Jaden McDaniels

[Stork311]

If you are not the first or second option, and he isn't, it is difficult to be consistent offensively. Couple that with the fact he doesn't have a go to offensive move, and I think he will always be an uneven performer. His D is solid, although he fouls more than I would prefer. For the position he was drafted, he is a great get....and whether here or somewhere else, He will be a strong rotational player on winning teams for a long long time to come.

Remember...he grows and inch every off season too....which is nice.

[Roy Kent]

If you are not the first or second option, and he isn't, it is difficult to be consistent offensively. Couple that with the fact he doesn't have a go to offensive move, and I think he will always be an uneven performer. His D is solid, although he fouls more than I would prefer. For the position he was drafted, he is a great get....and whether here or somewhere else, He will be a strong rotational player on winning teams for a long long time to come.

Remember...he grows and inch every off season too....which is nice.

He'll be a steal in about 4 years!

[somuchyummy]

Wemby killer.

[Ask Not]

I wonder about his BBIQ. He cuts okay on offense and can take smaller, poor defenders off the dribble, but that's about it on offense. When's the last time you saw him drive and dish or make a skip pass for a big 3?

On defense he's a great on-ball defender, but when does his wing span come into play otherwise? Why is he never near a rebound? And most importantly, he can't be a defensive factor if he's sitting on the bench 4 minutes into the game with 2 fouls like he is most nights. He plays as if he's a luxury to have on the floor - I get the sense he's a low-accountability guy.

All that said, it's a different team without a 7 foot wingspan at the point of attack on D. That's a separator for the Wolves.

you have to take the bad with the good and hope that the good part gets better as the season moves along and the bad part is lessened. if he gets smarter with fouls and hitting that corner three at 40 percent then all the other good stuff will be magnified. Ant's good has been getting better and his bad is not so blatant lately. here's hoping that jaden can follow in those steps.

I like Jaden and still hope he can become an even bigger piece on this team. My concern is he doesn't seem to be learning from his repeated mistakes.

To your point, it's easy to see Ants growth, both in skills and understanding. It makes Jaden's stunted growth even more apparent.

[weimy froob]

I wonder about his BBIQ. He cuts okay on offense and can take smaller, poor defenders off the dribble, but that's about it on offense. When's the last time you saw him drive and dish or make a skip pass for a big 3?

On defense he's a great on-ball defender, but when does his wing span come into play otherwise? Why is he never near a rebound? And most importantly, he can't be a defensive factor if he's sitting on the bench 4 minutes into the game with 2 fouls like he is most nights. He plays as if he's a luxury to have on the floor - I get the sense he's a low-accountability guy.

All that said, it's a different team without a 7 foot wingspan at the point of attack on D. That's a separator for the Wolves.

you have to take the bad with the good and hope that the good part gets better as the season moves along and the bad part is lessened. if he gets smarter with fouls and hitting that corner three at 40 percent then all the other good stuff will be magnified. Ant's good has been getting better and his bad is not so blatant lately. here's hoping that jaden can follow in those steps.

I like Jaden and still hope he can become an even bigger piece on this team. My concern is he doesn't seem to be learning from his repeated mistakes.

To your point, it's easy to see Ants growth, both in skills and understanding. It makes Jaden's stunted growth even more apparent.

he's playing with some purpose tonight. energetic and not fouling.

[j-one]

More of last night please. Great activity. The lack of rebounding has be troubling for someone that tall with that many minutes. I know we have bigs under the hoop grabbing a lot of boards and that JM guards the perimeter a lot but come on, how about 4-5 per night? I like his shot selection and making a reasonable % from 3.

