The media were invited to Champs for a little lunch and hunch three days before the official media day this coming Friday. Coach Randy Wittman and VP Kevin McHale leaned against tables in the front of the room and took questions from about two dozen media folk. Here's what I gleaned from the 45 minute affair.
* McHale likes this team a lot better than the past two or three because they are young, teachable and will play the way he has always wanted the Wolves to play. Today he and Wittman talked about the need to get to the free throw line and pound the offensive glass. McHale likened rebounding to a running game in football, a crucial fundamental that separates the contenders from the pretenders.
* Don't be surprised to see Al Jefferson play some center this season. Not surprisingly, Jefferson is one of the reasons for McHale's upbeat demeanor. Comparing AJ and KG, McHale said, "Kevin was a freak of nature. Al is more of a prototypical low post player; he wants to bang you...We haven't ever had a smashmouth guy, someone who will put his shoulder down and get to the rim...Al doesn't shoot the same way twice, he just does what it takes to put the ball in the hole...if you're making shots from twenty feet away, the [opposing] coach will tell you to get a hand up in his face, if you're making shots from three feet away the coach says we need to double-team. That opens things up."
So why might AJ play the 5? Because McHale also loves Craig Smith and Ryan Gomes. McHale on Smith: "He's a matchup nightmare, a unique guy...in our league if you're odd and give [opponents]something people don't see [you have an advantage]. He's got strength and quickness...he can be a really good player in our league for a long time." As for Gomes, McHale calls him a banger too (one of his favorite compliments) and then flat out says "I love what I see out of Ryan Gomes."
* Wittman is directly comparing this Wolves squad to the Chicago Bulls of two and three years ago. "We've got eight guys under 24 years of age. Hopefully two and a half or three of them will step up and become all star caliber playhers. That's what Chicago has gone through...they had three guys who emerged and they were able to trade Chandler and Curry and now they are very competitive...we're looking for a similar thing." Later, when it came to the unhappiness of Juwan Howard, Witt didn't deny Juwan was bummed about the KG trade, but appropriately said the reasons they wanted Howard around are just as relevant pre- and post-KG. "Howard should look at what PJ Brown did with Chicago," Witt continued, noting that he played the good teammate, the veteran glue guy, "and now he has his choice to play with Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio..." Translation: We're not trading your ass this year but if you're a solid presence on the court and in the locker room, we'll see if we can send you someplace you might pick up a ring next year.
* Wittman is not using youth as an excuse for a poor record this season. He points out that Jefferson, Gomes, Green and Telfair are all in their 3rd or 4th year and that Foye and Smith "had good years last year and didn't back down...so it is not like we have eight guys who just came out of high school...we have the ability to compete in this league...with the talent we do possess we are going to win some games."
Then McHale chimed in that sometimes young guys get too competitive with members of their own team, become too preoccupied with surmounting a teammate and then struggle, rather than coming together once the rotation is sorted out. While there is truth to this, it is also serving notice that there will be some tough winnowing out and some promising youngsters who think they deserve more time are going to be logging a lot of bench sitting. "You can't play 10, 11, 12 guys. You're really only going to play 8, 9 guys," McHale declares.
* Given that view, my early handicapping would put minutes in for, in order, Jefferson, Foye, Davis, Smith, Brewer, and Gomes, with Jaric, Hassell, McCants, Blount, Green and Telfair on the bubble.
* Why is McCants downgraded? Strictly my interpretation, reading between the lines, but even when Wittman was talking about Shaddy in positive terms, there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm and conviction behind it. Maybe it was because it was the first question of the afternoon and everyone was still getting warmed up, but there was just something tepid, to the point where Witt followed one sentence by conceding, "I didn't see him his rookie year." Yes he said some nice things about McCants, noting that his injury is "night and day from last year...he's back to 100 percent...we finished near the bottom of the league in free throw attempts and he can help that...he's been here all summer so [if he falls off] it won't be for lack of effort..." But then McHale jumped in and claimed that McCants still doesn't have that "crazy hop up," adding that God puts people together best the first time and it is hard to come all the way back after such a significant injury.
