MN Sports Shot

    Right now the Wolves have one legit player on their roster in Al Jefferson.  I've been blown away by how often we've played him out of position this year at the 5 instead of his more natural position at the 4.  I think the Wolves need to seriously consider getting a big body to help defensively more then offensively at the 5.  The current coaching regime seem to be happy with "Big Al" playing as an undersized 5.  With that one peg in place for certain, but a certainty out of position.  where do the Wolves go?  The rest of the roster is a log jam of some okay players (Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Rashad McCants, Randy Foye, Craig Smith, Corey Brewer) and a lot of guys who should be considered more as bench depth (Chris Richards, Marco Jaric, Greg Buckner, Antoine Walker, Kirk Snyder, Mark Madsen, Michael Doleac). 

    In all honesty I'm not sure who beside Al Jefferson that you could consider a lock as a starter on the majority of NBA teams.  Randy Foye is up in the air due to his knee fracture.  McCants is I think finally "back" from his knee surgery almost two years ago.  Those two players should not have been drafted in back to back years.  They aren't the same player but they fill extremely similar roles.  They are a combo guard that can create their own shot from the perimiter but have little to no post-up game.  Due to their size and quickness are a defensive match-up nightmare for their team.  McCants and Foye can't guard bigger 2 guards but they can't stay with the quicker 1's either.  Both were extremely prolific scorers in college but now they look more like great sixth men. 

    If the Wolves would have had either of these players during their title run in 2004 it might have been a different story.  Think if McCants was coming off the bench to give a little instant offense instead of Wally.  That could have allowed Flip to play Wally with KG, Spree and Sam more to spread the court that much more.  Having to hold Wally back for the second team was what had to be done at that time but it wasn't an electric second unit at all.  Plus in short spurts McCants can actually get down and defend a little, its when he's asked to play defense for an entire game that he loses his motivation.  I'm not sure what McHale was thinking with the McCants pick.  Maybe it was as a replacement for Spree?  You can say a lot about Spree but he was a basketball player.  That man could score and he could shut-down Kobe Bryant.  Spree all but took the Knicks to an NBA championship on his own.  If Allan Houston hadn't falled apart he probably would have.  Maybe from afar Foye resembles Cassell, but only if you are playing NBA 2k8.  I should probably take that back cause Sam can still get off for thirty and he's never played defense.  Foye has looked like an injured player most of this year.  Granted the fractuerd knee cap isn't something you hear a lot about so maybe its going to take him a year or two to get back to game shape?  Foye just doesn't do it for me, not now at least. 

    The Wolves wouldn't be in a horrible position if Foye is able to come back and be the player he was last year.  A guy you could count on for 20 points a night and roughly a wash in turn-overs to assists.  That player coupled with a Sebastian Telfair, who you'll probably never be able to count on much more then ten points a night but who can easily turn in a 1-10 turn-over to assist ratio, wouldn't be a horrible team at the point.  I just don't think Foye is a point guard.  That leaves the Wolves with Telfair, who can't score and is so small he can be out muscled by larger point guard for guady offensive numbers as your primary point.  That having been said I think the Wolves should hold on to Telfair, mainly because they need to address more glaring needs in the front court and Telfair is enough of a distributor that they shouldn't be hurt that bad by his lack of scoring ability.  Look at Jason Kidd, people are never talking about his thirty point games-cause they don't happen, but his 15 assist games make Sports Center all the time.  If Telfair could come through with a few of those I think we'd be okay at the point.  We'd need a back-up but maybe Foye could cover as the back-up and just move from the two to the one when Telfair needs a blow. 