[weimy froob]

More of last night please. Great activity. The lack of rebounding has be troubling for someone that tall with that many minutes. I know we have bigs under the hoop grabbing a lot of boards and that JM guards the perimeter a lot but come on, how about 4-5 per night? I like his shot selection and making a reasonable % from 3.

i can't think of a better game that he's had than last night. defense is just shut down when he's bringing that energy to the court. no fouls either. in sacramento they get up 20 plus with KAT not playing. last night they get up 30 plus in the first half with Ant only playing eight minutes. jaden was on the court ballin' in both of them though.

he brings that kind of game to the floor most every night and this team is going to finish strong and go on a playoff run. keep it up jaden!

[weimy froob]

what was great about last night was that he was having a big impact on the game without scoring. he put up some points later in the flow of the offense--and it was just a bonus. forced their big guy into a really inefficient night on the floor offensively.

[Jimi_Thing]

what was great about last night was that he was having a big impact on the game without scoring. he put up some points later in the flow of the offense--and just a bonus. forced their big guy into a really inefficient night on the floor offensively.

Yeah. The only problem with that is that he's unfortunately at the mercy of the reffing. The refs let the players play last night. I also feel like more veteran or savvy players are able to draw contact from Jaden way too often. I have faith that he will continue to improve on that. I'm not one that's down on Jaden.

I'm glad he's now paid. This allows him to focus on his game without the worry of an extended slump possibly harming his value. I don't see him as the kind of player that will regress after earning his contract.

[Hornets]

Nice night for J-Mac last night....that's the kind of effort and results this franchise now needs to see on a regular basis, not just an every 4 or 5 game appearance. That's what a mega contract requires....

[weimy froob]

what was great about last night was that he was having a big impact on the game without scoring. he put up some points later in the flow of the offense--and just a bonus. forced their big guy into a really inefficient night on the floor offensively.

Yeah. The only problem with that is that he's unfortunately at the mercy of the reffing. The refs let the players play last night. I also feel like more veteran or savvy players are able to draw contact from Jaden way too often. I have faith that he will continue to improve on that. I'm not one that's down on Jaden.

I'm glad he's now paid. This allows him to focus on his game without the worry of an extended slump possibly harming his value. I don't see him as the kind of player that will regress after earning his contract.

i didn't notice if the refs were letting them play last night--but with the lack of whistles that was probably the case. the thing about jaden and fouls though is that when they show the replay i have to agree that he is fouling. he's aggressive on the court and that gets whistled a lot. i think last night he had a real focus in that game after the way that sunday's game played out. he had to feel that his play cost them the game

[somuchyummy]

The conundrum of Jaden McDaniels summed up in the past four outings.

Jan 5 - Rockets game (win) - 16 points on 7-10 shooting with 2-3 threes - 3 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 7 - Mavericks game (loss) - 2 points on 1-10 shooting with 0-5 threes - 3 rebounds - 4 assists - 4 fouls
Jan 9 - Magic game (win) - 15 points on 6-10 shooting with 2 of 5 threes - 9 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 10 - Celtics game (loss) - 5 points on 2-8 shooting with 1 of 4 threes - 1 rebound - 1 assist - 6 fouls

Kind of a crapshoot with the young man this year - and, at least in the past 4 games, it affects the W-L column.

[Beef Supreme]

The conundrum of Jaden McDaniels summed up in the past four outings.

Jan 5 - Rockets game (win) - 16 points on 7-10 shooting with 2-3 threes - 3 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 7 - Mavericks game (loss) - 2 points on 1-10 shooting with 0-5 threes - 3 rebounds - 4 assists - 4 fouls
Jan 9 - Magic game (win) - 15 points on 6-10 shooting with 2 of 5 threes - 9 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 10 - Celtics game (loss) - 5 points on 2-8 shooting with 1 of 4 threes - 1 rebound - 1 assist - 6 fouls

Kind of a crapshoot with the young man this year - and, at least in the past 4 games, it affects the W-L column.

He's kind of a barometer guy, isn't he?

[somuchyummy]

At least in the last four it sure looks like it.

[OliverMiller]

The conundrum of Jaden McDaniels summed up in the past four outings.