* When someone mentioned that Davis could be a key to the season, Wittman replied that the "different things that went on last year can't happen," quickly amending it to mean he was addressing that to all the Wolves' players, but it certainly wasn't mere coincidence that the sentiment was raised in sync with RD. "We don't have to put up with that this season, we've got 16 players," Wittman reiterated. We'll see.
* Asked about trades, McHale was less enthusiastic about it then when I posed the same question three weeks ago. But some guys may be looking to leave before too long. For example, McHale is truly excited about Gomes. And he genuinely is pleased with the opportunity to have drafted Brewer. So where is the world does Trenton Hassell fit on this team? He wasn't mentioned by either Wittman or McHale; ditto Mark Blount.
Unlike Moroni, I see value in any 2 for one trade, bettered only by a 3 for 1 or 4 for 1 trade. But I will accept the generous offer to be on the Cookie Monster band wagon. Unless Ratliff is healthy, he seems the kind of player that can take advantage of some of the messiness that will be the wolves 2007-08 offense.
I don't think any of the afforementioned trades make any sense for the Wolves. I think a contending team will be happy to take Hassell off our hands, but they would have to take someone else for the trade to make sense for the Wolves, or else we're not trimming the roster.
As for people dumping on McCants, I'm still in the give him a chance camp. His attitude change from rookie year to last year was impressive. He played D hard and was one of our better performers in +/- on the season. He stopped clapping for the ball and started making the right play on offense. Personally, I'll be rooting for him.
I also want to say that my driving of the Eddie Griffin bandwagon came to an unfortunate end this summer, but I've picked up a new position with Craig Smith. Hop on board, Cookie Monster is about to rip up the league, there's still plenty of room on the wagon.
As for the run and gun offense, I'll be excited to see the Wolves execute the inbounds play this season under Wittman. In other words, I'll believe it when I see it.
Finally, as a small side note for those of you who play ball along with discussing it, the best dunker in the world under 6 ft (T-Dub)for unknown reasons plays at St. Thomas on Wednesday nights. I got completely posterized and can honestly say he did some dunks that would earn 10s at the NBA dunk competition, so if you wanna run with a guy who can dunk from the free throw line, come to St. Thomas on Wednedays. Check this dude out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kTOqRc6nRek
Full disclosure - I'm a J-Will fan. Yes, I know he doesn't have as much in the tank as he used to, but in my opinion, Williams gave Webber some of the easiest baskets of his life, leading to that ridiculous contract. He was handsomely rewarded with a one-way to Memphis, so I'm glad he's got a ring.
That said, we need a PG. Bad. I think Williams fits in perfectly, and if we can get the added benefit of dropping Ricky and Hassell, I say go for it. Actually, I'm not happy about losing Hassell, but groupthink is telling me it's going to happen no matter what. I'm not sure if J-Will has the legs to run anymore, but god he was fun to watch in the open court back in the day. I'm not sure if he can teach court vision, but it's worth a shot, right? Keep in mind that a flashy vet like Williams would (hopefully) have instant respect in our young locker room.
I think there are better fits out there, but going 2-for-1 (a must) on J-Will (a decent PG whose style could still maybe sell some tix) and getting rid of Ricky (another must) makes this trade one of the best moves we could make, even considering these two are our best option to sucker some team into Blount or Marko's deal. That just ain't gonna happen.
Andy B -
Maybe I have an ego, maybe not. Oh well I'm not personally insulting anyone here. If it comes off like that, I'm sorry.
In response to your comment, yes I did say "Wright Sucks" and I still maintain it was incredibly unprofessonal of him to be wearing a cutoff shirt at an offical Wolves function (especially when others were nicely dressed.) Whatever though, maybe I'm just an asshole. From what I've seen with my own eyes, I have little to no expectations that McCants does anything for us. He's just not very good. He was "good" in college because his UNC team was so stacked. College is much different than the NBA. Especially for a small (ish) player coming off microfracture surgery. If he's every anything better than a 8-9-10th man off the bench I'd be surprised. Maybe on some other team he'll develop as a role player, and I don't care if he does. If we traded him along with a "junk contract" I'd be estatic. Plus, that would help relieve our logjam and clear up minutes for the other 32 swingmen on our roster.
