how about them wolves

[Eddie20]

Sag off Rubio on offense as his jumper is suspect and post him up on defense and he is an easy mark all day.  I think one could abuse Bennett as well, as his shooting was very poor last year.

You do know Rubio is 6-4, right?

[Endless Paradise]

He's also actually a good defender, so I'm not sure where this idea of repeatedly posting him up being a good strategy originates from, since it's not based on anything that's even remotely true.  His opponents shot 32.9% against him in isolation scenarios this past season; that's 33rd in the entire league.

[CFAN38]

that team is stacked with young talent and has solid veteran core to boot.
after all the flack flip took i'd have to say he did alright this summer.

look at this mix of young talent and vets...
C: Dieng, Pekovic
PF: Bennett, Young
SF: Wiggins, Brewer
SG: LaVine, Martin
PG: Rubio, Williams



Seriously, i cant think of a team that is better positioned for the future than the Twolves.

nicely done Flip

I agree Flip did a good job and the team is actually now more talented then they where last year. If in the east they would be a playoff team but not in the much stronger west. I expect their starting lineup will be Rubio, Martin, Young and Pek with Wiggins and Brewer a toss up for starter and 6th man.

[chambers]

Flip did a great job getting all that for Love.

The Wolves are looking okay. A lot of potential there. Also a lot of bust potential.
It's a team of incredible athletes on the wing and they are banking on at least one of them becoming a top 10 NBA player.

I'd actually prefer to have the Bucks roster over the Wolves.
I'd go:
1)Bucks
2) 76ers
3) Wolves

I'd prefer the Bucks and 76ers rosters over ours. If rondo leaves then these teams dump on our squad.

[Celtics4ever]

He's also actually a good defender, so I'm not sure where this idea of repeatedly posting him up being a good strategy originates from, since it's not based on anything that's even remotely true.  His opponents shot 32.9% against him in isolation scenarios this past season; that's 33rd in the entire league.

Did you watch Fiba, he was the achilles heel of Spain.  I think he is vastly over rated, Flip must have too as he targeted Bledsoe.  He is soft.  People like him because he is flashy, but go past the flash and you have a guy with a suspect shot and poor defender.

I call BS on the good defender.

Per 82games.com, Rubio allowed opposing point guards to put up an efficiency rating of 18.6. When Rubio moved over to the shooting guard spot, opposing players scored an efficiency rating of 22.0. Some of that can be attributed to schemes, but we can’t ignore the fact that the defense gave up 106.3 points per-100 possessions with Rubio on the court and 105.9 when he went to the bench.

Defensive statistics have to be taken with a grain of salt because good defensive teams make the individuals look better and vice-versa. Still, Synergy Sports ranked Rubio as No. 279 in the NBA in overall defense, allowing .9 points per possession.

Rubio brings some value in his length and his ability to get into the passing lanes, but otherwise his defense is bad.

http://hoopshabit.com/2013/08/20/minnesota-timberwolves-ricky-rubio-is-good-bad-and-ugly/

[Birdman]

Going to be a interesting team to watch but will have their growing pain this season..25 wins maybe..

[Eddie20]

He's also actually a good defender, so I'm not sure where this idea of repeatedly posting him up being a good strategy originates from, since it's not based on anything that's even remotely true.  His opponents shot 32.9% against him in isolation scenarios this past season; that's 33rd in the entire league.

Did you watch Fiba, he was the achilles heel of Spain.  I think he is vastly over rated, Flip must have too as he targeted Bledsoe.  He is soft.  People like him because he is flashy, but go past the flash and you have a guy with a suspect shot and poor defender.

I call BS on the good defender.

Per 82games.com, Rubio allowed opposing point guards to put up an efficiency rating of 18.6. When Rubio moved over to the shooting guard spot, opposing players scored an efficiency rating of 22.0. Some of that can be attributed to schemes, but we can’t ignore the fact that the defense gave up 106.3 points per-100 possessions with Rubio on the court and 105.9 when he went to the bench.

Defensive statistics have to be taken with a grain of salt because good defensive teams make the individuals look better and vice-versa. Still, Synergy Sports ranked Rubio as No. 279 in the NBA in overall defense, allowing .9 points per possession.

Rubio brings some value in his length and his ability to get into the passing lanes, but otherwise his defense is bad.

http://hoopshabit.com/2013/08/20/minnesota-timberwolves-ricky-rubio-is-good-bad-and-ugly/

Rubio was very good in FIBA. Not sure what you were watching. He averaged 5.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 5.1 APG in under 20 MPG. Per 40 minutes he averaged nearly 12 APG and over 7 SPG....yes, steals.

Also, that article is from August 2013 and Rubio tore his ACL March 2012 and returned December 2012, so it looks like they were judging him on his return from ACL injury from December 2012 until the end of that season (April 2013). Surely you have to admit that it's unlikely for a player to regain their quickness in such a short period following injury.

[mgent]

Sub 25 win team for years to come.

