Game 47 Wolves at Thunder 1/29/24 32-14

[winforlose]

It's funny how much Minnesota Timberwolves fans and Oklahoma City Thunder fans hate each other on Twitter, because it's generally pretty cordial between the fanbases on RealGM.

Not just that, but I think a lot of Minnesota basketball fans want a local boy like Tyus or Chet to succeed almost on principle. Granted I would be happier for Chet if his team was in 5th and not a threat to us, but I do root for him to be rookie of the year.

I'm still more impressed by Wemby. Pops is holding him back or his numbers would be even bigger.

Wemby is playing on a bad team and is the #1 guy. Chet is number 3 most games with SGA and JW ahead of him. In any tie or close to it I gotta give the nod to Chet. If Chet had more opportunities his numbers probably look better.

[KGdaBom]

Not just that, but I think a lot of Minnesota basketball fans want a local boy like Tyus or Chet to succeed almost on principle. Granted I would be happier for Chet if his team was in 5th and not a threat to us, but I do root for him to be rookie of the year.

I'm still more impressed by Wemby. Pops is holding him back or his numbers would be even bigger.

Wemby is playing on a bad team and is the #1 guy. Chet is number 3 most games with SGA and JW ahead of him. In any tie or close to it I gotta give the nod to Chet. If Chet had more opportunities his numbers probably look better.

We don't have a vote so it doesn't matter, but I think it's cool not to vote for Wemby now. I think he's easily better.

[Clav]

It's funny how much Minnesota Timberwolves fans and Oklahoma City Thunder fans hate each other on Twitter, because it's generally pretty cordial between the fanbases on RealGM.

Not just that, but I think a lot of Minnesota basketball fans want a local boy like Tyus or Chet to succeed almost on principle. Granted I would be happier for Chet if his team was in 5th and not a threat to us, but I do root for him to be rookie of the year.

I'm still more impressed by Wemby. Pops is holding him back or his numbers would be even bigger.

Agree. Wemby is a massive force on limited minutes. If he plays 35 minutes in big times games he'll be putting up insane stat lines and he really affects shots across the court. Once SA has another star-level player we're gonna have to deal with the Spurs Machine again for another decade plus

[Note30]

The Thunder are so scary for the future. So many pieces, so many future draft picks and they haven't even signed or traded for any vets yet. They have the potential to build the next long lasting dynasty.

[BlacJacMac]

The Thunder are so scary for the future. So many pieces, so many future draft picks and they haven't even signed or traded for any vets yet. They have the potential to build the next long lasting dynasty.

And they really don’t need to start even considering financial decisions until like 2026.

[winforlose]

The Thunder are so scary for the future. So many pieces, so many future draft picks and they haven't even signed or traded for any vets yet. They have the potential to build the next long lasting dynasty.

Kinda true. On the one hand they will have a lot of chances to find the right guys, but there are only so many minutes and so many rotation spots to develop them. Moreover, With the new CBA they are gonna have trouble paying everyone. I mean JW is gonna get a rookie max the same year Chet gets one. That is 50% of the cap or more if either makes an ALL NBA that year. SGA will be coming up one year later and he will be another 35%. Start bringing in expensive outside players and you find yourself in the tax real quick and 2nd apron before you know it. They have a window, and the tools to get better, but not as much better as you would think.

[Calinks]

I was busy last night, so I recorded the game, and couldn’t get through it all last night. The funny thing was that until I finished it this morning, I had to throw myself into solitary confinement to not spoil it! Don’t look at your phone. Don’t text. Don’t accept calls from friends. Make sure the TV isn’t on a sports channel before you start the recording, so you don’t see the final score.

It was totally worth it.

Anybody else do this?

Ive been on a few dates this year and the bars actually put wolves games on now. I purposely sit so I cant see the tv with the game and I tell my dates not to tell me the score

This happened with what i think was the Thunder game before last and though I didn't look at the score except once and the game was in the third 60-50 something, there was a group of guys sitting at the bar across from us and I saw them look super dejected for a while and leave. I assumed we lost the game and was unfortunately right. I was hoping they were paying attention to one of the football games on tv.

