Would it not make sense for the Wolves go in on Harden if they can get him w/o crazy amount of picks?
Market seems low, but he’s still a big game player. Given the Rudy deal last summer with that being your big sign that the Wolves want to go for it, then at this point they should try for Harden too.
Money wise, Conley, Moore & McLaughlin works. Add a couple of 2nds and a protected 1st pick swap in the future.
G Harden / Milton
G Ant / NWA
F Jaden / Brown
F KAT / Anderson
C Rudy / Naz Reid.
imbatmane
Because it’s his opinion.
It’s not like we are top 10.
yourloudneighbor
He has us this low because while we’re super talented, especially top 8-9 rotational players….we can also play super stupid. Hence why I’m more terrified of playing Detroit than I am of Denver.
Jalin17
I get our category but the ranking eh who cares we’re around the 16 best teams anyways 🤷🏾♂️
matts534
There are two teams with a worse record in 2023 than the Wolves ranked higher than we are (Dallas & OKC).
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they both enter 2024 with a more improved roster than the Wolves.
Dallas with a full year of Kyrie and OKC with Chet.
Wolves improvements all depend on player growth and development this year, which (fingers crossed) works out, but that’s also been the story for this team over the last decade, so we’ll see.
aj-1_23
I thought his write up on the Wolves in this was pretty spot on, but putting teams like OKC, Dallas, and New Orleans is pretty ignorant.
FlyingScissor
Kevin O Clown show.
WrinkledRandyTravis
Kevin O’Can’t be bothered to do adequate research on teams he doesn’t like
Lol I didn’t even click on the article, other comments make it seem like his rankings aren’t actually all that egregious against us but I’m not going to bother looking anyway because KOC kinda has a reputation for not knowing what he’s talking about when it comes to “small market” teams
I’ll always listen to the Mismatch pod though for the Kevin O’Convict, aka Kevin O’Concert, aka Kevin O’Climber, aka Kevin O’Candyland, KEVOOOOWN intro
smkmn13
Analysis makes sense, and this is a bit of a prove-it year for the team – can Ant elevate to meet new lofty expectations? Can KAT return to all-NBA form? Yadda yadda yadda. It is wrong, though, to give OKC and the Pels the benefit of the doubt and put them ahead of us, imo.
KickerofTale
If we want to change our perception of this club, we need to start winning.
weebrave
Clippers 10 spots ahead of us lol these guys never learn
Sufficient-Truth6599
He should worry about coaching the vikings and not where the wolves rank.
trekinbami
Most national analysts are a joke. Especially this dude. Zach Lowe from Wish.
foye2smith
Arguing over power rankings is just splitting hairs. Just look at the Vegas over/unders and how bunched things are in the middle.
20 UTH 35.5
19 BRK 37.5
18 MIN 44.5
17 DAL 44.5
16 ATL 41.5
15 OKC 44.5
14 CLE 50.5
13 SAC 44.5
12 NOP 44.5
11 NYK 45.5
Cleveland is the real outlier that should complain. Everyone else is a couple good or bad weeks away from 35 to 45 wins.
blade-runner2025
Don’t be such a homer, he’s right. The Wolves aren’t contenders this year or even top 8 in the league
LonesomeWulf
Seems pretty accurate to me for the tier and the commentary. They are a Wild Card team until they prove otherwise. This is always the case with this team, national narrative and “analysis” is not going to suddenly give the Wolves more respect until they prove they deserve. Easy solution, just win :3
Since it is a ranking though, the things that jump out to me is ranking OKC and New Orleans higher than the Wolves. But New Orleans was literally 1st in the West at one point last year and then Zion did Zion things and wasn’t playing. So to me they belong in the Wild Card tier as well, because Zion is the ultimate wild card. OKC seems like a Wild Card tier team as well, SGA established himself as a legit top 10 player, but the overall team hasn’t done anything yet and they are still so young, so to have them higher than the Wolves who are built to win more right now, this season, seems foolish.
nrag726
It’s KOC and The Ringer
Dunkin-Brisbane
Can’t believe I bothered opening the link. No way Mavs, Hawks, thunder, pels, and Knicks should be ahead of us
usewhatevername
Because he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He just throws in generalized words like “playmaking” into all his analysis. Seriously take a drink every time he says playmaking during one of his podcasts and you’ll be hammered by the end of it.
