wolves/nba

Regardless, I think the best option would be to trade Williams for Iguodala. The contract will be hard to swallow, but he's one of the best defensive players in the league and is basically a more disciplined, experienced, and polished version of Nic Batum. He would be the perfect fit and he's a natural 3. It just makes too much sense for the Wolves. For this reason, I'm sure it won't happen.

benjain is right, if it makes sense, the wolves won't do it. None of the trades or signings the wolves have on the horizon are significant! Trading Williams just to trade him is more than stupid. The wolves need more than just a mediocre player to become relevant in the playoffs. They need backups, two starters and a temporary point guard. Ridnour, while compoetent, won't get you to the playoffs as the starter while waiting for Rubio to recover. Might as well consider next year a prep and rebuilding year for the year after.

It's unbelievable that the Wolves would even consider trading such a high pick as Williams after only one years?! Just the talk of makes me question everything about the organization... Sure go ahead and trade him so that he can become a superstar for some other team for the Next 15 years... Stupid if you ask me...

We have three in charge; Taylor, Kahn and Adelman who seem eager to do ANYTHING to make the playoffs this year. Trading Williams after a short first season seems a little nuts. I don't see Adelman being the answer for this team. He only wants proven veterans who can help him reach HIS goals. He seems to be a coach who is most concerned about himself. Rookies, no matter how good they may someday be, are not his concern. Williams is exhibit A. I'm all for trying to win as long as we also have a future plan. But, in three years this team will have made the playoffs a couple of times but will not advance far, will be filled with older veterans, Love will go to LA, Rubio to NY or LA, Adelman will retire and we will be really old and really bad with a new owner (or city)to pick up the pieces.

kindaliberal - I agree with most of your points. That said, to be overly critical of Adelman is a little short-sighted. He is simply operating in a fashion (win now) that I am sure both Kahn and Taylor are fully aligned with. They all have a vested interest in the same outcome, for different reasons - Adelman because of his age, Kahn because of his contract status, and Taylor because of his stated desire to sell the team, which would have higher value if successful. At least their goals are consistent and aligned. The unfortunate fact is that none of these short-sighted clowns have the future in mind and so we (the fans and city) are left with the very likely outcome in a couple years that you laid out quite well. Sad to say that with Kahn pulling the strings, this franchise has no LT prospects for success.

As someone who always tries to be upbeat and positive, and who always fails at both when it comes to commenting on the Woebegones, Adelman strikes me as being a little negative and rigid. Even crotchety. Yes, Williams will have to prove if he can play the 3, but instead of Adelman saying he has virtually no confidence in him, why not say something like "We're going to do everything we can to help Derrick be successful at the 3 and he has a wonderful opportunity to prove himself. With his desire and our coaching, we're quite confident Williams is going to do the job." But no, Mr. Sourpuss is already playing CMA by continuing to rag on his players. If you're not up for the job, Mr. Crabs, stay in Portland. Without Rubio, you seem to a rather average or below average coach. I have as little confidence in you as you do in Williams, but you are old enough for me to lay it out there without worrying about crushing your spirit. Williams is 21. Try building him up rather than doing what seems to come natural to you: tearing him down. You've also got about eight assistant coaches. Just for kicks, try coaching. That's what you are being paid for. Other than that, you're the best. Have a nice day.

I agree that Adelman wants veterans but, I don't agree that he doesn't like rookies. After all, Rubio was a rookie last season and Adelman made him the starting PG early in the season. I am very surprised at the number of people commenting that Williams should or needs to be traded. I say that based on all the comments people made last year before the draft. Everyone's opinion was Williams was a "can't miss" stud of a player and those commenting here pleaded to Khan to not mess this up by not drafting Williams. Comments about Rubio were fairly neutral but, no one half expected him to have the impact he did. I am of the opinion that a full camp and a regular season could make a huge difference for Williams and I think trading him for anything less than a proven all-star would be a mistake. Give him a full season and see how much he can develop.

jimthegringo, the Wolves lost at least three early season games because of Adelman's slowness in starting Rubio. It actually took an injury for him to insert Rubio into the starting lineup. And he was wildly inconsistent in how he played both Williams and Beasely, IMO, yet completely consistent in playing and playing and playing Johnson. I never knew what he was doing regarding substitution patterns, and I doubt the players did either.

Snoozer, I don't disagree with your point of view but, at the same time I think Adelman had little choice due to the rushed, shortened training camp and then having virtually no practice time in between games after the season started. With Adelman in his first year and not being familiar with all the players and what they could/couldn't do... I personally feel he should be given the benefit of any doubt with regards to Williams and other player with how he played/not played them last year. He didn't get 950+ wins by being an average coach. Just my small, insignificant opinion.

snoozecruise: you've got to remember there was a very limited camp and no practice time w/the shortened schedule, thus adelman had very limited time to evaluate Rubio. Still he was inserted into the starting line-up pretty quick by NBA standards. He played Beasley until he screwed up enough, particularly on defense, and then went with Williams. Personally i would've benched Beasley very early on, given the fact he wasn't coming back, and given Williams all the PT. However, you've also got to consider we were in PO hunt until March. He played Johnson b/c who else did we have? Ellington? Adelman from what i remember, tended to go w/what was needed..scoring/defense..with his substitutions. Side-note: perhaps adelman's motivation tactic in regards to Williams is to question his ability to hold the 3, thereby pissing him off to work harder. Or to relieve some pressure, by basically he expects nothing from him, again motivating him to show what he can do. The fact he's lost the weight tells me he's been working this summer. His jumper will be the tell-tale sign of sink or swim. If he can hit 10-12fts at a high 30% clip, i'd consider that a success. If he has the lateral quickness to defend, its a done deal as he has the desire, mind set to be a good defender.