par with Chicago and Seattle just behind New York. And I have lived in Western Europe so I have a basis to make my claim.
jama-the problem with the Curry/Evans backcourt is that neither of them have the court vision, the passing skills, and the ability to run an offense that payers like Rubio, Flynn, Jennings and Lawson do. They both can play the point. This means they can get by at the one. That’s not the same as having the vision, the passing skills, and the leadership skills to naturally be the point when stepping on the court with any given four players.
Regarding defense, Flynn has quick feet, has a 6′4″ wingspan, and a solid body. I think he will be able to hold his own against most one’s in the league.
Who are all these people ? Wow. Lots of new names today. I am gitty tho.
I can’t figure out what I want to happen.
Except…….NO THABEET !
What I’m trying to communicate is that I see Curry and Evans having mixed results developing as a point in the NBA, very much like we experienced with Randy Foye.
Matty
Evans and Curry are actually both very good passers. Evans has great vision but his decision making is the real question. I think both proved they can lead a team. Evans lead Memphis to the Sweet 16 as a freshman and Curry lead Davidson to the Elite 8 last year. Both players were their teams best players and leaders.
Do you people forget Thomas / Dumars ? Two combo guards can play together !
Wasn’t Foye the best player and leader on his team in college in Philly? Like I said, I hope I’m wrong if we end up with either Evans or Curry. We’re all just trying to predict the future anyway which is a crap shoot.
I have some real world work to attend to so I’ll see you all later. Thanks for the discussion jama.
why is no one mentioning jrue holliday, maybe not 5 or 6 but a trade down. trade down get Holliday and add an established player. You still have the tools to move up from 5 or 6 if want evans. Maybe a deal involving Kaman from the clipps, they will have a lot of bigs after drafting Griffin.
Just a side note of sanity: Blake Griffin is, in expected value, probably no better than Big Al. Just because he’s the clear #1 doesn’t mean he’s going to be Dwight Howard.
I wrote a really long comment at the end of the last JZ post. I hope you don’t mind if I eventually copy it here, since I didn’t realize no one was reading that one anymore. 
Here’s hoping in a draft strong in one thing - PG’s - that we do not take two combo guards. Time to wait and see.
Well, one things seems to be clear - we all seem to prefer Evans or Harden vs. Thabeet.
Personally, I’d prefer Flynn and Evans over anything else (I know I’ve said it a hundred times).
I wonder if they hold tight at 5 and 6, see what falls to them, and if Evans, Thabeet, and Rubio are all gone, if they will take Curry, and then trade down to 12 or so to take someone like Henderson?
D, Dunleavy is dumb, not crazy…
I was as ready as anybody to get rid of McHale (I haven’t paid for a Wolves ticket in seven (SEVEN!) years), but I will give him some credit for getting us these picks that have now given us a ton of flexibility.
It doesn’t come anywhere close to making up for all of the debacles, but its one thing I would credit him with - along with signing KG, and getting Spree and Cassell. The rest of the 15 years was a complete disgrace.
I agree Swanny, NO THABEET! Does anyone remember Theo Ratliffe? Great shotblocker, good rebounder, no offense, seemed like he was traded 10 times due to his expiring contract. That will be Thabeet in 5 years.
All blog comment sections are filled with hyperbole and their share of trolls and idiocy, and you get sufficient amounts of “trade for Wade” suggestions. But there is a time to be realistic about things such as the quality of prospects and the true worth of guys like Foye and Love.
1) All these top guys sound good because they haven’t had to play in the NBA yet. More than a couple will end up being stiffs. Top NBA prospects are like backup QBs.
2) Thabeet will most definitely be one of the stiffs. He’s the perfect combination of Kandi man, Darko, and Sam Bowie. Bigs who can play some defense to help you often can be found late in the draft. Best case scenario is that he somehow transforms into Mutumbo, but for him to do so, he’d have to get a lot more athletic and work harder. That just doesn’t happen very often. This is a wasted pick if ever there was one. Joel Pryz offers everything Thabeet does and maybe more. Do not use a high lottery pick for that. The Wolves have two years to find a center.
3) Be pissed about Foye/Roy if you will, but Randy Foye is likely to be better than most of the prospect names we’re talking about. He’s a legit NBA baller. Most of the rooks will not be good.
