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lynxmania



Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Posts: 10697
Location: Minnesota


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PostPosted: 03/15/18 9:33 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

My two cents, way too late:

D-Rob: Don't love giving up our 1st Rounder, but gives us a veteran guard off the bench who is quick and plays pesky defense. Hopefully another year off her injury will benefit her and she can get back to doing some things she was doing in San Antonio. I can see her doing what Renee did on defense by getting under people's skin.

Wright: Another strong defender. Someone who can guard the 1-3 positions for us and gives us another ball handler. Fits the Jia role of a guard off the bench who can knock down a shot or get to the basket, but mainly coming in for defense.

AJ: While bringing in these two guards probably takes some minutes away that she was probably going to get, I don't see this as AJ isn't going to play again this season. She can be a dynamic scorer off the bench, but its going to give her a little bit more time to develop. Hopefully she will be able to limit some turnovers and tough shots around the basket she was doing last year, but I'm excited for her this coming season.

Zand: Reeve showed last season that she wasn't afraid to throw her in right away, especially in the playoffs. I think a full training camp with the team is really going to benefit her, as well. I don't feel like we saw the real Z last season, so another one that I'm excited for.

IMO, the spots up for grabs are in the post. Temi and Miyem are the ones that really need to prove themselves. I don't expect another worthwhile to drop into the 2nd Round for us, but if some post does, I would expect us to drop them to give some competition. Otherwise I wouldn't be surprised if we grabbed some international players or injured senior who could be deferred another year. Which makes me wonder if Berkani and/or Tulipea will be coming over to camp this year.


Shades



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PostPosted: 03/15/18 12:42 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The timing was all wrong for the Wright acquisition. That’s why it would have been smarter for the Lynx to hold off on the DRob trade until draft day. But I suppose Reeve was worried some other team (like maybe SEA) would make a better offer sooner than draft day.

The Lynx seemed the most excited about acquiring Wright. She’s versatile enough to play 1-3, so she would have been the only veteran safety net needed for AJones just in case AJones couldn’t handle the extra load. Reeve has seen her share of young PG’s who fail to improve or reach a high standard quickly enough, so Reeve needed that safety net. If the Lynx would have acquired Wright first, maybe the DRob trade wouldn’t have happened and the Lynx could have held onto that #12 pick and also alleviated pressure on the cap space. Make a mock draft and see for yourself. Even without early declarations, something good is going to show up at #12. Of course, if either Augustus or Whalen get hit with a lengthy injury, Reeve will be looking like a genius.

Reeve seems to have painted herself into a corner with Zandalasini. Here’s a player the Lynx don’t really need, but they’re also afraid to let go in case she becomes “the next big thing” like a Torrens or something. She doesn’t have the versatility in the WNBA to be anything other than a dedicated Maya backup. Iron woman Maya is coming into her prime. She doesn’t need a dedicated backup and there’s even talk from Reeve about Wright playing minutes at SF. So Zandalasini is working out to be one expensive insurance policy, especially if one of the costs in keeping her is letting a good player like Howard move on. The only explanation about Howard that I’d be happy with is that she wanted to be traded. The Lynx have been tight-lipped about the Howard trade, so that’s probably not the case.

So it got me thinking about why it’s so important for the Lynx to hold onto Zandalasini? Maya’s contract expires after this season. Are they worried about Maya moving on or maybe she’s already indicated she wants to move on? I’ve been maybe overly paranoid about Maya wanting to move on ever since she waited until April to sign her last contract three years ago. It’s not just that though. Other than doing her job and doing it well, Maya doesn’t seem very invested in the Minneapolis area.... compared to somebody like Augustus. Augustus bought a house in the area. Augustus married a person from the area. Augustus is wasting money on expensive cars she can’t even drive most of the time. Maya’s not doing any of that. Maya would see a penny on the ground in Minneapolis, pick it up and deposit it into her bank in Atlanta. Signing Maya to an extension now or in the near future would be a great way to alleviate those fears. Feel free, Reeve. Feel free. Anyway, there’s no way anybody can replace Maya, so why hold onto an expensive long term insurance policy? It seems that there are players maybe just as good as Zandalasini floating around in Europe all the time. Like that player from Sopron that SEA picked up. She’s looking pretty decent and versatile from the clips I’ve seen and is probably one of the keys to why little Sopron keeps winning. SEA picked her up out of the blue. Or how about that versatile player on Slooty’s overseas team who just scored a rare triple double? Seems the Lynx don’t really need to be married to Zandalasini or be making bad moves as a result of this marriage, but I guess we’ll see how everything works out. This could be a prime season for Lynx fans to be second guessing. /mini-rant over.



