jtarchbold10 wrote:
Although a 20-31 record is nothing to tip your hat too, I find that there is great promise in the Timberwolves organization. We have a few very great pieces, and few pieces that we need to toss. There is great young talent in the organization, and this is something we need to continue to build on. Instead of trading away young talent, we need to develop it, which has been a problem in the past (i.e. Ray Allen, Ty Lawson, Chauncey Billups, etc).
Here are my thoughts on pieces we need to keep and continue to build around, and who we need to toss.
Keepers:
1. The franchise player: Ricky Rubio. Nobody is more important to the organization than Ricky Rubio. He is the face of the Wolves, and he will prove more invaluable than anybody else. He WILL be a top point guard in this league despite what anybody says of him at the moment, and he is one of the most unique players in the NBA. He is priority number 1, even more so than Kevin Love.
2. Kevin Love: Although he has been causing problems within the organization right now, he is a very valuable piece for the Timberwolves. He is probably one of the best Power Forwards in the league right now due to his versatility (ability to shoot from beyond the arc, rebound on the defensive end and offensive end, game-winning mentality). Although we could get some quality talent if we were to trade Love, he loves Minnesota and plays well with Ricky Rubio. These two guys are the future of this organization, and we need to keep both to have a chance of reaching the playoffs again.
3. Alexey Shved: Although his play is very inconsistent at times, he shows a lot of promise. In the words of Charles Barkley " Minnesota has a very promising future with Ricky Rubio and Alexey Shved. They are in great hands over there". Remember that Alexey is a rookie, from a different country, hardly speaks any English, and hasn't gotten used to the NBA yet. He is not confident yet, which is why we need to focus on building his confidence, but give it a couple years and he very well might slip into the all-star game. He presents match-up problems as well, as he is a big guard who can drive and shot. He is a keeper.
4. Derrick Williams: Although so many people think we should trade him, I don't think we should give up so easily. He shows that he plays very well with Ricky Rubio, and his numbers have been great recently. If we are going to trade Derrick Williams, we need to do it sooner than later, as his stock is high right now. I think he is future valuable piece for the Timberwolves, and could turns some heads in the next couple of years. I think Love and Williams would make a dynamic front court along with Kirilenko. I don't want to see the Wolves trade away a talent like Williams, and watch him thrive in a new city, much like we did with Ty Lawson.
5. Andrei Kirilenko: Although he wont be in the league much longer, he is as valuable as they come. Not the future of the Timberwolves, but will help us get on track.
6. Chase Budinger: He is just the shooter we need on our team. When he gets healthy, we should go out of our way to keep him. He gets along well with Kevin Love, as they both play volleyball in the offseason together, Budinger is a piece we need to hold onto. The more shooters the merrier with the Wolves.
Tossers:
1. Brandon Roy: I liked the idea of Brandon Roy when we picked him up last year, but he is just to beat up nowadays. He is a great player, but he is just not reliable.
2. Malcolm Lee: We need shooters at the shooting guard position, and he just isn't that type of player. A great on the ball defender and perimeter defender, but just not the offense we need. Again, great player, but not with us.
Undecided:
1. Nikola Pekovic: His 48% FG percentage is kind of brutal, considering he doesn't take any shots outside 4 feet. He demands the ball a lot, and when he is off, we tend to loss games. We can't rely too much on Pekovic, even though he is probably one of our more productive players. He could also present a grade trade piece and could free up some room in our salary. If you have watch the Wolves recently though, I couldn't imagine winning games without him in the short term. For now, we need to hold onto him, but I'm just not sold on him for the future.
Great post, welcome to the TWB Forums! Keep coming back, this is some good stuff.
