In a comment on the draft thread, Snyder makes an excellent suggestion of starting a summer league thread for Wolves' die-hards who want to paw over the results of this week's five games out in Las Vegas.
I've been tied up on a large project recently, but promise to chime in here soon on this subject. Meanwhile, yes, from this account and also Kent Youngblood's piece in today's Strib, it looks as if Smith and Brewer are showing well together. I'd also suggest that Rashad McCants be watched closely. When I was at the Target Center a couple weeks ago, the difference in his movement and quickness was apparent. An upgraded McCants who can combine the explosive athleticism of his rookie year with the emotional maturity of his second season would be significant.
The Wizards want to trade Etan Thomas. A straight up swap of E. Thomas for M. Blount works under the cap. They both have 4 years left on their enormous contracts, but Thomas is two years younger.
Thomas is a far superior rebounder to Blount, but an inferior scorer. This would be an upgrade in the post for the Wolves.
Thomas has had a history of injury problems.
Why does Washington do this? They do want to trade Thomas so they would probably listen.
And...we could throw Ricky Davis in for Antonio Daniels. Washington needs to resign Jamison next year and they may welcome the shedding of Daniels contract (3 years, $6M/yr) to avoid the luxury tax. We've talked on the board before about how Daniels is a better teammate than Ricky and a solid contributor on the floor. Maybe we get Washington to throw in a second round pick as well.
Now, I know that some will say we should get more for Ricky Davis and his expiring contract. But, if we can use Ricky to dump Blount as well, why not?
I would not be against the idea of KG playing center on most nights. As much as I enjoy Craig Smith, I would much rather prefer to see Juwan Howard starting at the 4--and KG probably would as well.
It's tough to figure out what would be best right now though with Ricky Davis and Blount still on the team. I wouldn't mind Blount coming off the bench and I think he would be ok with it too...as long as Davis isn't on the team for him to bitch with.
Say hey Paul,
I suppose it's OK to tout KG at center and Craig at PF all you want, but it's not helping the starting five - where the lack of a servicable center is killing the Wolves as much as the lack of a point guard. And constantly relying on KG to anchor a speedy "small ball" attack just tires him out and lessens his effectiveness at crunch time.
IMO, Craig Smith will never be a starting PF, but he might make a starting "3" (or a sixth man at the "3"). I was encouraged by reports that he slimmed down in the off season.
I just watched the game on the web.
Brewer and Smith looked good. i really like Brewer's loose liimbed style-he seems to be having fun out there. At the same time, he has great body control and awareness of the court. I am really looking forward to some creative,spontaneous team-wise play from him this year.He hit a nice 3 too.
Foye and McCants really struggled. The Wolves flowed much better with Matean Steves at point and he's got no upside. Foye made some good passes,but they didnt seem to be part of any set play.
Zero chemistry between Foye and Mccants.
Funny- a couple of the Hornets committed 9 and 11 fouls each..
Levi,
We've debated this before, but I'll restate my thoughts on KG at center. While I don't think he should play 40 minutes/game at center, a smart coach can play matchups and use him effectively at the 5. As for him not being able to handle the punishment at C, how many bruising centers are there? There are a hell of a lot more tough PFs. KG will take less punishment playing the likes of Camby than say, Brand or Duncan. Heck, PF Nene is more powrful than his teammate Camby. Sure, I would not play KG against Shaq or Z, but there aren't many of those.
I like the idea of a Smith/KG front line, with Brewer at the 3. Playing a bruising inside guy like Smith at 3 is a waste of his greatest assets, IMO. I'd rather have KG at SF than Smith.
i always take the news of a pro athlete losing weight with mixed emotions. bless smith's hearth for losing the weight and seemingly getting more athletic... but i have to ask...
why would a pro athlete allow himself to be out of shape?
Anyone interested in watching the game live right now, here's the link...
http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia-live...ent_060611.asx
Cookie Monster reportedly lost 14 pounds of fat during the off-season, so it would seem likely he'd at least be better than last season at guarding the opposing 3.
I thought jianfu made a good point that while there may be concerns that Cookie Monster could get exploited on defense by taller 4s/5s, he at least deserves the chance to TRY guarding them more before concluding he can't. Especially when we already know that Blount isn't going to get it done.
I think one problem with McCants jumper is that he bulked up so much in the upper boday when he was injured. Shooting a jump shot is a skill, not an athletic feat. The muscle memory he had for most of his life has changed because he added so much muscle. The guy is built like a linebakcer now. I understand when you're doing rehab and your legs are totally shot it's probably natural to hit the upper body weights pretty hard, but I think Shad went a little overboard and his jumper is paying the price. Not sure what the solution is but pretty much anyone, myself included, can make 50/200 jumpers if Stephen Litel's numbers are accurate. This concerns me greatly.
