NICKEIL ALEXANDER-WALKER Thread

[Mplsfonz]

I know he's an after thought,. But can this guy be a contributor in the future? Not good at links, so this is all I can do.

https://youtu.be/hfxELRoOaBk

Thoughts?

[irishman89]

Naw....he can't and won't.

[somuchyummy]

NAW would be a nice replacement for Nowell backing up Ant. not the pure scorer, but certainly a much better defender with enough offensive game/tools to contribute to wins. i don't know how contracts work for a guy in his position - apparently he's due more money than we can afford next year (even though it seems minor, frankly). at any rate, another reason to look to move Naz for either a pick or a cheaper player (PAUL REED - do it!), so that the savings on Naz (who will want around $10M/yr) can be used instead to sign Garza and NAW to new deals.

[Mplsfonz]

Naw....he can't and won't.

Thin answer. Care to explain. He's not a bum. Has good/decent D, and got a raw deal in Utah. In NO he had decent numbers for the minutes he got. He's 24, and has plenty of room to develop into a decent backup. Only problem I see is his QO, and that is not a huge amount if he can play. So...why can't he again?

[SO_MONEY]

NAW would be a nice replacement for Nowell backing up Ant. not the pure scorer, but certainly a much better defender with enough offensive game/tools to contribute to wins. i don't know how contracts work for a guy in his position - apparently he's due more money than we can afford next year (even though it seems minor, frankly). at any rate, another reason to look to move Naz for either a pick or a cheaper player (PAUL REED - do it!), so that the savings on Naz (who will want around $10M/yr) can be used instead to sign Garza and NAW to new deals.

I think you keep Reid in this situation, if he walks he walks, he walks, but no real reason to swap him for Reed. If you trade Reid it should be for something of consequence. Otherwise keep him and it allows you to think about moving KAT this offseason.

[shuttlesworth]

I assign basically zero value to NAW in this trade, but it is a bit strange to see his apparent fall from grace. He averaged 12/3/3 as a 22-year old in his last year in New Orleans (in 26 minutes per game) and looked like a decent prospect, then was traded to the Jazz and never even broke into the regular rotation. Biggest concern I see on paper is his poor shooting numbers -- he' has a 50% true shooting percentage for his career, which for reference is about what Bryn Forbes is shooting this year. I wouldn't put much stock in his shooting numbers this season (48% from the floor and 40% from three) - they are from a tiny sample size.

So apparently he can't shoot the ball. On defense, it looks like he's been an up-and-down defender over the course of his career, at least judging by the numbers (I can't say I've paid much attention to Nickeil Alexander-Walker's defense during his career on the Pelicans and Jazz). On the plus side, he's consistently posted elite block rates for a player of his position (around the 85th percentile for his career), and average-to-above average steal rates (60th percentile). He also appears to be a decent rebounder for a guard, rebounding about 12% of opponent misses on defense -- above average for his position. On the minus side, he fouls a ton, and his teams haven't always performed better on defense when he plays (although on-off stats can be highly misleading).

Overall, seems like a guy worth a flyer, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's playing in Europe next year.

[twolves31]

A change of scenery can help sometimes, you never know. I'll look a little more into him once the trade deadline is done, until the Conley trade is finalized it can still expand possibly sending NAW and a 2nd or two to Denver for Bones or to the Nets for one of their 6 3&D players, or somewhere else.

[Mnwild1128]

Conley per 100 with Gobert is +10

DLO per 100 with Gobert is -1


You think that is misleading? The evidence should be quite apparent. In actuality and eye test. I know this was about NAW but im trying to make a point that analytics dont lie.

[Abe Froman]

I guess his stat line didn't really overwhelm me or anything. I figure if he can't get on the court with Utah, he's just not much of an NBA talent.

[Abe Froman]

A change of scenery can help sometimes, you never know. I'll look a little more into him once the trade deadline is done, until the Conley trade is finalized it can still expand possibly sending NAW and a 2nd or two to Denver for Bones or to the Nets for one of their 6 3&D players, or somewhere else.