As for Foye, it's discouraging that so many people tout him as the "golden child." Not necessarily you commentors here (some do though) but mostly other fans I've seen on the net. As Jackdaw said, I think Foye at the point could end up not working out too well at all, especially with KG's ball movement gone. If he stays as our PG, I'd have liked for the FO to bring in an older mentor type with good character for him. Someone like a Chucky Atkins, Steve Blake, Brevin Knight, Eric Snow etc. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to see how things shake out.
I'm with you, Britt--if we could unload Ricky for another expiring contract I'd be ecstatic (although I think he would actually do pretty well in an uptempo style, like Wittman says he wants the Wolves to play this year). That, along with the plethora of other guys who can readily take his minutes if he loses focus (another difference from last year), might keep his carping down to a manageable level if he doesn't get moved.
Speaking of uptempo, that was the one thing that got me a little bit excited about the Wittman article in the Strib--a real run and gun team would be fun to watch, and, as I think about it, something that might make the Wolves more attractive to free agents going forward: after all, what NBA player doesn't like to run?
Meanwhile, I agree with College Wolf that Foye is not a natural point guard and will never be more than adequate at that position. I think that will become more apparent this season, now that KG and his ball-movement skills are gone. White Chocolate would certainly be better than nothing.
Patrick,
I think the logic is in clearing our some roster space along with salaries. According to the trade machine, the trade works for Hassell and Davis for Williams straight up. throwing in Doleac would only work if we threw in more players and, again, I think we would want to clear more roster space by sending at least, 2 for one.
I really think the Wolves management has cooled on Davis, Hassell and Blount. They can make trades with Davis and Hassell, but I don't think either is worth much and Miami seems to have a need for swingmen. As I said above, Williams has his faults, but he would offer some examples of running the point in a running game for Foye and his salary comes off the books after the year, while we lose the obligations for both Davis and Hassell.
I don't love the trade, but I also, like you, am not expecting much. What I most desire is for the logjam to be cleared at the 2-3 position so we can see a lot of McCants, Brewer and Green.
Britt,
I am in total agreement with the need to keep Ricky's attitude out of the locker room. That's why I am all for sending him a check and sending him home. I don't, however, think that it makes sense to give his expiring contract away for essentially nothing (which is what I view Miami's package as). I don't think we'll have trouble trading Hassell to another team, and I don't think this deal helps the Wolves as much as it helps Miami. It's a lazy trade.
If we do it, so be it. It's not going to hurt anything, but I'd like to think we can do better.
Patrick--
I think the logic goes beyond the mere numbers. Yes, Ricky Davis is probably the Wolves' most complete player--except for a dicey attitude that has sabotaged him, and the teams he plays for, throughout his career. Losing him from a squad of young relatively impressionable players may not be a bad thing; ditto Blount. Meanwhile, Jason Williams is not your prototypical "heady" point guard, but he is a guy who came into the league being super stylish at the expense of team play, setting up the offense, and engaging in all the primary point guard duties necessary to win. And he won a ring deferring to Shaq and Wade and yet seizing the opportunities when he was hot to make an impact. While not the perfect veteran mentor for Foye and Telfair, I don't think he'd be terrible (and certainly better than the nothing we have now) , provided he could get past the obviously bring-down of going from the Heat to the Wolves. And Doleac fills pretty much the same role as Howard--they are actually more similar than one might first suspect---although perhaps without as much locker room clout. That would enable the Wolves to accede to the wishes of a classy guy like Howard and maybe pick up a disposable part and a second round pick in the process.
Nate--Charley Walters is one of the nicest guys in the biz and someone I look forward to seeing whenever the media coagulate. But his track record is, shall we say, spotty when it comes to exclusive tidbits.
Am I the only one that doesn't understand the logic of this proposed Davis & Hassell for Williams & Doleac trade?
Why would we trade an expiring contract for another expiring contract? Sure it helps the Heat, they are trying to get to the playoffs. But we are rebuidling. I could care less if Williams and Doleac fill position needs. We aren't trying to win games anyways.