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blaase22



Joined: 28 Mar 2011
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PostPosted: 03/15/18 3:30 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Reeve seems really high on the 2019 draft, I on with her.
Hopefully Phoenix won't be top four and the 2019 second round pick Minny gets from them might be the same as the 12th pick this year.


Michelle89



Joined: 17 Nov 2010
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PostPosted: 03/15/18 6:05 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I missed the memo that Zandalasini was too expensive for the Lynx to keep her? Or more expensive then a player like a 29 year old Bahar Caglar who you all of a sudden like to much after 1 triple double. Bahar has reached her ceiling which is a starter at most and more of a role player on a good team in the Euroleague. They dont play the same position anyway



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Shades



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PostPosted: 03/15/18 7:55 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Michelle89 wrote:
I missed the memo that Zandalasini was too expensive for the Lynx to keep her?


It looks like they can afford her under the current situation, but if they let go of Howard just to keep Zandalasini on the deep bench, then I’m not exactly happy. To me Pierson and Howard are greater than Kizer and Miyem. The Lynx bench front court took a step to the unknown and I’m guessing it’s a step back.

Michelle89 wrote:
Or more expensive then a player like a 29 year old Bahar Caglar who you all of a sudden like to much after 1 triple double. Bahar has reached her ceiling which is a starter at most and more of a role player on a good team in the Euroleague.


There’s nothing wrong with being 29. That’s the age Sonja Petrovic won EuroLeague player of the year. I’m not saying they Lynx should pursue Caglar. Maybe she’s not the best example of what’s available, but the point was there are good European players cropping up all time. They usually fall under the Lynx radar, but they’re there, and none are particularly reliable in showing up. Players like Petrovic, Xargay, Dabovic,... who am I forgetting?

How come you didn’t slight Crvendakic, because SEA signed her? Where did she come from and are there more like her out there?

Michelle89 wrote:
They dont play the same position anyway


That’s probably a good thing because one of my key points was the Lynx don’t need a dedicated backup for Maya.



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justintyme



Joined: 08 Jul 2012
Posts: 8407
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PostPosted: 03/15/18 8:53 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

To be fair, Zand is not likely the reason they couldn't afford Howard. The had to get rid of Howard to sign both Wright and Robinson. While I do agree that if we were planning on signing Wright we didn't need Robinson as badly, we don't know exactly what the currents were and when Wright actually committed. But either way, Zand's contract wasn't going to affect that.

On the positive side, while we perhaps fell off a little on our back up posts, we are much stronger off the bench defensively in the back court.



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Richyyy



Joined: 17 Nov 2005
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PostPosted: 03/15/18 11:20 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

There's also the chance that they just didn't want to be the team paying Howard a multi-year max contract, so they cashed her in for as much as they could get. And then other stuff happened.



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Michelle89



Joined: 17 Nov 2010
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PostPosted: 03/16/18 3:21 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Shades wrote:
Michelle89 wrote:
I missed the memo that Zandalasini was too expensive for the Lynx to keep her?


It looks like they can afford her under the current situation, but if they let go of Howard just to keep Zandalasini on the deep bench, then I’m not exactly happy. To me Pierson and Howard are greater than Kizer and Miyem. The Lynx bench front court took a step to the unknown and I’m guessing it’s a step back.

Michelle89 wrote:
Or more expensive then a player like a 29 year old Bahar Caglar who you all of a sudden like to much after 1 triple double. Bahar has reached her ceiling which is a starter at most and more of a role player on a good team in the Euroleague.


There’s nothing wrong with being 29. That’s the age Sonja Petrovic won EuroLeague player of the year. I’m not saying they Lynx should pursue Caglar. Maybe she’s not the best example of what’s available, but the point was there are good European players cropping up all time. They usually fall under the Lynx radar, but they’re there, and none are particularly reliable in showing up. Players like Petrovic, Xargay, Dabovic,... who am I forgetting?

How come you didn’t slight Crvendakic, because SEA signed her? Where did she come from and are there more like her out there?

Michelle89 wrote:
They dont play the same position anyway


That’s probably a good thing because one of my key points was the Lynx don’t need a dedicated backup for Maya.


Nothing wrong for being 29 but i thought the Lynx should look at the future. They are old enough. Zandalasini and Crvendakic are 22 and 21 year old with lots of potential to grow. To be fair i dont know if Crvendakic is going to make the team. If Hughes will cut KML in favor for her but i like them giving her a chance in training camp to see what she can bring.



