NBA draft time baby!
The Wolves are in another tail-spin of a season. From afar this team is a worthless piece of junk that deserves contraction. From the fans perspective its time to start digging and at the 2011 draft. What do the Wolves have right now. What do the Wolves need to be in the conversation. What will it take for the Wolves to be contenders. What is a realistic time-line for this team?
Currently the Wolves are 27th on the Hollinger Power Rankings. (Hollinger somehow has the Heat #1 so his rating system must be called into question.) Britt Robson over at SI.com has the Wolves sitting at 29th. The common thread between the two rankings is that the Wolves are young and play poor defense. Hollinger’s stats show the Wolves rebound well, but they turn the ball over too much and that despite a break-neck pace they are a -6.7 when comparing offensive efficiency to defensive efficiency. Robson bases his power rankings on watching games and teams play instead of strictly off of stats. Robson’s ranking for the Wolves is based on how he doesn’t like their make-up across the board. Robson doesn’t see Love/Darko working in the front court defensively. Robson talks about team defense a lot. The Wolves just don’t play D well at all, no way to sugar coat it.
Here are my thoughts on the Wolves starters defense:
- Luke Ridnour- Ridnour is easily a top 20 PG but he doesn’t have elite athletisism and that’s what hold’s his defense back. Ridnour does have decent a decent basketball IQ and makes up for his athletic abilities there but the NBA PG is really speed driven and Ridnour is only going to get slower with time.
- Kevin Love- Love doesn’t have elite athleticism and his amazing basketball IQ can’t make up for guys being able to out-do him in that department. I still wouldn’t mind his hustle and enthusiasm for the game out on the floor at all times. I wouldn’t mind watching Love at the 5 with Beasley at the 4 with player X at the 3. Sure we’d be small but aren’t you supposed to put your best players on the floor at all times in basketball?
- Darko Milicic- Darko looks bored a lot. Darko’s skill set would be best coming off the bench to infuse the team for 15-20mn per game but based on the contract the Wolves gave him over the summer he’s a starter for the time being. I’d be fine if the Wolves traded Darko, he’s not the long-term solution at center. Especially with Love on the team.
- Michael Beasley- Beasley tries hard half the game, the half where the Wolves have the ball but he is an athlete. If motivated correctly he has the ability to play defense, its just finding the drive. At the 3 there are going to be match-ups that he just can’t handle due to speed. At the 4 he might be a little small but I like that who ever he’s guarding will have to guard him too.
- Wes Johnson- has the potential to be a solid player at both ends of the court. Johnson has the athletic ability to play D and his shooting stroke is pure. Wes needs to get a little more movement to his game, but currently that could be due to the Wolves offense. I worry about Wes being a spot-up shooter and not causing his man to work much on the defensive side of the ball which in turn leaves him man fresh on the offensive side. Whereas pretty much everyone else on the Wolves roster needs to up their defensive intensity I think Wes would be served to up his offensive activity so he doesn’t have to constantly deal with a fresh man on defense. Plus with a stroke like Wes has tired legs shouldn’t effect his jump shot late in games. Wes has Ray Allen form and in my opinion Ray Allen only gets stronger late in games when his man might be just that extra split second late rotating over.
The Wolves bench doesn’t really have a defensive stopper but here’s a quick look:
- Jonny Flynn- for Flynn the argument was that he played at Syracuse and just hadn’t learned defense yet. Rambis was the type of coach that would be a strong authority figure and force him to learn how to play D. Just typing that sentence makes me laugh. Sure Rambis is a hard-ass but other then losing the respect of his entire team and fan base he hasn’t really imposed his will on anything let along Flynn. Flynn has some speed but he’s already had a few injury issues and he’s not even through two seasons. Flynn has insinuated that his trouble this season is to blame on the hip injury that cut last season short. I think next season the reason Flynn won’t be doing that well could be he’ll behind Ridnour and Rubio but that’s probably sarcastic. Flynn isn’t an NBA PG. I’m not sure what team has any use of him but the Wolves suck and they don’t need him either. What a wasted pick, thanks Kahn!
- Sebastian Telfair- Bassy has some game to him and as a back-up PG I’d take him but as a spot starter I have no need for him. Bassy brings a ton of pace but he’s undersized and that really hurts him defensively. Bassy has never really learned how to shoot either. As far as the Wolves are concerned once Bassy’s contract is over he’s gone. Even though none of them have proven themselves as stars the Wolves have stock-piled PG’s so a fringe back-up just isn’t needed right now.