If we are going to give up Ricky's contract, the Wolves should make them take one of our bad contracts (I don't think Hassell's qualifies). Wolves should push hard for Davis and Jaric, and have Miami throw in another warm body to make the numbers work.
Charley Walters says today that the Wolves may trade Trenton Hassell (two S's, two L's) to the Dalls Mavericks within days.
I wandered over to ESPN Trade Machine to try my luck. The deal that obviously works is Hassell straight up for Greg Buckner. At first glance, Buckner makes around $1million less than Hassell (per season) and both have 3 years left on their deals.
A little more digging, however, reveals that Buckner is in the last guaranteed year of his deal. So, if the wolves get Buckner he comes off the books next year.
Exactly why Dallas would want Hassell instead of Buckner, I'm not so sure. Buckner appears to be a better three-point shooter than Hassell and is also known for his defense. I believe he also had some injury problems last year.
I think this would be a good deal. Sure it would be nice to get more for Trenton, but this would dump some more salary. Is dumping salary a good goal? I certainly don't think it can hurt, but realistically (as many here have pointed out) the Wolves are very unlikely to bring in any big free agents.
Speaking of salaries, the extensions of Jefferson and Smith are going to be very important. If the wolves overpay, they'll be right back in the same situation. This is a business and they should make sure the don't give these guys too much money.
Per the Wittman interview in todays strib,
With the young players and the athleticism they naturally bring, it appears Wittman will emphasize a running game and as Wolves fans conditioned to evaluating players based on the halfcourt game with ball-movement, open jumpshots, and halfcourt defense prioitized, I think we are in for some challenges that will be fun to watch - if Wittman follows through with this commitment. I don't see Hassel, Blount, Howard, or Davis fitting into the running game roles. Blount won't provide the necessary rebounding needed to jump start the fast break on the defensive end. This is where Smith, Jefferson, Gomes and Maddog, when hes healthy, will be given the opportunity to thrive with hustle and rebounding at both ends. Davis and Hassell seemed to have earned some of Witman's ire for their lack of effort getting down the floor last year. That's what I am gleaning from in between the quotes of Wittman's interview, anyway.
There will be lingering questions on whether Foye can make another transition from the PG setting up the half-court offense to the PG running the break. Under this scenario, Jason Williams might be a veteran PG Foye can learn something from. If not, then we can see how Telfair responds in this role as well.
McCants should also have an opportunity to showcase his talents in a running game. Unfortunately, his recovery from his injury, and Witmann's and McHales lack of an endorsement, point to a doubt whether he can regain his enough of his pre-injury athletic ability to be a force for a running style team. But, our surplus of swing players should not make us lack any excitement from McCant's faltering. Green and Brewer both seem particularly suited to make up in his absence.
It should be fun to see.
Man College,
I wish I had your ego.
I've always looked at McCants as a long shot to be a star in the NBA. I thought he had potential to be a valuable contributer to winning team, though. Unfortunately, like many young players who have had some success in HS and College, I think McCants sees himself as an eventual star, rather than a role player. I also think that his injury, which has reduced his "Crazy hops", has also made him more a student of the game and I think he is probably more coachable because of it. But this doesn't mean I thiink he is a lock to make it beyond his three year contract in the NBA. But "SUCKS?" I mean, come on. Remember, you are also the one who bragged about yelling "Wright Sucks" at NBA city on draft night loud enough to for McCants to hear and thus leave in apparent anger, while criticizing him for wearing a cutoff shirt.
And, everyone here watches basketball a lot and knows that Foye is a work in progress and PG might not be his natural position. But, to write him off at PG is "obvious" to anyone who watches bball. You can come down off your cloud now. I know you are a TWOlves blogger but you're knowledge of basketball is no more nor less than any of us here and you are guessing along with the rest of us. Nothing about this years Twolves team is "obvious," and that is the only thing I am certain about.
Good stuff as usual Britt, thanks for the info during an otherwise very slow bball period.
I could honestly go on for days about what ails the Wolves and what we could do to potentially right the ship... but in everyone's best interests, I'll spare you all.
