# The 2005 offseason thread!



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Well lets start things off. I think it would be a waste to make it to the playoffs this year. I hope we are a lottery team for the good of this franchise. With our 1st and second round picks, we should be excited. We have a lotery pick and an early 2nd round pick.
With flip gone, i thinks ok to do this. There cant be a way to make the playoffs and not have flip. Especially if you hired a guy who has never coached before ( mchale, not a bad basketball mind though). Right now there is about a .99% chance of the wolves resigning spree. So with our first or second round pick we must go for a wing. Taking that into matter cassell's days are behind him. In our luck there are 2 guys in the draft that are "combo guards" in this years draft that are mentionable. Rudy fernandez and julius hodge. To our luck fernandez is a projected top 20 pick and hodge is a 2nd rounder. 
With our next pick i would expect us to take a big. The guys who impress me are johan petro, hakim warrick,ronny turiaf, and taylor coppenwrath. We have been said to take wayne simeon (can u say gary trent) and vladimir veremeeenko ( can u say niclolas skitishvili). I personally would go with the french man johan petro. 
I say there are 2 ways we can go, take petro in the first round, trade up in the second round and draft julius hodge. Or we can take fernandez and then hope a guy like simeon who has been injury prone, will drop to our spot. If he is taken we can take a guy like taylor coppenrath.

trades. I think we trade only to get picks and big men. I would have to say a trade i would love to see go down is this one

wolves trade to houston:
troy hudson
michael olowokandi
ndudi ebi
2nd round pick

rockets trade to minny:
maurice taylor
ryan bowen
1st round pick

With that pick we can take a guy like julius hodge or take fellow frenchmen of johan petro, michael gelabela. He is known to jump out the gym. He is a small forward/ shooting guard guy.I dont see why not.

Free agents. Seeing the wolves will get a lot of tax relief but still will be over the cap, we have limited space to work with. I would like to see the wolves go out and get a guy like raja bell but chances are slim. Maybe pickup a guy like desanga diop...... Stromile sswift is out there but chances of us getting him are slim as can be. We need to set our eyes out to resigning griffin. Maddogg is a free agent after this year, do we go after him? We prolly wont resign spree but do we hold on to erv? Should we add him to the coaching staff once wittman is off to indiana U? 

What r your thoughts? I am sure you guys have some players you would love to see in awolves uni.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

If Minnesota can't get a Center in the draft that's ready to play now (What are the chances of that?), then they need to draft the best available player. If/when Sprewell leaves, there's still Hassell, Wally, and Hoiberg. They could stand to use one more wing, probably an athlete. Hassell is pretty athletic, but the overall that's not a very agile group of wing players. That can be had in the draft. 



Minny needs to address Cassell this offseason. Maybe they should trade him, or maybe they should just limit his minutes next year. If he maintains his frailness next year, Minny needs _another_ PG. Carter has been decent, but you can find better guards out there than him. Then there's Griffin. It's probably best off that he doesn't play well to finish off the season, because that will lower his market value a bit. I'm not sure how many teams will pursue him as a starting Forward, so Minny might luck out if Griffin finishes the season lack-luster. Even if they keep him, a huge upgrade is needed at the PF/C spots. KG needs some help battling down low and bums like Madsen, Johnson, and Olowokandi aren't the answer. Finding a *real* Center should be priority number 1. It's not easy, of course, but Minny needs to do anything outside of trading KG to get one.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

johan petro.............


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>sheefo13</b>!
> johan petro.............







For the future, yeah, that's probably a good pick. What about the immediate future? Probably not. KG is at his prime right now, and they should to take full advantage of it by bringing in players who can contribute now, unless they are satisfied with being mediocre. 



I wouldn't think Petro could come in immediately and make an NBA impact. If so, teams are foolish if they pass on him.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Well i can see petro being an impact early but not a huge one. Maybe guys like coppenrath or simean can do it.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>sheefo13</b>!
> Well i can see petro being an impact early but not a huge one. Maybe guys like coppenrath or simean can do it.