[MBunge]

Flip did a great job getting all that for Love.

The Wolves are looking okay. A lot of potential there. Also a lot of bust potential.
It's a team of incredible athletes on the wing and they are banking on at least one of them becoming a top 10 NBA player.

I'd actually prefer to have the Bucks roster over the Wolves.
I'd go:
1)Bucks
2) 76ers
3) Wolves

I'd prefer the Bucks and 76ers rosters over ours. If rondo leaves then these teams dump on our squad.

The Bucks were unexpectedly horrible last year, much like Detroit.  They really looked like they had more talent on paper.

If the Sixers had kept Young, Hawes and Turner, which they certainly could have done, I'd defintely prefer that roster with MCW, Noel and Embiid to Boston's.  As it is, probably more than half of Philly's roster shouldn't even be playing in the NBA.  Even if their potential stars pan out, that's still a talent hole that will be hard to crawl out of.

Mike

[Future Celtics Owner]

they won't be very good next season.  Wiggins, Lavine, Bennett will get outwit on the court. All three of these guys are considered only to have mediocre bbiq.  Good chance all three will just come off the bench

Still, those guys have more value around the league than our young guys. They did a great job getting Pekovic and Dieng through the draft. Even with their deficiencies, they have value because they're big men. Smart is a PG and Olynyk and Sullinger are PFs. Young wings and centers with potential are worth so much more.

It's easy to say things won't work out because odds are they won't for any team stocked with young players. However, they've done well given the hand they've been dealt. That's really all you can ask for because so much of success in the NBA is dependent on the luck of the lottery.

The only player I would take over the Celtics young players is Andrew Wiggins. Everyone else on the Wolves is a tossup. The Wolves did a good job, but let's see if that leads to success.

Zack Lavine has just as bright a future as Wiggins...imo

[Surferdad]

Watching that wolves scrimmage made me think he coulda had this guy, but ok with Smart. He's the Jeff Green of this draft in that he is a well rounded basketball player with athleticism, a "safe pick" if you will.

[freshinthehouse]

Anyone that has watched much TWolf basketball in the last couple of years will tell you Rubio is an average to above average defender.  His shooting is what kills his upside.  Dude makes Rondo look like Mark Price.

[chambers]

Flip did a great job getting all that for Love.

The Wolves are looking okay. A lot of potential there. Also a lot of bust potential.
It's a team of incredible athletes on the wing and they are banking on at least one of them becoming a top 10 NBA player.

I'd actually prefer to have the Bucks roster over the Wolves.
I'd go:
1)Bucks
2) 76ers
3) Wolves

I'd prefer the Bucks and 76ers rosters over ours. If rondo leaves then these teams dump on our squad.

The Bucks were unexpectedly horrible last year, much like Detroit.  They really looked like they had more talent on paper.

If the Sixers had kept Young, Hawes and Turner, which they certainly could have done, I'd defintely prefer that roster with MCW, Noel and Embiid to Boston's.  As it is, probably more than half of Philly's roster shouldn't even be playing in the NBA.  Even if their potential stars pan out, that's still a talent hole that will be hard to crawl out of.

Mike

The Bucks were terrible because they were tanking, and they had a few minor to medium level injuries that helped them justify benching some of their talent.

I think with
Giannis
Jabari
Henson
Sanders
Wolters

Jabari is the big catch, but to have both Giannis and Jabari is a pretty sweet situation for them with Henson developing rapidly.

Philly and the Bucks are a close call for me. All depends on Embid's health I guess.

Hopefully Smart becomes the best shooting guard in the NBA and Sullinger becomes an All Star.
Not too much to ask for right? 

[European NBA fan]

Rubio was Spain's most consistent player in FIBA and one of the best defenders in the tournament. In their only lost game against France, he was the only Spanish guard who was able to penetrate and dish, while the others simply got pushed out of position by France's quite physical defense.

Some players on the roster, we haven't mentioned: Mo Williams, Chase Budinger, Shabazz Muhammad. Mo is a pretty good veteran to have in the locker room and on the floor, Budinger is all right as 9th-10th man on the roster, and I'm still intrigued by Shabazz.

[KGs Knee]

Rubio was Spain's most consistent player in FIBA and one of the best defenders in the tournament. In their only lost game against France, he was the only Spanish guard who was able to penetrate and dish, while the others simply got pushed out of position by France's quite physical defense.

Some players on the roster, we haven't mentioned: Mo Williams, Chase Budinger, Shabazz Muhammad. Mo is a pretty good veteran to have in the locker room and on the floor, Budinger is all right as 9th-10th man on the roster, and I'm still intrigued by Shabazz.

Rubio may have in fact had a good performance in FIBA, not that I would know, but whatever international success he has enjoyed has not translated well to the NBA.

By and large, Rubio has statically been one of the worst starting PG's in the NBA over the last 2 seasons. He just has not been a very good NBA player. I wouldn't want him anywhere near the Celtics.