Anyhow, just a few points from reading all these comments:
- Man, finally you all (including hopefully McHale and Wittman as well) are coming around to how much McCants sucks. I mean, I've been saying it for two years now... so it is kind of gratifying that everyone else is finally coming around. He really should be traded along with a "bad contract" as soon as possible, before other teams also figure out that he's worthless.
- I don't care what the FO force feeds us... Foye is *not* a natural point guard. It's obvious to anyone that actually watches the games and knows about bball that Foye is more suited to play the majority of minutes at the two, or as a "combo-guard." It's fine having him run some point every now and then, but starting and heavy minute playing PG he is not. Just because we have no one else and they force Foye to play PG, doesn't mean he is a PG. I lost a lot of points for saying that in the "Battle of the Bloggers on Timberwolves.com" Whatever though.
- For those of you that are sleeping on Gomes... ouch. Gomes is a great and unheralded player. However, I don't blame you for not knowing who he is yet. I've personally watched about 20-25 complete Celtics games the past two seasons. You will learn.
- What else... Our roster is a disaster. Here's a great article I wrote (with stats and charts) detailing the financial state of the Wolves *before* we signed John Edwards: http://www.twolvesblog.com/college-wolf/minnesota-timberwolves/the-finan...
We've now got 16 guaranteed contracts signed and Richard isn't even on the roster yet. Hmmm... To dump some of our crap contracts we'd probably have to accept deals grossly in the other team's favor. I'm okay with that to pare down the roster and cut salary. I'm sure our front office is not.
That's about it for now, going off my memory of all the comments... which I read earlier today.
Erick,
I agree Ratliff and Davis are the most desirable due to their expiring contracts, but as I've stated on this blog, our best use of those contracts is letting them expire. In fact, I am all for buying those guys off now, before the season commences.
I don't see us getting building blocks from other teams in exchange for cap relief, and I pray the Wolves don't squander these valuable (from a cap standpoint) writeoffs for another team's garbage.
Mad Dog is vastly overpaid because we don't play him, but a lot of teams would like to have his widebody and hustle. McCants is a crapshoot, but he has upside. Hassell is a solid vet. And Gomes, from everything I read, is basically Craig Smith. I'd also add Juwan Howard to my list of players that other teams would want.
I am not pretending these guys are valuable trading chips, but they are moveable and we need to dump players.
I wish I could agree with your next-to-last paragraph, Patrick, but of those players I think only Hassell and Gomes are desirable and even then only to a select few teams. And it sounds like the Wolves are too high on Gomes to trade him.
Madsen is vastly overpaid for what he does and McCants is a crapshoot, at best.
I think Ratliff and Davis are the most likely players to be traded between now and February because of their expiring contracts. Everyone else on the roster the Wolves would consider trading is over-rated or overpaid or unproven or a combination thereof.
Trade Rumors from Hoops Hype . Ricky Davis and Trenton Hassell to Miami for Jason Williams. Hmm... Jason Williams as the veteran Mentor PG for Foye. Not exactly what I had in mind, but...
I've got to think that even McHale can make one of these deals work. For god sake, we are just trying to trim some heads, it's not like we are trying to acquire great players.
The goal (as discussed above) would be to get rid of 3-4 guys and get some cap relief and/or a vet PG or C near the end of his career.
I recognize that Blount and perhaps Jaric are not moveable, but Hassell, McCants, Madsen, and Gomes are desirable. The Wolves all but threw a "For Sale" sign up with yesterday's AP article.
I maintain that a deal appears likely, but concede that it is not going to be anything to get excited about. We'll have to trade many of the "wrong guys" and the return product will not be great.
We are getting quite close to the 2 months the Wolves would have had to have waited before re-trading any of the Celtic players. My dream deals would involve the Wolves using their expiring contracts to try to add some talent via a trade since the chances of them luring any major free agents here will be pretty minimal.
Is the John Edwards' contract guaranteed? If so, that's very interesting as I believe that makes at least 15 players with guaranteed contracts. If it's a guaranteed contract, I think McHale is either incredibly stupid (because why would you sign Edwards to a guaranteed contract) or there is a trade coming and he's going to need a back up center.
I hope that there's a trade coming. Or the contract is not guaranteed.