4) We will not get Evans and Rubio both even if we move up, I fear. Sac will take one of them. Think Curry. Curry will replace Foye.
5) Kevin Love is not and never will be a star in this league. To have him at the same position as your best player is a luxury you can’t afford. His trade value will never be higher, but I just don’t think he’s a good trade fit right now. Maybe during the season. Note: the last three Wolves’ rookies before him have all missed most of their second year with injuries.
6) Someone mentioned Big Al for the #2 pick. Do you not realize that Al is what you dream a #2 pick will become? Memphis’ GM would jizz in his pants if Kahn ever suggested that.
7) Kahn had apparently only talked with Big Al before recently talking with Love. To me that says he planned a roster overhaul and thought it wasn’t efficient to talk to anyone else. Love’s combo of Tweet and MN’s “love” for Love has probably got Kahn thinking it might be a good idea to talk to and maybe hold on to him. I personally think that it’s a mistake to take Love off the table, but I understand it.
8. Trading Miller with Foye for the #5 pick works because Foye is probably worth the 5, we needed a center (Thomas), and Thomas can now be our expiring contract, albeit at 2 mil less.
9. Songaila’s only possibly on the books for this year and next. He has an option for next year. That’s not horrible. Spreading out your contracts a little is helpful. He can play a little, too. (I see Jerry mentions this in this post)
10. I want Rubio and Evans, but I will admit to not having a real clue about any of these guys, except for the sure thing in Curry and the sure flop in Thabeet. Right now the Wolves have no guards, so I am pretty sure Thabeet is not a goal. Rubio and Curry is the most likely scenario, however they get there.
11. Mullens will likely go between 15-20, but if he doesn’t, he could drop to 28. I mention this because I think the 18 will go to Memphis.
12. Nick Calathes should go before 28, but he’s pretty good insurance for Rubio, and we can stash him.
13. The Wolves will lose a lot of games again this year, and it’s going to be frustrating for Big Al. But if Rubio makes good, and if somehow Evans is here (think NY moving to 4 for Curry, Sac getting Flynn at 8), we could have the makings of a great team in the future. Both Rubio and Evans can be stars (and busts) in the league. Evans seems to be the one guy with the #1 star potential, though you’d be really crossing your fingers. At least the Wolves will have gone for it.
Our alphatwolf gets my vote for Most Determined To Develop a Strange Idea, anyway. Yep — all people from Spain are exactly the same. “Get some men in here” like Tyreke Evans…. who is currently almost 20 and spent a year in college.
That has to be up there with “David Kahn isn’t decisive enough because his wife got mentioned in one story.”
Brian, if I thought Thabeet could be Ratliff, I’d have absolutely no problem taking him…Ratliff was a good ballplayer. He won’t be Ratliff. He might be the 37 yr old injured Ratliff.
That long post was mostly ridiculous.
If we stay at 5 and 6, the worst case scenerio is Griffin, Rubio, Thabeet, and Evans are gone by the time we draft. I do not have a problem with Harden, but we must pair him with a true point. Curry is not a good option as PG so I would rather they trade back (probably with the knicks since they’re desperate to pick up curry) and draft Flynn, Holiday, Williams, Lawson or Meynor later on.
Rumor mill, Rondo for Gay and Conley. http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/60024/20090624/rondo_for_gay_and_conley_in_latest_rumor/. Would that mean Memphis takes Thabeet, and OKC passes on Rubio/Evans and takes Hardin, Sacto takes Rubio or Evans and we would get the other one at #5.
I know people say this is a weak draft, but that will be determined in the next year or two. As I’ve stated previously, at least with this draft there aren’t any high schoolers in it and one can point to at least one year of a body of work (college, Europe) with every single player in it.
Yes, not every player will be a hit, but in looking at last years lottery, I would argue that nine of the 14 picks positively impacted their team, including six of the top seven.
Uh, saying Thabeet would “have to get a lot more athletic” to become a Mutumbo? Is not a particularly well-informed position. Hasheem’s drastically lighter on his feet than Dikembe, whose relatively earthbound frame was never that likely to get off the ground at all except in defense of the basket. Watch some UConn footage and you’ll see Hasheem get up there pretty often — albeit with inconsistent results.
