but will they develop? They have an interesting young core now. Several players under 24years old with talent. Will they grow together & use their talent???
Sebastion Telfair showed signs in Portland but slacked in Boston. How will he do in Minny? He averaged 9.5 points, 3.6 assists, 1 steal, and 1.8 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game for Portland but only 6.1 points, 2.8 assists, 0.6 steal, and 1.4 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game. He's only 22. Maybe he will develop into a 12point, 6 assist, 2 steal per game kind of point gaurd???
Ryan Gomes seems to have potential. He's a little older at 24 (almost 25), but he averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 31.2 minutes per game last season. At 6'7" 250 pounds, he has the size to be a good small forward.
Gerald Green is only 21, and he averaged 10.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1 assist per game in only 22 minutes. He's 6'8" and 200 pounds. He could develop into a nice shooting gaurd.
Randy Foye is 22 years old, and he had a good rookie season. He's 6'4" and 193 pounds, so he has good size for a point gaurd. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in only 22.9 minutes per game. I definately see his numbers increasing this season.
Al Jefferson is only 23 years old, and I definately see him becoming a star in the league! He averaged 16 points, 11 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.3 assists per game in 33.6 minutes per game. That's decent numbers, and he will get better this year.
Corey Brewer is 21, and some people expect him to be a decent player. It may take him a few seasons, but we will have to wait & see. At 6'9", he has some potential.
That's 6 players that are 24 years old or younger! I could definately see Randy Foye, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, and Al Jefferson becomin a solid 1-2-3-4 core for this young team. In about 3 years, they could be dangerous! What y'all think?
I geuss I'm just thinkin all this becuase I was a big fan of Kevin Garnett, but he needed to be traded. I want his trade to help both teams
First off - Brewer's closer to 6'8 (possibly slightly under).
Foye is closer to 6'3 (possibly slightly under).
But anyway - I see Gomes as a Najera type forward. He's the SF version of Craig Smith. Neither should be starting (on the Wolves) but both are good players to have as backups.
I can see Al Jefferson developing into a 20/10 player in a few years, but I do think his teammates may affect his rebounding stats. He's a good offensive rebounder, but weak all-round on defense. He's not that bad man-to-man, but the fact that he only leaves the paint to get to the opposite paint does mean something..
Btw, in his style of play (including shooting/rebounding etc tendencies) does he remind anyone of Moses Malone?
Telfair's never gonna be a starter, but as a backup he could turn into something decent.
Corey Brewer - I think his offense is going to be limited to knocking down open jumpers for the most part.
In fact, I see his style as similar to Bruce Bowen. A defensive specialist who can knock down open jumpers.
Everyone's talking about Green as a shooting guard, I've always seen him as a sf. This could be because Boston had Pierce, Wally and Tony Allen (as well as West) who were better suited to playing SG though (either through size or skills).
He's a ****e defender anyway, though he has the physical tools to become decent. I think as a 7th man or so, a scorer off the bench, he could turn into a decent fit on the team. A nice change from Corey Brewer.
My view of him as a sf is also influence by the presence of McCants (the backup at sg) and the sg of the future - either someone drafted in the next 2 drafts, or someone signed in free agency.
As I don't think the Wolves can get Derrick Rose, I'm seeing Foye as the pg of the team. However, because he's not a true pg, I think the 2guard needs to be more a combo-guard than a true shooting guard. A bigger Foye, rather than Rip Hamilton. Definitely someone who can create for themselves and others - with Brewer out there, they need good passers.
A key to Foye's development, as I've mentioned, is him developing his pg skills. I think it's vital that he masters feeding the post and the drive-and-dish; getting a good pick'n'roll going with Jefferson would also be excellent.
I see neither Brewer nor McCants as a great slasher, though Green could become one. Therefore I think being able to pass to cutting players is less important for Foye now than those other skills.
I don't think he'll ever become a great fastbreak pg, but the team isn't built that way. I think most fastbreak situations will have more to do with Jefferson getting a rebound and throwing it to Green, rather than Foye making a steal and leading a 3 on 2 - where decision making is very important.
One of the most interesting things about the Wolves in my opinion is the fact that division mates Seattle and Portland are both also rebuilding.