The wolves keep comparing themselves to the Bulls. But another team with a lot of young talent (for a few years now) is Atlanta. They suck. [They don't have a point guard]
I suppose sitting Davis on the bench will lead to some issues, especially if he parks next to McCants and Blount. If I were McCants I'd sit as close to the coaches and as far from Blount and Hassell at the end of the bench as possible. With Maddog out and Jefferson manning the 5 in the starting rotation, Blount should see some time, but you have to wonder if John (smashmouth?) Edwards will move ahead of him on the depth chart. That will surely put Blount into an even greater funk at the end of the bench.
I doubt McHale makes any trades. I want to believe that he will trade Davis, who has value, for a point. He won't. I want to beliieve that Davis and Al can play together. Davis, for all his baggage, can be a mentor on the court for how the game can flow.
But I don't think that's why he's around. The cynical part of me thinks Taylor wants to run the show like Red ran the Vikings. It's time for contracts to expire and I don't think we'll see a significant free agent signing for a long time.
The more cynical side of me (courtesy of the last two years) says that McHale is tanking early this year. With 16 players on the roster, only one makes players better by his passing (his name is not Randy). Because Mc Hale's Career was spent with DJ and Bird,I think he knows exactly what he's doing.
Great posts for us TWolves junkies. I am also completely on board with the generally negative comments on Rashad McCants. Lets put him in a package as a teaser for some cap relief, promising youth, picks, etc. Speaking of the 2/3 logjam, I think we need to make room for Gerald Green as our most athletic talent on the squad. The role described on Ricky Davis is very solid: define his niche and let him contribute on shooting and ball distributing, but when he pouts or lacks hustle, yank him quickly for one of the kids. Finally, even though Blount is not an intense inside player, on the right team, he offers an excellent shooter for a 7-footer in this league and somewhat decent shotblocking.
Deals "laying around"? What does that even mean?? To use a tennis analogy, isn't that like an upcoming "unforced error"?
I'm not really sure what we get out of having Blount on this team either. In fact, if we could go Theo/Maddog/AJ for 15 minutes each a night, I'd call that a definite upgrade. Ready or not, I'd even play Chris "Not Big Ben" Richard, assuming we can get him signed.
I also don't understand why you'd wait until November to make trades...maybe it's a pecking order thing that you discover during training camp?
Also, the SG/SF training camp battle will be a great one. McCants, Green, and Brewer fighting for the swingman spot. Heck, I'd throw Jaric in the mix too, if only because Foye will benefit from another ballhandler playing with him. I'd say the only lineup locks we have now are Foye, Davis, and Jefferson, with Howard and Jaric the front runners for the other spots. I can't see us going with a young starting lineup, but definitely with young reserves providing a spark off the bench.
Either way, we've got too many players on the roster, but in my mind, that just means more interesting combinations to throw at other teams!
Britt:
The main photo of Brewer shows him in a brown pinstripe suit wearing a Wolves hat and holding up a Wolves jersey in front of himself.
If they wanted Al in they could have done the same thing between August 1 and now. Dunno.
I'll be surprised if many more deals get made. There may be one or two in the works but I can't imagine 3 or 4 and I can't imagine them being significant at this stage.
RE: trades
The Strib today has an article quoting McHale as saying they have 3 or 4 deals "laying around", and they are waiting for other teams to make or not make contingent moves so these deals can get done.
Not sure if Britt was privy to this conversation, but it sounds likely that there will be some action before the season gets under way. Here's the link...
http://www.startribune.com/wolves/story/1445865.html
PS: Do any of the media members ever ask McHale about his trade promises/prognostications made during the offseason vs. the actual results.
In the summer of 2006 they had deals "practically completed" to bring in some big man help. Big changes coming in general due to the bad season. Actual results? Mike James. Same promises and lack of actual results in many previous offseasons as well.
His "3 or 4 deals ready" comment would be exciting if someone else were saying it.
Shawn--
I like your priority list for trade values and I do believe management would also agree with you. The problem is what we have of value--difficult to know what Davis/Hassell/Jaric could bring, ditto Howard. As for the rest, they are either untradeable (Blount) or still tantalyzing (McCants).