Jan 5 - Rockets game (win) - 16 points on 7-10 shooting with 2-3 threes - 3 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 7 - Mavericks game (loss) - 2 points on 1-10 shooting with 0-5 threes - 3 rebounds - 4 assists - 4 fouls
Jan 9 - Magic game (win) - 15 points on 6-10 shooting with 2 of 5 threes - 9 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 10 - Celtics game (loss) - 5 points on 2-8 shooting with 1 of 4 threes - 1 rebound - 1 assist - 6 fouls

Kind of a crapshoot with the young man this year - and, at least in the past 4 games, it affects the W-L column.

That plus guarding the top player every night for 4 million is a steal.

[somuchyummy]

The conundrum of Jaden McDaniels summed up in the past four outings.

Jan 5 - Rockets game (win) - 16 points on 7-10 shooting with 2-3 threes - 3 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 7 - Mavericks game (loss) - 2 points on 1-10 shooting with 0-5 threes - 3 rebounds - 4 assists - 4 fouls
Jan 9 - Magic game (win) - 15 points on 6-10 shooting with 2 of 5 threes - 9 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 10 - Celtics game (loss) - 5 points on 2-8 shooting with 1 of 4 threes - 1 rebound - 1 assist - 6 fouls

Kind of a crapshoot with the young man this year - and, at least in the past 4 games, it affects the W-L column.

That plus guarding the top player every night for 4 million is a steal.

Sure. And next year it's something like $23M. Asking if he's the right guy is a fair question. Also, guarding and stopping are two different things. He's a huge part of our perimeter defense and we've just had Doncic/Irving and Tatum/brown go off on us for 69 and 80.

[OliverMiller]

The conundrum of Jaden McDaniels summed up in the past four outings.

Jan 5 - Rockets game (win) - 16 points on 7-10 shooting with 2-3 threes - 3 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 7 - Mavericks game (loss) - 2 points on 1-10 shooting with 0-5 threes - 3 rebounds - 4 assists - 4 fouls
Jan 9 - Magic game (win) - 15 points on 6-10 shooting with 2 of 5 threes - 9 rebounds - 1 foul
Jan 10 - Celtics game (loss) - 5 points on 2-8 shooting with 1 of 4 threes - 1 rebound - 1 assist - 6 fouls

Kind of a crapshoot with the young man this year - and, at least in the past 4 games, it affects the W-L column.

That plus guarding the top player every night for 4 million is a steal.

Sure. And next year it's something like $23M. Asking if he's the right guy is a fair question. Also, guarding and stopping are two different things. He's a huge part of our perimeter defense and we've just had Doncic/Irving and Tatum/brown go off on us for 69 and 80.

For sure, he needs to get more consistent to be worth that contract. I don't think it's worth even thinking about that now.

And the best defender isn't always going to shut down the top defenders.

[somuchyummy]

That plus guarding the top player every night for 4 million is a steal.

Sure. And next year it's something like $23M. Asking if he's the right guy is a fair question. Also, guarding and stopping are two different things. He's a huge part of our perimeter defense and we've just had Doncic/Irving and Tatum/brown go off on us for 69 and 80.

For sure, he needs to get more consistent to be worth that contract. I don't think it's worth even thinking about that now.

And the best defender isn't always going to shut down the top defenders.

i just think it's still a fair question to ask if he's the right player - or if it would make more sense to get a third scorer there who you knew was good for 17-20 ppg every night and would be okay on D. Jaden's here for D - and all four of those great scorers we just faced put up more than their season average - some by quite a bit. so... is the plan working?

[OliverMiller]

Sure. And next year it's something like $23M. Asking if he's the right guy is a fair question. Also, guarding and stopping are two different things. He's a huge part of our perimeter defense and we've just had Doncic/Irving and Tatum/brown go off on us for 69 and 80.

For sure, he needs to get more consistent to be worth that contract. I don't think it's worth even thinking about that now.