I’m not a huge backer of a Thabeet pick, but you’re not seeing him for what he is…. He’s no guaranteed flop. Depending on what assets you use to get him, he could be a decent value.
Okay Twinstalker, I agree…..37 yr old injured Ratliff. My point is he’ll be terrible and I agree with you completely he’ll be a bust. I will s**t my pants if we move up to take Thabeet or even if we take him at 5 or 6. We need a whole new backcourt now, take a PG and SG and get size later in the draft.
Flip has picked Con’s pocket.
Kestrel, you might be right about Mutumbo, but I remember a lot of agility and a lot of effort…maybe my description there is tainted. But I don’t see the overall defensive/rebounding product in Thabeet. Not close.
Washington got a real good deal, that’s for sure. I don’t think it was bad for the Wolves because Foye won’t be a star. The #5 pick (or whatever it turns into eventually) might be.
Randy Foye is a real nice player when you have three or four who are clearly superior to him already. Not so nice when he’s your second best and the result of a horrible screw up by McHale.
I wonder if Kahn makes another move before the draft or if he is content with waiting until Memphis picks to make a move. The simple fact is that while we might stay at #5 & #6, another trade is coming. We now have 12 contracts, with 4 more guaranteed contracts in first rounders. As of right now, we have 5 expiring deals (Madsen, Cardinal, Smith, Thomas, Pecherov) and 2 deals that have team options (Gomes, Brewer) so they can be used like an expiring deal.
If we stay at #5 & #6, then I wouldn’t be surprised if we move up from #18 to the late lottery to try and get Clark/Daye/Williams and/or try and package #28 & expirings to move up to the high 20’s to get Sam Young/Lawson/Ellington. Any way you look at it, we have enough expiring contracts and picks to basically get the players that we want the most at any tier in the draft.
Kestrel,
I think you are wrong about Thabeet vis a vis Mutombo. I wrote about this elsewhere, but I think human nature is to remember the more recent thing we’ve seen. What I mean is, Thabeet is similar to Mutombo–at age 36. I’m old enough to remember Mutombo at Georgetown and in his early years in the league, and my memory is of a player significantly more agile and mobile than Thabeet is now.
I’ve been wrong before.
The ideal result for me remains Rubio and Harden. That’s a backcourt.
Rubio and Evans/Curry is a match made in heaven for the Wolves.
BTW No more step outta bounds Foye! And sheman Mike Miller. Thank GOD! hahahaaahahaaah
With the addition of the bigs from Wash. we lessen the need for Thabeet. Hopefully….
Sorry but a back court of Rubio and Evans/Curry is not ideal. Both Evans and Curry are much better when they have the ball in their hands. Rubio also needs to have the ball in his hands to be successful. A dream of all dreams would be Rubio and Harden. A passer and a shooter who both have insanely high baskeball IQ’s.
My feeling is to NOT move up (by investing any more player or picks) and take the best players that come to us at 5 and 6. I think some combination of Harden, Evans, and/or Rubio will be there for us. I’d like to keep the 18th or move up from there with our 26th to pick up either Maynor or Lawson. With last night’s trade we have an abundance of bigs and very light on guards. One would think our draft would need to be filled with guards. Any other potential deals Khan does will hopefully move some of the PFs like Madsen, Cardinal, and Smith.
Thanks, Eric, I thought I remembered DM as athletic, but Kestrel had me backpedaling…wondering if my memory was faulty.
pauly - yes ! hopefully ! I wonder if that 7 footer can develop into 10-12 minutes a game against bigger frontcourt opponents.
alphatwolf scares me!!!!!
eric in madison - amen. Seems tough to pull off both Rubio and Harden though.
To steal Common’s bit. It’s a terrible team, in a terrible town, in a terrible arena, with terribe fans and TERRIBLE UNIFORMS. I am pulling for them but I don’t have much faith.
Since I took a break to check out the storm rolling into downtown. . .
I will go on record as supporting a Rubio/Harden backcourt.
