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The Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Hornets were lottery-level teams in June, though the Wolves had traded their pick away. While both teams missed the playoffs last spring, they began the summer at different junctures in their rebuilding plans. Nevertheless, after a furious few weeks of activity, the teams are primed to become powers in the Western Conference.
Both teams are built to last. When we ranked future big threes earlier this summer, the Hornets (third) and Timberwolves (fifth) looked like franchises that have exciting cores in place. But what about this season?
Minnesota general manager David Kahn told reporters that he expects a healthy Timberwolves squad to contend for the playoffs this season. His New Orleans counterpart, Dell Demps, has been a little more cautious, saying the Hornets will be competitive this season but that they are built for the future. Both GMs were telling the truth.
Joining the Timberwolves before long will be the Hornets. Demps has done a remarkable job restocking a roster that was looking stale even before Chris Paul was traded. Demps has made sure that Paul's departure was not the death knell for his franchise. Instead, it has proved to be the catalyst for a bright future. That began with last season's conference-high loss total, the lucky lottery night and the selection of Anthony Davis with the first pick of the 2012 draft.
The Davis selection was the residue of luck and design, but the pick itself was a no-brainer. The moves Demps has made over the rest of the summer have marked him as one of the rising front-office stars in the league. He is following in the footsteps of fellow Spurs alum Sam Presti, the architect of OKC's rise. It's no wonder that it seems every new general manager hire seems to be a Gregg Popovich protégé.
While Kahn was adding to a foundation already in place, Demps was starting from scratch in New Orleans, which put the Hornets further behind on the rebuilding path. Let's peek at the potential depth chart that coach Monty Williams will have to work with:
PG: Austin Rivers, Greivis Vasquez
SG: Eric Gordon, Roger Mason, Xavier Henry
SF: Ryan Anderson, Al-Farouq Aminu, Darius Miller
PF: Davis, Hakim Warrick, Lance Thomas
C: Robin Lopez, Jason Smith
Just by looking at the names, you can see how many more holes the Hornets' roster has than the one in Minnesota. Vasquez may end up as the starting point guard after what we saw from Rivers at the position in summer league. Even if Rivers improves, we don't know how he'll fit with Gordon. We also don't know if Anderson can really function as a full-time 3. Davis and Lopez will be a formidable defensive duo on the inside, but the frontcourt depth is iffy and the squad is woefully short on wing defenders.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story...ern-powers-nba
{Mod edit-Please do not post full articles}
Contributor
great article. thanks for posting. i dont people to only take away this from the article, but i just wanted to note the fact that Bradford Doolittle thinks rivers will start and anderson will play SF. i just dont see it. i can understand playing daivs at the 4 and starting lopez at 5, but i dont know about the others.
Last edited by RaisingTheBar; 08-09-2012 at 01:14 PM.
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I think the takeaway from "positions" is that we will put the five best people on the floor without regard to "traditional positions" as fans would refer to them. This has been discussed on this board before.
I can see Rivers starting, but Anderson will get the most minutes coming off the bench at 4. That also improves wing defense. Also, no need to wait and see if Williams can install a defensive mentality. That was already done 2 years ago with the guy that went to the Warriors.
That also accounts for wing defense, which is just as much a team effort as it is individual.
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I understand that, and that is why I said "I don't people to only take away this from the article", but am I still not allowed to comment on it?Originally Posted by Saints Fan in A
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Not impressed with Rivers, eh? Respectable.
Guess who is putting in time at WBOK 1230 AM Talk Radio... Don't guess, it's me. Tune in this Friday for Sport-a-Talk with Roe Brown and you might just hear me!
Feel free to PM me for details.
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It's not that at all. I just think coming off of this injury, missing a few SL games, and Vasuqez having the experience and knowledge of our system gives him the nod.
Contributor
Was referring to the article, actually. But eh.
Nujabes got me too mellowed out to worry.
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gotcha, well that's just my 2 cents lol
Nujabes was awesome! R.I.P.
"You don't wanna be in Taco. You wanna be in Gap 2" - Monty installing defense
"I don't people to only take away this from the article" - I think you are missing something in that sentence
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