[Calinks]

I don't have a problem with the Thunder, I see them as budding rivals and that is really impressive considering how young they are. I think they are the team of the future but they are already really good in the present, I put their future above ours. They got younger players overall, they don't have the financial issues we have, and they have a ton of assets. They already got a ton of depth too. The sky is the limit for those guys and they have a chance to be amazing for 10 years. We got a small window right now and maybe we can retool for a similar window to the Thunder if Jaden continues to improve and we make the right move when it comes time to move on from some of our older guys.

[KGdaBom]

I don't have a problem with the Thunder, I see them as budding rivals and that is really impressive considering how young they are. I think they are the team of the future but they are already really good in the present, I put their future above ours. They got younger players overall, they don't have the financial issues we have, and they have a ton of assets. They already got a ton of depth too. The sky is the limit for those guys and they have a chance to be amazing for 10 years. We got a small window right now and maybe we can retool for a similar window to the Thunder if Jaden continues to improve and we make the right move when it comes time to move on from some of our older guys.

I do have a problem with the Thunder. They are our competition i/e the enemy.

[winforlose]

I don't have a problem with the Thunder, I see them as budding rivals and that is really impressive considering how young they are. I think they are the team of the future but they are already really good in the present, I put their future above ours. They got younger players overall, they don't have the financial issues we have, and they have a ton of assets. They already got a ton of depth too. The sky is the limit for those guys and they have a chance to be amazing for 10 years. We got a small window right now and maybe we can retool for a similar window to the Thunder if Jaden continues to improve and we make the right move when it comes time to move on from some of our older guys.

I mentioned this above, but in 2026-27 OKC has a mountain of expense coming their way. Chet, JW will both be starting their rookie maxes and SGA will get his super max starting in 27-28. That is 85% of the cap in 3 guys. Young players are nice, but they want minutes to develop, and there are only usually 9 rotation spots, maybe 10 if you push it. They already don’t play rotation worthy players, and are gonna lose them over time. You would think with this young a team they would be far below the tax, but they are only 12 million below it. They have a great 5 years ahead of them, not 10.

By comparison, the Wolves future depends on the decline of some of our players and the ability to draw top talent to play with Ant and Jaden. Also, When Karl is eventually moved we need a solid return. I think there is a world where we stay relevant for at least 5 years.

[TheZachAttack]

The Thunder are so scary for the future. So many pieces, so many future draft picks and they haven't even signed or traded for any vets yet. They have the potential to build the next long lasting dynasty.

Kinda true. On the one hand they will have a lot of chances to find the right guys, but there are only so many minutes and so many rotation spots to develop them. Moreover, With the new CBA they are gonna have trouble paying everyone. I mean JW is gonna get a rookie max the same year Chet gets one. That is 50% of the cap or more if either makes an ALL NBA that year. SGA will be coming up one year later and he will be another 35%. Start bringing in expensive outside players and you find yourself in the tax real quick and 2nd apron before you know it. They have a window, and the tools to get better, but not as much better as you would think.

To me, this is actually why you make a move now and grab a max guy while Chet/J-Will are on rookie deals.

[winforlose]

The Thunder are so scary for the future. So many pieces, so many future draft picks and they haven't even signed or traded for any vets yet. They have the potential to build the next long lasting dynasty.

Kinda true. On the one hand they will have a lot of chances to find the right guys, but there are only so many minutes and so many rotation spots to develop them. Moreover, With the new CBA they are gonna have trouble paying everyone. I mean JW is gonna get a rookie max the same year Chet gets one. That is 50% of the cap or more if either makes an ALL NBA that year. SGA will be coming up one year later and he will be another 35%. Start bringing in expensive outside players and you find yourself in the tax real quick and 2nd apron before you know it. They have a window, and the tools to get better, but not as much better as you would think.

To me, this is actually why you make a move now and grab a max guy while Chet/J-Will are on rookie deals.

You are NOT wrong. If I was OKC POBO or GM I would trade a boat load of picks for an all star and try to maximize the next few years. But, every player they put in the rotation limits the young guys from developing. It is a double edged sword in that respect.