    Then when you look at the 2 spot I think you have two-four options.  I think your best two starters are McCants and Foye.  The problem is going to be who ever doesn't start isn't going to be happy and probably will pout.  Its too bad because I think which ever of the two doesn't start would actually end up being in a better position to be an ignighter from the bench, but they probably won't see it that way.  For me I'd probably start Foye, but part of my reasoning would be that I like McCants off the bench more.  Plus Foye has tended to be an early and a late player.  I've seen him rip off 15 points in the first quarter a number of times to go quietly through the second and third only to find his stroke in the fourth.  McCants either has it or he doesn't, there doesn't seem to be any middle ground.  When McCants is on he'll fill it up with twenty while hardly breaking a sweat, but how many back-irons has he clattered in his first three years.  Both of these guys need to compliment the rest of the team, they are not focal points in the NBA.  I think McCants has really improved his NBA game a lot this year by improving his three point shootings.  If McCants could becoming a 40% plus thre point shooter he'll be around in the NBA for ten more years.  If not I could see him having to call it quits to his NBA career in the "prime" of his physical years.  The knee injuries he's had have just taken too much from his explosiveness.  If defenders had to be more weary of him rainning threes over the top they'd have to press up on him allowing for his slashes to the basket to be more effective.  If guys aren't up in his face his first move isn't ankle breaking anymore.  Man does he have a sense of how to position his body to blow past a defender.  I guess that might be hard to understand unless you've really played basketball.  There are just some guys that know how to use their defenders own body to create separation to the hoop.  McCants had that sense when he's faced up to the hoop.  I'm not really impressed with his post-up moves.  That's probably more due to his lack of size then his footwork.  The guy just has great feet.  Whereas, Foye tends to beats guys with a more rythmic attack.  When Foye is on the perimeter his jab step sets up his drive and fade-away shot.  Guys don't want to let him blow by them so they tend to give him a little space, which they can usually afford because if he just stop and popped a shot his lack of height usually allows for defenders to recover and at least contest his shot.  When he uses his dribble to drive and kick or just straight take it to the hole, what he's really doing is setting up his stop and pop fade-away.  Having three solid moves off the dribble allows him to keep his defenders on the back-foot.  Foye's drive and kick is only strengthed by a player like McCants if they can knock down the open three.  Of course Foye's penetration is also aided by Jefferson's presence in the paint.  If the post defender shifts over to the help side the back-side defender has to roll to cover Jefferson which tends to lead to easy money.  On a theoretical level Foye/McCants could work.  I just don't think either of them will be willing to truely become "team" players and look to make the pass.  That's why you'd have to have a player like Telfair on the court to spread it out and distribute the ball a little more.  If Foye and McCants could find a way to work together the Wolves would then only have to talk them into playing a little bit more defense.   It should also be noted that Marco Jaric adds depth, but he's not the future and if his contract wasn't so ridiculous the Wolves would probably either trade him or buy him out.  Buckner is trade fodder.  They could use a defensive 2 guard to play 10-15 minutes a night.  Someone who is at least 6'6" to play against a Tracy McGrady or a Kobe Bryant for a few stretches during games.  Saddly, there aren't a lot of those sorts of glue guys just drifting around the NBA.  The Wolves already might have their stopper at the 2 in Brewer.  I wouldn't mind seeing Brewer at the 2.  Not sure what you'd have to do at the 1, but it'd probably have to be Foye with the current roster.  Just because right now Brewer doesn't seem to be able to score.  Brewer has energy to spare and he can lock-down a scoring threat while creating extra looks with his offensive rebounding.  If the Wolves ended up getting Beasley in the draft I would think they should find a big 5 and experiment with Brewer at the 2 a little.  That's pie in the sky right now.  With the current roster he probably is slated more at the 3.

    At the three the Wolves actually have some options and some issues.  If you land the top pick in the draft you have to take Beasley, but is he a three or a four in the NBA?  If Jefferson is a 5 then Beasley is probably your 4.  Even though Yao and Shaq will kill you every time you play them most teams are going to have to worry about the Beasley/Jefferson combo more then you'll have to worry about Al getting pushed around a little.  Plus in that situation you could send some hack like Doleac out to rough up Yao or Shaq for 5 minutes a half and hope that gets them off their game enough that Jefferson/Beasley are able to operate.  Regardless of the draft the Wolves have Snyder, Brewer and Gomes to share time at the 3.  All of these guys are probably best suited at the 3 but they all see time at the 4 and 2.  Brewer at the 4 is horrible right now.  Brewer is so skinny that he gets pushed aruond at the 2 so seeing him trying to man-up at the 4 is rough.  It usually only happens on prolonged switches or brief spells, but it really shouldn't ever at least not right now maybe later in his carear if he adds a little weight.  Right now I think Gomes has the most ability and he's a boarder line NBA starter in other cities.  Gomes can play defense, he can rebound, he can cover a 4 if need be and he can score.  Gomes doesn't miss a lot of open looks and he moves well on the floor.  How many times has Gomes been open for a baseline jumper this season?  Those sort of plays happen because a player isn't standing still.  (Foye and McCants are guilty of taking root way too often)  I'm not sure about Snyder.  Right now he looks like a nice pick-up for Green.  Dunking championships mean nothing.  Snyder has more game to him then Green and he seems to be roughly a million times smarter.  Green looked lost more then he look alive.  If he was on the court a high-light reel lob pass was coming it was only a matter of time.  How many guys beat him with-out even using a double move?  Guys would just break to the hoop and Green would be lost.  Its amazing cause Green obviously has hops, see birthday-cake dunk .  Still Snyder hasn't been around long enough yet to know what if anything he brings to the table.  I'm sure the Wolves can put something together by cobbling these three guys together.  I wouldn't be blown away if Gomes or Snyder is gone next year, my leaning would be Snyder.  Coach Witt seems to like him, at least so far he does.  Gomes and Brewer seem to team up well at the 3 with Brewer seeing a little time at the 2 as well.  For me that's probably the best way to bring Brewer along.  You can't help but be in love with his hustle and his spirit, but at the same time you can't help but cringe when he pulls up to shoot his "jumpers."  I know that Gomes is playing at the 4 right now but he's extremely undersized for the 4.  Having Gomes, who plays bigger then his 6'7", at the 4 just puts that much more pressure on Jefferson at the 5.  I'd like the Wolves roster flexibilty with Gomes/Jefferson/Beasley on the roster.  Gomes can play a little 4 but at the 3 he's a great help defender.  Jefferson and Beasley aren't that great defensively so they'll need all the "help" they can get.  