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Nerd2



Joined: 06 Jun 2010
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PostPosted: 03/16/18 3:14 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

justintyme wrote:
To be fair, Zand is not likely the reason they couldn't afford Howard. The had to get rid of Howard to sign both Wright and Robinson. While I do agree that if we were planning on signing Wright we didn't need Robinson as badly, we don't know exactly what the currents were and when Wright actually committed. But either way, Zand's contract wasn't going to affect that.


As far as I know, the team knew that Montgomery was going to sign with Atlanta a week before Feb 1 so they knew they they needed room to explore guard options. They also needed to make room for Z's full season undrafted rookie contract (a little over $40k). Developing her as a wing allows them to give Maya more rest or move Maya to the 4 in some cases. I don't know whether they knew specifically about a DRob trade opportunity though or what it would take to get Tanisha Wright. They just knew they needed to have salary for at least two guards to be on the bench along with Jones.


Nerd2



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PostPosted: 03/16/18 3:51 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

My guess as to what happened is this: Minnesota knew Renee was leaving. They also intended to keep 12 this year to develop Jones, Zandalasini and one other while still having 9 or 10 in a regular rotation. They did not want to offer a bench player a max contract when each of their starters had accepted a little less than max. I knew a team would offer max to try and steal it and found out over the weekend it was Seattle. Based on circumstantial evidence and guesswork, I don't think Minnesota decided until they knew they had Lynetta Kizer and that Seattle agreed to the sign-and-trade terms.

My other guess was that they were after Wright but so were others, including Las Vegas. I wonder if the opportunity for DRob was a late addition and only offered because the Mercury had been made the offer for Briann January. So, they took it because they couldn't predict Wright and needed a fallback. Wright gives them their full complement of 5 guards and takes away their need to make room for a 1st rounder this year.

They already have Zandalasini and Jones in their development queue. The final question is what role they see for Fagbenle. Do they see her as good enough to take rotation minutes backing up Fowles or will they use Kizer there? Could they have one more acquisition pending for a post to split minutes with?

Whalen/DRob/Jones
Augustus/Wright/(Jones)
Moore/Zandalasini
Brunson/Kizer/(Moore)
Fowles/Fagbenle/(Kizer)

One more: Miyem, Berkani, or other




Last edited by Nerd2 on 03/18/18 5:37 pm; edited 1 time in total
lynxmania



Joined: 18 Feb 2011
Posts: 10697
Location: Minnesota


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PostPosted: 03/18/18 5:11 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

https://twitter.com/Lindsay_13/status/975459523006779392

Quote:
Excited to announce my minority ownership in my former AAU club the Minnesota Stars! Looking forward to reconnecting with youth basketball and continuing to grow the game. #mnstars


Shades



Joined: 10 Jul 2006
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PostPosted: 03/19/18 2:07 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

MCNIFF'S RIFFS: LOCAL TEAMS IN 'WIN NOW' MODE

http://www.kare11.com/mobile/article/opinion/columnists/mcniffs-riffs/mcniffs-riffs-local-teams-in-win-now-mode/89-529791491

(This is a multi-sport article. This is the Lynx part)

Quote:
Minnesota Lynx

Having won four WNBA titles, no local team knows more about winning than the Minnesota Lynx. Yet, with a roster that has proven that it can win now (and isn’t getting any younger) head coach and new General Manager Cheryl Reeve has been making moves clearly aimed at making another title run.

Reeve, who spent time in the off-season with the Twins brain trust of Levine and Falvey sharing her wisdom on coaching philosophy and player motivation (while seeking to gain knowledge on the application of analytics) certainly hasn’t been sitting around waiting for office furniture to arrive.

First, Reeve traded the Lynx’ first round draft choice in next month’s WNBA Draft (#12 overall) to the Phoenix Mercury, for veteran guard Danielle Robinson and the Mercury’s second round pick in 2019. Then, Reeve signed free-agent guard Tanisha Wright to a contract for the upcoming season.

Both players, while not among the 'new blood' the roster needs, are said to favor an up-tempo style of basketball. Wright herself has been on the WNBA’s All-Defensive first team on five separate occasions. It’s clear Reeve wants her Lynx to be the hunters rather than the hunted in the season ahead.