And the best defender isn't always going to shut down the top defenders.

i just think it's still a fair question to ask if he's the right player - or if it would make more sense to get a third scorer there who you knew was good for 17-20 ppg every night and would be okay on D. Jaden's here for D - and all four of those great scorers we just faced put up more than their season average - some by quite a bit. so... is the plan working?

Banchero had his worst game. He locked up Brunson as well.

I just think if you take mcdaniels off this team then you are going to be asking Ant to guard that level of player even more, which will only make him worse offensively.

[Greenbolt]

the main issue i've had with Jaden the last couple years has to do with the role he's been given

in the '22 season he mostly guarded wings and roamed a lot. he really got to spread his wings as an off-ball defender and i thought he was truly otherworldly from that standpoint to go along with elite on-ball wing defense and great secondary rim protection

then last year Finch moved Jaden to guarding point-of-attack almost exclusively. because of the hindrance of screens i think the threshold that needs to be reached to be a significant deterrant as a poa defender is very high; a 'very good' screen navigator will still get caught on screens to a decent degree because of the hindrance the screen presents, and the p&r ball-handler will largely get what they want as a result. and so while i think Jaden is a 'very good' poa defender i don't think he's good enough to be a significant deterrant and that's in large part why so many star scorers have had huge nights against us imo. i think Jaden's poa defense is frankly overrated since his lateral footspeed and screen navigation, while very good, aren't truly great and so he gets blown by by the shifty point guards somewhat regularly

also, poa defenders are generally the least involved off-ball defenders on the team by far. Jaden now hardly ever gets to utilize the amazing off-ball defensive chops that he showed a couple years ago. as a result he's dipped to 'merely' a great off-ball defender to my observation, a huge dropoff from his otherworldly status in 2022. he's just someone who 'makes the right play' at a high rate now (but even that aspect of his defense has declined). the amazing off-ball plays that he made with regularity a couple years ago are almost entirely absent now even when he's in position to make them. that's what often happens when you're not getting many reps in a given role. some of the reduced rate in amazing off-ball defensive plays by Jaden can be attributed to the timberwolves shifting from a scrambling hedge coverage around KAT a couple years ago to a more conservative drop around Rudy nowadays, but i think there's still plenty of room for the crazy rogue rotations and passing lane plays Jaden made a couple years ago and guys like NAW & McLaughlin have made those kinds of plays with regularity this year when in the proper role. that's not to mention that the timberwolves have run some hedge this year and that their drop coverage is solidly less conservative than it was last year with teammates often rotating to the roll man to help Rudy now

i disagree with anyone who blames Jaden for his defensive dropoff this year. it's the role he's in imo. he's just not meant to be a poa defender. he's getting so misused to me and i think we all know that Jaden is very prone to getting down on himself. the endless barrage of huge nights from whoever Jaden's guarding i imagine has him feeling like he's failing at his job, particularly when you consider how amazing he was in his role a couple years ago, which likely set high standards in his mind for how well he wants to do his job defensively. the lack of reps as an off-ball defender the last couple years doesn't help and as a result of that and a likely downward-spiraling mental state Jaden's defense has significantly declined this year

offensively i'm far less concerned with Jaden than most seem to be. i think people were expecting a scoring jump from him far earlier than what's reasonable. i will admit that in the second half of last season Jaden was rapidly starting to display scoring chops that were suggesting he could become something like a 20 ppg scorer this year, and so when you look and he's only averaging 10 i can understand that feeling disappointing to fans. my counterpoints would be:

-i think the focus should be shifted from the standard Jaden set for himself last year to a reasonable standard based on typical player development. if Jaden were a 20 ppg scorer at 23 years old still on his rookie deal as a late 1st round pick known for his defense after being a virtual non-scorer 2 years ago that would represent unbelievable development. i don't think falling short of that standard should be looked at as underperforming

