[Hector_Reyes_8Participant]

Looking at the T-Wolves, roster, I see a couple of question marks. This team isn’t a playoff team, probably one of the worst in the league, and is fairly young. To get to the point, I don’t see how Nikola Pekovic and Martin fit.

Pekovic is a very, very good big man, but he’s not a player with a reliable jumper, which is bad when your two young rookies that are your foundation for your franchise aren’t great at jumpshots either and are electric at the rim. Dieng fits in well alongside Rubio, LaVine, and Wiggins as he is a shot-blocker (which Pek isn’t) and has a really nice mid-range shot. Obviously, Pek is the better player, but he doesn’t fit as well with Ricky, Zach, and Andrew as he’d clog up the lane and have Wiggins settle for his inconsistent jumper.

Martin is a great scorer, he can score at the line and at the 3 point line. One of the best at either shooting a 3 or being fouled. That’s it, though. He hardly rebounds, isn’t a decent defender, and isn’t a passer either. He also plays the 2, which is what LaVine plays/should play. Would you rather play a 31 year old guard who is always going to miss a couple games due to injury or play a young rookie on a lottery team? He’d obviously space the floor well for them, but that is essentially all he’d do.

Now, looking at Utah, I don’t see how Exum and Burke fit. Burke is a better shooter, Exum has the potential to be the better scorer. I don’t see why the Jazz would want to implement Burke-Exum when both Exum and Burks have better potential than Burke. Burke and Exum would work if Exum is the point on offense and two guard on defense, but I don’t see that happening. They have three guards who all deserve minutes, yet their games are all different. Burk’s at his best when he can dribble into the paint and draw fouls or finish, and Burke is at his best using the P&R and either shooting or hitting the roll man. Exum is full of question marks so I won’t go into what he can or can’t do yet.

Thoughts?

[llperez]

 as for minny, i think pek and kmart are solid veterans but are not major pieces of long term plans. They arent winning this year anyways so goal is to develp youngsters and see who stands out. The biggest questions for minny this year is whether or not ricky is worth paying big money next summer or do they let him leave and allow lavine the chance to run the team. Rubio has not shown improvement in his 3 years and might not be worth givcing a big deal to if other teams chase him. Also, while wiggins is only a rookie and expectations are limited year one, if he is truly a franchise cornerstone like many on here claim, he should at least show some flashes of that.

As for the exum and burke backcourt, i dont think worrying about how they fit together needs to take immediate concern. Exum averaged 7 points and shot 31% from the field in summer league and went scoreless today in a loss for austrailia. The guy clearly isnt as nba ready as some might have thought. Im not saying he is a bust, but odds are he comes off the bench for a few years and the exum/burke dynamic works itself out on the court as it should instead of deciding who gets what role without them earning it.

 

[llperez]

 as for minny, i think pek and kmart are solid veterans but are not major pieces of long term plans. They arent winning this year anyways so goal is to develp youngsters and see who stands out. The biggest questions for minny this year is whether or not ricky is worth paying big money next summer or do they let him leave and allow lavine the chance to run the team. Rubio has not shown improvement in his 3 years and might not be worth givcing a big deal to if other teams chase him. Also, while wiggins is only a rookie and expectations are limited year one, if he is truly a franchise cornerstone like many on here claim, he should at least show some flashes of that.

As for the exum and burke backcourt, i dont think worrying about how they fit together needs to take immediate concern. Exum averaged 7 points and shot 31% from the field in summer league and went scoreless today in a loss for austrailia. The guy clearly isnt as nba ready as some might have thought. Im not saying he is a bust, but odds are he comes off the bench for a few years and the exum/burke dynamic works itself out on the court as it should instead of deciding who gets what role without them earning it.

 

[ahuang16Participant]

 First the Timberwolves.  I am not sure if they are looking to be a playoff team in a stacked western conference.  They got a very generous haul from the Love trade and are building towards the future.  Now they’re probably looking to move both Martin, who is old and is taking minutes from both LaVine and Wiggins like you said, and Pekovic, a talented post scorer but not going to get much better and has a bad contract, since they would both have a lot of value for a playoff team.  The fact is with the current team make-up, they don’t fit, and should be moved for more young pieces and/or draft picks.

Second the Jazz.  In my eyes, Exum and Burks don’t fit as well as Exum and Burke.  It is Burke’s shooting ability that gives him the opportunity to be a very good off-ball player.  I am not saying he officially is a two guard, but that definitely gives the team flexibility and allows Exum to handle the ball.  The Suns proved that this kind of system can work with Dragic and Bledsoe, and a tandem of Exum and Burke should flourish.  With Burks, he seems more like a guys suited for a sixth man role.  His ability to get in the lane and create for himself is important especially with bench units on the floor.  Meanwhile he can blend in the Burke and Exum since both can play the point position.  I am actually really excited for what the future holds for this rotation.

[ahuang16Participant]

 First the Timberwolves.  I am not sure if they are looking to be a playoff team in a stacked western conference.  They got a very generous haul from the Love trade and are building towards the future.  Now they’re probably looking to move both Martin, who is old and is taking minutes from both LaVine and Wiggins like you said, and Pekovic, a talented post scorer but not going to get much better and has a bad contract, since they would both have a lot of value for a playoff team.  The fact is with the current team make-up, they don’t fit, and should be moved for more young pieces and/or draft picks.

Second the Jazz.  In my eyes, Exum and Burks don’t fit as well as Exum and Burke.  It is Burke’s shooting ability that gives him the opportunity to be a very good off-ball player.  I am not saying he officially is a two guard, but that definitely gives the team flexibility and allows Exum to handle the ball.  The Suns proved that this kind of system can work with Dragic and Bledsoe, and a tandem of Exum and Burke should flourish.  With Burks, he seems more like a guys suited for a sixth man role.  His ability to get in the lane and create for himself is important especially with bench units on the floor.  Meanwhile he can blend in the Burke and Exum since both can play the point position.  I am actually really excited for what the future holds for this rotation.

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Martin and Pek don’t fit long term, but their contracts are a bit much to swallow. I think Martin can be moved. But Pek probably is just too much for a non-rim protecting post-player.

But don’t worry about it. The young guys are really really young. They don’t need to start. You don’t want them to start. You want them to get some success against second units. Also you want them on teams where they lose game in practice. I think that is an important step that tanking teams often forget. Let Lavine get torched by Martin in practice. It will be good for him. He will see a high level scoring NBA player on a daily basis. All the young guys will get plenty of minutes on this team. They don’t need 36 minutes a night to develop. 20 to 25 will do just fine. 

Also it will be nice for the young guys to be around a team that wins from time to time. It won’t make the playoffs. Won’t come close. But do you really want them to go through a 20 win season? Will that develop?

[TallmanNYCParticipant]

Martin and Pek don’t fit long term, but their contracts are a bit much to swallow. I think Martin can be moved. But Pek probably is just too much for a non-rim protecting post-player.

But don’t worry about it. The young guys are really really young. They don’t need to start. You don’t want them to start. You want them to get some success against second units. Also you want them on teams where they lose game in practice. I think that is an important step that tanking teams often forget. Let Lavine get torched by Martin in practice. It will be good for him. He will see a high level scoring NBA player on a daily basis. All the young guys will get plenty of minutes on this team. They don’t need 36 minutes a night to develop. 20 to 25 will do just fine. 

Also it will be nice for the young guys to be around a team that wins from time to time. It won’t make the playoffs. Won’t come close. But do you really want them to go through a 20 win season? Will that develop?

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