Are you wanting these guys to be reserves or starters? If Minny keeps Griffin, they probably wouldn't be able to beat him out anyways.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I cant see a rookie starting up front. It doesnt work if u want a chamionship team. I would go with petro though. He is a 7 footer and can play pf/c. I cant ask for more. Griff would be the starter.


----------



## Mr. Roboto (Aug 15, 2003)

The only rookie post player that I can really see definately coming in and contributing a lot is Andrew Bogut from Utah (He is an absolute stud), but the only way that I see us getting him is if the lottery bounces our way and we get a top 2-3 pick. Maybe a guy like Ike Diogu, Hakim Warrick or Tiago Splitter could come in an contribute immediately, but I kinda think that Diogu and Warrick will be the only ones in our range or maybe Shelden Williams and Ronny Turiaf, Torin Francis later on

As far as perimeter players go, The guy that I would love to get is Rashad MCcants from UNC as he is projected to go around our range. I think that Rudy Fernadez could be a great pick to as he is said to be very comparable to a Manu Ginobili player and I also think that Francisco Garcia and Julius Hodge could come in and contribute a little immediately. 

In the second round there are a handful of guys that I would like: Nate Robinson (athletic as can be, I could see him as a better version of Earl Boykins, Wayne Simien, Joey Graham (he is falling is some drafts, but he could play some right away i believe), Sean Banks (he has some problems, but if he enters he is a lottery talent that could drop to 2nd round)


Other stuff- We definately don't resign Latrell Sprewell and I think we need to dump Sam Cassell for almost anything we can get. I would like to resign Eddie Griffin because he is talented, but I don't always think he tries hard and I would love for us to pursue a guy like Stromile Swift instead, I think we dump Ervin Johnson and maybe bring him in as an assistant and I also would want to resign Mad Dog.

Kandiman and Hudson, it would be good to get rid of, but Kandiman may actually play hard next year (Can you say Contract year) and I think if this season keeps getting away we need to play Ndudi Ebi just to see what we have in him. 

Coaching candidates i'd like: Sam Mitchell, Eric Musselman, Terry Porter, Phil Jackson, 

Free-agents if enough cap room (get rid of spree, erv, cassell): Stromile Swift, Ray Allen, Michael Redd, etc)


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Hakim warrick is too much like eddie griffin. Or he could be like ndudi ebi. ebi and warrick have the same kind of frames. Bogut is gonna go number 1 in my eyes, i dont see how u pass on him. Taft seems like the #1 bust. I dont know about ike diougu though, he isnt always up against prime competion, and jumped onto the radar really quick, he could jump off just as fast. Turiaf seems like a REALLY intimidating post man. I think petro is the same way but taller. Thats why i would go with petro. They say he has put on 30 pounds of muscle in the past 2 years He is only 18 and is 7 feet tall. He is still gonna be growing.

Fernandez seems like he would turn out more like jason kidd. I would love to see him picked by us but i would much rather picka big.

I think with the second round you have to go overseas. We have failed too many times with college players from here, and who knows, you could get a steal from over sees like manu ginobli ect...... Guys that come to mind are 2 guys from italy: stefano mancinelli and angelo gigli. One guy that i have kept an eye out for is minneapolis naitve alan anderson. He seems like a player that would excel in the nba. He is inconsistent at times but good handles, good shooter, good defense. 

good deal. At least someone is as excited as me for this offseason.


----------



## KG4MVP2 (Jul 28, 2003)

I want the wolves to select a center with their first pick in the draft.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

looking over the draft, this petro guy seems like he will learn a lot. I would be really surprised if we took warrick just because he seems like a ndudi ebi ro eddie griffin type player. Fernandez would be great also but a big is what i want us to take. I hope we can make a trade here or there and get another top 15 or 20 pick so we can take fernandez and petro but it wont happen. Petro seems mos tlodgical.

Alan anderson seems like the guy i see being a huge steal. Watching him play, he seems like an nba type player. He is big and athletic for his position. I dont see why you wouldnt take a guy like him if he is still avalible at our pick.