Scottie81
Playing devil’s advocate for a moment…
When national writers predict the Wolves will under perform compared to their talent level without really taking a close look…how many Wolves squads, historically, have punished them for that sort of lazy writing?
yoitsthatoneguy
KOC’s opinion doesn’t matter, let them prove him wrong on the court.
DeMimsyPorpington
“These teams are enigmas with the talent to soar and/or the volatility to implode. Fans should be prepared for their seasons to go in either direction.”
What a great description for Minnesota sports all around.
Vincent1122
Prediction’s and power rankings are my least favorite things in all sports. But We’ve never done anything to earn anybody’s benifiy of the doubt when it comes to this stuff. We have to show it first and we’ve never done that.
JasonEcid
Its cool. We operate better as the underdog. We will certainly win more games than Dallas, The Hawks, OKC and The lame ass-overrated Pelicans…
Shepher27
The west is stacked this year. Barring injury, there are probably 12 teams in the west this year who come in trying to win and make the playoffs, 11 teams who’d be disappointed to not make the top six, and four teams who could be viewed as legitimate title contenders. The only team I’d really pick a bit with Kevin on being above the wolves is the Mavericks, but they have a top five player in the world in their team.
Contenders: Lakers, Warriors, Suns, Nuggets
Top Six or Bust: Wolves, Pelicans, Kings, Mavericks, Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies
Could go either way: Utah
Want to win, might be bad anyways: Houston
Want to be bad: San Antonio, Portland
junkeee999
Because we were 42-40 last season and stood pat and are coming back with virtually the same team.
Sure there’s more hype this year, particularly around Edwards. But you still have to prove it. Until you actually accomplish something a middle of the pack rating is fair.
buchanbasanee
I guess it’s theoretically possible to have KAT back, better depth, full season of Conley, Ant and Jaden a year older, and still get worse, but it doesn’t make any logical sense to me.
Tommyatthedoor
I think it’s the same issue as last year. We haven’t shown there’s a fit there yet.
28 Comments
Would it not make sense for the Wolves go in on Harden if they can get him w/o crazy amount of picks?
Market seems low, but he’s still a big game player. Given the Rudy deal last summer with that being your big sign that the Wolves want to go for it, then at this point they should try for Harden too.
Money wise, Conley, Moore & McLaughlin works. Add a couple of 2nds and a protected 1st pick swap in the future.
G Harden / Milton
G Ant / NWA
F Jaden / Brown
F KAT / Anderson
C Rudy / Naz Reid.
Because it’s his opinion.
It’s not like we are top 10.
He has us this low because while we’re super talented, especially top 8-9 rotational players….we can also play super stupid. Hence why I’m more terrified of playing Detroit than I am of Denver.
I get our category but the ranking eh who cares we’re around the 16 best teams anyways 🤷🏾♂️
There are two teams with a worse record in 2023 than the Wolves ranked higher than we are (Dallas & OKC).
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they both enter 2024 with a more improved roster than the Wolves.
Dallas with a full year of Kyrie and OKC with Chet.
Wolves improvements all depend on player growth and development this year, which (fingers crossed) works out, but that’s also been the story for this team over the last decade, so we’ll see.
I thought his write up on the Wolves in this was pretty spot on, but putting teams like OKC, Dallas, and New Orleans is pretty ignorant.
Kevin O Clown show.
Kevin O’Can’t be bothered to do adequate research on teams he doesn’t like
Lol I didn’t even click on the article, other comments make it seem like his rankings aren’t actually all that egregious against us but I’m not going to bother looking anyway because KOC kinda has a reputation for not knowing what he’s talking about when it comes to “small market” teams
I’ll always listen to the Mismatch pod though for the Kevin O’Convict, aka Kevin O’Concert, aka Kevin O’Climber, aka Kevin O’Candyland, KEVOOOOWN intro
Analysis makes sense, and this is a bit of a prove-it year for the team – can Ant elevate to meet new lofty expectations? Can KAT return to all-NBA form? Yadda yadda yadda. It is wrong, though, to give OKC and the Pels the benefit of the doubt and put them ahead of us, imo.