Wolfman
I agree with everything except that I think that either Rubio or Evans will be gone by 5. if it’s Evans then great Rubio and Harden is a great backcourt but Evans and Harden leaves us without a true pg
Now that I think about it… it might not be too bad as long as we can get Williams, Lawson or Meynor at 18
Any thoughts about the bigs we picked up from Wash? are they serviceable or are they Mark Madson in a Wizard costume?
Repeat after me–NBA is not college.
Curry is Eddie House, not Ray Allen.
Flynn gives up inches on all the top PGs except Chris Paul and Nate Robinson, so good luck with that. btw, Conley had a 40-1/2 in. vertical.
Can’t coach height or speed. You gotta have one or the other.
Harden is a beast. He has a chance. Maybe Evans. The others are going to wash out.
The way you get Rubio/Harden is:
1. Griffin
2. Rubio (via trade of 5)
3. Thabeet
4. Evans
5. Hill (To Memphis. This is tough. They don’t want Harden, but might trade it to someone who does. But they might trade it to someone who wants Curry).
6. Harden
That seems like a plausible scenario to me. Might not work out, but it’s not outlandish.
Dream scenerio is if one of these teams that are overating Curry move into the top 4 and push someone else back to us. Or if Memphis reaches for Hill.
OK then lets go Rubio and Harden. Great points your making guys… GO WOLVES and Kahn.
Don’t get nervous, Alpha. Ricky will bring his family wherever he goes in the USA. Exactly the same way as Pau or Rudy did. And we probably agree that Pau’s dunk in KG’s face during his first season in Memphis was not a sign of luck of maturity.
jama - everything I’ve read on Flynn is that he’s actually a very good defender.
I’m kind of rooting for him if we can’t get Rubio.
That said, GO GET RUBIO!
Plenty of crazy talk on here. At least not many are advocating shipping out valuable assets for picks. There is quite a bit of undervaluing of Love right now. We can argue about his upside later, but it surprises me that the reason given for Love/Jefferson not working is always about the D, but the solution always involves shipping out the much better defender. Jefferson is not a poor defender because he’s out of position, he’s no better at the 4.
I threw up a little bit when I read about all this manuevering resulting in a Thabeet/Evans draft. I’m not going to pretend that I alone can predict NBA success. They might both become great players, but here you have two guys who are low on skills, look good only because they towered over their competition in a way that won’t happen at the next level, and even then didn’t look too good statistically.
Seeing Chad Ford’s comments that the Wolves want two of Rubio, Thabeet, and Evans, makes me thankful that both Thabeet and Evans are gone on the draft board. Given up further assets to move up for wither of these two negates the positives from this past move.
I can live with For’d predictions of Harden and Curry, or Draft Express’s predictoni that we take Evans but balance him with Rubio. It really doesn’t make sense to plan a future around two guys who both need the ball in their hands to be effective, though.
IMO the Wolves ideal draft would be Rubio and Harden. They have the following pieces to offer to Memphis for the #2: #6, #18, #28 (they keep #5 that they just got), Smith, Madsen, Telfair (all expiring cotracts after next year. Cardinal,s expires too, but I don’t think he can be traded back to Memphis at this point).
I’m not 100% sure of the rules, but one or more of the players acquired from Washington could be included as well (Milwaukee shipped Oberto to Detroit shortly after getting him from San Antonio, so…)
What combination of the pieces above should/could the Wolves offer for #2? And should they look to get anything more that the pick in return? I haven’t lookes at salary matching or anything else to know what seems feasible.
Jefferson, Songaila
Love, Pecherov
Brewer, Gomes
Harden, Carney (or other FA signing)
Rubio, Telfair
Put Thomas in the C rotation if he takes the player option he has, and Brown in the PG rotation for the same.
Ah, speculation…..
I think their best moves would be to find a way to get both Rubio and Curry, this would give them IMO, 2 of the 3 best prospects in the draft and provide them with a great young smart backcourt.
eric - I think if Memphis wants Hill they would have us take him at #6. Since we clearly don’t need him now that we have 8 bigs on our roster, I would guess that Memphis would rather have their guy picked #6 so that he is on a lower salary. It would end up being a couple million saved for them over the whole contract. This assures us Harden with #5.