-i think Jaden's skill as a scorer clearly exceeds what his current ppg entails. he's more like a 15 ppg scorer skillwise. i know the natural counter here is 'but he's only scoring 10 ppg when he has the ability to score more, that's exactly why we're disappointed.' my point though is that if Jaden were averaging 10 ppg due to a skill deficit that would be far more concerning than it being due to mentality issues because the former is generally a lot harder to correct than the latter. if Jaden had legitimate motor issues that would be a different story, but Jaden has regularly displayed not just a non-troubling motor, but an amazing motor, in the past. the issue seems to be more that he's frustrated with his relative lack of success in his defensive role and gets perpetually down on himself while maybe also being afraid to step on Ant & KAT's toes. those feel like very correctable issues to me

-so in Jaden we have a ~15 ppg-caliber scorer who's a potentially good off-ball mover (was through last year), a solid spacer, a great extra passer, a very good poa defender, an elite on-ball wing defender, and an elite off-ball defender. if he could just become more like an 18 ppg-caliber scorer, which he isn't even far away from, and cuts out the foul issues i think he'd easily be worth the 27 million a year he's going to be making soon

the continued foul issues are the one thing i'm totally with everyone on. i can understand some foul-proneness from a younger player, but in Jaden's case it's so severe and he commits most of his fouls in trivial, very avoidable situations it seems. Jaden cuts into his playing time so much with the foul trouble and he really needs to start getting it cleaned up

but yeah, main point to me is that i think placing Jaden almost exclusively in the poa defensive role is a huge mistake. i'd split that role between a few players. give the largest chunk to Ant probably, his on-ball D skyrockets vs stars because he loves the challenge and his screen navigation has significantly improved. then NAW should get more minutes imo. i think he's literally an elite poa defender and off-ball defender, and has developed into a solid offensive contributor. and then Jaden can take the remaining poa defense minutes. that way Jaden can spend more of his time guarding wings and playing an off-ball role instead, which he thrives in and i bet we'd see an improved mental state and improved play from Jaden as a result. but if the timberwolves continue using Jaden in a full-time poa defense role then i think his regressing mentality and underwhelming play on the court will continue

[somuchyummy]

I'll agree with most all of this well thought out analysis. I've been down on Jaden here perhaps more than anyone - but I think it's because he'd been granted untouchable status when I don't think that's deserved. If we got an offer for him that made sense for the team, I'd take it. But yes, let's get him back to his original defensive assignment - and away from being the POA guy. as said, we have two very good ones in Ant and NAW. When Jaylen Clark gets healthy, we should have three. If we could finagle a simple swap of Shake for Jevon Carter, we could have four. Anything we've got that could relieve Jaden of this assignment would be great.

Final couple notes: I'm not as confident in his ability to be a regular 15 ppg scorer. Maybe, but I always thought that was wishful thinking. And certainly not 20 ppg. If he could get to 15 night in, night out - I'd be happy with that. As for his mood, yes - perhaps some of it is frustration in himself if he thinks he's failing. But he also seems to have a hair trigger that needs lengthening. The ball whipped at the ref in the first quarter of a blowout simply doesn't have a good explanation - other than "short fuse".

[Hornets]

I'll agree with most all of this well thought out analysis. I've been down on Jaden here perhaps more than anyone - but I think it's because he'd been granted untouchable status when I don't think that's deserved. If we got an offer for him that made sense for the team, I'd take it. But yes, let's get him back to his original defensive assignment - and away from being the POA guy. as said, we have two very good ones in Ant and NAW. When Jaylen Clark gets healthy, we should have three. If we could finagle a simple swap of Shake for Jevon Carter, we could have four. Anything we've got that could relieve Jaden of this assignment would be great.

Final couple notes: I'm not as confident in his ability to be a regular 15 ppg scorer. Maybe, but I always thought that was wishful thinking. And certainly not 20 ppg. If he could get to 15 night in, night out - I'd be happy with that. As for his mood, yes - perhaps some of it is frustration in himself if he thinks he's failing. But he also seems to have a hair trigger that needs lengthening. The ball whipped at the ref in the first quarter of a blowout simply doesn't have a good explanation - other than "short fuse".