As for KG at the C, I think the center position is morphing before our eyes. Guys like Boris Diaw are playing center now, there are very few traditional centers who get much clock, and many of those are completely inept offensively, like the Collins brothers, they would not put much pressure on KG at all.
Cookie Monster needs 30 minutes a game, minimum. I still wonder if he's quick enough to guard the 3.
I saw a little of the game on the web broadcast. Smith was unstoppable. Now that he has slimmed down, and if he can add a jumper, is it out of the question that he could see some minutes at the 3 as well? Wolves need to find a way to get him 30 minutes a night.
McCants has improved defensively but still seems to be lacking in decision making. I realize he wants to put up numbers on inferior summer league opponents, but he is pushing things too much. The guy needs to understand his role, and I worry this could be an issue this coming year, as he is playing for a contract.
Brewer is lightning quick in the open floor. Hopefully the Wolves run this year...he could thrive on the wing.
Here is an archive of Monday's game for your viewing pleasure:
http://nba-boss.streamos.com/wmedia/nba/nbacom/summer_league/summer07_mi...
Moroni, I've said this (seems like) hundreds of times: KG simply does not have the body to play center in the NBA. In "small ball" situations, yeah, OK, he's the tallest guy out there and is nominally the center. But he just can't take the pounding inside on a daily basis. And anyways, it would be like harnessing Secretariat to a plow.
I've said all along that a great way to create problems for other teams is to put Craig Smith at small forward (alongside KG) -- where he could dominate at times. Unfortunately, this team is so desperate for bulk (and forced to pay/play Ricky Davis), that they are forced to use him inside.
And speaking of bodies, I've also thought that McCants is way too short for "today's" off guard position, where everyone is now 6'5" or more. He used to have the hops to compensate a little - and we'll see if he still does - but in my book, he's a big liability both on defense and in crunch time on offense. And so it bugs me that so many folks pin their hopes on him because I feel it means that they are believing the hype rather than their eyes.
Thanks for the thread Britt. I appreciate all you have given us T- Wolves fans.
I also want to thank you guys for letting me in on how to see the summer league games.
Much thanks! Greatly appreciated.
Jess-
I'm looking forward to seeing McCants this year, too. It seems like a lot of fans have either forgotten him or have already written him off. Here's hoping they can ship the shiny object that is RD away so that McCants will see substantial time.
Moroni,
Check this out:
http://www.82games.com/0607/ppairs0607.htm
Garnett and Smith were the Wolves' top player pair last season, netting a "+98" when they shared the court. That's not spectacular by any means--a quick eyeball tally on my part guesses that number ranks 18th or 19th or something, and the truly elite dynamic duos register over +500--but it's interesting.
The worry, of course, is Smith's height would get exploited with more exposure. But when it comes to that sort of thing, I wish teams would more often try it first and see if it happens rather than just assume it will.
At any rate, it would seem to benefit the club if KG can get over being labeled a "center" (perhaps the term has lost some of the negative connotations it had when he first broke into the league) as the Wolves certainly have some promising options to share minutes at the "4" between Smith and Howard.
Of the 96 minutes per game covered by "bigs," last year Garnett averaged 40 (39 and some change, actually) and Blount got 31. With Howard on board, presumably good for 15-20, and with Smith certainly earning an increase on his 18 minutes per, I think we can all guess who's going to see their PT cut. (If you're a believer in Chris Richard, maybe it gets even better.)
Most of the games are being televised on NBATV, and every game is available to watch on a webcast via nba.com. I watched the webcast last night.
KG needs to move to the C position if he is coming back. Smith is about to have a huge year if only we can convince the braintrust to bench Blount and have Cookie Monster start at the 4.
Stephen,
Are they running the games closed-circuit at the Target Center? On the internet? Can you let me and the readers know how or if there is access?
Thanks
Watched the game last night and took it for what it is worth...a summer league game.
Smith was great. Easily, the best player on the floor. Brewer looked good as well, but I'll be interested to see the next game and if there is a better shooting percentage from him. His D looked stellar against the caliber of players he was guarding.
McCants did nothing. I will, as Britt stated, be watching him very closely. He was at the Target Center before a Lynx game last week out on the court shooting. In the roughly 200 shots I saw him put up, I would be kind to state that he hit 50.
He was getting pissed off at himself and trying to focus more and no improvement.
Concerning.
I here what ur saying about mccants. i have a huge amount of faith in mccants. He struggled a little bit shooting in summer league but otherwise he looked good. i cant wait for the season to role around and see what he does. anybody know why he changed number to 32? i know its his college number but why did he want change to change it.