I think that the wolves should take Thabeet, just for his d he helps the wolves win alot more games and move big Al to PF will help the wolves offense too. It gives them flexability to do things with Al and Kevin Love too. I can see them taking Curry, Flynn, or alot of other guards too. But getting Thabeet will help our defense alot in the immediate and he will get better on offense too in the near future.
We can get 2 starters at 5 & 6 but we have to draft a true PG and true SG. How many combo guards have we taken that have flopped. McCants and Foye ring a bell.
The only combo guard with looking at is Evans but I think SAC will take him.
I see the following:
5 = Rubio
6 = Harden (He may be long gone)
Trade “Big Country” Love & 18 if we can go 2 or 3.
If we can’t trade Love, trade Smith & 18 and move up to 11 or so and take Holiday or Flynn.
What do people think about this:
Trade Love, 5th and 18th picks for the 2nd pick.
Take Thabet at 2, Curry at 6, than Wayne Ellington at 28.
Now our starting lineup will be Curry, Ellington, Brewer, Jefferson, Thabet.
Thoughts?
Ericinmadison - If we move up to No. 2 or 3 and still manage to keep one of our No. 5/6 picks, we WILL end up with a back-court of Rubio and Harden, which is my hope.
Both are smart, have well-rounded offensive games (sans Rubio’s deep shooting), long/rangy, great leaders and very good defenders.
I think you can keep 3 rookies on this squad. Look not everyone on the bench gets significant minutes. ask Madsen. The question is how many scrubs are we carrying, not how many rookies. Back when the Warriors had a smart front office they pulled Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas and Troy Murphy in one year. They got minutes as they earned them. It doesn’t mean they’re all going to be on the court at the same time. I do think the Wolves might have been able to go a different route, by holding on to Miller and getting an established player, but Kahn wants to roll the dice on a draft pick, so maybe the Wolves need to go for it.
Crazy talk in moving Love for the 2. Not even straight up. Especially if the target is Thabeet. Then compounding that by listing Thabeet into your starting rotation suggests pure delusion.
Eddie House shot nearly the same % on threes as Curry in college, and House played in a real league, he wasn’t padding his stats by shooting the lights out at Wofford and Elon.
Thank you 5&10…. I really hope that Love + #5 + #18 for #2 was a joke. And after giving all that up we take Thabeet.
RUBIO AND HARDEN… and LET’S PLAY!
Why doesn’t anyone want thabeet? Do you guys really think Rubio is THAT much better than Curry? We need a center and a PG. If we take Rubio, where do we get our center?
I almost wish I wasn’t picturing this, in case it doesn’t work out. Rubio could set up Brewer and Love, Harden could play inside/outside with Al.
It makes a lot of sense, but the chips need to fall exactly the right way.
What people don’t realize is that it took 3 seasons for Jefferson to reach the kind of offensive efficiency that Love had last year, and even now Love is the better rebounder, passer and defender.
Curry has that quality and killer instinct to make clutch shots at the end of the game and rise to the moment against tough competition. Have you forgotten last years tournament, I mean they almost beat a super loaded Jayhawk team.
I agree with fiveanddime don’t get rid of Love…….you can never have enough smart players like him.
Rubio, Harden and Brewer - long and athletic on the perimeter.
Love and Al - thick and punishing in the post.
I don’t know if Rubio and Harden will be able to start from the get-go, but if we get those two guys, this will be our starting-5 by mid-season.
Then, I predict, we’ll look into moving Love or Al next off-season. But I still believe they can be a great front-court tandem (would score and will and rebound everything) on the offensive side of the ball. And, defensively, with three long and athletic players and the 1-3 spots, Al and Love will have a lot less responsibility and their defense will no longer be as big of an issue. But I still believe a good, long, athletic center needs to be added to defend the likes of Yao and D-Howard (but everybody struggles to defend those guys, so I don’t think we’d be at a major disadvantage compared to anybody else).
What if we were to trade Love, the #5 and 18th picks. We then get Rudy Gay and the #2 pick?
Now you would have Curry at #6, Ellington at #28, Gay ( trade ) Jefferson, Thabeet at #2?