Jaden is an integral part of any hope for a long Wolves run in the playoffs...hope he's up to it

[Greenbolt]

I'll agree with most all of this well thought out analysis. I've been down on Jaden here perhaps more than anyone - but I think it's because he'd been granted untouchable status when I don't think that's deserved. If we got an offer for him that made sense for the team, I'd take it. But yes, let's get him back to his original defensive assignment - and away from being the POA guy. as said, we have two very good ones in Ant and NAW. When Jaylen Clark gets healthy, we should have three. If we could finagle a simple swap of Shake for Jevon Carter, we could have four. Anything we've got that could relieve Jaden of this assignment would be great.

Final couple notes: I'm not as confident in his ability to be a regular 15 ppg scorer. Maybe, but I always thought that was wishful thinking. And certainly not 20 ppg. If he could get to 15 night in, night out - I'd be happy with that. As for his mood, yes - perhaps some of it is frustration in himself if he thinks he's failing. But he also seems to have a hair trigger that needs lengthening. The ball whipped at the ref in the first quarter of a blowout simply doesn't have a good explanation - other than "short fuse".

with the huge amount of text i typed out i failed to mention that Jaden really isn't a great fit on this team to me. he made so much more sense 2 years ago when KAT was at center where Jaden could play the 4 and cover for KAT defensively with his free safety abilities, and the hedge scheme putting Jaden's off-ball D to tremendous use while KAT's spacing on the other end meant that Jaden's iffy spacing and lack of offense wasn't particularly damaging

now even if the timberwolves move Jaden up to the 3 defensively he's still not playing the 4 where he can utilize his free safety abilities, and the drop scheme means his off-ball defense has far less application. this all on a team that features probably the best rim protector in the league surrounded by defenders who all excel from either an on-ball or off-ball standpoint defensively. it's a team that needs offense far more than it needs defense

it just sucks because i love Jaden. with the roster build of 2 years ago i would've said he was untouchable. but now...... i have to agree that he's far from untouchable. i hope he can improve as a shooter because we already have Rudy/McLaughlin/Slo-Mo clogging things up. Jaden does provide some spacing, but it needs to get to another level or the timberwolves' lineups will remain pretty congested. given a spacing bump i think the offense/defense tradeoff for Jaden would be truly worthwhile. i do think his wing defense has a lot of value and the timberwolves have been running more hedge lately to try and slow down these poa onslaughts, so Jaden's off-ball defense could gain some value from that

but shit, NAW is honestly like a better Jaden. we really are at that point now to me. Jaden is a slightly better scorer and can guard bigger wings better, but that's really it. i think NAW is a legitimately good playmaker now, a good spacer, a very good mover. solidly better than Jaden in all those areas and is also a much better poa defender to my eye and, as of now anyway, a better off-ball defender. makes the kinds of rotations and passing lane plays that Jaden used to make. the growth of NAW just makes Jaden feel even more pointless

it makes me really sad because i love Jaden so much. i think there's possibly some sense in keeping him for the sake of the post-Gobert era. and i think his elite wing defense miiiiiiiight be worth keeping, particularly if he improves his shooting. but idk. you're probably right that if the right offer comes along we should deal him for more offense. i believe Jaden's market value is very high right now

[somuchyummy]

I'll agree with most all of this well thought out analysis. I've been down on Jaden here perhaps more than anyone - but I think it's because he'd been granted untouchable status when I don't think that's deserved. If we got an offer for him that made sense for the team, I'd take it. But yes, let's get him back to his original defensive assignment - and away from being the POA guy. as said, we have two very good ones in Ant and NAW. When Jaylen Clark gets healthy, we should have three. If we could finagle a simple swap of Shake for Jevon Carter, we could have four. Anything we've got that could relieve Jaden of this assignment would be great.