This is the most Wolves fan answer to this question of any wolves fan answer that has ever existed.

[mlhouse]

A change of scenery can help sometimes, you never know. I'll look a little more into him once the trade deadline is done, until the Conley trade is finalized it can still expand possibly sending NAW and a 2nd or two to Denver for Bones or to the Nets for one of their 6 3&D players, or somewhere else.

Denver aint trading dem Bones for nothing. The guy is averaging 12.1 points per game in 19.5 minutes and is signed to minimum contracts with team options over the next two seasons.

[somuchyummy]

NAW would be a nice replacement for Nowell backing up Ant. not the pure scorer, but certainly a much better defender with enough offensive game/tools to contribute to wins. i don't know how contracts work for a guy in his position - apparently he's due more money than we can afford next year (even though it seems minor, frankly). at any rate, another reason to look to move Naz for either a pick or a cheaper player (PAUL REED - do it!), so that the savings on Naz (who will want around $10M/yr) can be used instead to sign Garza and NAW to new deals.

I think you keep Reid in this situation, if he walks he walks, he walks, but no real reason to swap him for Reed. If you trade Reid it should be for something of consequence. Otherwise keep him and it allows you to think about moving KAT this offseason.

i think we have very good reasons to trade Naz. and i LOVE Naz! but he's mostly a center - and we have Gobert, KAT and now a very productive Garza on the team. we don't need a fourth guy who's mostly a Center. plus one who we'll have to up the ante to this summer in the vicinity of $10M/yr to keep him. we'll already be spending $77M next year on centers as is - and that doesn't count whatever we can muster for Luka on a big league deal. as for the impending KAT trade, i think the probability of that happening soon is really slim. they'll need to see KAT and Rudy play together a lot longer than they have before pulling the plug on that idea.

Reed otoh is very much in the McDaniels vein, as a long smooth athletic PF/SF with skills, good to great D, very good handles and loads of upside. plus, he's 210 lbs - so a good 20 pounds heavier than McDaniels to match up better with the league's PFs. just feels like we'd have a chance to bolster our PF crew in low budget fashion while balancing out our C crew budgetwise as well.

[SO_MONEY]

NAW would be a nice replacement for Nowell backing up Ant. not the pure scorer, but certainly a much better defender with enough offensive game/tools to contribute to wins. i don't know how contracts work for a guy in his position - apparently he's due more money than we can afford next year (even though it seems minor, frankly). at any rate, another reason to look to move Naz for either a pick or a cheaper player (PAUL REED - do it!), so that the savings on Naz (who will want around $10M/yr) can be used instead to sign Garza and NAW to new deals.

I think you keep Reid in this situation, if he walks he walks, he walks, but no real reason to swap him for Reed. If you trade Reid it should be for something of consequence. Otherwise keep him and it allows you to think about moving KAT this offseason.

i think we have very good reasons to trade Naz. and i LOVE Naz! but he's mostly a center - and we have Gobert, KAT and now a very productive Garza on the team. we don't need a fourth guy who's mostly a Center. plus one who we'll have to up the ante to this summer in the vicinity of $10M/yr to keep him. as for the impending KAT trade, i think the probability of that happening soon is really slim. they'll need to see KAT and Rudy play together a lot longer than they have before pulling the plug on that idea.

Reed otoh is very much in the McDaniels vein, as a long smooth athletic PF/SF with skills, good to great D, good handles and loads of upside. plus, he's 210 lbs - so a good 20 pounds heavier than McDaniels so he matches up better with the league's PFs. just feels like we'd have a chance to bolster our PF crew in low budget fashion while balancing out our C crew budgetwise as well.

And I think and have thought for years we should trade KAT; by doing so it removes any of the financial arguments, but irrespective of them he is a better player than Reed and if nothing else helps us through the injury and any future injury that might hit at an inopportune time. If Reed wasn't an expiring there might be a larger argument.