[BlacJacMac]

I don't have a problem with the Thunder, I see them as budding rivals and that is really impressive considering how young they are. I think they are the team of the future but they are already really good in the present, I put their future above ours. They got younger players overall, they don't have the financial issues we have, and they have a ton of assets. They already got a ton of depth too. The sky is the limit for those guys and they have a chance to be amazing for 10 years. We got a small window right now and maybe we can retool for a similar window to the Thunder if Jaden continues to improve and we make the right move when it comes time to move on from some of our older guys.

I mentioned this above, but in 2026-27 OKC has a mountain of expense coming their way. Chet, JW will both be starting their rookie maxes and SGA will get his super max starting in 27-28. That is 85% of the cap in 3 guys. Young players are nice, but they want minutes to develop, and there are only usually 9 rotation spots, maybe 10 if you push it. They already don’t play rotation worthy players, and are gonna lose them over time. You would think with this young a team they would be far below the tax, but they are only 12 million below it. They have a great 5 years ahead of them, not 10.

By comparison, the Wolves future depends on the decline of some of our players and the ability to draw top talent to play with Ant and Jaden. Also, When Karl is eventually moved we need a solid return. I think there is a world where we stay relevant for at least 5 years.

That's by design.

They have almost 28M in dead money from waived players they took on to acquire picks.

Nearly 1/3 of their payroll is just trade assets that barely play.

[BlacJacMac]

They should dump a bunch of picks on Markkanen. He fits their timeline, he fits their style of play perfectly, and he adds rebounding - which is their one real weakness.

And I'd also look at a guy like Drummond, strictly for when they need to throw a big body at guys like Jokic, Rudy or Embiid.

[TheZachAttack]

They should dump a bunch of picks on Markkanen. He fits their timeline, he fits their style of play perfectly, and he adds rebounding - which is their one real weakness.

And I'd also look at a guy like Drummond, strictly for when they need to throw a big body at guys like Jokic, Rudy or Embiid.

I 100% agree with this and I hope they don't as a Twolves fan, but as a basketball fan that team would be so fun to watch. Imagine the lineup we were facing yesterday and Markannen instead of Giddey. Honestly, they have so many assets who cares if they overpay and I'm honestly not sure there's a better possible option for them other than Markannen of pretty much anyone in the NBA.

Markanenn can put up 25+ a night with like 12 dribbles. Perfect to play off of Shai/Jaylen and add rather than take.

[life_saver]

Thunder's current starting lineup has weaknesses which will be severely exposed in playoffs...teams won't respect Giddey & Dort's shooting which makes spacing hell. Dort is shooting career high 39% from 3 this season but he is a career 34% shooter who's career best season from 3 before this was just 34.3%. In addition to that, Chet seems to be hesitating bit too much recently when it comes to taking open 3's. SGA also isn't a big volume 3 pt shooter.

Unless they make a trade or starting lineup changes, I think it's gonna be really hard for them in playoffs with this starting lineup if they wanna win West

[A1FromDay1]

I really hate how Edwards and Towns don't have a good two game at all yet. We can already see some nice chemistry with Shai and Chet. KAT and ANT do not have that, they never feed off each other and it would help so much.

Yes they don't. Obviously the coach and management know it too and I think Towns is gone after the year.

[A1FromDay1]

I was busy last night, so I recorded the game, and couldn’t get through it all last night. The funny thing was that until I finished it this morning, I had to throw myself into solitary confinement to not spoil it! Don’t look at your phone. Don’t text. Don’t accept calls from friends. Make sure the TV isn’t on a sports channel before you start the recording, so you don’t see the final score.

It was totally worth it.

Anybody else do this?

Long gone are the days where I would watch every single game live at 2 or 3 or 4 AM (Romania time). I haven't missed a game in so many seasons, no matter how bad the team was. Either to watch McCants or Kirilenko or Rubio. Now I always watch the full replays the next day or even 2 days later (as I did with this game). It's easier than I thought, mostly because I've unsubscribed from any Wolves source and Romania doesn't care about NBA much. The few basketball heads I have in my list know not to spoil the scores for me.

[Neeva]

The Thunder are so scary for the future. So many pieces, so many future draft picks and they haven't even signed or traded for any vets yet. They have the potential to build the next long lasting dynasty.

Only a matter a time before sga pulls a Paul George.