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NYL_WNBA_FAN



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PostPosted: 03/24/18 10:19 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Wright is an excellent addition. I think an important factor there is you have a third physical wing player on defense. You won't need her to play many minutes, which is good also because her body probably can't handle it. However, the minutes she gives will be quality ones, plus she's another leadership type. We've seen the Lynx and LA play two championship series where a few possessions could have been a difference maker in the entire outcome. So I like adding someone even on the basis that she makes your team better for 5-10 possessions each game.

And, she's been the type to upgrade her game in the playoffs if her body allows it.



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Shades



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PostPosted: 03/29/18 2:34 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Clarification on Lynx preseason games

The Lynx will open the WNBA preseason with a game against the Washington Mystics at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Sunday, May 6.

The other preseason game will be Saturday, May 12, against Chicago at 7 p.m. at Target Center. About time!

Timberwolves and Lynx owner Glen Taylor also owns the G League Iowa Wolves, who play in Des Moines.



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Randy



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PostPosted: 03/29/18 3:11 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Don't let Taylor start talking to Dolan or the Lynx might move to Des Moines

Razz


Shades



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PostPosted: 03/29/18 4:01 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Randy wrote:
Don't let Taylor start talking to Dolan or the Lynx might move to Des Moines


Shouldn’t have to worry about that until they start losing again... like maybe when Maya leaves the team.

I looked it up. Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines is pretty nice. It seats 16,110 for basketball.



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Randy



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PostPosted: 03/29/18 6:25 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Oh, that's much too big. Dolan would never suggest that.


Nerd2



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PostPosted: 03/30/18 12:52 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Shades wrote:
Randy wrote:
Don't let Taylor start talking to Dolan or the Lynx might move to Des Moines


Shouldn’t have to worry about that until they start losing again... like maybe when Maya leaves the team.

I looked it up. Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines is pretty nice. It seats 16,110 for basketball.


I was there for the 2012 regional. Pat Summitt's last games and the Baylor undefeated season. It's very nice and was great to watch WBB in. The area reminded me very much of Tulsa though so I'd wonder about a fan base.


Shades



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PostPosted: 04/03/18 10:14 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote





Some DRob stats I found. First of all, it’s the Hungarian league. I don’t think this is an EuroLeague level team. Her teammates include Fields and Goree, players that have never taken root in the WNBA.

She’s only played 7 games and her jersey number is blanked out, so I wonder if that’s an indication that she’s no longer active? [edit: I took a peek at awhom’s page. She does seem to be active]

Anyway, it shows she’s actually attempted threes, but with small sample size going 2-4. But then you look at that overall FG% of 38% and think what’s up with that? DRob should be destroying the Hungarian league instead of shaking my confidence in Reeve.



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blaase22



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PostPosted: 04/03/18 12:50 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

With stevens declaring it made that drob trade so much worse , made the 2018 draft stronger and 2019 weaker ugh reeve pulled the damn trigger too early!


toad455



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PostPosted: 04/03/18 1:13 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

blaase22 wrote:
With stevens declaring it made that drob trade so much worse , made the 2018 draft stronger and 2019 weaker ugh reeve pulled the damn trigger too early!


The 2019 draft still appears deeper, especially if Ionescu declares early.



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adamj95



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PostPosted: 04/09/18 11:56 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

http://lynx.wnba.com/news/top-20-players-20-devereaux-peters/?sf186563061=1

To celebrate our 20th season, we have compiled a top-20 list of players in franchise history. We will release a new player each Monday, beginning April 9.

20- Devereaux Peters

Quote:
A 6-1 forward from Chicago, IL, Devereaux Peters was drafted by the Lynx with the third overall pick in the 2012 WNBA draft. In college at Notre Dame, she helped the Fighting Irish make three consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances. Peters was also the 2012 Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Her best season came in 2013, when she appeared in every game for the Lynx and helped anchor the team’s defense off the bench as they won their second WNBA title. In that season, Peters averaged 4.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per game in 18 minutes. She ranked ninth in the league with 34 blocks.



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Shades



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PostPosted: 04/09/18 12:04 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

They’re only doing one a week? This is like a Megdal thing.

If Maya isn’t #1, me and spacejunkie are grabbing torches.

I’m not sure if ranking teammates is a good idea for promoting that team-first mentality.



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Nixtreefan



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PostPosted: 04/09/18 12:06 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

2019 much deeper IMO. This years top players all have ifs and buts.


Richyyy



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PostPosted: 04/09/18 12:13 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Dev Peters is the 20th-best Lynx of all time? This could be a rocky list until they hit the top six or seven.



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