Just shows you why tanking is an absolute crap shoot. I mean Stone really did well in the draft but because not only did he not luck out and get a generational talent but your two DIVISION rivals just so happened to BOTH luck out and draft generational talents. When you are only able to get role players, or flawed borderline all stars, you better hope they fit well together and with this group of young players I don’t think you could imagine 4 or 5 young players that fit worse next to each other. Plus your one superstar you acquired just so happens to be the best superstar that cannot handle the ball and needs another superstar ball handler to win close games. It’s just a roster that doesn’t really fit right now. I don’t think they need to blow it up, but you definitely are at the point where it’s clear that some of these players need to be traded to build a cohesive basketball team and not just a collection of good but not great prospects that are poor fits next to each other.
Totally agree. For some reason, I don't think the front office researched well enough to figure out that KD has superstars playing alongside him outside of his first 3 years in the league. He is just not built to be a single cornerstone on any team. Stone could have salvaged this season by at least trying to move Tari and DFS at the deadline even at the risk of sacrificing one of our future picks because as we both agree, drafting in the top 3 takes a ton of luck and some league shenanigans (see SAS and DAL)
The T'Wolves collapse does feel like the kind of loss that signals the end of a season. Sure, they'll still make the playoffs(Phoenix is 5 games back with the tiebreaker and can't overtake us), but they're almost certain to lose against the Lakers in the first round. The only question is how embarrassing of a defeat will it be?
Or they might turn the whole season around by beating the Lakers and give the Sperms run for their money. Highly unlikely but who knows. Its not looking good for sure, but let them get done with the playoffs first.
I don't know whether to pity or envy your optimism. The playoffs are going to only magnify this team's deficiencies. You think Ime sucks in the regular season? Wait til the postseason when far more games are close in the 4th quarter, the opponent has more time to scout you and make adjustments, the competition is tougher, and the pressure is much greater.
The team was done when a top seed gave them false hope last year. Shooting and Ball IQ just arent there in this roster build.
We'll also play harder. That matchup with the Lakers is not that bad. Sengun should have a good series, Amen on Luka, KD is KD. Jabari should play well in the playoffs, and Sheppard is a wild card. No bench, but you can usually get through one series with a bad bench
A disciplinary coach is supposed to have a disciplined team, right? Why are they so sloppy? Why can't they execute a simple inbound play? Why do they go away from the things that work and keep reverting to the things that don't work?
Wouldn't it be amazing if we let KD go in an expansion draft - let him go back to Seattle and take his salary and attitude with him. I know it's not going to happen fast enough to help us this offseason but a boy can dream....
Ime is not really a disciplinary coach. He's very inconsistent with who he benches. And he's more than willing to allow certain players to make the same mistakes over and over again.