That’s a nice team
My draft board for the 2 lottery picks:
Rubio
Harden
Holiday (if no Rubio)
Curry
Evans
Thabeet
DeRozan
Flynn
Explanation:
Rubio: I think the odds are against him ending up as being the best pg from this class. But, if you’re going to bet on one, I think you go Rubio. Don’t know about Jefferson, but he makes Love a way more valuable player.
Harden: I like Harden but he scares me a bit. He will contribute right away. Could easily be the Mayo in this class, not in style, but by being the guy who enters the league scoring 20 a game. I think he has exactly what you want from your 2. Outside shot, slashing potential. Never relied on physical dominance, which will not always work at the next level. Not necessarily the guy you want if your overall goal is to dramatically upgrade the athleticism of the team, but the squad can not enter the next season without at least one outside threat, especially with Foye and Miller gone. There was a video on the SacKings TV site Ilinked to that I can’t find any more. It showed Harden doing the same drills that evans was doing; dribbling up, pulling a spin move around a statinoary defender at the top of the key and pulling up for a jumper in front of a coach at the line. Harden was so much more smooth, fluid and athletic than Evans. He’s the guy who can handle the ball well enough to get where he wants to go.
Andy Katz is reporting that Harden is flying into Minneapolis today for an interview and light shooting workout:
Holiday: He could very easily end up as the best PG. He has everything you want in a PG. Great size, quickness. He is a natural point with great IQ. I haven’t seen reports of him really nailing a workout, but he’s played well enough to stay in the top 10. Still, the scouting reports have him making passes that “no one else could make”. Consensus top defender. The problem is he’s young, and regressed under Howland after being the high school player of the year. He needs a bit more experience, a bit more confidence, but he’ll be great. I just don’t think he contributes a lot the first year. But a good pick at 6. It’s just like Chad Ford spelled it out recently: “UCLA’s Jrue Holiday was feeling the pressure. He was in New York today for a callback with the Knicks — a team he would love to go to at No. 8. His first audition wasn’t all that it should’ve been. He was overshadowed by more experienced players like Stephen Curry and Gerald Henderson. He struggled to shut down Curry defensively. He got frustrated. A little down. And then those old feelings of self-doubt, the ones that were on display all season at UCLA, started creeping up. The Knicks were down on his first workout, but recognized that he could do better and invited him back to New York on Monday — this time against Miami’s Jack McClinton. The result? “He was much, much better today,” one Knicks source told ESPN.com. “He shot the ball better, played with confidence — he’s a special player.” I think that’s the whole story, if you doubt his ability to generate that swagger against top level competition, then you pass on him for a guy like Flynn, who does not have the same ceiling. I cannot see him busting, but maybe the Wolves or the fans want more out of the gate than they’re going to get.
Curry: I’m not crazy about Curry, mostly because I like a traditional point and I worry about his defense in a backcourt that lacks a defensive anchor. Still, I think he’ll score well at the next level. With reports that we could end up with a combo guard, in an Curry/Evans toss up I have to go with Curry.
Evans: I’ve said it before. I just don’t see how this works. If he could really play the point in the NBA, that would be one thing. But even against mediocre competition he didn’t do much aside from score. I think he relied on a size advantage that will be neutralized at the next level. I don’t think he’s good enough with the ball to penetrate at will in the NBA, and not a good enough facilitator. At the 2, his size advantage is largely gone, and I need a guy who can play off the ball and hit an outside shot. Can you pair him with a PG like Rubio who needs the ball in his hands? Can you pair him with a point or combo guard who lacks an outside shot?
I think a realistic scenario is trading 6, 18 and Pek’s rights to Memphis for the 2nd pick. You take Rubio there and that would allow OKC to take Thabeet and SAC to take Evans or Flynn. Then we end up getting Rubio and Harden arguably the 2nd and 3rd best prospects in the draft each filling a need.
Harden is very athletic… folks seem to assume (as fiveanddime said), that when a player doesn’t need to rely on athleticism that the player must not be athletic.
But Harden’s length and athleticism are actually top-notch. Have you guys seen some of his dunks? The dude’s got hops and power.
They take rubio if he’s there or evans if sac screws up and takes jennings.
Threaten to take curry so the knicks panic trade David lee and the 8 for curry and craig smith
Then Wolves take harden
Plausible?