Final couple notes: I'm not as confident in his ability to be a regular 15 ppg scorer. Maybe, but I always thought that was wishful thinking. And certainly not 20 ppg. If he could get to 15 night in, night out - I'd be happy with that. As for his mood, yes - perhaps some of it is frustration in himself if he thinks he's failing. But he also seems to have a hair trigger that needs lengthening. The ball whipped at the ref in the first quarter of a blowout simply doesn't have a good explanation - other than "short fuse".

with the huge amount of text i typed out i failed to mention that Jaden really isn't a great fit on this team to me. he made so much more sense 2 years ago when KAT was at center where Jaden could play the 4 and cover for KAT defensively with his free safety abilities, and the hedge scheme putting Jaden's off-ball D to tremendous use while KAT's spacing on the other end meant that Jaden's iffy spacing and lack of offense wasn't particularly damaging

now even if the timberwolves move Jaden up to the 3 defensively he's still not playing the 4 where he can utilize his free safety abilities, and the drop scheme means his off-ball defense has far less application. this all on a team that features probably the best rim protector in the league surrounded by defenders who all excel from either an on-ball or off-ball standpoint defensively. it's a team that needs offense far more than it needs defense

it just sucks because i love Jaden. with the roster build of 2 years ago i would've said he was untouchable. but now...... i have to agree that he's far from untouchable. i hope he can improve as a shooter because we already have Rudy/McLaughlin/Slo-Mo clogging things up. Jaden does provide some spacing, but it needs to get to another level or the timberwolves' lineups will remain pretty congested. given a spacing bump i think the offense/defense tradeoff for Jaden would be truly worthwhile. i do think his wing defense has a lot of value and the timberwolves have been running more hedge lately to try and slow down these poa onslaughts, so Jaden's off-ball defense could gain some value from that

but shit, NAW is honestly like a better Jaden. we really are at that point now to me. Jaden is a slightly better scorer and can guard bigger wings better, but that's really it. i think NAW is a legitimately good playmaker now, a good spacer, a very good mover. solidly better than Jaden in all those areas and is also a much better poa defender to my eye and, as of now anyway, a better off-ball defender. makes the kinds of rotations and passing lane plays that Jaden used to make. the growth of NAW just makes Jaden feel even more pointless

it makes me really sad because i love Jaden so much. i think there's possibly some sense in keeping him for the sake of the post-Gobert era. and i think his elite wing defense miiiiiiiight be worth keeping, particularly if he improves his shooting. but idk. you're probably right that if the right offer comes along we should deal him for more offense. i believe Jaden's market value is very high right now

How would u view a straight Jaden/DeAndre hunter swap?

[Greenbolt]

I'll agree with most all of this well thought out analysis. I've been down on Jaden here perhaps more than anyone - but I think it's because he'd been granted untouchable status when I don't think that's deserved. If we got an offer for him that made sense for the team, I'd take it. But yes, let's get him back to his original defensive assignment - and away from being the POA guy. as said, we have two very good ones in Ant and NAW. When Jaylen Clark gets healthy, we should have three. If we could finagle a simple swap of Shake for Jevon Carter, we could have four. Anything we've got that could relieve Jaden of this assignment would be great.

Final couple notes: I'm not as confident in his ability to be a regular 15 ppg scorer. Maybe, but I always thought that was wishful thinking. And certainly not 20 ppg. If he could get to 15 night in, night out - I'd be happy with that. As for his mood, yes - perhaps some of it is frustration in himself if he thinks he's failing. But he also seems to have a hair trigger that needs lengthening. The ball whipped at the ref in the first quarter of a blowout simply doesn't have a good explanation - other than "short fuse".