- Wayne Ellington- Wayne is a less athletic slightly smaller with less upside Wes Johnson. Wayne can shoot and he seems willing to give effort defensively. Wayne doesn’t have the talent to be a starter and he’s not much more then a depth player on a contender.
- Anthony Tolliver- The definition of “glue-guy” is Anthony Tolliver. This guy does anything and everything you ask him to do. Tolliver might knock down a few shots for you here or there but you’ll never be able to rely on him for scoring. Tolliver brings intensity and he’s the perfect foil when Love needs a breather. Tolliver is a less talented Love and would be a great addition to a contender. The problem with glue-guys is they don’t win you a ton of games and the fact that they can’t be trusted to take over games loses you games because they don’t have to be accounted for at all times. Tolliver plays defense though and if Love’s at the 5 with Beasley at the 3 the current Wolves could do a lot worse at the 4 then Tolliver.
- Anthony Randolph- Not much to say about Randolph due to the fact that he hasn’t been a T-Wolf for very long. Randolph looks like he has some potential left. Randolph supposedly gets along with Beasley and Love and that’s got to help his chances with the Wolves. A front court of Love, Randolph and Beasley might be fun to watch and what do the Wolves have to lose right now? If Darko is going to start regardless of his play then at the first TV timeout Rambis should be plugging in Randolph with Love sliding to the 5. Let’s see if Randolph wants to be a starter in the NBA.
- Nikola Pekovic- Man this guy looks lost. Pek is slow, Pek doesn’t seem to understand the game and Pek (despite his size) looks weak against competition. Pek needs to show something down the stretch and then needs to make huge strides over the summer. Granted Pek is learning the NBA and America at the same time but he don’t look too good right now.
- Lazar Hayward- Dude doesn’t get much burn and isn’t that impressive when he does. At best he’s 8-11 on an NBA roster. Lazar needs to develop something to keep him in the league. If that’s a killer outside shot, clutch defender or just crazy spark off the bench he’s got to have something. As is right now if the Wolves cut him I wouldn’t notice it.
- Martell Webster- Webster comes down on Kahn more then anything else. The guys been hurt all year long and we gave up a 1st round pick for him. Kahn you fool. Now that’s out of the way Webster isn’t a starter but he could be the leader of the second unit. First the Wolves need to have a first unit and then they can set-up the second unit. With the roster bogged down with “talent” that needs to develop I think moving Webster for whatever he can bring in return is sensable. Sadly, I can’t imagine him having any value at all right now.
What the Wolves have right now is a dynamic double-double machine in Kevin Love and a bunch of guys around him with potential talent that hasn’t proven out just yet. What that says to me is the Wolves need to readdress their team’s blue-print. Kevin Love can work into any system he’s a smart player that works with what he has around him. Kevin Love isn’t an ideal piece to build a team around. The Wolves still need a stud or two to pair with Love. The Wolves need to trade one of their assets (Love, picks, Beasley & Rubio) to bring in either established talent or potential talent with a higher ceiling then the current crop. Part of that process also probably means that Rambis needs to leave. Rambis doesn’t get along with the current roster and he’s not furthering their progression.
I would either like to see the Wolves do one of these things:
- Move for a talented scoring threat at the 3 and then slide Beasley to the 4. Spreading the scoring load out between the new 3, Beasley at the 4 with Love & Johnson picking up the remaining slack. To pull this off the Wolves either need to hit a home-run in the draft this year or move Rubio along with picks to bring in a Danny Granger type. I’d deal with losing Rubio and picks for Danny Granger. Love/Beasley/Granger/Johnson/Ridnour would be a fun club to watch. It’d be small but fun.
- Move Love for a legit 5. Either of the Lopez brothers would work for me. Brook for Love straight up is probably near fair. It’d be tight if we could go Brook/Williams for Love/Rubio but there is no way that’s a fair deal even if we threw in a few 1st. It’d be hella interesting especially if they landed Dwight Howard with Love/Rubio. However, it’d work the Wolves would have a 5 to pair with the potential talent
Right now the Wolves are at least 2 years away from knowing if they have a legit chance with the current talent. They are young and they have a lot of questions plus one of their “corner-stones” isn’t even in the states yet. Maybe Rubio makes this team completely different. I think he makes them better but I don’t think he alone brings in a championship. Rubio doesn’t help Love defend any better. Rubio doesn’t take the burden off of Beasley scoring and that burden seems to be too much for Beasley at times. I have little to no faith in the Wolves return to the playoffs before 2013. I don’t see them being a contender with their current roster in the current NBA. The new CBA could change a lot but how can we speculate on that which we don’t know.
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