I would think going oversees for a pick in the first round can be a little iffy because they will either be really good or a huge bust. Second round i like going after foriegn players because then they can stay where they are at for a while and then when they are ready come over here. The only guys out of college i wouldnt mind taking in the second round is alan anderson or julius hodge.

today i heard the wolves offered sprewell to philly for robinson and willie green...... They turned it down because they wanted to keep willie. I wouldnt mind seeing us trade for a willie green or john salmons at all. I think if we make a trade for one of those guys we can just worry about a big man in the draft this summer.....


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

well after doing some major research on the draft boards, petro sucks. I say if a guy like fernadez falls to our spot he is going to be picked by us. I would like to see hakim warrick but he is too much like ebi..and griff.... Maybe mccants? We need a guy to bring intensity. Also felton? he is a decent pg. I like veremeenko though. I think we can work with a kid like him, but he seems like the next skita.. I also like turiaf. But petro is probably not going to be in the draft next year.


----------



## KG4MVP2 (Jul 28, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>sheefo13</b>!
> well after doing some major research on the draft boards, petro sucks. I say if a guy like fernadez falls to our spot he is going to be picked by us. I would like to see hakim warrick but he is too much like ebi..and griff.... Maybe mccants? We need a guy to bring intensity. Also felton? he is a decent pg. I like veremeenko though. I think we can work with a kid like him, but he seems like the next skita.. I also like turiaf. But petro is probably not going to be in the draft next year.


Yea Fernandez would be good draft pick for the wolves.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>sheefo13</b>!
> well after doing some major research on the draft boards, petro sucks. I say if a guy like fernadez falls to our spot he is going to be picked by us. I would like to see hakim warrick but he is too much like ebi..and griff.... Maybe mccants? We need a guy to bring intensity. Also felton? he is a decent pg. I like veremeenko though. I think we can work with a kid like him, but he seems like the next skita.. I also like turiaf. But petro is probably not going to be in the draft next year.





I read on NBADraft.net that Rudy Fernandez's stock is falling. He hurt his ankle and will miss 6-8 weeks. I'm not sure how recent the article was, but it mentioned that he's looking more like a late 1st round pick rather than a lottery pick.


----------



## KG4MVP2 (Jul 28, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>KokoTheMonkey</b>!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thats not good news.


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Actually, the article was as recent as yesterday.



LINK 





> Fernandez has a foot injury that will likely keep him out for the next 6-8 weeks. After sparkling in the summer playing for the Spanish National team in the Olympics, Rudy has struggled averaging just 10.3 points per game on 38% shooting.
> 
> 
> Rudy has gone from a potential lottery pick to a more likely late first round pick if he stays the course and remains in the 2005 NBA draft. (He has already said he will enter.)


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

yeah i read that earlier today also. I would expect us to still try and take him because we need a guy who can play the one and 2. He can start at the 1 or 2.

The injury cant be that huge. It is nothing time cant heal. If it was sergury it would be a diffrent story. They make the 10 points sound bad. He isnt much of a huge scorer anywayz.

We could also pursue mccants but we would be loaded at the sg/sf position. Thats why i like fernandeaz so much cuz he is a pg/sg....


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

if you havent noticed, thats rudy in a wolves uni! (my avatar)


----------



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>sheefo13</b>!
> yeah i read that earlier today also. I would expect us to still try and take him because we need a guy who can play the one and 2. He can start at the 1 or 2.
> 
> The injury cant be that huge. It is nothing time cant heal. If it was sergury it would be a diffrent story. They make the 10 points sound bad. He isnt much of a huge scorer anywayz.
> ...





McCants would be very nice for Minnesota if you ask me. He'd be a great fit. 



Congratulations on your Supporting Membership by the way.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

thanks, i thought it was about time i did it.

But i dont know about mccants, we already have wally and hassell with long term deals. Add ebi as a porspect and we are stacked there. I would love to see fernadez with the wolves because he is the kinda player we need right now...


----------



## kaniffmn (Jul 29, 2003)

I say bring in Julius Hodge.


----------



## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I would love to get hodge but he isnt much of a nba player.. He is really weak. He doesnt have a good jump shot. He isnt a consistent scorer. He isnt going to have a position in the league...


----------