Thabeet: I’ve said it before. He lacks the footwork, toughness and basketball IQ to guard an NBA big man posting him up in the paint. Given that, he will be a non-factor on the offense and not the defensive presence you want. Discussion of him becoming a pick and pop guy aside, he will clog the lane for Jefferson. Maybe you have to take him if he falls to 6 to keep everyone from rioting, but what production do you really expect from him over his rookie contract? He only fixes a problem with the Jefferson/Love combo if he is good enough to start, meaning you can deal one of them. Otherwise he just takes minutes away from very productive players.
DeRozan: Saw enough of his college games to not want him, but I wouldn’t write him off. He could easily be the star to come out of this draft. I just wouldn’t roll those dice at #6.
Flynn: A good player. I don’t think he ever effectively answered questions about his defense. I think he is a reach at 6. I don’t think he gives you anything you don’t get from Collison or maybe Lawson at the back end of round 1. I think his rise in the draft is based solely on his personality, which really is only going to take you so far, he never displayed intelligent decision making in college, so he might be a leader, but where is he leading you?
Jennings: Certainly there is skill to admire. I don’t like him for the very reason I can’t believe the Wolves would draft him. From the reports on the super PG workout, Jennings wouldn’t follow the directions of the Wolves coaching staff, refusing to do the drills they way they wanted. Supposedly everything turned around when they started to scrimmage instead of drill, but that annoys even me. I can’t imagine the coaches weren’t blowing a fuse on this guy. Write off his Rubio comments as brashness, but that behavior in the workout is just not what I’d want on my team. Let him be someone else’s headache.
By the way I like flynns game a lot evev if he’s small
Foo, I agree that Harden is athletic, and I’ve defended him on that. I was trying to argue that if athleticism is your primary concern, he might not be your guy. Just like if adding length was your primary concern you might take a different wing even though Harden has good size.
I guess I agree and disagree, fiveanddime.
AGREE - Length and Athleticism aren’t what makes Harden so good.
DISAGREE - But he’s still among the best guards in the draft in those two areas. He’s very long and very athletic.
A backcourt of Rubio and Harden is big and the passing ability each would bring the the court would be outstanding.
Discussion on he tentative deal between the Wolves & Knicks for the 28th pick is on the next thread…..
http://wcwpsports.blogspot.com/2009/06/knicks-purchase-28th-pick.html
Discussion on the tentative deal between the Wolves & Knicks for the 28th pick has begun on the next thread…
http://wcwpsports.blogspot.com/2009/06/knicks-purchase-28th-pick.html
Geez I’ve got to get back to work, but my thoughts on the later picks. Who knows if they have 18, but if they do I imagine they did not trade up to 2 and they don’t have Rubio. If they went a combo guard like Evans or Curry with thoughts they’d run the point, I take Collison here. Yes, he may be available at 28, but I doubt it. Yes, Maynor, and (less likely, Lawson) might be available here, but I’ll take Collison for defense and aoutside shooting. I think Lawson is more geared for a running game, which is not likely to be the Wolves forte. Maynor has height on Colison, but not overall reach, and he has never been a strong defensive presence. He has a reputation as being clutch, but he’s going to be on the bench at crunch time, so what’s the point?
The big selling point on Lawson is that he’s a “winner” but Collison steerd three straight teams to the final 4, and look back at the weapons he was working with. Many games were won off Colison’s force of will. The guy shot 50% from 3 point land, is regarded as the fastest guy in the draft, and is one of the best on ball defenders. What’s not to like. Any player can have a highlight reel of assorted dunks and 3 pointers, but I offer this video of Collison willing UCLA over Stanford in 2008. Note that in these drives to the glass he’s going up against the Lopez twins at 7′ each.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw7Fzp-kjCA
If you took Rubio or Holiday earlier, I don’t know who you take. There are few players who are attractive at 18. I think you get a better player a few picks earlier, or a few picks later can take a gamble on a guy without stretching. Maybe you take Sam Young, but I don’t know enough about him. Does Daye have a chance to contribute in the next few years?