I am on record as wanting to renounce Blount's rights. I still think he is a terrible fit for the new direction of the franchise, which seems to be smashmouth basketball played by young up and comers. Blount isn't young, isn't smashmouth, and will be grossly overpaid regardless of whether he is a good soldier or locker room cancer. That's worrisome.
Britt -
Thanks for the great article - packed with info that die-hard fans are always in search of.
How do you think Blount will be used and will react to it this year? I can't stand watching him, but we don't have much talent at center. If he is demoted to backup C behind Jefferson , do you see him causing enough chemistry trouble to disrupt the team?
Jefferson has said recently he was 'misquoted' when he bashed Blount following the Wally/Blount/Ricky trade. However, I'm guessing there was something to it.
Also, any inside info or gut feel on whether we'll see any roster changes before the start of the season? I've seen several teams talk about having until November to sort their rosters out. Umm, does that mean you don't think training camp is valuable? Because the 'new guys' are going to be behind the curve and lost.
I'd be tickled if the Wolves made a trade or two that:
* Brought back a short-contract vet PG to mentor Foye
* Dumped vets for expirings and/or picks
* Brought back a C prospect, even if a shakey one. POB from Golden State?
* Cleared up the logjam at SG/SF
* Eliminated bad chemistry guys
I agree Britt, McCants star has dimmed internally. It's just a bit surprising given how hard they were trying to sell him as a building block a year ago.
Personally, I haven't seen enough from McCants to warrant big minutes, much less a starting role. The fact that McHale is starting to question his athleticism (which if everyone recalls was the primary reason we drafted him) could speak volumes.
Add to that a terrible Summer league showing and a logjam at the perimeter, and all signs point to Shaddy getting lost in the shuffle.
I wonder what kind of trade value he has? Could be a nice deal sweetener when we start dumping veterans.
AK--
They probably didn't have an available photo of any of the ex-Celts in a Wolves uni. I can't believe Jefferson wouldn't be included if they had an option in the matter.
I just received my Season Tickets this morning. Four players are featured on the tickets: McCants, Foye, Smith and Brewer. The only message I can discern is that at the time they went to print (probably 14 or so days ago) the powers-that-be viewed these four as the key to their marketing efforts and highly unlikely guys to be moved this season.
I expected no vets to be featured. I'm slightly surprised that none of the Boston 5 appear. I suppose if they had locked up Al before the tickets went to print, he would have been the most likely add.
Britt - Your observation about how Rashad was discussed is key (and exactly the kind of insight you offer that most other folks covering the team tend to miss - SMOOTCH). In the context of pre-season happy talk, tone, relative enthusiasm and word-choice are the only available tea leaves. It sounds to me like Rashad is on the outside looking in when it comes to PT at this stage. Either he steps up fast or he will have to wait for someone else to fail to really get his chance.
Britt - you can do one more Twins blog - a post-mortem -and maybe one more Vikes thing while the Wolves are out of the country. Then its time to fully dedicate yourself to the blue and green!
Patrick--
I don't think they are trying to send a message to McCants. I just think that even last year, when I felt his defense and attitude both went up quite a bit, that management had, and has, cooled on him. I don't think they even realized they weren't supporting him in their comments yesterday, and in fact they said nothing overtly derogatory. But comparing the McCants-related remarks to the tone and the wordage on others, I don't think they are counting on his contributions as much as on others such as Foye, Brewer, Jefferson, Smith, Gomes, etc. For example, he was omitted when Witt was going down the list of young people who had enough experience to step up and produce. It's a crowded field and, to my mind reading their minds, anyway, he starts training camp in the second tier of young talent.
Great post- love to hear the inside scoops, and you have offered quite a few.
The McCants take, in particular, is very interesting. Was this a deliberate attempt to challenge him via the media? Or has he been more or less written off?
I like the hardball attitude with respect to minutes, and it is refreshing to hear that the Wolves realize only a few of these young guys will turn into good players.
I still think we have too many players, even if we glue the mediocre vets to the bench.
My guess is that, unless there are some head-clearing trades in the works, management wants to evaluate how well players respond mentally (i.e. who are the team players?) to spotty playing time.
