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 Verfasst am: Fr Aug 10, 2018 8:55 am Titel: the best approach |
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The Minnesota Timberwolves could have used their draft picks in deals to help clear space under the salary cap for potential free agent additions next month.
They needed some high-ceiling young players just as much.
Opting against any deals http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-p.j.-hall-jersey , the Timberwolves selected Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft on Thursday night, targeting a tough-minded player with defensive versatility as a primary asset.
”Nothing presented itself that would be better than actually selecting at 20,” general manager Scott Layden said.
The same went for the 48th overall choice, when Ohio State forward Keita Bates-Diop was still available in the second round. The Big Ten Player of the Year was widely projected as a late first-round pick.
”Having a pick this year was critical for us, just to continue to grow,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”We think we have to have a blend, of young players, players that are in the middle and obviously the older veterans. But having those young guys, it’s important for the team, for the growth of the organization.”
Okogie played two seasons for the Yellow Jackets, averaging 16.9 points per game and shooting 43.7 percent from the field. The 6-foot-4, 213-pound Okogie led the Atlantic Coast Conference with an average of 6.8 free throw attempts per game last season, bringing consistent doses of energy and physicality.
Born in Nigeria, Okogie grew up outside of Atlanta. He was third in the ACC in 2017-18 with an average of 1.8 steals per game and also grabbed an average of 6.3 rebounds per game. Okogie’s wingspan was measured at the draft combine this spring at 7 feet and his three-quarters-of-the-court sprint time was just 3.04 seconds.
With a vertical leap of 42 inches that tied Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo for the highest at the combine, Okogie is capable of guarding multiple positions http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-ian-thomas-jersey , an ability treasured by Thibodeau. Toughness is another trait that assuredly attracted Okogie to Thibodeau, conducting his third draft since being hired in Minnesota.
Okogie, who watched the draft with family, friends and teammates in Atlanta, had trouble composing himself when Thibodeau called.
”When he said, `Josh,’ to be honest, I blacked out,” Okogie said. ”I was just like, `This is surreal.’ Everything happened so fast. They called my name. Everybody’s screaming. I’m getting tackled. Crying.”
Depth at the wing positions was a glaring need for the Wolves this offseason, with no backups set yet for Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins. Jamal Crawford and Derrick Rose are set to become free agents.
Perimeter shooting is another priority after Minnesota ranked last in the league with an average of 8.0 made 3-pointers per game. The Wolves were 19th in the NBA with a 3-point shooting percentage of 35.7.
Last year, the Timberwolves used draft night to reshape their roster with a headliner trade for the All-Star Butler that dealt Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and seventh overall pick Lauri Markkanen to Chicago. The Bulls then sent the 16th overall selection, Justin Patton, to the Wolves. Patton sat out his entire rookie season with a broken foot. Markkanen made the NBA All-Rookie team after averaging 15.2 points per game.
With little space under the cap Erik Gonzalez Cleveland Indians Jersey , the Wolves could’ve used their first-rounder in a package to trade away some veteran salary, but the pick was also important as a way to cheaply add a rotation-caliber player. Thibodeau has long favored experience on the court, skimping on time for young players, but Okogie has shown an ability to make catch-and-shoot 3-pointers from the corner that could supplement his defense enough to warrant time in the rotation.
”I think I can help from day one,” he said.
The Wolves passed on one of the sharpest outside shooters in this draft class, Duke’s Grayson Allen, but took advantage of a rich pool of wing players to snag Bates-Diop, the leading scorer in the Big Ten as a fourth-year senior in 2017-18 at 19.8 points per game. He was limited to nine games as a junior because of a leg injury and took a redshirt for the 2016-17 season. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Bates-Diop finished his college career as a 47.2 percent shooter from the field.
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Winner stays.
That’s the norm on the playground, where a team playing pickup ball remains on the court until it is beaten.
And that’s the way Ice Cube insisted it had to be in the BIG3.
Win a championship, come back the next season with the team intact to defend the title.
”To me it goes back to the essence of 3-on-3, king of the court mentality,” Cube said.
The question is whether it’s fair to Trilogy, the undefeated champion from the inaugural season of the entertainer’s 3-on-3 league of former NBA players.
It wouldn’t work in major professional sports. But in the BIG3, back come Kenyon Martin http://www.ravensauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kenny-young-jersey , Al Harrington, Rashad McCants, James White and Dion Glover, who guaranteed themselves a job for this year by winning the title. They have the chance to defend their title against rivals that have bolstered by an influx of former NBA champions, All-Stars or Olympic gold medalists.
”We are at a disadvantage because we have kind of been exposed to what we have and what we’re capable of, going 10-0, so everybody’s done their homework,” said the 33-year-old McCants. ”They know who we are. There’s a scouting report now, so it’s going to be a lot more difficult this year than it was last year.”
All the players in the league – other than those on Trilogy – who weren’t captains or co-captains went back into this year’s draft pool, with no promise of getting picked with the added talent that was available this year: Amare Stoudemire, Ron Artest, Carlos Boozer, Baron Davis and Nate Robinson signed on. It is unclear what players’ salaries are; the league has not publicly disclosed that information.
The only move for Triology coach Rick Mahorn was the addition of Dahntay Jones when rosters were expanded to six players. The 6-foot-4 McCants, last year’s No. 1 overall pick and leading scorer in the championship game, was promoted to a co-captain.
Cube doesn’t know if job security for the winners was a motivating factor for players who came aboard when he founded his league with entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. McCants Troy Niklas Color Rush Jersey , who played four years in the NBA, a few more overseas and knows how hard it is to have a career playing basketball, takes pride in the gimmick even while acknowledging that it doesn’t work in his team’s favor.
”It’s a refreshing aspect to the league where you have bragging rights to say, `Hey, you guys got to go back into the combine and go through the draft all over again because you didn’t win, and the winners prevail,”’ he said.
And then in pro sports sometimes they then break up practically the moment the victory celebration is over. Free agency is a benefit for players but at times a detriment to teams.
”We felt like fans are weary of, you get behind a team, they win it, and you don’t know if that same team is going to come back or not,” Cube said. ”You don’t know who’s going to leave, and I just think fans are sick of that. So to me, fans are not really getting into teams as much as they’re getting into players. So that’s the reason why I think there has to be a happy medium between what exists now in sports, which is free agency kind of run rampant, and a balance of what the fans really want.
”So there’s got to be something John Tavares Maple Leafs Jersey , so in our league we just eliminate that.”
Cube envisions a 12-team league playing twice a week in NBA arenas next season if the BIG3, trying to capitalize on the popularity of 3-on-3, which debuts in the Olympics in 2020 – is successful. That would make even more teams to beat for whoever wins this season’s title. But he believes not changing up the champ is the best approach.
”Like yo, if you win it, you’re the champion, there’s no reason for you to make any changes,” he said. ”And the rest of the league has a measuring stick to draft because everybody goes back to the draft pool pretty much if you don’t win the championship, so you have to reorganize your thinking of your team to figure out how to beat this standard. So it just, to me, works better.”
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