with the huge amount of text i typed out i failed to mention that Jaden really isn't a great fit on this team to me. he made so much more sense 2 years ago when KAT was at center where Jaden could play the 4 and cover for KAT defensively with his free safety abilities, and the hedge scheme putting Jaden's off-ball D to tremendous use while KAT's spacing on the other end meant that Jaden's iffy spacing and lack of offense wasn't particularly damaging

now even if the timberwolves move Jaden up to the 3 defensively he's still not playing the 4 where he can utilize his free safety abilities, and the drop scheme means his off-ball defense has far less application. this all on a team that features probably the best rim protector in the league surrounded by defenders who all excel from either an on-ball or off-ball standpoint defensively. it's a team that needs offense far more than it needs defense

it just sucks because i love Jaden. with the roster build of 2 years ago i would've said he was untouchable. but now...... i have to agree that he's far from untouchable. i hope he can improve as a shooter because we already have Rudy/McLaughlin/Slo-Mo clogging things up. Jaden does provide some spacing, but it needs to get to another level or the timberwolves' lineups will remain pretty congested. given a spacing bump i think the offense/defense tradeoff for Jaden would be truly worthwhile. i do think his wing defense has a lot of value and the timberwolves have been running more hedge lately to try and slow down these poa onslaughts, so Jaden's off-ball defense could gain some value from that

but shit, NAW is honestly like a better Jaden. we really are at that point now to me. Jaden is a slightly better scorer and can guard bigger wings better, but that's really it. i think NAW is a legitimately good playmaker now, a good spacer, a very good mover. solidly better than Jaden in all those areas and is also a much better poa defender to my eye and, as of now anyway, a better off-ball defender. makes the kinds of rotations and passing lane plays that Jaden used to make. the growth of NAW just makes Jaden feel even more pointless

it makes me really sad because i love Jaden so much. i think there's possibly some sense in keeping him for the sake of the post-Gobert era. and i think his elite wing defense miiiiiiiight be worth keeping, particularly if he improves his shooting. but idk. you're probably right that if the right offer comes along we should deal him for more offense. i believe Jaden's market value is very high right now

How would u view a straight Jaden/DeAndre hunter swap?

i unfortunately don't know much about players on other teams, lol. so i can't say

[somuchyummy]

Overall #4 pick a few years back. Still young. 6-8 225 7-2 WS. Nonflashy worker. Good defender on a poor defensive team, that's on Trae. DH often gets the toughest perimeter assignment - so similar to Jaden in that regard, but not as good as JM on D. Still, not at all a negative. Can switch onto multiple positions - and perhaps a better matchup on bigger PFs than Jaden. Not a great rebounder - so i guess another similarity. 40% from deep this year - career 36%. The interest for me is that he's been a 15ppg scorer the last two years, with two 20+ PPG scorers ahead of him. Contract out for I think another three years - sameish money as Jaden, maybe a few mill a year less.

Because he's a number four pick, he has the air of disappointment on him in Atlanta - as opposed to the gem we got late in Jaden, but all in all, hunter might be the better player.

[SHAFA]

I don’t know who the newbie is, but I appreciate the depth and detail.

[somuchyummy]

I don’t know who the newbie is, but I appreciate the depth and detail.

yeah, it's been good. with all newbies, I'm always dubious it's a repeat offender back with a new moniker - but i'm keeping an open mind on this because they had really well thought out, well stated points. good stuff.

[UnFadeable21]

Still love the dog in him and his defense but this is why I didn’t want to extend him at the number we gave him

We should have let him him RFA. I wanted him at the Dillion brooks Herb Jones defender money around 60-80 million.

Jaden has a 120 million extension.

[Jimi_Thing]

Still love the dog in him and his defense but this is why I didn’t want to extend him at the number we gave him

We should have let him him RFA. I wanted him at the Dillion brooks Herb Jones defender money around 60-80 million.

Jaden has a 120 million extension.

I'm of the belief the 120 million won't be an overpay. Finch has often praised Naz for getting his production without having a single design drawn up for him. That's great and all but isn't it possible to spur the growth of a player by figuring out ways to get them more involved? Naz started to really figure things out last year and it carried over to this year and continues to improve. Hoping to see the same thing from Jaden.