From Draft Express’s database:
Kevin Love – 6′ 7.75″ no shoes, 255 lbs, 18 bench reps, 35″ max vert
Michael Beasley – 6′ 7″ no shoes, 235 lbs, 19 bench reps, 35″ max vert
Derrick Williams – 6′ 7.25″ no shoes, 250 lbs, 19 bench reps, 34.5″ max vert
And also:
Love – 6′ 11.25 ” wingspan, 8′ 10″ standing reach
Beas – 7′ 0.25″ wingspan, 8′ 11″ standing reach
DWill – 7′ 1.5″ wingspan, 9′ 0″ standing reach
So how exactly are all these guys going to get minutes for us? Derrick Williams definitely isn’t a SF, and Kahn said in his press conference to introduce Williams that he is “going to be here for the long haul” and that he “didn’t anticipate trading Derrick Williams for anyone” since he was “the top guy on our draft board.”
And the numbers show that Beasley is better at PF than he is at SF. And obviously Love can’t play SF. Love can play some Center, but not too much, because he’s so undersized. Obviously neither Beasley or Williams can play center at all, so if it’s anyone of these three, it’s gotta be Love. But I don’t really like that solution too much either.
So what the hell are we going to do? We need a big trade (or series of trades), or we are looking at 22 wins and being the worst team in the Western Conference next year.
Please click “Read More” to read on about how we attempt to figure this entire mess out…
How is our roster/rotation/playing time going to work this season?
I honestly don’t know. 3 of our best guys are undersized PF’s (luckily Rubio is a PG!) And that’s not even counting Anthony Tolliver (who I like), or Anthony Randolph (who has shown some nice potential.) Tolliver only gets mop-up minutes now? Can we play AR big minutes at Center? I read that Anthony Randolph has gained 15 pounds of muscle this off-season. While I find that a little hard to believe (stuff like that is always overstated), I guess it could be true. He is/was incredibly skinny and has a huge frame. But adding pounds and pounds of muscle is very difficult over a short period of time. But if he could get his weight up to 250-260, he could potentially play some nice minutes for us at Center this year.
Potential Lineup for next season:
PG: Rubio (big minutes), and Puke Ridnour whatever else.
SG: Wes Johnson and Martell Webster
SF/PF: 3 man rotation of Love, Williams, and Beasley for all 96 minutes. Give each guy playing time based on matchups and in-game play/foul situations.
C: Anthony Randolph(?), Darko, and Pekovic
Poor Tolliver deserves better, but I just don’t see any other way to work this situation for our current lineup. During Derrick Williams press conference today, Kahn said he was more or less done tinkering with this team, which sucks for us 13 remaining TWolves fans.
Obviously this squad has more talent than the past few seasons, that is undeniable. And I’m not trying to say we don’t. The problem is still our potential rotation(s) and more importantly, our roster composition. It’s just a disaster when 3 of a team’s best 4 players are all Undersized PF’s. Something needs to be done about this, because I’m not sure this is totally going to work. It pains me to say this, because I can’t suffer through yet another terrible season, especially when we have upgraded our overall talent. That won’t matter too much though if we don’t have a SG or Center. Hopefully Wes Johnson can claim the SG position (I’m not entirely convinced, but he should be better under a new coach/regime), and maybe Anthony Randolph will finally shock the world and become a dominant Center. I just don’t know, and it’s too early to tell.
Good luck fellow masochists fans… as I hope this entire screwed up situation leads to more than 22 wins next year; while also losing our unprotected first round pick to the Clippers in the loaded 2012 draft (destined to be #1 overall, of course.)
Check out discussion about this (and much, much more!) in the TWolves Blog Forums.
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