[Mnwild1128]

I guess his stat line didn't really overwhelm me or anything. I figure if he can't get on the court with Utah, he's just not much of an NBA talent.

Utah had way too many 2 guards on their roster. Was very hard to play there.

[somuchyummy]

well. propose a KAT trade that could work. i'm totally into that because i don't think the KAT/Rudy pairing will pan out. but the market for him is small i think. maybe NY. we used to think BRK until Claxton blew up. i think TOR is off the board now with yesterday's addition of Poeltl. Saying "trade KAT" is a lot easier than trading KAT. he's got a HUGE price tag coming up - along with new and legit questions about his actual value on the court - and only a few teams that would contemplate taking that on, and then even fewer that would have the assets needed to swing the deal - or assets that we'd want.

[somuchyummy]

I guess his stat line didn't really overwhelm me or anything. I figure if he can't get on the court with Utah, he's just not much of an NBA talent.

Utah had way too many 2 guards on their roster. Was very hard to play there.

i agree with this. up until a week ago, a case could be made that Cam Thomas was a waste of roster space in BRK, right?

[twolves31]

A change of scenery can help sometimes, you never know. I'll look a little more into him once the trade deadline is done, until the Conley trade is finalized it can still expand possibly sending NAW and a 2nd or two to Denver for Bones or to the Nets for one of their 6 3&D players, or somewhere else.

Denver aint trading dem Bones for nothing. The guy is averaging 12.1 points per game in 19.5 minutes and is signed to minimum contracts with team options over the next two seasons.

The relationship with Denver and Bones has deteriorated petty quickly as he racks dnp-coach's decisions. Do they trade him for nothing, no but there could certainly be a trade there if Connelly negotiates it out. I'm not sure who we are willing to trade, Denver has interest in Prince but I don't think we include him.

[somuchyummy]

i'm losing interest in Bones. great personal story, but a big part of his NBA story is that he's a terrible defender. i'm tired of having guys on this team that have to be hidden (somehow - usually unsuccessfully) on that end of the court.

[Mnwild1128]

well. propose a KAT trade that could work. i'm totally into that because i don't think the KAT/Rudy pairing will pan out. but the market for him is small i think. maybe NY. we used to think BRK until Claxton blew up. i think TOR is off the board now with yesterday's addition of Poeltl. Saying "trade KAT" is a lot easier than trading KAT. he's got a HUGE price tag coming up - along with new and legit questions about his actual value on the court - and only a few teams that would contemplate taking that on, and then even fewer than would have the assets needed to swing the deal.

Magic, Hornets, Blazers, Kicks, Hawks are probably the only viable teams this summer.

Hornets would need to ditch Melo after drafting Scoot. Make Ball and his lack of defense more expendable since Scoot is a 2 way point guard.

Magic would also need to get Scoot. And if they feel they want to upgrade from Carter Jr.

Hawks if they want to something other than Trae. OR, a multi team deal with players like Collins, Hunter, Bogdonavich in the mix.

Blazers getting off Nurkic in multi team deal that also sends picks and Sharpe and or Simons here.

Knicks getting off Barrett/Robinson with picks. Again, likely a multi team deal.


Leaning Blazers option.

[SO_MONEY]

A change of scenery can help sometimes, you never know. I'll look a little more into him once the trade deadline is done, until the Conley trade is finalized it can still expand possibly sending NAW and a 2nd or two to Denver for Bones or to the Nets for one of their 6 3&D players, or somewhere else.

Denver aint trading dem Bones for nothing. The guy is averaging 12.1 points per game in 19.5 minutes and is signed to minimum contracts with team options over the next two seasons.

The relationship with Denver and Bones has deteriorated petty quickly as he racks dnp-coach's decisions. Do they trade him for nothing, no but there could certainly be a trade there if Connelly negotiates it out. I'm not sure who we are willing to trade, Denver has interest in Prince but I don't think we include him.

With this FO and management you have no idea what is going through their heads, but it seems clear Prince should be a guy alone or in conjunction with other players we should look to trade because we have significant redundancy at the 3/4 and he has some salary behind him and has some additional value given the flexibility of his contract.