Portland and Minnesota both have good young bigmen, but Seattle already has some proven talent - Wilcox, Collison, West, Ridnour.. as well as prospects Green, Durant and Swift.
I think next year's draft plays a large part in which becomes the future leader of the division (though Portland's free agency in 09 will be pivotal too).
I should point out Utah looks to be good for quite a while..
It's good to know that 4 out of 5 teams in that division have good young cores (Boozer/Williams/Almond, Oden/Aldridge/Roy, Durant/Green, Jefferson/Brewer/Foye).
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Life, go easy on me
Quote:
How well is the Knicks Starters vs NBA Team Starters? 60%? 50%? 40%? or are we waiting to see by being optimistic because we have a new additional player in the Starting lineup that we assume Stat sheet record says he is better with this Knick roster than the guy he is replacing?
I've watched every Celtics game the last several years.
Jefferson was 16/11 last year, and he'll get lots of touches this year. Future All-Star. Lacking on defense, but nearly unstoppable post man. Outplayed Tim Duncan in loss to Spurs last year. Potentially dominant.
Ryan Gomes is going to be one of your favorites. Always sprints down the floor and beats his man down the floor. Extended his range to 19 feet on jumper. Can use either hand pretty well. Very fundamentally solid. Plays within himself.
Sebastian Telfair was the worst player in the NBA last year. Cannot shoot, defend, make teammates better, or keep handguns out of his car and luggage. One year away from the And 1 mixtape tour.
Gerald Green has attitude issues, especially since winning the NBA Slam Dunk contest. He thinks he is an elite player now, which bodes badly for the Wolves. Tremendous leaps, and good rotation on the jump shot, but has basketball IQ less than zero. If this guy is playing 25+ minutes, you're likely to lose the game.
Bottom line: You'll win more games with Jefferson, Gomes, Craig Smith, Randy Foye and Brewer with your veterans mixed in.
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Foye and Jefferson they can build around as far as im concerned, its just a matter of whether the group around them can develop...
if none of them do then the process will take much longer.
I have a lot of faith in Brewer and Mccants though, the other guys from the celtics i havnt seen much of (especially Green) i was high on telfair coming into the draft but so far he hasnt panned out, i hope he gets some minutes this season to see if any of that potential can be reached
Foye and Jefferson they can build around as far as im concerned, its just a matter of whether the group around them can develop...
if none of them do then the process will take much longer.
I have a lot of faith in Brewer and Mccants though, the other guys from the celtics i havnt seen much of (especially Green) i was high on telfair coming into the draft but so far he hasnt panned out, i hope he gets some minutes this season to see if any of that potential can be reached
True. I still wonder if Randy Foye is actually ready for his real job as a player. He has some skills but he just need to embellish a little bit. His pass ability needs work, too.
I know I haven't given McCants many chances but hopefully this upcoming year is his to break or lose. Brewer's just a rookie, he have to learn how to mend with the younger talents without the true leadership of an All-Star veteran (ok, Juwan Howard, does he count?). It's the matter of time they learn how to play together with a completely different, much younger team.
Randy Foye has to show me a lot in this year. I expected much more out of him last year but he failed at almost every opportunity. I'm afraid that he's probably going to be a Dana Barros level player.
Randy Foye has to show me a lot in this year. I expected much more out of him last year but he failed at almost every opportunity. I'm afraid that he's probably going to be a Dana Barros level player.
he wasnt really getting a lot of chances last year, he produced enough in what time he was actually given... bringing in mike james turned out to be a stupid move.
He needs a lot more work on his passing game but i see more Billups in him than i do Barros, Dana only averaged 10ppg for his career... that looks like it will be the least Foye averages in the next 10 seasons.
Foye has averaged 10 ppg, about the same with KG. The only difference was .03 more for KG. KG started about half the season and Foye only started only 12. I agree with you, Avalanche, that signing Mike James has kind of messed up the development of a rookie point guard right away. The last rookie PG to start most of the season was Stephon Marbury (barring any injuries). It was 10 years ago.
Well at the moment looks like Foye is going to be playing serious minutes this season, we should be able to guage a bit better where exactly this guy is at compared to the rest of the league.
i think he's going to impress a lot to be honest, MIP type performace hopefully he and jefferson can mesh well early on.
Timberwolves have young talent
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