I’ve written plenty about how much I love Jaden McDaniels’ defense. He’s a legitimate supernova on that end, and I put him third on my hypothetical Defensive Player of the Year ballot.
100% agree on Jaden McDaniels potential, always loved his game. I’m of the opinion that it of boils down to KAT being traded, unfortunately. I mentioned this in another article, but the bottom 4 net rating lineups for the Wolves all include KAT...kind of a rough look.
I'm not entirely ready to give up on KAT on the Wolves, but I'm pretty close. Without Russell around soaking up shots, KAT's removal would open up all kinds of opportunities for Jaden, whether he's ready to take them or not.
Makes sense. I like KAT’s game, but it just makes it tough when you have Rudy Gobert on the team as well. Spacing is a mess for everyone else involved. If KAT were traded I think the Wolves could create a better version of what the Jazz had with Donovan Mitchell (now Anthony Edwards in this case) and Rudy Gobert. They were the one seed, but they couldn’t get past Gobert’s playoff weaknesses due to a lack of depth. I think having Naz Reid on the team can remedy a lot of that for the Wolves if they choose to go that route.
Yeah, I see what you're saying, but this version of Gobert is pretty clearly worse than that one even if he finished the season much stronger than he started. This version of Conley is worse than that one, too. The rest of the cast, Edwards included, will need to step up significantly to make up for that.
This team will never be as good as those Jazz teams offensively, but they have some solid defensive personnel and might make it back on that end, particularly if NAW is able to pop and Edwards remains consistently locked in.
That said, I'm always intrigued by Minnesota. Nothing about the Wolves' next season can surprise me, from a Finals run to missing the playoffs entirely. I think they have one of the widest range of outcomes of any team in the league.
100% agree on Jaden McDaniels potential, always loved his game. I’m of the opinion that it of boils down to KAT being traded, unfortunately. I mentioned this in another article, but the bottom 4 net rating lineups for the Wolves all include KAT...kind of a rough look.
I'm not entirely ready to give up on KAT on the Wolves, but I'm pretty close. Without Russell around soaking up shots, KAT's removal would open up all kinds of opportunities for Jaden, whether he's ready to take them or not.
Makes sense. I like KAT’s game, but it just makes it tough when you have Rudy Gobert on the team as well. Spacing is a mess for everyone else involved. If KAT were traded I think the Wolves could create a better version of what the Jazz had with Donovan Mitchell (now Anthony Edwards in this case) and Rudy Gobert. They were the one seed, but they couldn’t get past Gobert’s playoff weaknesses due to a lack of depth. I think having Naz Reid on the team can remedy a lot of that for the Wolves if they choose to go that route.
Yeah, I see what you're saying, but this version of Gobert is pretty clearly worse than that one even if he finished the season much stronger than he started. This version of Conley is worse than that one, too. The rest of the cast, Edwards included, will need to step up significantly to make up for that.
This team will never be as good as those Jazz teams offensively, but they have some solid defensive personnel and might make it back on that end, particularly if NAW is able to pop and Edwards remains consistently locked in.
That said, I'm always intrigued by Minnesota. Nothing about the Wolves' next season can surprise me, from a Finals run to missing the playoffs entirely. I think they have one of the widest range of outcomes of any team in the league.