If we want to change our perception of this club, we need to start winning.
Clippers 10 spots ahead of us lol these guys never learn
He should worry about coaching the vikings and not where the wolves rank.
Most national analysts are a joke. Especially this dude. Zach Lowe from Wish.
Arguing over power rankings is just splitting hairs. Just look at the Vegas over/unders and how bunched things are in the middle.
20 UTH 35.5
19 BRK 37.5
18 MIN 44.5
17 DAL 44.5
16 ATL 41.5
15 OKC 44.5
14 CLE 50.5
13 SAC 44.5
12 NOP 44.5
11 NYK 45.5
Cleveland is the real outlier that should complain. Everyone else is a couple good or bad weeks away from 35 to 45 wins.
Don’t be such a homer, he’s right. The Wolves aren’t contenders this year or even top 8 in the league
Seems pretty accurate to me for the tier and the commentary. They are a Wild Card team until they prove otherwise. This is always the case with this team, national narrative and “analysis” is not going to suddenly give the Wolves more respect until they prove they deserve. Easy solution, just win :3
Since it is a ranking though, the things that jump out to me is ranking OKC and New Orleans higher than the Wolves. But New Orleans was literally 1st in the West at one point last year and then Zion did Zion things and wasn’t playing. So to me they belong in the Wild Card tier as well, because Zion is the ultimate wild card. OKC seems like a Wild Card tier team as well, SGA established himself as a legit top 10 player, but the overall team hasn’t done anything yet and they are still so young, so to have them higher than the Wolves who are built to win more right now, this season, seems foolish.
It’s KOC and The Ringer
Can’t believe I bothered opening the link. No way Mavs, Hawks, thunder, pels, and Knicks should be ahead of us
Because he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He just throws in generalized words like “playmaking” into all his analysis. Seriously take a drink every time he says playmaking during one of his podcasts and you’ll be hammered by the end of it.
Playing devil’s advocate for a moment…
When national writers predict the Wolves will under perform compared to their talent level without really taking a close look…how many Wolves squads, historically, have punished them for that sort of lazy writing?
KOC’s opinion doesn’t matter, let them prove him wrong on the court.
“These teams are enigmas with the talent to soar and/or the volatility to implode. Fans should be prepared for their seasons to go in either direction.”
What a great description for Minnesota sports all around.
Prediction’s and power rankings are my least favorite things in all sports. But We’ve never done anything to earn anybody’s benifiy of the doubt when it comes to this stuff. We have to show it first and we’ve never done that.
Its cool. We operate better as the underdog. We will certainly win more games than Dallas, The Hawks, OKC and The lame ass-overrated Pelicans…
The west is stacked this year. Barring injury, there are probably 12 teams in the west this year who come in trying to win and make the playoffs, 11 teams who’d be disappointed to not make the top six, and four teams who could be viewed as legitimate title contenders. The only team I’d really pick a bit with Kevin on being above the wolves is the Mavericks, but they have a top five player in the world in their team.
Contenders: Lakers, Warriors, Suns, Nuggets
Top Six or Bust: Wolves, Pelicans, Kings, Mavericks, Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies
Could go either way: Utah
Want to win, might be bad anyways: Houston
Want to be bad: San Antonio, Portland
Because we were 42-40 last season and stood pat and are coming back with virtually the same team.
Sure there’s more hype this year, particularly around Edwards. But you still have to prove it. Until you actually accomplish something a middle of the pack rating is fair.
I guess it’s theoretically possible to have KAT back, better depth, full season of Conley, Ant and Jaden a year older, and still get worse, but it doesn’t make any logical sense to me.
I think it’s the same issue as last year. We haven’t shown there’s a fit there yet.