    The 4 right now should be Jefferson with a big hole at the 5 but for whatever reason Wittman is playing Jefferson at the 5 and leaving a hole at the 4.  Maybe its because he knows his only other options at the 5 right now are just that bad and its his way of minizing his losses.  Who knows I'm not Al Jefferson's best friend and maybe he thinks of himself deep down as a 5 not a 4.  The 5 and the 4 are where the Wolves need the most help.  Sure they could use a Rose at the point but they can sort of get by with what they've got int he back-court.  The Wolves have spent so many first round picks on their current back-court they sort of need to let them play out a little bit more before they call it quits on those guys.   If they get the first pick its Beasley.  If they don't and let's face it the chances are way better that they don't then they do what do they do?  If they are at 2 its probably got to be a guard cause they are two great guards in Gordon and Rose.  Gordon is way to similar to Foye/McCants that they just can't take him.  If they land at 3 and Beasley and Rose are gone then what?  If they could move down a couple of picks and somehow end up with another first round pick.  Where they could then get say Lopez out of Stanford with the five or sixth pick and then move on a "true" point or depth at the 4 later in the first; I'd be more then satified with their draft.  I think they need to to add some quality depth.  Marco Jaric isn't quality he's depth but he's not quality.  I know he had a nice run earlier this year, but where has he been since?  That's all Marco is a short spurt of decent play followed by a guy collecting big pay-checks the rest of the time.  I think the guy seems nice, he's just not top flgiht NBA material and he's probably not second flight either.  Right now the Wolves have two high second round picks, they either need to find someoen decent with those picks or they need to turn those two picks and an expiring contract into a first rounder in the middle teens.  This draft is going to probably produce a starter out of the second round but the teens are ten times more likely to produce someone of starting quality then the early second. 

    Although I'd like Lopez over Randolph (from LSU), or Galinari (currently playing in Milan, Italy) I could see the Wolves using anything out of the Beasley/Rose position in the draft on one of those two guys.  Here is why, the Wolves are clamoring about possibly having three picks in next years draft already.  That makes me think they are looking at next season as another feeling out season.  If you don't score a dynamic player like Beasley you aren't going to turn this current roster around with one young talent so its probably good to look at 2010 as the year you start to make a push back into the playoff picture.  By the end of next we'll know what we've got in Foye/McCants.  Telfair will have proven himself as either a nice guy to give some run too off the bench or a true-blue starter.  Brewer will have to have shown a little more scoring prowess or he'll be relegated as the next Bruce Bowen/Dennis Rodman hybrid.  We'll also be able to see what we've got from this years draft.  I'm not breaking down what will be available in the ;09 draft quite yet but if you are projecting to possibly have three picks in that draft you should be putting yourself in position to see what needs you'll have to fill.  If you've got a decent four guys to run out then those three picks next year could be package to get that next star or to just add some quality depth.  The only fear I have is first round picks come with first round egos.  Having seven to ten first round picks on your roster means that all of those first round guys aren't starting and it probably means some of them aren't even in the second rotation.

    I haven't addressed Christ Richard or Craig Smith (the Rhino) yet.  Here is my problem with them they both seem to have the talent to be on an NBA roster.  They are both undersized.  Smith can score but he's not that great on defense.  Richard can play defense but he doesn't seem to be able to score.  Maybe they could be a decent second unit up front for the Wolves.  If Jefferson is playing the 5 the Wolves are already sort of small up front and going with Richard as his primary back-up just doesn't seem to brilliant.  Maybe McHale can mold these two into great NBA "big" men like himself, but I'm not holding my breath.  I honestly think they could find better roles on other teams.  Craig Smith would kill for the Raptors and I'd love to see him excel there.  Smith would be a great change of pace and he's a big physical guy on the offensive end.  Bosh has more height but Smith would play bigger and thusly could probably draw some fouls against the opposing 4.  That would only stand to set Bosh up later in games.  Richard I think would be best suited in Houston or Orlando.  Coming in and delivering some of the hard play that Yao isn't know for would help to keep the opponents honest.  In Orlando Richard could be used in defensive situations you don't want to have Howard in for fouls sake.  In both places he'd probably never be more then a 10 minute a night guy, but he could be that piece that keeps those star players that much more fresh come play-off time.

    Doleac, Buckner, Jaric, Walker, and Madsen are all vetrans whose primes have pasted them by.  The Wolves are now just biding their time till they can buy them out or trade them.  I imagine Madsen will become part of the front office or coaching staff before too long.  Walker is hopefully gone this summer or at the draft maybe even?  Jaric who knows, we'll probably have to eat all of his current deal, he might be appealing for a team that needs depth at the 1,2 or 3 later in his contract.  Doleac and Buckner are gone as soon as they can be I'm sure.  Neither of those guys have been bad teammates but they really don't serve any purpose outside of trade fodder.  

    The Wolves have a lot of moves to make in the next 16 mothns.  How the ping-poing balls fall will really determine where they go from now.  I'd love to see them with Beasley.  If that doesn't happen I'd rather see them get a quality big so they can move Jefferson back to the 4.  I would be more then happy with Rose. 

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