Should make for some interesting internal drama, if not great basketball.
Thanks for the insight, Britt. As one of the more optimistic Wolves fans on this board, I have to say that I'm really excited for this season.
First off, like Britt says, youth cannot be an excuse for this squad. Most of our young players have a few years of experience, so it's sink or see-you-in-Europe time for the borderline guys with the exception of Brewer.
Second, not sure if I can buy the rebounding argument from McHale...we had the Barry Sanders of rebounding and you surrounded him with a team of Rodney Peetes. Yes, AJ's style is more McHale's style of ball, and I would love to grasp at the McHale-just-needed-HIS-personnel straw, as it's his last. AJ is good, but I'd like to see rebounding from every position on the court.
Third, and the reason I'm in love with this team (and the NBA in general) is that I love matchups. Watching KG was special because he'd have some sort of advantage over every sort of player he faced, and he'd use it. Same with watching Nellieball - I was actually looking forward to the Warriors until they signed Troy, whom I fear will thrive in his system and get another big contract!
Anyway, I am seriously hopeful that we are able to take advantage of the mismatches that Gomes and Smith can create. Of course, that hinges on AJ being able to play the 5 and keeping Blount's minutes low, though his shooting can open up lanes for Gomes and Smith to operate.
For the pessimistic side: I don't think Foye will ever be a PG. No court vision, too deliberate...I trust him to drive, but not kick. Can be a great 2 though. I've never been a McCants fan, and unless he shows significant improvement this year, I'm done with him. And it's not just an injury thing - I didn't like his game when he was a rook either, and I usually give rookies some slack. His game just does not match his swag - the time for "flashes" of potential are over, if you're still inconsistent at this point, you need to correct whatever it is that is not clicking on a daily basis.
And at this point, you really need to start Davis - he's got (minimal) potential trade value and will be a burden on this club if he's not playing. I don't want to drop any trade scenarios this early, but our other more deserving vets (Hassell or Marko) could certainly contribute 15 mins/game on a contender willing to spend a little.
Oh, and if anyone cares, I'm sticking with my 40-win prediction!
Andy B--
Putting Davis on the bench would be more trouble than it is worth. Davis has the ability to excel in practice and in games; his problem in the past has been his attitude, specifically his commitment. If the Wolves are smart, they won't make him a martyr but will give him time if he plays consistently and unselfishly--point blank, they need his capacity to move the ball, especially Foye. But if they're smart, they'll also deploy a quick hook at the slightest sign of half-assed defense or ball-hogging offense or desire to leak out for layups rather than crash the boards. I suspect that means Davis will consign himself to the bench often enough to give the young'uns minutes. And if he doesn't, then his trade value rises as the season goes on.
The spread was free, so criticizing it would be gauche.
Thanks for the insight, Britt. I like that the front office/coaching staff is finally saying the right things, even if it took them waaaaaay to long to see the light. It will be interesting to see if Witt puts the minutes where his mouth is.
It would be unfortunate to stunt the development of the young guys in an attempt to win a few more games riding the backs of the more veteran (read: malcontent) players on the squad.
I am definitely curious about the upcoming roster, but I would not go as far as saying I am excited about the upcoming year. I anticipate an early departure of Hassell and Blount with some combination or all of Davis, Jaric, Howard, Ratliff and Maddog to follow by training camp next year.
Your anticipation of Minutes implies a starting lineup of Foye, Brewer, Davis, Smith and Jefferson to start the season with Gomes providing substantial minutes off the bench. The strib mentions Wittman saying that Green, alongside of youngsters Brewer and Jefferson "won't be denied."
The way I see it is that the only reason the Wolves will start Davis is to advertise him as trade fodder to the rest of the league. I can't see any other reason for giving Davis minutes over Green, Smith, Brewer, McCants, Gomes or even Jaric for that matter. Sure, He is arguably the Wolves best player, but he is not the future and his influence can only be detrimental to the development of the younger players. There is no way we resign him, if we don't trade him. I would plant him firmly on the bench next to Hassell and play the young guys with the intention of trading him to the first solid offer.
How was the spread?