# Liking Wolves' future



## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

If there are any Wolves fans on this board, just wanted to say I like the team's future. Wiggins and Bennett was a nice return for Love. 

More importantly, they have a slew of athletes that could make this team really dangerous and great fits with Ricky Rubio. Rubio can really push the rock and could be nasty with high risers like Lavine, Wiggins, Young, and even Bennett playing the 2, 3, and 4 positions. 

In the half court it's nice to have productive vets like Martin and Pekovic. 

Defensively they can even make some strides. Rubio isn't half bad, Wiggins is going to be an absolute stud on that side of the ball, and Dieng is a great defensive complement to Pekovic's offensive skills.

Granted they will not make the playoffs in the tough west, but this team has some really nice pieces and is on the rise IMO. Wouldn't surprise me if they snag 40+ wins this year and explode next year or the year after for 50+ wins.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

They are definitely establishing an identity (finally). I'm curious to see how they put it all together.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

The writing was on the wall when Flip moved from the front office to the bench. Wouldn't have done so if he didn't think he could win some games.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Also, the Wolves have drafted Italian wing scorer Alessandro Gentile and stretch-4 Bojan Dubljevic (who plays for Valencia) in the last two drafts. These are skilled offensive prospects who both might actually make their way to the NBA eventually. The future in certainly very bright in Minny.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

You never really trade a top-10ish player and come out of things _better_ for it, but Lebron going to Cleveland really made everything fall into place as nicely as they could have for Minnesota short of landing another star to keep Love in place. The good news is that in landing Wiggins they've already got that cornerstone young guy you usually tank a year or two to get, so they can go straight into trying to win now with their young core. Sure, they won't actually be good for a another one to three years, but they don't have to waste a year stripping the roster down either.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

Bogg said:


> You never really trade a top-10ish player and come out of things _better_ for it, but Lebron going to Cleveland really made everything fall into place as nicely as they could have for Minnesota short of landing another star to keep Love in place. The good news is that in landing Wiggins they've already got that cornerstone young guy you usually tank a year or two to get, so they can go straight into trying to win now with their young core. Sure, they won't actually be good for a another one to three years, but they don't have to waste a year stripping the roster down either.


It's almost like doing what Minnesota did is a smarter franchise building strategy than tanking


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

ATLien said:


> It's almost like doing what Minnesota did is a smarter franchise building strategy than tanking


Well, yes, if every team could kick off their rebuild with "trade your all-NBA player for the top pick in the draft" nobody would have to spend a season or two chasing a high draft pick. Astute observation. So long as we can make sure all 30 teams always have at least one top-10 player we should be able to do away with long-term planning once and for all.


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## ATLien (Jun 18, 2002)

OK, not an all-pro, but collecting assets and making good trades like how Houston got Harden. Hopefully NBA gets rid of the NBA lottery soon.


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## Marcus13 (Jul 17, 2002)

It would've been a big win for Minnesota to simply swap Love for the #1 pick prior to the draft. The fact that they were able to obtain additional assets is quite impressive.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

ATLien said:


> OK, not an all-pro, but collecting assets and making good trades like how Houston got Harden.


Eh, there's a ton of luck that goes into pulling off things like that - if Lebron stays in Miami then Flip Saunders is spending this summer choosing between Gibson/Butler/Mirotic and Brandon Bass/Keith Bogans/Marcus Smart/future first and we're making Bucks West jokes. For every Houston team that trades for a budding all-star and then backs into an all-NBA center in free agency there's a Sacramento/New Orleans/Knicks that spins their wheels making win-now trades that don't produce many wins. 



ATLien said:


> Hopefully NBA gets rid of the NBA lottery soon.


In favor of what? I assume you aren't talking about seeding the draft in order of finish like baseball and football, which leaves us with something that completely divorces record from draft order, but that's more likely to result in a team closing up shop than magically creating parity across all the teams. I'm a fan of simply smoothing out the lottery odds, like the league is on the verge of doing, to reduce the double-edged penalty of a team just being run of the mill 30-win bad.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Marcus13 said:


> It would've been a big win for Minnesota to simply swap Love for the #1 pick prior to the draft. The fact that they were able to obtain additional assets is quite impressive.


They also gave up a late first to get Thad, but it was still a pretty good haul.


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## yodurk (Sep 4, 2002)

The trade for Thaddeus was a steal if they end up re-signing him. That guy is a player.

The Wolves really do have a balanced squad. It all starts with Rubio, he is their engine. But then you have 2 guys who can drop 18-20 per game in Martin & Pekovic along with Young who with minutes can give you a solid 14-15 ppg. That's 4 young vets who can produce today. Then then athletic youth in Wiggins, Lavine, and Bennett. IMO Wiggins will produce on day 1 and should start at SF. Lavine & Bennett should get minutes but will take a while to max out. Still a good squad, I think they could end up with a better record than last year just due to better depth & balance. 

Rubio, Martin, Wiggins, Young, Pekovic
Mo, Lavine, Brewer, Bennett, Dieng
Barea, Budinger (is he healthy BTW?)

That's a pretty respectable team. Good mix of everything: scoring, defense, athleticism, low post play, maybe a little weak in 3-pt shooting but not terrible. Definitely a team that will require good coaching though to gel properly and mix the young guys in gracefully.


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## NK1990 (Mar 26, 2011)

I can't wait for the Timberwolves season to start, i'll probably catch around 15-20 home games. Seriously though, Zach Lavine vs Andrew Wiggins in the old rules Dunk Contest! I want to see it!


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