Some people here assume Thabeet would be a great defender. Why is that? He doesn’t move like one. He won’t score. What in the world would you want this guy for? As someone said, there will be bigs in next year’s draft.
best case for thabeet is he becomes emeka okefor…not likely though
This is a decent draft for guards. The wolves need to package some picks to get the #2 pick while keeping the #5 or #6. Pick the guard you want the most at #2 and pick the best available guard at #5 or #6. Draft a big next year which projects to be a great year for bigs. You will probably have two picks next year. With your later picks draft some Euro players and let them develop across seas.
If we take Evans over Rubio, I’m officially no longer a wolves fan.
I say let’s get Thabeet, he will be great with Big Al. Championships are won with defense. I don’t think you boys watched much College basketball this year, Thabeet is legit. He’s still raw offensively, but he’s only played the game for 6 years. He is much more athletic than Dikembe. He will have a greater impact on the game than Kevin Love, whom Minnesotans love. Kevin is a good person to come of the bench and give you 9 and 10
It’s amazing how every year people get all hyped up about draft prospects, and three years down the road, most of those prospects turn out to be just like Randy Foye and Mike Miller — average players that people are ready to trade. The odds that Minnesota will get a player with the No. 5 pick better than either Foye or Miller is less than 50/50, but hope springs eternal before the draft.
I hope we move up to 2 and take Rubio — he’s potentially a special player, whereas guys like Evans and Curry are good but the sort of guy you can find every year (see Mayo, for example). Plus, taking Rubio sets off a domino reaction that gets us either Harden, Thabeet or Evans at #6, whereas if we take Evans at #2, Thabeet and Rubio are likely gone by our later picks.
Honestly, my guess is we stand pat and get Evans and Curry at 5 and 6, which certainly wouldn’t be a bad thing, but I’d love to see us pick #2. I can’t see us using all four first-rounders, so we’re either packaging the later picks to move up or selling/trading them somehow.
Alpha,
You need to stop hating on Rubio. The kid can play ball and he will put butts in seats at the Target Center. He’s been playing professional basketball since he was 16. He knows how to handle himself. I’m not saying he’s the answer to the Twolves problem but at least he brings a little excitement. Pair him with a Curry or a Thabeet, and Jefferson and K.Love. The Wolves might be looking up next year.
KAAAAHHHHHHN!!!!!
Harden and Curry!!!!
I would like to see Evans/Flynn or Rubio/Harden draft. I realize that a lot of people would like to see Thabeet or Curry become Wolves, but I think one combination listed above would be ideal. Either way, it should be exciting.
Not so fast!! NY might have us beat to the #2 pick. The proposal is David Lee and #8 to Memphis for Darko (who’s 8 mil expires next yr) and #2. Not sure we can outdo that, which is OK, I’d be happy sitting at #s 5and 6
Those of you who say Curry is not a defensive player couldn’t be more incorrect. I recognize that based on his size he doesn’t appear to be a huge threat, but the kid busts his butt to try and stay in front of the ball handler, he fights through screens, and he has great understanding of how the ball will bounce off the rim to position himself for boards.
This is the NBA for God’s sake, how many guards know how to post up anyway? Will some players be able to shoot over him? Sure, but not the point where he will be completely expost and ineffective. This guy will be FINE.
Rubio is not good and will never be good. Euro players suck. Only like 10 have been decent in the last 15 years and most have been in the league for 10 years already. Last year at least two of the average ones went crying home to europe. And if you narrow the list of good euro players that were highly sought after before they got here the list shrinks to nearly nothing. The ones that were can’t miss players all sucked with the possible exception of Gasol but he (like almost all euro players) lacked the correct attitude to such an extent that memphis gave him away for a ham sandwich and without guys like Kobe and Phil, Gasol would still be just another loser.
[…] Zgoda, Wolves beat writer, thinks they are after Ricky Rubio and Tyreke Evans, but would settle for a new backcourt of Stephen Curry and […]
Harden and Curry would be sweet.
Evans and Curry would be sweet.
Rubio and Harden would make this the most exciting Timberwolves draft ever.
Rubio and Evans is a BAD combo.
Two guards who need the ball to make an impact, but can not shoot for their lives. Rubio, Evans, and Brewer would be the worst jumpshooting team in NBA history. Defenses would absolutely COLLAPSE in on Al and Love.