[Mnwild1128]

Denver aint trading dem Bones for nothing. The guy is averaging 12.1 points per game in 19.5 minutes and is signed to minimum contracts with team options over the next two seasons.

The relationship with Denver and Bones has deteriorated petty quickly as he racks dnp-coach's decisions. Do they trade him for nothing, no but there could certainly be a trade there if Connelly negotiates it out. I'm not sure who we are willing to trade, Denver has interest in Prince but I don't think we include him.

With this FO and management you have no idea what is going through their heads, but it seems clear Prince should be a guy alone or in conjunction with other players we should look to trade because we have significant redundancy at the 3/4 and he has some salary behind him and has some additional value given the flexibility of his contract.

Agreed. And word is wolves are still in trade talks right now. For who? For what? Who knows.

[twolves31]

A change of scenery can help sometimes, you never know. I'll look a little more into him once the trade deadline is done, until the Conley trade is finalized it can still expand possibly sending NAW and a 2nd or two to Denver for Bones or to the Nets for one of their 6 3&D players, or somewhere else.

Denver aint trading dem Bones for nothing. The guy is averaging 12.1 points per game in 19.5 minutes and is signed to minimum contracts with team options over the next two seasons.

Bones to the Clippers for two seconds.

[irishman89]

Naw....he can't and won't.

Thin answer. Care to explain. He's not a bum. Has good/decent D, and got a raw deal in Utah. In NO he had decent numbers for the minutes he got. He's 24, and has plenty of room to develop into a decent backup. Only problem I see is his QO, and that is not a huge amount if he can play. So...why can't he again?

Have you watched him stink on stinky teams and then get traded from stinky team to stinky team? I have. That's all I'm going to say about this guy. He'll be gone soon enough. Don't get too attached.

[somuchyummy]

i don't get the Bones love over NAW. neither of them are world beaters - but to act like Bones is clearly superior - i don't get it.

career shooting - Bones: 2 pters- .446 / 3 pters- .371 / FTs- .866. Per 36 rebs and assts - 4.6 and 5.3
career shooting - NAW: 2 pters- .457 / 3 pters- .337 / FTs- .721. Per 36 rebs and assts - 4.0 and 5.2

apart from the discrepancy in FT efficiency, how is Bones markedly better than NAW offensively? and Bones can't guard ANYONE - NAW has a clear advantage on that side of the court. maybe NAW isn't the right guy to replace Nowell - but promoting Bones as the clear choice doesn't make sense to me either.

[witljon]

Have we had a separate thread for every Wolves player?

[Mplsfonz]

Naw....he can't and won't.

Thin answer. Care to explain. He's not a bum. Has good/decent D, and got a raw deal in Utah. In NO he had decent numbers for the minutes he got. He's 24, and has plenty of room to develop into a decent backup. Only problem I see is his QO, and that is not a huge amount if he can play. So...why can't he again?

Have you watched him stink on stinky teams and then get traded from stinky team to stinky team? I have. That's all I'm going to say about this guy. He'll be gone soon enough. Don't get too attached.

Well players can change, and looking at his numbers from his time in NO they don't "Stink." And I know highlights are just that, but from the few I've seen he looks like he could be productive. I also don't think he got a fair shake in Utah. He was buried on the bench. So, no I won't get attached, but I will give him a chance. Who knows? Again, he's only 24 and should be in for a jump after 4 years.
Also, are you saying NO and Utah are stinky teams?

[jffl_commish]

He was great in Game of Thrones.

[Mplsfonz]

Have we had a separate thread for every Wolves player?

Why not? That way those that are interested in that particular player can go str8 to the thread. Those who aren't, well, don't open.

[Mnwild1128]

I feel like Bones might just be what we think of Nowell. A microwave inconsistent scorer that can't defend. Who also plays with Jokic who makes everyone look really good.

[somuchyummy]

i like the idea of staying away from players who we'd have to hide on defense.